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Men don’t seem to be as excited about thrifting or donating and purchasing used clothes as women are. I think it might be because lots of men don’t really enjoy shopping, but they should! At the very least, it’s good for everyone to recognize the importance of recycling. This week, I’m focusing on men’s shorts. I found some fun, barely used shorts that almost any man could wear. These excellent pairs of shorts are often found in places like Macy’s or Nordstrom’s.

First is a pair of Tommy Hilfiger dress shorts. These are size XXL at $3.99. Inside liner and black in color with same color pinstripes, average length. They are a great pair of dressier shorts, but will still help keep you cool.

Second, is another pair Hilfiger shorts sized XXL at $3.99. This pair of shorts would do very well on hot days with their lightweight cotton. These shorts can be worn dressed up or down, so they’re great for travel!  Not too long or short.

Lastly, and maybe best of all are these knee-length surf shorts. They’re a size Large and have never been worn. The shorts are made by Kirra, which makes funky boarding clothing. Usually these shorts go for about $40.00 new, and these are a mere $1.99! Now that’s a steal!

If you want to come in and purchase any of these items, you will need to go to the Goodwill located on South Broadway and Archer.

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Thoughts on educating teens on thrifting and using their money wisely.

It seems that because America has had such good fortune, even with the downturn in the economy, many of , today’s teens haven’t learned how to spend their money wisely. At one point in time, our economy provided a luxurious life for many teens. Money was not a huge concern for many Americans and because of that, there was a lack of knowledge about the importance of saving and spending wisely. Credit cards are widely used in place of cash and because you can’t see money leaving your wallet, it can seem like there is an endless supply.

Now that our economy has suffered such a severe blow, the once luxurious life many teens has changed. They are learning that money does have great importance, but lack skills necessary to navigate these leaner times. There is an opportunity to teach teens a great lesson today: that thrifting can really help them become aware of how they can harness and stretch their dollar much further.

One great way to teach your teen about money is to take themto Goodwill on a 50% off sale day, with the promise that if you can’t find anything there, you can go to another place. Give them an allotted amount of money to spend, and they can either purchase used or new. Check out the used items first. Because Target often sends their excess inventory items to Goodwill for donation, many times the teens can get brand new clothes at a fraction of the cost.

Some teens might think that having used clothing is not the coolest thing to do. Teens are swayed easily, and they want to fit in, so they purchase the $120 pair of jeans. That $120 could buy them an entirely new outfit at a thrift store, and often times it is just as trendy and hip. If they knew this, I believe they would realize the savings and go more often, donate more often and keep the earth cleaner longer. There is great potential to teach teens about the benefits of thrifting, and learn the value of the dollar. If a teen walked into school wearing a recognizable $300 outfit that was found for only $30 at Goodwill, that would start to open minds!

Thrifting can be cool, teens just need to be exposed to the right way to do it!

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One thing I love about shopping at a thrift store is the variety of fashion you can see. You get to view what trends are slowly becoming less popular because you will see them start to show up in abundance in thrift stores.

Over the past few years, dresses of all styles, colors and lengths have really increased in popularity. In my attempt to purchase a good travel dress, I was amazed at the selection and many assortments of dresses just in my size alone at the local Goodwill!

So, in the hopes that I will be traveling to warm and beach-y places this year, I needed to find something that would look superb on, that could be worn dressed up or down, and even possibly worn over tights or leggings for the layered look. It is important to have different ways to wear one outfit if I’m traveling, especially since we now have to pay for baggage handling!

So, what should I get? Knowing that dresses average $5.00 at my local Goodwill, I started to try them on.

Should I choose the lovely unworn Kelly green Forever21 wrap dress that’s fun and flirty? Pretty ruffles, can be dressed up or down, but since I don’t look good in that green unless I’m tan, she was eliminated. And she looks like she would need ironing, which I loathe.

Or what about the skin tight stretchy animal print ArdenB sexy dress with an open back? So appealing, and doesn’t take up much baggage space, but isn’t all that versatile and I could NEVER have a fat day in that thing.

Hmm, maybe the absolutely stunning halter top lollipop fun and flirtatious Lily dress? Wow, so sweet, so cool, and I’d feel like a million bucks in it. But, it looks like it will wrinkle, and the possibility of wearing a bra with it is minimal. I need a bra. Bye, bye pretty dress. Someone else will snatch you up.

Well, then, what about the strapless J. Crew linen dress? Yep, perfect! It holds every goal I wanted for a travel dress: It is supposed to be somewhat wrinkled in look, I can wear a bra with it, with or without straps, it is something that you can wear on a beach or out dancing or to a date! It won’t take up too much of my limited baggage space and I can add a belt or leggings to it! Yes, this one was the winner. It was very easy sacrificing the $5.00 for such a wonderful dress.

(Apologies for the dresses being cut off, not sure what happened!)

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The holidays aren’t here yet, but springtime is still ripe for gift-giving! And who knew I could be so lucky to get all the gifts I need over the next few months at Goodwill! Another thrill of the hunt and success story for me.  I was perusing the Goodwill on south Broadway and Archer and although I wasn’t really looking for gifts at the time, it turned out to be a bonus day for me and the gifts I needed to get.

My cousin’s two nieces are graduating from high school this month and luckily enough I found an unused hobo bag, and an unused shirt made by Mossimo.  If they were purchased new, you could look at about $15.00 each.

I also remembered my friends shower is coming up and I actually found brand new baby clothes: what perfect timing for the little boy!  I also found the cutest little set of baby toys for playing with in the sand. These would have cost me at least $15.00 all together if I had purchased them in a department store.

I was on a roll and remembered my girlfriend, who is also starring in the baby shower has a birthday coming up. She is an enormous Elvis fan, so when I tripped across Elvis Presley alarm clock memorabilia I was thrilled. But, right as I was about to reach out and grab it, someone else took it!  I watched in anticipation as he played with it for a while, drooling over the fact that I wanted the perfect gift.  He eventually put it down and walked away, completely unaware of the girl standing off to the side, just waiting to jump on her prey. The clock probably cost $20-$40 new.

My bill came to $35.00.  This purchase got me 4 gifts, not to mention the dress, a fabulous pair of Kenneth Cole pale blue-grey suede shoes and a  great travel hobo bag! What a big win for me!  There is nothing more satisfying than knowing the cost for this bill would have been well over $100, and I paid a little over a third of that. Goodwill is a perfect one-stop shop for all of my gift giving needs this spring!

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