Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Bins


2kool4skool Power Thrifting at The Bins

I've always wanted to be more of a thrift store shopper, it plays to one of my strengths (cheapness). A good friend of ours, 2kool4skool, is an amazing thrift store shopper and she was more than happy to take me to the mother of all thrift stores for a lesson. Locally and perhaps nationally the this experience is known as shopping at "The Bins."

"The Bins are the dumping grounds for goods that don't sell at the other Goodwill stores--goods that Goodwill is desperate to get rid of." - Portland Mercury

We spent an hour at The Bins and I left with about 8 articles of clothing for a grand total of six dollars. Not to bad and the experience wasn't unpleasant either. Once again it all comes down to time, how much time do I really have to spend searching The Bins for kids clothing. I don't believe that the next time I think something like "Z needs a new jacket" that my next thought would be "Let me just go pick one up at The Bins." This does not mean that I'm not a fan of The Bins it just means that I'm not sure of how they fit in to my life. I'm sure they'll find away on occasion.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. What a great picture. I remember one time I went to a "bins" of toy pieces--and I found a whole barrel of tiny plastic mice in different colors from a game I loved as a kid.

Ka

2kool4skool said...

Thanks for joining me, Tony-C. I am always up for a trip (although it was my lightest haul to date). BTW, for your faithful readers, I would like to list my best bins finds:
-cashmere cartigan and scarf (both with the original "imported from scotland" tag)
-20 spools of Gutermann thread (retail for $2-$3/ea)
-2 snowsuits for the girls, including a barely worn Obermeyer
-pounds and pounds of fabric!

I heart the bins.
-2kool4skool

jb said...

My friend shops the bins for kid's clothes and sells them on e-bay. She makes a pretty nice income. It's crazy.
I'm not sure I have the patience, but I'm intrigued by 2kools findings. Wow!
jb
great picture by the way.