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I recently went on a “spending spree” in my neighborhood thrift stores.  Our little corner of DC is lucky enough to have three right along the same street within 4 blocks or four-tenths of a mile of each other (I will list them at the end of the post)

So here is my haul:

And here is how much everything cost before the tiny amount of sales tax.  Click to enlarge:

Two embroidered table runners
Two matching pillow cases
Six polystyrene balls
One sugar canister
One whisk
One round table cloth
Three cake pans
One pot (for fondue?)

…and my shopping spree was a total of $13.60 before sales tax!  And yes, the package of polystyrene balls were free, given to me as lagniappe because I was a new customer to one of the thrift stores.  That is just lovely!

Also, I’d like to point out that the whisk, which I got for a friend who is looking to feather her nest, is longer than my forearm.  She can make a dinosaur egg omelet with that whisk now.

I cannot wait until the next Fourth of July to make a USA map cake with this pan.  It still had the glue from the packaging.  I don’t think anyone had ever used it.  What a pity.

This other cake pan is pretty nifty.  It’s a bundt pan that is especially tall, and it also has a cover with a handle.  I don’t think the cover is meant to aid in baking, because most other pans like this online seem to describe it merely as a carrying device.  But if anyone has any idea what to do with it, I would appreciate any information greatly!

This chrome sugar canister, from the “Lincoln Beauty Ware” line, is just too awesome.  I love that fifties look, and after a little help from Bar Keeper’s Friend, it cleaned up nicely inside and will be quite functional.

I still cannot get over the prices of the embroidered table runners, 2 for $0.49 each.  At least the stitcheries will have a home where someone appreciates them.

Then there is this sweet long round table cloth, appliqued all over with grapes and vines.  Some parts are discolored or stained slightly, but I plan to cut this up for projects anyway, so that’s no bother to me.

Here are the thrift shops I visited and a little about them:

American Rescue Workers Thrift Store: 1107 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Pros: cheap prices, lots of selection, friendly people
Cons: no credit or debit cards, i.e. cash only

Salvation Army: 1375 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Pros: Standard SA Thrift store, nice people, half priced clothing on Wednesdays
Cons: Standardized SA prices…almost nothing will be less than $0.99, and a lot of things are priced $1.99 just because of the category they’re in, regarless of condition. Also, when you find something without a price tag, they can’t sell it to you; they have to send it back to headquarters and it may be redistributed somewhere else in the area.

Mike’s Thrift Store: 1425 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Pros: Great finds if you dig, very low prices (most things are a dollar), and Mike, the owner, is a very nice guy who reads while you shop.
Cons: You have to dig to get to stuff; there is a lot in the store, but it’s piled on top of piles on top of piles.  NOT a good place to take a kid, because they would probably break something in the tight spaces, might get hurt, etc.

PS: Stay tuned for a project that has come about from one of these thrifty finds.

Tags: Housewares, Reuse, Shopping, Table Linens, Thrift, Vintage, Washington DC . This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:34 pm and is filed under Crafty Thoughts on Life, Other/Not Craft Related, Reviews and Recommendations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.