I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket...

I am no stranger to thrift shopping, my friends. In fact, quite a few of our plethora of Halloween costumes came from either Value Village or Goodwill.

 

But my most favorite form of thrift shopping is going to garage sales, a fantastic activity I learned about years ago from my mom and aunts.

 

Just twice a year in the fairly affluent community of Mill Creek (just north of Seattle), residents are allowed to have garage sales. This means that they save up all their stuff all year long, and then on two specific weekends the vast majority of houses open up their garages to all of us peasants bargain shoppers.

 

This might sound kind of weird, but it's so much fun!

 

We start out with a ridiculous sleepover at my aunt's house on Friday night to start things off, and then ignore our hangovers early Saturday morning so that we can leave bright and early to be at the best and most ritzy neighborhoods just in time to see their garage doors lift. That's when the free-for-all begins. You should see the determination of some of these people... Women literally snatching things out of each other's hands! It can be kind of intense.

 

That being said, I did once snag a Prada bag for $5, so you can see where the urgency comes in. These people are getting rid of good stuff for dirt cheap!

 

Honestly though, I go mostly for the experience. I love spending the day with my aunts and cousins, jumping in and out of cars and racing to the next big sale. The streets are filled with other shoppers, along with kids selling lemonade, donuts and hot dogs for their school fundraisers. It's a pretty festive, high energy experience.

 

And we had a really big, fun group this year!

 

 

The weather was also fantastic, which makes it a lot more fun.

And I snagged some awesome deals!

 

 

Two lamps, four purses, thirteen tops, and four books...

All for $59.50 yo!!

 

And once this stuff hits the dry cleaner I will wear it loud and proud. Don't judge. Almost everything is brands that I love from Nordstrom, some of it with original tags and everything.

 

Oh and I also got Stew a few treasures...

 

 

Shut-the-Box is an traditional English pub game (brand new!), the Mac & Jack's growler was just cool (I got one for my dad, too) and of course my aunt couldn't resist getting him "Curious George and the Firefighters."

 

In order to even things out karma wise, I thought Sunday would be a good opportunity to go through a bunch of boxes that have been sitting in my back bedroom since they found a new home there after residing in my parent's attic for the last 10 years.

 

Holy stuffed animals! I might be a hoarder.

 

Most of them are currently on their way to Goodwill, and hopefully a new home soon.

 

 

What I'm going to do with the stuff I decided to keep is a problem for another day...

 

 

Do you thrift shop?