Re-purposing everyday essentials and old hand-me-downs is a quirky and fun way to find hidden treasures. Giving back to the community isn’t hard when it’s cheap and convenient! With cold winds approaching in the upcoming winter months, a new and different coat or scarf may be expensive and most people are not wanting to spend lots of money. A cost-friendly solution to finding these necessities is thrift shopping: brand names for bargains!

Goodwill Industries and The Arc are great examples of non-profit charity organizations where the community is able to donate and purchase as they desire. Donating helps people all over America find jobs. Goodwill Industries in particular meets the needs of all job-seekers, including programs for youth, seniors, veterans, people with criminal backgrounds and the disabled. When you make a purchase at a charity-based thrift store like Goodwill, all of the profits go toward helping others. It is not only beneficial for the community, but it also encourages people to get the clutter out of their closets and homes.

Wide varieties of used and unused clothing (and miscellaneous items) are available for people to browse and buy.  It is possible and very likely to get an originally expensive shirt for a cheap price. There are lots of reasons why thrift shopping is growing in popularity and people are becoming more fond of it. Selection throughout almost any thrift store will always be changing and you never know what you may find!

Something to keep in mind when going into thrift shopping is having a good attitude; looking for super specific things is not what thrift shopping is about. Shoppers get a thrill of trying something new, be it a new style or decoration.

“I love thrift shopping because it’s really fun to try and find dope stuff,” said sophomore Ashlyn Johnson. “It’s a different challenge each time.”

On the other side of the thrift shopping argument, there are many people who think that used clothing is dirty and gross. Admittedly, there can be unsanitary aspects of searching through the store since the clothing has been used by someone else. But a washing machine and good care can keep any article of clothing clean and fresh. Not everything that is on display at a thrift store will be perfect, so that’s why making it like a game to find good clothes can be lots of fun.

It’s truly unknown what kinds of things there are to discover within your personal thrift shopping experience. Thrift shopping is an optimum example of one person’s trash being another person’s treasure.