thrift store shopping

did you know they once wrote a newspaper article about my older sister and her thriftiness? its true. i remember going into an ARC or goodwill with my sister and my eyes see nothing but junk and ugly clothes. i find nothing. but 20 minutes later my sister comes over to show off her amazing finds! what? how? where?
she even got her prom dress from the thrift store.
i needed thrift store shopping lessons.
see thrift store shopping takes some skill and practice. you have to see the treasures that are hiding in the piles of junk. i have gotten a lot better over the years and some of my favorite items of clothing and furniture are garage sale or thrift store finds. oh and just to clarify - the pricey consignment shops and places like 'buffalo exchange,' although they have great deals, do not qualify as a 'thrift store' in my book.
so this last week i moved out of 'the orchard.' i couldnt have done it without my mom and sister and nephew's help ;) we had my dads truck and headed south to pack up my belongings. on the way there we pass a sign you cant miss at the 'family thrift store' that says, "CLOSING SALE: EVERYTHING 75% OFF." seriously? i make my first U-turn and pull in. it was true. me, my sister and my nephew walked in and were in awe of the madness. people were just throwing stuff into carts (one cart full was $10). people didnt even know what half the stuff was. things were spread out all over the floors. my sister made the mistake of looking at something that was in a cart - a lady rushed over and yelled "excuse me, thats mine!" and so we had no choice but to join in the chaos. we get to the register with 2 lamps, a trash can, some mugs, some tea cups, a plate that says mississippi on it, a dry erase board, a 20 year old tape player with tapes and my nephew has a batting helmet on and a fish tank. we stand in front of the cashier holding all our stuff and ask,"how much?" with out even glancing up the lady says "$3.23"...uh. ok.
we left thinking, 'what just happened in there?' people act insane when there are huge sales (think black friday).
but we simply shrugged our shoulders and celebrated all of our cool "new"...um...stuff.