Ever "rescued" something from a thrift?

[lizardsally]

Have you ever bought anything from a thrift just to rescue it?  Or am I the only crazy one LOL?  I almost found myself doing this yesterday and I had to stop myself from buying something I didn't really want, just to save it from the thrift!

I was in Goodwill on my lunch break and found some wooden plates in the shape of Australia.  Now I know this for sure because I am Australian, but the average person shopping in this thrift would be clueless and just think they were a weird shape!  I was sooooo tempted to buy them just to save them from their fate, but I just couldn't justify bringing more junk home!  (I'm starting to unclutter my house so I can have people over without embarrasment.)

Anyway it wouldn't be the first time I rescued something from a thrift.  Sometimes I buy something because I know someone who would really appreciate it (we do this on the Yahoo thrift-list all the time) but sometimes I just have to "save" it because I know it will end up in the dumpster and I just can't let that happen. 

Ok, so am I weird or what?

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Oooooooooh, honey, you are definetely NOT weird! That's how I wound up with my first (and only) fur coat...here in Florida, no less   I recused a vintage Lynx fur coat from a thrift because I couldn't bear to leave it to its fate.  The animals who had given up their lives to keep someone warm deserved better than that.  It cost me all of the money I had on me, including the grocery money, but it was definetely worth it to me. It is beautiful and makes me happy every time I look at it. I feel I've become the guardian of the spirit of these animals, know what I mean? It's from Holt-Renfrew out of Canada (where they know fur) and is from the late 60s-early 70s to judge by the style. Excellent condition.  Would cost a hell of lot more today, if I were so inclined to purchase it new (which I'm not.)

As I get older and, like you, am decluttering, I am much less likely to do that again.  But for the really special, unique stuff, I reserve the right to change my mind  

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

Well, if you're weird, then I'm the same kind of weird, Sally. I picked up a Fisher Price Little People Schoolhouse from the trash not long ago because I couldn't stand to see it be tossed out. I don't have kids and I am way over the recommended age for playing with Fisher Price toys. But it came home with me anyway.

So I hear you. I think thrifters are rescuers at heart.

And hoarders.

Hoarders and rescuers.

[Good Buddy]

Ok, so am I weird or what?

Yes!

[Cookie]

I almost rescued a teddy bear the other day.  I was out walking, and someone had put bags of garbage on the curb, and there was a perfectly good and clean teddy bear perched on the top of the garbage bags with his little cheerful smile.  It just broke my heart!    I am now regretting not rescuing him.  When I was about 10 my dad took my sister and I on a road trip through the four corners area, and as we were driving through Colorado, we came upon a teddy bear face down in the snow right in the middle of the road.  It was the most pathetic sight.  My dad stopped the car so I could get out and rescue it.  He thought it would be criminal to leave the teddy bear there, too.   I can't think of anything I've rescued from a thrift store offhand, but I'm sure it's happened at some point.

[Thrift Shop Romantic]

I think there's a good kids book in that teddy bear story.  (sniff!)

[genuineimitation]

yes! we rescued a japanese geisha doll from the store once - she was absolutely naked except for some bits of red silk around her ankles and neck. the way her hands were positioned, she looked really embarrassed and sad and apologetic. my daughter refused to leave her there - she said it was too pitiful.

we ended up doing a homeschooling block on kimono construction and style. she is now a beautiful doll with a summer kimono, added to her collection. (she has 3 others, all of which have been thrifted!). we just used her for a school project (again, a kimono she made) so she isn't dressed in her usual clothes right now, otherwise i'd post her photo.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

genuineimitation, that is a beautiful story! I look forward to seeing a pic

[Tammy]

Ask my husband this question and he'll tell you that I can't hardly walk out of a thrift store without rescuing some stuffed animal from the bins.  If he catches me with one I just tell him that I heard it whispering to me and it wanted to come home with me.   I think he figures that sometimes it's better for me to rescue a stuffed one than another live one.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

Tammy, that is very sweet!  I love stuffed animals, too, and have a hard time not buying them to add to ones I have (not to mention my live ones who require supreme love/affection/attention 24/7, lol.)

At my SalArm's impending demise yesterday, I saw the cutest thing:  there was a six-week old kitten in a shopping cart with her mommy, who's a teenage girl shopping for clothes. Kitty's mommy told me that she and Kitty have been together since Kitty was even a wee-er one  and are never separated. Kitty spent at least 45 minutes there washing herself, looking around, and and dozing.  Everybody was just going gaa-gaa over this kitten (yes, me included!) and the kitten's mommy. It was just adorable.  The kitten was totally unfazed over all the attention and just sat there looking--no, being-- adorable. 

[Tammy]

It is a darn good thing they don't have live animals at thrift stores or I'd be divorced.  I do keep my eye out at all times for items I can use for my pets and he will roll his eyes at that too.  A few months ago I brought home one of those body pillows that cost me a whole $2.  He's like, what did you drag that home for?  Simple -for my one dog to lay on.  She uses it every night. 

[Mattie]

I can't think of anything I've "rescued" that I didn't actually want, but I sometimes mentally  apologize to interesting clothes if they don't fit and I have to leave them on the rack.  "I'd love to own you, but you'd just end up hanging in my closet for years and you should be worn by someone who can enjoy you."

I'm not into stuffed animals so I don't anthropomorphize them.  Same with dolls.  I've never felt the need to rescue them.

Antique photos, though... that's another story.  I'll buy any photo if it's cheap enough, even if the subject's not that interesting.  I'd rather have it in MY collection than let it go to someone else's.  That's just plain greedy, isn't it?!

[Big Daddy Audio]

I've never rescued anything - everything has to serve some purpose, either real or imagined.

see you next time
bye for now.