Category: Deals, Steals, & Thrifting

Good deals and thrift store shopping.

IKEA Finds

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Every time I visit my family in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area of Minnesota, I get a much-needed IKEA trip!  Unfortunately, my camera battery died, so I couldn’t take any photos in the store.  Instead, here is what I went home with.

I bought two Lack Side Tables with hopes I can make minor adjustments to the tables to make something perfect for the boys’ room. 

We need to join the two tables together from the under side, but they are a great place for V to sit to look out the window.

IKEA definitely has a great selection of picture frames and even better prices, so I picked up two 20 inch square Ribba frames (with mats!) for our hallway.  I need to update the family trees (the brown canvases in the hall) I made a few years ago, but I want to recreate it in Photoshop, to make the text neat and clean. 

I opted to buy the silver frames for $10.99 and add a few coats of spray paint, and not buy the white frames for $19.99 each.  In fact, all the silver Ribba frames were on sale, so I picked up a few other sizes, just to have some extra cheap frames on hand. 

I’ll post pictures of the redesigned family trees once they’re framed and ready.

I don’t need more vases, but I couldn’t resist the clean lines of the Persika vase. 

The $3.99 price tag wasn’t too bad, either.  The Farm vase is cute too, so I got one of those.

The smaller vase was actually a reed diffuser from Target I picked up around the holidays.  And, because everything looks better in an odd grouping, I placed a small ceramic bird to keep the vases company.

I really like IKEA’s selection of rugs.  So much in fact, that I bought a new rug for our front door. 

The natural fibers seem durable, but if it’s not, I only lost $10.00.  I do love the neutral colors and the herringbone pattern.

Throw a few white cloth napkins, plastic cutting boards, hanging shoe organizers, mousepads and Kassett storage boxes in my big blue tarp bag and that’s what I picked up on my latest IKEA trip.

Gettin’ Thrifty With It

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When I was in Minnesota visiting my family, my sister and I went to a local thrift store.  I didn’t find much, but I did get a small lidded apothecary style jar for $1.49.  Last week, I went to one of our thrift stores and found a larger version for $2.99 but received 25% off, making it $2.25.  Not too shabby.

I also snagged a solid marble covered jar.  The price was originally $11.99, but was 50% off, making the final price $6.00. 

Here they are after reuniting with a long-lost brother from Minnesota:

One big happy family again.  The jars look great and add some interest, but I didn’t think they were great deals.  I bought 13 books in the same trip.  Again, not great deals, but definitely better than Barnes and Noble.  I am most proud of the deal I received for a new rug.

This is a 6 foot by 9 foot jute rug with rubber backing.  It originally was sold at Pier 1, so I should try to find what it sold for.  I didn’t see a price on the rug, but there was a $49.99 sticker on the floor, near the rug.  I saw there was some damage to an area and decided to ask for a price. 

The thrift store worker checked and came back to me with a good price of $25.00.  I asked if I could get a discount because of the damage.  She asked if I meant it was stained and said they couldn’t discount for that.  I explained the wear and she left to get her manager.  In the mean time, I brought the rug up and un rolled it to show the damaged area.

The manager saw it and agreed that the damage was worth a discount.  So, I got a 50% discount, making the price for my 6 by 9 rug $12.50!  I would say that is a great deal.

Recent Finds: Big Lots!

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A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to Big Lots! for the first time.  It’s actually pretty similar to the TJ Maxx and Ross stores we have in town.  The prices are great, but the selection can be hit or miss.  That’s okay, though.  We weren’t looking for anything in particular, but I did find these:

I love the mother of pearl candle holder as it is, especially for $4.00.  I thought it would make a great vase, too.  The flower tea light however is begging for a coat or two of spray paint.  Maybe a robin’s egg blue?  Not completely sure about that yet, but for $3.00, I was sold.  It’s actually like this one I found not too long ago from Michael’s. 

I have yet to visit a Home Goods, and I REALLY want to go.  Do you have any favorite shops?

Garage Sale, Thrift Store and Hand-Me-Downs, Oh My!

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Garage and estate sales, second-hand and thrift stores are great places to find cheap pieces of furniture and accent pieces.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my Target; I wouldn’t be a Minnesotan if I didn’t, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it.  I’m here to show some of my favorite used finds. 

This bench  floats my boat with its dark wood and small size.  This is actually the first piece of furniture Ben and I bought together while browsing a local used furniture shop.  It wasn’t necessarily a fantastic deal, but it was love at first sight, so $60.00 didn’t seem too bad. 

Recently, I started collecting globes.  I love the way they make a room feel.  I found this big guy at a local thrift store for $10.00. 

When I lived in Minnesota, I worked as a real estate agent in Minneapolis selling condominiums.  A couple that lived at my building put three of these Duncan Phyfe chairs by the road for FREE!  I snatched them up right away and we have used them for many larger gatherings.

My aunt has a cast iron match holder similar to this one that I have loved for quite some time.  When I stumbled across this guy at shop in town, I didn’t hesitate buying it.  It’s adorable and useful in its home on our wood chute, right by the fireplace. 

Last summer, my great-aunt gave us some of her old serving dishes, including this footed bowl.  It looks so cute holding our fruit on our kitchen countertops.

I think this mirror is by far the best garage sale deal we’ve ever gotten.  It was kelly green, but we spray painted it black and now it looks almost identical to this mirror that retails for $599.00!

I also bought a slew of large, medium and small glasses from a Minnesota thrift store to use as vases for our June 2006 outdoor wedding.  We had three different vases per table, each with a different type of flower.  It was much more affordable to create three smaller arrangements, rather than one large arrangement.  I’m not very good at arranging several types of flowers in one arrangement, so this was our solution. 

I’ve shared my favorite cheap finds, what are yours?  Any places you swear by if looking for a particular item, say lamps?  Do any have a special meaning or make you think of a certain someone?

Good Things, Martha

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I’m here to show off some more recent finds. 

I ordered a new light fixture from CB2 and stumbled upon this little cutie for $9.95:

It was just too cute to pass up.  And the shipping cost was the same for both.  Win-win.

I also found this great entry rug at Ross for

…wait for it…$10.99.  It has the rubber backing we need to prevent sliding and damage to the hardwood beneath.  I love the added pattern and the colors are great for our space (and hiding dirt). 

I’ll share my really great deal soon.  Here’s a teaser-dining chairs. 

What about you?  Any great finds recently?