Awesome Goodwill weekend! Plus laundry tips!

So, this weekend was successful as far as Goodwill was concerned. I was able to get several business-casual-ish clothing items, as well as some cuter things for school and going out. All of them were $2.50 or less.

I love Goodwill's color tag sales. For less than $20 you can walk out of there with bags of useful items if you look hard enough and time it well - Sunday morning is a good time to go because new colors have just gone on sale, and that item you've been eyeing for weeks can be snapped up in a heartbeat. Luckily, today that ended up being in Bess's favor because she was finally able to buy a pair of stained-glass turtle lamps that had been in Goodwill for weeks at $15 each. She got them for $15 total today.

Apparently, according to a cashier at the campus-area Goodwill, there is indeed a pattern to the colors. Brian has made it his goal to figure it out. I'm guessing, though, that it might have something to do with when certain items get put out. Today, the tag colors were blue for clothing and pink for housewares, and Brian had mentioned that just a few weeks ago they had just put a bunch of new pink-tagged items out on the floor. Today they were putting out a lot of green, so I'll look in a couple weeks and see if that is indeed the sale color.

I'll finish by saying yet again that Goodwill is one of my favorite stores ever. You can find nearly anything you could possibly need, including a few brand-new items. If you're willing to put in the small bit of effort to clean things up (which, if you have a dishwasher and access to a washer and dryer, isn't a lot at all), even clothing and dishes can be found cheaply.

In addition, it's one of the greenest forms of shopping you can do - no new products have to be made to stock Goodwill's shelves, and every item you or another person purchases is one more item that's not in a landfill.
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Now, I'm going to radically change topics here, but only because of random inspiration. Yay chores!

I've been doing my own laundry for years, which may have put me at an advantage over the many others my age who may have had to have their parents give them a crash course over the summer before college.

Over my years of experience, I've gleaned a lot of tips: some from personal experience, some from family and friends, some from household hints books (I'm a huge fan of Good Housekeeping columnist Heloise) and still more from the internet. I will dispense some of my favorite hints now.

- Before starting a load of laundry, separate your dirty clothes by color. I used to do four groups (whites, lights, darks and reds), but since starting college and discovering how expensive on-site laundry can be when you don't have your own machines, I've whittled this method down to two piles: lights/whites and darks/bright colors. When you use color-safe bleach, mixing colors shouldn't be a problem AS LONG AS YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT THE CLOTHES ARE COLORFAST. Usually if something is machine washable and has been washed before, you're fine.

- For most loads, cold water is fine. It helps preserve the life of your clothing and helps you save on your electric bill. I personally prefer to use hot water only on things like sheets and towels.

- Contrary to what you may think, wrinkles do not form in the dryer. They actually form during the wash cycle. You can save yourself a lot of ironing if you remove the clothes from the machines immediately after the wash cycle, shake each item individually before placing the clothes loosely in the dryer (much more effective drying than if you take the whole pile and stuff it all in the dryer at once) and then remove and fold the laundry immediately after the dryer cycle ends.

- If an article of clothing says "dry-clean only," you may still be able to machine wash it on a delicate cycle. The reason a lot of items say "dry-clean only" on the tags is because by law, manufacturers are required to list the safest form of cleaning for the garment, which is usually dry cleaning. If it's cotton or linen, you're probably fine. I would not suggest trying this with wool (and never, ever wash wool in hot water or put it in the dryer unless you want your toy poodle to have a new winter wardrobe), formal dresses made from satin or silk, or any item with a lot of delicate ornamentation or that is particularly valuable or irreplaceable.

Well, that's all for now! :)

Have it all...for nothing at all!

Or at the very least, the spare change under the couch cushions.

Over the past century or two, Americans have adapted to a consumerist society. They always have to have more of the new, the latest, the cutting edge. And when they discard the old, all of those items end up in Goodwill, or simply in a landfill where they may sit and rot for up to a thousand years or more.

This is where the truly thrifty can benefit.

Being college students, my friends and I have discovered a myriad of ways to benefit from the wastefulness of others. I share some of these tips below.

1) Freeganism aka dumpster diving. Much of what people throw away ends up in dumpsters in alleys or behind buildings, waiting to be hauled off to the dump. If you're not afraid to get messy (and come on, people and clothing are washable) you can score some pretty sweet stuff. Some people go to the extreme of only eating food that has been collected from dumpsters. Many others are satisfied with acquiring still-operational electronics, clothing, toys, books, appliances and more.

Watch for posted signage and check local laws regarding this activity before you go; a number of cities have outlawed dumpster diving. Also, be kind, don't leave a mess.

A similar principle involves scoping out curbsides. Often, people will leave things they want to dispose of out by the curb, free to whoever wants to come haul it away. Again, be courteous if you do this. Only take items that have been specifically designated as free for the taking, or that have been announced; you don't want to be caught trying to steal something.

To find opportunities like this in your area, check the "free" section of your local craigslist or newspaper classifieds or ask around. Prime territory includes dorms and apartments on or near college campuses between May and June, when school ends and students move out or home for the summer.

2) Check your recycling bin to see if containers can be repurposed with a good cleaning or slight modification. Plastic yogurt, butter and sour cream/cottage cheese containers, as well as the plastic containers that Healthy Ones meat comes in, make excellent storage containers for leftovers. I've turned empty glass pop bottles and sparkling cider bottles into funky vases. Glass jars can enjoy a new life as storage containers or interesting drinkware. Learn to look at everyday castoffs in new ways and you'll find yourself saving money and discarding less.

3) Ask family or friends, especially those who are moving or downsizing and don't want to pack up and transport more than they need to. I've gotten dishes, games, camping gear, food, books, kitchen items and furniture. Moving sales are golden because a lot of times the "free" box will be more full than usual with useful items that the owner is in a hurry to get rid of.

That's all for today. Hopefully posts will become much more frequent (I realize it's been almost a year since this blog has seen any action.) With my stepdad getting ready to join my mom in Kodiak, Alaska, and me preparing for a move of my own and living in a new apartment on a very limited budget, I hope to be inspired more and more every day.

Also: I strongly recommend the book Chick Living by Kris Koederitz Melcher. It's an Amazon bestseller, although I picked up my copy at Smith Family Bookstore here in Eugene (I'm always a fan of buying used and local, especially when it's a lot cheaper than buying new from a big-box retailer.) The book and the accompanying website, which I linked to above, provides lots of great hints for living in style on a budget. It's great for singles and new college grads, although I think a lot of the tips could help anyone interested in a frugal lifestyle.