Freaks & Geeks and Goodwill Outlet Stores

Check out this sign, totally something the American Picker dudes would buy. It was just chilling behind Salvation Army.


That was Saturday late afternoon, let's start from the beginning.

Our big plans to attend the Ivy Tech community garage sale and then the Farmers Market were ruined because of rain and thunderstorms.



I needed my green army jacket to keep me warm.

Have you guys ever seen Freaks & Geeks (best hour long drama/comedy/coming of age television show ever)? It only aired one season, but is an all time favorite. Anyway, the point is I love my green army jacket (Old Navy), because it reminds me of Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), the main character in F&G. The jacket appears in pretty much every single episode of the show and is honored in the song Lady L by Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel), "Is your green army jacket the only thing keeping you warm tonight?" Great TV Moment. My striped v-neck (Urban Outfitters) also reminds me of F&G, so I guess you can say my entire outfit is F&G inspired. Sounds like it is about time to re-watch all of the episodes on DVD, again.

Our next adventure took us on a road trip to all three Indianapolis Goodwill Outlet Stores. I read about the outlets online, but never experienced one for myself. They are nuts!



Are you ready for this? At Goodwill Outlet Stores items are sold by the pound! The merchandise has not been pre-sorted and is basically piled into bins, which customers can dig through. The bins are removed from the sales floor and replaced with a completely different selection of merchandise every 2 hours.

Here is the pricing breakdown:

Clothing, housewares, books, toys, DVDs and CDs: 69 cents per pound
Glass: 49 cents per pound
Paired shoes: 99 cents per pound

I quickly identifed the regulars because they were aware of bin rotation times and began to line up where the workers wheeled out the fresh merchandise. The first outlet location we visited seemed to have a strict system where you cannot begin grabbing items until all of the new bins are out. I watched everyone examine the piles of miscellaneous clothing, kinda like watching Dave, Barry or Darrel examine a storage locker on Storage Wars, hilarious. Honestly I kept thinking to myself that they could make a reality show about this shopping experience. Once they were given the go-ahead the shoppers went to town on the bins. I was totally intimidated.

This is some serious thrifting and I don't recommend it for everyone! But, if you are A. up for a challenge, B. not claustrophobic, C. aggressive (enough) and D. looking for a super amazing deal then I say check it out. Oh, and bring gloves.

All said and done I bought a few accessories - 2 belts, a scarf, leggings and some other items I cannot mention, because they are gifts for an avid reader... ;). I spent a total of $.81 cents, $.33 cents at one location and $.48 cents at another. Big spender right here!



When we got back to Bloomington the rain had stopped and the sun was shining! We made a quick pit stop at Salvation Army. I didn't find any clothing, but we did find a cool photo location!

Purple Vest: This vest (originally from F21) is another purchase from Goodwill's 50% off sale, which takes place the first Saturday of every month. The regular price was $2.99, but I got it for $1.50!

Wearing my $.25 cent shoes again.



The rest of my evening consisted of hanging out on the balcony, reading and chatting with my family & friends on the phone.

Bunnies and Squirrels

What a great weekend of thrifting.

Here's a sneak preview of my findings.


A couple exciting highlights - $.64 dress & $.25 blazer. I can't wait to show you!

In between my thrifting I splurged a little and bought this skirt at F21 for $13.50. I'm justifying the purchase, because I have been looking up and down for a good lace piece and this skirt was totally calling my name.

Back to thrifting. The other day my mom told me about this thrift store that is near her place (yep, I'm still in MI) that I have not been to before. We decided to make a quick trip over to check it out today. That quick trip turned into a two hour long stay. Check out this sign that greets you upon entering...



The $.25 green tag deal was awesome. They have a LOT marked down and they organize the place so well that the deals are pretty easy to find. Plus, it is probably the cleanest thrift store I have EVER seen.

I'm in love. In fact, I decided to make it my photo location for the day.



Whoa, I didn't even see that sign until I left. I have to go back and see what this "free garment" thing is all about. Oh by the way, the place is a DAV (Disabled American Veteran) Thrift Store. For those of you expecting I reccomend you check it out, because they have a pretty decent maternity section. I got my best girl some nice maternity jeans for $3.98.

Okay, now to the feature item, which is NOT thrifted, but still wrinkled dollar worthy.



Blue Madras Skirt with Bunny and Squirrel Print: The Urban Outfitters in Bloomington has an awesome student sale once every semester. The sale is only one day and just between the hours of 4pm-10pm. During this time all clearance items are an additional 50% off! The place is NUTS during those few hours. I found this skirt in a mad dash. You literally had to wait in line to even look at the clearance racks and the checkout line took about 45 mins. This is not for the severely or even slightly claustrophobic folk. According to the tag this item was originally $135.00. Not sure why. I just thought the print was cute.

All I know is it was marked down to $9.99 and I got an additional 50% off (thanks to Joe's student ID).

Phew, that's a a lot of blabbing. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Closet clean out time when I get home. Quite a weekend. What did you guys do?

30 for 30 Challenge

Hi! I was totally off the radar for a week, but I'm back! The Midwest Blizzard left me stranded in Los Angeles for a few extra days (poor me)! Unfortunately I was without my computer and therefore unable to post anything. My brother laid down a major guilt trip by checking wrinkled dollar everyday while I was sitting next to him. Then he would say, "nope, no new post yet". Man! So, I'm giving into sibling pressure and posting a quick note today.

I kept teasing an announcement and never delivered. I hope you were waiting with baited breath, because here it is:

I will be participating in the 30 for 30 challenge! To learn more click here. This challenge was created by Kendi at Kendi Everyday

You can click here to see the list of other blogs participating.


In short - I will choose 30 items to wear for 30 days straight. I will have to remix these items to create a new look everyday. The 30 for 30 winter challenge began February 1st, but since I was out of town I'm starting a little late. I will make it up on the back end.

Check back tomorrow when I reveal my 30 items!

As mentioned above, I was stranded in LA without my computer. Well, due to my packing negligence I was also there without sunglasses. Can you believe I went to LA and forgot sunglasses? I squinted a lot.



Luckily I found a Forever 21 and bought a cheap pair for $5.80! Not too shabby. I can see again!


I'll be back tomorrow with my 30 items. See you then!!

wrinkled dollar

What do you do with the wrinkled old dollars crumpled in your wallet?

Hi, my name is Jessica and this is wrinkled dollar, a fashion blog with a twist. When I go shopping for clothes and accessories I try to stick to an under $15/item guideline. Of course, the less the better! Through wrinkled dollar I will share my bargain purchases and how I incorporate them into my daily wardrobe.

Doesn’t everyone like to shop-for-less? Here’s why I do:

• Spend less so you can spend more – The less $$$ you spend on clearance and used items, the more you can splurge on must-have pieces!
• Be unique – Did you ever buy a shirt that was displayed at your favorite store and then see someone else wearing it the very next day? You immediately feel like that item is no longer yours. Shopping used and clearance lessens the likelihood of that happening,
• Treasure Hunting – X does not mark the spot when you are shopping racks upon racks of clothing. There are no maps to point you to the great items at low prices, but if you like a good hunt the reward will definitely be something to treasure!
• Get out of your comfort zone – Shopping clearance narrows down your choices and introduces you to some pieces you wouldn’t normally notice or consider.
• Trends Change – Don’t feel guilty for buying an item that may be out of style next season. Spend less and enjoy it while you can!
• Recycling – Buying used clothes is a form of recycling and shopping clearance helps stores deplete their excess inventory which in many cases will be destroyed.

To start off wrinkled dollar on a high note I took a trip today to the local outlet mall, Edinburgh Outlets. Whenever I go shopping I like to wear something that is comfortable and easy to change out of when I try on clothes.

Here’s what I wore today.



(Can you find my husband, Joe in this picture?)

Above is an example of what wrinkled dollar will look like; a picture of me wearing an outfit with an item(s) highlighted. Then I will talk a little bit about the highlighted item(s). I decided to highlight three items today since this is the official kick-off!

• Hat – I saw this hat at Urban Outfitters before the Holiday season. It was already on clearance for $9.99. I considered buying it at the time, but couldn’t bite the bullet. I’m glad I waited, because I found it again the day after x-mas when all clearance items were an additional 50% off.
• Black Cardigan – I was helping my mom look for work sweaters at Salvation Army when I found this Target Mossimo cardigan in great condition!
• Jeans – It’s 50% off everything at Goodwill the first Saturday of each month! Jenny, my thrift-shopping-partner-in-crime, pointed me in the direction of these Forever 21 jeans!

My boots, shirt and purse were also a great deal, but I'll save those for another post.