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.

25 Cent Shoes!

In the future I must remember that planning two consecutive days of brunch is not a good idea. We celebrated my father in-law's birthday this afternoon and I am still stuffed. Being stuffed means I have pretty much no motivation to do anything. Tomorrow I'm off to another brunch at the Breakfast Club. So, that's pretty much my whole weekend.

Last night I had a great time at a family wedding (congrats Nancy & Eric). I meant to take a photo of my dress, but by the time we got home all I wanted was bed.

Enough about food and sleep. Today's feature are these shoes I got for $.25!



25 cent shoes! I found these at the DAV thrift store. If you missed my raving love post about this place you can read it here. These shoes had a "G" marked on the bottom, which means they were part of the Managers SUPER SUNDAY Special. The inside has a pretty cool plaid pattern too. Other than that, I don't know much about them except they fit and are in pretty dang good shape. I usually don't have much luck when it comes to buying used shoes, but things are looking up!

I can't wait to check out the SUPER SUNDAY special again tomorrow.



Today my whole outfit is thrifted (excluding sunglasses, watch and unmentionables): blazer and cardigan from Goodwill, Pants from Salvation Army and shoes (of course) from DAV. I'm also wearing the DIY necklace I just made the other day.



Do you guys like these shoes? How cool would it be to go to the SUPER SUNDAY special at DAV and put together an entire outfit for $1.00? Hmmm, sounds like a challenge. I already have the shoes. I also bought a $.25 blazer (yet to be featured). I will have to think more about this and get back to you...

On Thursday I introduced Value World to some lovely ladies from my work. We scored some sweet stuff (using the 50% off coupon, of course).



While shopping I noticed the Value World Hall of Fame wall. I'm not sure what you have to do to get your picture up there. Maybe one day I can achieve that status.

One can dream.

Red Stripes

It is late. I'm tired. My mom is currently making chocolate chip cookies upon request. I'm still feeling crappy, but not too crappy to feature this item. An item I have been very anxious to share.


Red Striped Shirt: I only paid $.99 for this shirt at Goodwill! It was a Sunday and the tag matched the 'color of the week'. I guess no one else grabbed it, because it had a stain on the front. This problem almost made me put it back, but then I started examining the stain and assessing the potential clean-up. Joe thought I should put it back too, but I was confident that the stain would come out and even if it didn't it was worth the try for $.99. I took it home and went to town with stain removal stuff and bleach. After two rounds of scrubbing it came up. So happy.

I wouldn't call it 'vintage', but it definitely isn't new. Based on the tag I would guess it is from the 80's. The condition (other than the stain that went buh-bye) is nuts. The white is really vibrant!



The jeans I got about a year ago from Salvation Army. I don't remember the price, but I would guess they were under $4.00. The boots are new. I can't wait to tell you about the deal I got on them!

My little sister said it looks like a shirt you wear on Christmas. This is the same sister who calls me scarf lady (I can't win with this kid). However, when she got dressed this morning for school she said she felt like a "mini-Jessica". I decided to document the occasion.



Cookies are done! See you guys on Wednesday. I'm taking a day off to celebrate my best friend's B-day.

Wrinkled Dollar Spotlight # 3

And now another wrinkled dollar spotlight. Many thanks to Michelle at Wishful Thinking for participating. She is one amazing thrifter. This is just one example of the plentiful deals on her blog. Check it out.



After my horrible shopping experience today, Michelle's $.75 shirt is helping repair my faith in thrifting. The Salvation Army near my parents place in Michigan raised their prices...a LOT! I'm talking like $7.99 for a shirt. This hike up in price is part of their new branding scheme and slogan - "The Absolute Finest in Upscale Resale".

I'm not one to rant (via blog), but I'm bumming. It is not like the quality of the product has changed. The clothing remains the same, but now it is being branded as upscale?

Are the traditional thrift stores trying to align their pricing with boutique 'vintage' stores?

Exhibit A: They were selling used rubber flip flops for 2.99!? Old Navy sells them new for $1.00.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this. How much are you willing to pay for a used item at a thrift store that isn't technically "vintage"? Do you think that raising prices like this will alienate regular shoppers, or do you think people will eventually adjust to the increase? Have you noticed drastic price increases at your local thrift store?

Ok, rant over. I have a $4.00 item to feature tomorrow and then I'm going back to a $.99 item. The wrinkled dollar will remain strong even with the current economic uncertainty of thrifting in 2011. ;)

Help restore my faith in value-shopping; consider participating in the next wrinkled dollar spotlight. Show me how you spend your wrinkled dollars. You can feature one, two, three, etc item(s) or a whole outfit. Check out my wrinkled dollar spotlight page for more details and to see past participants.

Sweet dreams of $.75 J.Crew Shirts...

Black Cords (What is Hip?)

I like the music they play at thrift stores, so full of surprises. It is very similar to the grocery store jams, which are also quite enjoyable. Do you ever have those moments where a song playing is oddly in sync with what you are doing, sorta like a soundtrack to your life? I was sifting through tops at Salvation Army today when this song came on.

Check out these lyrics from "What is Hip" by Tower of Power:

So you wanna jump out yo trick bag,
Ease on into a hip bag.
But you ain't just exactly sure what's hip.

So you start to let your hair grow.
Spent big bucks on your wardrobe.
But somehow you know there's much more to the trip.

What is hip? Tell me tell me, if you think ya know.
What is hip? And if you're really hip, the passing years will show,
You into a hip trip, maybe hipper than hip.
But what is hip?.

How am I supposed to shop when I'm questioning the purpose of shopping itself? What is hip? I don't know! Is Tower of Power trying to tell me something?!

As you're striving to find the right road,
There's one thing you should know:
What's hip today might become passe'

Basically Tower of Power talked me out of buying anything today.

I don't know if black cords are hip, but I wore them the other day at the mall. I think hanging out at the mall used to be hip back when there were pay phones and you had to call your parents to pick you up.



Black Cords: I wear jeans a lot so I try to find other pants to switch up the game every once in awhile. I have to thank Jenny (again) for pointing these Black Cords out to me when we were shopping the clearance racks at Target.


What is hip? Tell me tell me if you think you know. Think about it y'all!

Cozy Grey Cardigan

Oy. I'm not loving today. First of all I woke up with a horrible stiff neck (what a pain in the neck). Then, my day job proceeded to kick my butt all over the place. Unfortunately there is no time to rest. Tomorrow I am hitting the road for Michigan for my sister-in-law's wedding on Saturday. Then, I will fly out of Detroit next Thursday to visit my brother in LA. What does this all mean? It means I have to do a LOT of packing tonight - for multiple climates. I really dislike packing. Any suggestions on strategy?

With that said I am going to make this one short and sweet. For today's feature item I am posing next to a piece of public art in Bloomington.



This is Red, Blonde, Black and Olive. Click the link to read more!


Cozy Grey Cardigan: I found this great cardigan about a year ago at Salvation Army. I can't remember exactly how much it was, but knowing my shopping habits and the pricing at Salvation Army I feel confident that I paid under $3.00. I wear this piece so much that to me it is worth quadruple that price. Honestly, if I had tracked number of wears last year this would have been at the top of the 'great value' list. It is super cozy and versatile and I love it!

My night is improving- Joe just brought me home a whatchamacallit (candy bar).

Since tomorrow is going to be hectic, I'm taking a day of blog rest. See you on Friday.

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.