Bethesda Thrift Store

This afternoon, I took Tisha, Chris and Evan out to eat to celebrate Tisha's birthday.  Her birthday was a week ago, but weather and other commitments had moved the celebration back. That happens a lot to people with January birthdays.

Chris and Tisha have very good jobs, so they tend to buy what they want and need.  I have taken a page out of mother's book.  As she aged, it was simpler to take people out to eat for birthdays, anniversaries or other family events than to shop for presents for everyone.  

After we dined, Tisha and I went to do what we both love:  shopping in thrift shops.  The initial plan was to go to the St. Vincent de Paul shop on College Avenue, but darn, we forgot they aren't open on Sundays.  We decided to try the Bethesda shop, run by the Lutheran Church, on Northland.  We didn't know that they would be open, but found out that the Lutherans are willing to open the Bethesda doors at noon, after church services.

I had seen the enormous store before but this was Tisha's first foray.  We found that like Goodwill, the goods were organized through colored tags.  All items that come in in the course of one week are tagged in a specific color.  When the items have been there long enough, they are discounted.  Today, everything with a yellow tag was 75 percent off. We were off!

I don't shop for clothes very often and then only look for necessary replacements for my wardrobe.  This year, I had worn out sweaters and slacks.  There were rack after rack of what I needed at Bethesda.  Everything was marked and colors put together.  We mostly passed on everything except the sale items.  

Tisha was amazing.  She saw things immediately and pulled clothes off the rack that cost around a dollar, sometimes less.  I didn't try anything on, we just held an item up and measured it by eye. We looked for good brands, such as Landsend. After all, if something didn't fit when I got it home, I could just drop it off at another thrift store where it would be sold again. We checked the labels to make sure everything was washable.  I had no intention of paying dry cleaning bills for something I had bought for a dollar or two.

Within half an hour I had two pants suits for church services and sweaters to get me through cold weather.

We walked around checking the other wares. Tisha found eight books for Evan who is turning into a little bookaholic. I was delighted to find a photo scrapbook with acid-free pages to hold my 2012 photos.  These have gotten more difficult to find with the advent of the digital photo age.  

When I got home I tried the clothes on and everything fit with the exception of one pair of pants that are a little snug.  I usually lose some weight once warmer weather comes on so even that will do.

I spent a little over $16 for everything.  The fun we had:  priceless.