Calgary Thrift - Value Village/Savers

Hello from snowy Calgary! I'm here skiing and relaxing for a week and a bit.

I'm staying with my friend's lovely family. His Mom has an interest in thrifting and when she offered to take me to a thrift shop, I jumped at the opportunity.

She took me to Value Village, or "Value Vill-arge" (how the French might say!) It's known as Savers in the US. It is the biggest thrift shop I've ever seen, unlike those run by lil' old ladies back at home.

There were clothes as far as the eye can see. Off to the sides were shoes, bric-a-brac, books and kitchenware.

My friend's Mom took a wheeled shopping basket to drag her purchases around. They looked too big but I took one too and I'm glad because it filled up quickly.

The prices were not as cheap as I hoped but this was a commercially run thrift store. Tops and jeans start from 6 CAD and coats from 15 CAD. When I got to the books, I was in nostalgia heaven. Look what I found!

After an hour, I finally narrowed down my purchases. I bought a pair of Bluenotes boyfriend jeans (8 CAD), black furry coat (15 CAD), 5 Sweet Valley High books (4 CAD), and a Kitchen Aid frypan (4 CAD).

My Local Op Shop - Vinnies

As requested by mirandalefleur, this is a post on my favorite opportunity/thrift shop. This is where I find many of the items I've blogged.

My local Vinnies is on the main street of Auburn. It opened early this year with a tonne of stock and for months, every weekend had a 50% off sale. The shop has a healthy turnover of inventory and is air conditioned and tidy. The clothing racks are even grouped by colour.

Stacks of ladies shoes.

Found lots of great bargain reads here.

Every visit is a treasure hunt and I MUST leave with one item. I actually look forward to weekends so I can unwind here. The volunteer staff are friendly and dedicated so I like to show appreciation for their efforts.

Since my spending goes to charity, I can always splurge guilt-free here!