Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Discovering a Clothes and Houseware Share and Getting Amazing Things For Free!

My son requested that I buy him a certain type of jeans, and today I posted in some local groups asking where I could find what he was looking for without breaking the bank, and not only did I get an answer to my query, I discovered a hidden (to me anyhow) treasure!

A friend of mine contacted me and let me know about this "community store" that someone started as a service for the community. She has a small storage space and people bring whatever they no longer want in their home, and people can come and take what they want or need, and it's all for free. They have so much available, and are constantly getting new things, so I was told there's no problem taking so many things; by bringing home a large amount, I'm making room for the new things that come in.

I am so excited by my score! Here's what I brought home:


A whole bunch of different pairs of jeans for Lee, but I wasn't sure which he'd like. (He's quite picky.) I also wasn't entirely sure of the size. He found one that he absolutely loves, a few that he likes, and a few that are nice but a bit too big, so will be put away until he grows into them. The few that he disliked will be passed on to others. I also brought home a few shirts, some he liked, and some he didn't. So passing on what he did not.


It was much easier to find girls' clothing, and I brought home an enormous amount. So many wonderful skirts, shirts, and dresses. I even got some costumes for my girls, plus pajamas. My girls loved everything I brought home and were so excited especially by their party dresses. The thing I'm most excited about? The perfect condition really thick Old Navy brand winter coat for Rose. A few of the pieces of clothing I brought home were a drop too large, so those went away in the closet until the girls grow a bit more.


Nearly all our wine glasses have broken (I broke the most recent one Saturday afternoon, by accident) and I've (shamefully) served wine to guests in plastic cups... I really wanted wine glasses, but didn't want to spend the money on them, so imagine my excitement at finding a set of six here! We wrapped them in scarves to take home, so now I also have a bunch of scarves that I'll either keep or pass on.

I also got a brand new, never used spiralizer/veggie chopper, that is quite good condition not to mention compact. My old spiralizer was bad quality and is mostly broken and hard to use, and hopefully this will work better. And of course it has the additional features which make it even better.

There were also silicon chocolate spoon molds, which I forgot to photograph. I can't wait to use them to make fancy desserts.

There were some great looking novels there as well, in addition to a cat's cradle educational book that I got for my son and he's really excited about. There were also 2 religious books which I didn't photograph, as well as a Star Wars sound book for kids.


I think what I'm mostly excited about, actually, is all the games I got. I've wanted to get board games, but they are so pricey locally, so the only ones we have are Rummikub (which I inherited) and Catan. We also are big puzzle fans. 
I brought home so many wonderful board games! We have Battleship, Stratego, Set, Tumble, a Ravensburger 500 piece puzzle as well as a 1000 piece puzzle. 
There are two board games that I am not familiar with, but seemed interesting and fun to figure out. And there was a set to make your own escape room adventure at home that sounds fascinating to me (and much cheaper than our local escape rooms).

My daughter who was with me saw some toys she wanted, so she brought home some stuffed animals and a Barbie and 2 pairs of kids' sunglasses and a ball for Snickers.

This came home in many reusable bags, including a pink duffle bag, another bonus.

And as I said, all free.

I'm amazed. 

And I can't believe I didn't know about this treasure beforehand.

I felt like I walked out of there with hundreds of dollars worth of things, if not more. 

If anyone who lives in my country wants to know where this place is, be in touch with me via email to pennilessparenting@yahoo.com.

Have you gotten any great things free lately? What were they?

8 comments:

  1. Wow, what an amazing resource!!! I've never heard of anything like that before, but that's so cool. How lucky you are to have something like that nearby!

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  2. What a wonderful blessing!!! Score! I'm so happy for you!

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  3. Something like this running in my neighbourhood too. WHAT A GOOD IDEA. Bring your old stuff, leave with with you need. Freecycle groups online or BUNZ trading groups are the ones I am familiar with here in Canada/North America. AWESOME concept.

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  4. Don't you think you were a little greedy? Looks like you grabbed everything in sight. Did you even donate anything there?

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    1. Thanks for your very judgy response. I specifically asked before I took what I did. There was no problem with how much I took; they don't have enough room there for all their donations, and they're happy for people to take things to make room for new things. And I definitely donate when I have things to donate.

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  5. There was something similar to this on an island in western Canada where I lived once. It was called the Free Store and it was awesome! Like you said, always lots coming in, so no worries about taking a good amount of things. I'm so glad you found this one near you!

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  6. I have always loved these sorts of swap and share places. We used a few when my kids were small, but these days I tend to use our local thrift store that donates all funds to humanitarian efforts. I love the fact that this good quality stuff doesn't end up in a landfill. I love the fact that money is saved when we share/swap and available for other uses. I love the idea of building community with these places. I love the idea that our kids learn to value new to them items rather than new. I love that I help others when I need something "new". I am excited for you - such a find.

    And have you read The Time Traveler's Wife? It is a fun read. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. I found it jumped around a bit in the beginning (you'll see what I mean!), but it is a lovely story.

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