Category: Amy Clark

Breathing New Life Into Thrift Store Items

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Walking into a thrift store can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. There are so many amazing items on the shelf, but it can be a challenge to look at all of those items and see the potential in these used treasures. Luckily, for those of us that are more thrift store challenged, there are so many great blogs filled with fabulous inspiration for transforming those common thrift store pieces into true masterpieces.
Truly, my best craft materials come from Goodwill and the best part is the money you will save by acquiring those materials at the thrift store rather than paying the full retail prices.

Today I wanted to show three fun new ways to breathe a new life into Goodwill pieces that you may not have thought of. Let’s see if you don’t rush off to the store this minute after this craft inspiration!







Furniture– Furniture deals abound at Goodwill and I love to look for pieces that can add a little bit of sparkle to our house. My most prized furniture possessions include an ’80’s desk that we transformed into a hutch for our dishes and a cute bench that was recovered in faux leather for our bathroom. I have more love for those pieces than anything else in my house because they were made by me. It also feels good to know that they are pieces that others overlooked, but I saw the potential in!
Centsational Girl is one of my favorite resources for transforming rooms on a budget and I absolutely love this easy dresser makeover. She purchased the details that were added to the dresser and then finished it with a fun painting technique. This would be the perfect addition to any room and I love that a simple piece can be so lovingly embellished. Think of how paint and a few appliques could transform a piece of Goodwill furniture into something that people would be envious of for their own homes. Any piece with good bones can be created into a masterpiece with a can of paint, elbow grease, and a whole lot of imagination. (Photo Credit: Centsational Girl)

Other fun furniture ideas: Use an old drawer for a serving tray for a family night (@ Farm Chicks)
Makeover chairs in a fun way with a little chalkboard paint (@ Pretty Ditty)
Think outside the box with a fun kitchen stool makeover (@ A Soft Place to Land)
Transform a worn out coffee table into a large ottoman (@ Little Green Notebook)
Create a beautiful kitchen table set from Goodwill furniture (@ Pink and Polka Dot)
A nightstand to a play kitchen is both inventive and inexpensive (@ My Little Gems)
Clothing Refashioned– If there was ever a year to try your hand at adding detail to Goodwill pieces this is the year to do it! This year’s style is all about delicious feminine additions- ruffles, appliques, and rosettes are all beautiful and easy details that you can add to Goodwill pieces to give you that elegant Anthropologie look on a Goodwill budget.
Bloggers everywhere are adding fun details to simple cardigans and this ruffled cardigan from say YES! to Hoboken is one of my favorites. Look for plain cardigans or even shirts that can be cut in half to make a cardigan, and use these pieces to add a little bit of ruffles and fun to your wardrobe. (Photo Credit: say YES! to Hoboken)

Other fun wardrobe refashions:
Transform a shirt into a cute DIY Cardigan with a Twist (@ Happy Together)
Turn a t-shirt into a fun summer tote for the kids (@ giver’s log)
Make an Anthropologie-inspired scarf out of fabric found at Goodwill (@ Sewing in No Man’s Land)
Add a flower collar from clothing or fabric found at Goodwill (@ katie did)
Turn men’s shirt sleeves into quick & easy toddler pants (@ luvinthemommyhood)
Create an unbelievably beautiful DIY J Crew ruffled cardigan (@ Mighty Girl)
Add doilies to a stained cardigan and add a little vintage flair (@ one pearl button)
Whip up an easy ruffled t-shirt (@ Tea Rose Home) Make a summer sweater from a t-shirt (@ Angry Chicken) Housewares With Style– The housewares section at Goodwill is a crafting mecca of ideas and there are tons of great tools for gift giving and creating beautiful crafts for your home. I love to visit this section for pretty baskets, platters for giving treats to friends, organizing tools for my craft storage, and even used craft supplies that someone has lovingly passed down.
One thing I keep an arsenal of is white mugs from Goodwill for a fun craft project with the kids. I let my children use a ceramic paint sets (purchased at the craft store) to decorate them for cute gifts for teachers and grandparents. Of course, I absolutely love anything with a monogram on it and these monogrammed mugs from Design Mom are absolutely beautiful and would make a very cute & creative gift. (Photo Credit: Design Mom)

Other Housewares Recreated:
Create a fun mud pie kitchen for the kids out of vintage housewares (@ Pepper Paints)
Create cute labels out of chalkboard paint to label mason jars (@ Wisdom of the Moon)
Paint mason jars to elegantly decorate your patio (@ tatertots and jello)
Add fabric yo-yos to adorn a wicker basket (@ Tea Rose Home)
Recycled pickle jars get a whole new life with glass candlestick holders (@ eighteen25)
Pull together a tiered cake stand from odds and ends in the housewares section (@ giver’s log).

What have you transformed from Goodwill that you are proud of? Any tips or tricks for things to look for when doing your thrift store shopping? I would love to hear your ideas!

Amy Allen Clark is the Founder of MomAdvice.com, a web community where she shares advice on parenting, money-saving ideas, recipes, and solutions for work-at-home moms. Visit her site for more ideas on ways to live on a frugal budget!

Spring Cleaning the Electronic Waste From Your Life

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photo credit: dio5

In a world where your phones and electronics become obsolete within a year, it should come as no surprise that there is a lot of electronic waste lying around that could be put to great use and recycled today. In fact, the EPA estimates that in 2007, 157 million computer products were discarded (CPUs, monitors, notebooks, keyboards, mice, printers, faxes, and copiers). Just imagine if those items would have been donated and processed by Goodwill instead how much we would be able to keep out of our landfills?

As the season for spring cleaning is around the corner, consider a spring cleaning of the electronic warfare that is taking up residence in your basements, garage, and home office. Today I wanted to share with you the beauty of donating your electronic items to Goodwill and how some of the items gathering dust in your home could benefit someone in your community!

What is the Dell Reconnect program?

I never truly understood how amazing the electronic donation program was at Goodwill until I took a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility and got to see the processing of donations as they were happening in real time. It should come as no surprise that the donations that come in aren’t all in the best condition, but the way that Goodwill looks at donations is that every component of that donation has a valuable part to it. Some of the items that cannot be sold in their stores are processed simply as raw materials, such as metals, plastics, and textiles.

Goodwill has a partnership with Dell to process electronic waste in a technology recycling program that can greatly benefit our community and reduce the waste in landfills. The program is called Reconnect and it offers you an easy, convenient and responsible way to recycle your used computer equipment. You can drop off any brand of used equipment – working or not – at Goodwill’s Drive-Thru Donation Centers at their retial stores.

Project Earth 365: Day 008

photo credit: tiramisu_addict

What types of items does Goodwill take?

While you may already be aware that you can donate those computers, printers, & scanners, there are some items that you might not realize Goodwill will take for you. For example, Goodwill will happily process those cords and cables (power cord & USB cables) that no longer have a use in your home, your ink & toner cartridges (either full or empty), computer speakers, televisions and software. We even take cell phones!

Items where the glass could be broken, like computer monitors and scanners, just need to be placed into a trash bag or box and clearly labeled that they are broken and the date of your donation. Isn’t it nice to know that even those broken items in our home can be processed for donation?

Old Hard Drive... circa 1982 (1)

photo credit: Taran Rampersad

What do I do about the confidential information on my hard drive?

Unfortunately, Goodwill cannot be responsible for the information that may exist on your hard drive. Just imagine if they had to process that along with the millions of donations that they process each year?

Before wiping your hard drive clean, be sure that you back up whatever you might need from it. Remember that when you clean the hard drive that you will not be able to get anything back from it that you might need later down the road.

It is easy and free to erase your hard drive and there are many free online programs that can help you with this process. This site, for example, offers easy instructions and a program that you can download to help you erase your confidential information. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself, you can always hire a third party company to assist you.

Charlotte Clean & Green

photo credit: goodwillsp

Where do I drop my donations off?

To get your tax donation form, be sure to drop those donations off at Goodwill’s Drive-Thru Donation Centers at your nearest Goodwill store. The bonus that makes the trip entirely worth it is that our Michiana Goodwills offer coupons for every donation that you make. After you create a little space in your home from that donation, you can do a little shopping for another great piece to continue organizing your space!

If your donation is a bulky one, you can call 574.472.7334 and Goodwill will be happy to pick up. There are some areas they cannot pick up from, so call ahead to see if your location is within their range.

Basically, there are just no excuses for not getting rid of the electronic waste in your life!

My Story: Goodwill Industries International employee Sekeno Aldred

Why should I donate my items to Goodwill?

All of that electronic equipment that you donate to Goodwill has value. Whether it is an entirely working operating system or it is simply your empty ink cartridges, your items help Goodwill’s mission to provide jobs, training and placement services for people with barriers to employment. You can feel so proud that you finally weeded through your electronic clutter, happily accept your tax receipt, keep your electronics out of the landfill, and provide jobs for others.

I can think of no other reason than that to make Goodwill a place to unload the electronics gathering dust in your life!

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Time to confess! What electronics are you hanging on to that you haven’t been able to part with? I will start the discussion with our Super Nintendo, a whole bin of random cords, an extra printer, an extra scanner, and two old cell phones. What is gathering dust at your house?


Amy Allen Clark is the Founder of MomAdvice.com, a web community where she shares advice on parenting, money-saving ideas, recipes, and solutions for work-at-home moms. Visit her site for more ideas on ways to live on a frugal budget!

5 Things I Love to Buy at Goodwill

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It is no secret, I am a Goodwill addict and there is nothing I love more than pouring over the Goodwill deals and finding new ways to repurpose thrift store items. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I wanted to share with you five of my favorite things that I LOVE to purchase at Goodwill so that you can begin hunting for them at your own store.

Clothing- My little secret to being the best dressed that I can be on my budget is that I love to purchase my clothing at Goodwill. I am also, admittedly, a brand snob and I love to have great pieces in my wardrobe that will last the test of time. Thankfully, there are many great brands to be had on my budget at Goodwill. Don’t just look at the clothing only as wardrobe pieces though, but try to think beyond that.

Even the items that aren’t in your own size can be made into amazing things. I love to turn that beautiful fabric from those thrifted items into elegant accessories for my daughter or use fabric to embellish other pieces in my wardrobe. With items like ruffled t-shirts and embellished tops being at the height of fashion, consider the clothing section as an opportunity to find some great fabric for very low price.

27/365 New hand mixer
photo credit: Linda Scannell

Small Appliances- The small appliance section at Goodwill is unbeatable and I love to browse this area of the store. I can find some of the best deals on items like bread machines, mixers, toaster ovens, and more in our store aisles. This is a great way to try out an appliance you have been eyeing at the department store without making the big investment.

Once you select your favorite small appliance, be sure to visit your local library to find books on creative ways to put those small appliances to work in your house. Armed with your inexpensive appliance and your free book, you will have a fun way to kill those winter doldrums.

full board game section
photo credit: msinnott

Board Games- Our family is nuts about board games and we try to add to our collection regularly. I can never guarantee how much we will really love a board game until we have given it a test run and Goodwill is a mecca of board game fun on a frugal budget. I love to find great classic games at our store and always am on the hunt for fun retro board games that we can add into the mix. Thankfully, board games are very inexpensive and they can add a lot of variety to your family nights without a big investment.

Board game boards and pieces can also make fun decorations and art in your child’s playroom or as a fun way to spruce up the mantle. Scrabble tiles can spell out cute holiday phrases while Monopoly pieces in a glass jar can be a fun way to decorate and offer a little nod to your favorite games of all time!

Basket full of toys...
photo credit: lorises

Baskets- I have quite a collection of baskets from Goodwill and if you witness the prices in the retail stores, you will know why Goodwill is the answer for storage solutions in your home. Not only do I use these baskets for organizing the chaos in our house, but I also rely on their amazing basket section for making beautiful gift baskets for the holidays and for creating great Easter baskets for the children. Remember that any tired basket can look brand new with a fresh coat of spray paint and can fit into any room in your home.

Cookbooks- Are you looking to add a new cookbook to your collection? Well, Goodwill is the best spot for gaining some inspiration in the kitchen. I love to pick up vintage cookbooks from Goodwill to help give me some new ideas for things to cook up in the kitchen. My, “How to Cook Everything,” by Mark Bittman was nestled among the books at our Goodwill and remains one of my most used and loved cookbooks.

Once you have your new cookbooks, enjoy browsing the houseware items and find a new platter, cake stand, or fun new dish set to bring your new feast to life. I guarantee that your family will find a new love for Goodwill too when they see your beautiful feast so lovingly prepared for them!

Amy Allen Clark is the Founder of MomAdvice.com, a web community where she shares advice on parenting, money-saving ideas, recipes, and solutions for work-at-home moms. Visit her site for more ideas on ways to live on a frugal budget!