Last Minute Gifting Tips and Tricks

With only 4 days to go till Christmas… here are a couple of my gift ideas for those last minute shoppers out there that might want to snazzy-up their holiday gifting while helping the environment and making your purchases go further.

As a mommy that values finding ways to help our earth with every little bit I can (which Goodwill is also aligned with saving millions of tons of items from the garbage dumps every year in this country!) I like to be creative with my gift giving, including the wrapping it’s in.  So here are some of those items you can buy at your local Goodwill to use as the boxes and/or wrapping that will add something special to your gifting this holiday season while helping out our environment…

For those guys in your life… grab a car washing-mitt (like this one I picked up at the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for $4.99) and put a tool in it (like this Craftsman level I picked up at the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for only $19.99) add a bow (or not) and your set!

For girls on your list grab a holiday kitchen towel (like this brand new one picked up at the Bellevue Goodwill for $1.29) and wrap it up into a roll and put a bracelet or belt around it and then finish it off with a scarf! (also from the Bellevue Goodwill for $4.99)

And the finished look with a bow and a gift tag (made from repurposed wrapping paper)…

Or you can give an entire “Accessorize package” and wrap a handbag (like this beautiful brand new Tignello handbag I picked up at the Seattle Glitter Sale for only $39.99) in a scarf (also from the Seattle Goodwill for $3.99) with some bracelets (all from the Seattle Glitter Sale for various prices ranging from $9.99 to $12.99)!

And wrapped in the scarf as wrapping paper…

For those kids on your list… purchase a nice, cozy winter hat (like this GAP kids hat purchased from the Seattle Dearborn Goodwill for  just $1.99) and put some presents in it (wrapped or not)…

And here are a couple of more ideas for items to use as boxes or wrapping paper instead of using more materials that cut down trees…

How about a planter for a gardener’s gift to store items in

Or a Coffee Canister (or kitchen canister of some kind) to put trinkets for that food-lover on your list

Or a storage container for that kid or parent on your list to store all those toys they often get during the holidays!

Or how about using a men’s tie as a bow on a gift (even better if it’s a “bow tie”!)

There are many different ways that you can package your Goodwill items in repurposed goodies that will not only cut down on your environmental footprint, but give your gift a little added PIZZAZ when viewed against the typical wrapped gifts under the tree.

But no matter how you wrap your gifts… I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I will see you soon to wrap up this year of Living the Goodwill Life for 2011!

Thrift 365

By now, most Americans are used to seeing “Top 10 lists”, sub-“reality” TV and the all-so-common “look what happens when you do THIS too much” version of the NEWS.  News that we all so eagerly search for everyday before we actually start working.

So, in the spirit of how we view our current world (2011 style), I hear by commit this next year of my life (January 1st to December 31st 2011) to shop at the Goodwill for EVERYTHING I need!  (except food, hygiene and toiletries)

Yep, you heard it here first…

This Seattleite is going Goodwill for an entire year!

That includes all the items I need for my family and it even includes the gifts I need to buy for all the birthdays, holidays and celebrations happening during this year (including my son’s 1st birthday!).

WHY am I doing this?  Well first of all I LOVE shopping at thrift stores!  Yes, if I win the lottery I will still shop at thrift stores and you know… I bet I wouldn’t be the only millionaire there!  Secondly, I believe in living a balanced life, which means my family gives back instead of just taking & buying in our consumer driven society.  We choose to honor the blessings we receive by giving back.  Giving back by reusing or recycling, volunteering our time for causes we believe in and helping support them by donating to and shopping at thrift stores such as the Goodwill.  Not only is thrift store shopping a GREEN way to live but if you choose stores that support nonprofits/social causes you are helping many other people at the same time!  Finally, during this difficult economy… finding ways to SAVE money we feel is a smart way to live! 

Now I know that there are a million thrift stores out there, and most of them support nonprofits and/or social causes, but for the sake of sanity, for the causes they support and the sheer magnitude of thrift store shopping in the Seattle area, I choose to ONLY shop Goodwill for this entire year.

BUT… I would like to be an equal opportunity blogger so for those other fabulous stores, shoppers and their causes, if you have a web link to an article you have written on a different thrift store please submit it!  I will do my best to provide links and acknowledge your work.  (as with most things now-days… postings with images/video will get my first viewing)

WHY?  This blog, and this year of my life, is not only to show our world what would happen if one person shops at thrift stores for a year.  But this blog is to also showcase the variety of thrift shopping options and to share all the fabulous thrift shoppers who already dedicate their lives to living a GREEN, economical and charitable existence (and of course revel in all their amazing thrift store finds!)

HAPPY HUNTING!