Goodwill Hunting

No, not the movie.  I am in love with shopping at Goodwill-type stores.  I spent the afternoon with three friends, visiting every Goodwill, Habitat, and other-named used goods store in this south Florida area.  There's a lot of good stuff here.  (Think about why.)  I did not find a thing to buy.  But I had a good time not buying it.

Shopping at Goodwill is like a treasure hunt.  Yes, I may have something in mind that I am looking for, but I never really find that thing.  It's the surprise of finding that OMGthisisperfect thing.  Like the time that I found a framed print of a painting by a Florida artist that caught my eye.  Why?  Because right in the center of that painting was a Great Blue Heron.  My late husband's favorite bird, the one that has become the sign, the symbol, of all that we love and remember about him.  That framed print is now hanging in my living room here.  Perfect.

Or the bedside table lamp that I found at another shop.  An odd color green, but it caught my eye.  It now resides next to my bed, where it blends in perfectly with my shabby chic beach decor here.  And when I say "shabby chic," I mean shabby chic.  Everything in this condo (where my oldest grad school daughter is living) is recycled, repurposed, repainted, refinished, or reimagined.  There is a story to every piece here.  The only "new" thing I bought was a mattress.

Goodwill stores can be viewed two ways.  On one hand, one sees the excesses of American lives, where perfectly good furniture, clothing, and necessities of life are offered up as throw-aways, goods that have another chance before heading to the landfill.  Who are these people who discard these perfectly good items?  Did something shinier or trendier catch their attention?  Did they switch up the decor because what they had was so last year?  Maybe.  There is likely a different story for every item in the store.

On the other hand, Goodwill stores allow those who are lower on the economic chain to have nice things.  Or necessary things.  Or fun things.  They allow perfectly good "stuff" to be re-used instead of going into the landfill.  It's all good.  For me, Goodwill Hunting offered me a fun afternoon with new friends.  No, I didn't find anything to buy this time.  But there are a couple of stores I didn't get to today.  Tomorrow?  Let's go!