Thrifty Thursday: Thrift Store Finds

Thrifty Thursday!  Here's a topic we haven't had in quite a while around here.

Before I get down to what I have bought at the used stores lately, can I just go on a rant about the price of used items at thrift stores anymore?  I mean, holy cow, are they expensive!   A used pair of pants should not cost 10 to 12 dollars!?!  Seriously, and this is sad, I was able to get my daughter a new skirt (on sale) for less than a used one costs at the used stores right now.  I know that resellers (do not get me started on that topic as they are wrecking the entire POINT of used stores) are driving prices up, but dang man!

Anyway, it has been a LONG time since I have found anything at the used stores that I was willing to spend my money on.  Part of it is the prices, but there is also the fact that people are holding onto their items more, so there is less inventory.  And the last reason I haven't bought much is that I'm really working on streamlining my home to function at the highest efficiency possible to just keep my sanity trucking along in tact.  At this stage in my life, I need that.  So, my rule of thumb is I will buy something if I need it (which I always have a short list going) and/or I have a space to put it in my home.  Period.  I'm just not into buying something because it is cool and then I'll find some place to put it later when I get home.  Nope, that ain't how my home is functioning for me anymore.  I just find that clutter gives me anxiety and I don't need more of that in my life, so I'm avoiding adding to it.

So, what have I actually run into at the used stores lately that was worth buying?  Some baking dishes!

I've been searching for a particular size of Pyrex dishes for a long time.  I have a few small like 4.5 x 7 dishes that I use all the time for, of all things, defrosting meat.  They are the perfect size to put meat into to defrost in my small fridge spaces and, if needed, fit in the microwave beautifully.  And the ones I have have either a nice lip on them to use for handles or they have handles.  But they were a bit small for longer pieces of meat like pork steaks and I'd end up with water (or worse, meat juice) that I'd have to clean up after defrosting the meat in them.  

And lo, and behold, I was able to find, not one, but TWO longer baking dishes that would fit my needs within a few weeks of each other.  One is an Anchor Hocking Brand and the other, with the nice handles on it, is an old PYREX (all caps, baby!) baking dish.  They are, if I'd have to guess, like 5 x 8 in size...an odd size now a days to get, but they fit right in the space where the other dishes sat in my cupboard and I can stack the other dishes right on top of them.  I've already used them several times now and am loving having more variety in my sizes of meat defrosting containers :).

They were three and four dollars respectfully, which I had me kind of undecided on getting them, but I am glad I finally decided to get them both as they come in handy (and if I ever make jello dishes they'd be the perfect size for that, I think).

Next up is a pyrex (lower case, so newer and not as good) lasagna pan.  I actually bought this to roast chickens in so I can fit vegetables in with the chicken when I roast it.  A regular 9x13 pan is just a bit too shallow to fit any vegetables in with the chicken and expect it to bake well.  I bought a small metal roasting pan, but it is way too deep on the sides so anything you want to bake in it takes twice as long to bake as it should as it reflects the heat too much.  So that one is going away and this one is sitting in it's place in my cabinet.

I put a quart jar of marinara sauce in the pan so you can see how deep the pan is.  I'd measure it, but honestly with my life at the moment, finding a ruler to measure is just going to take a bit too long.  So, enjoy the jar for scale.  I like how deep the pan is.  It is also just a teeny bit smaller width and length-wise then my older 9x13 pans, so it stacks in them alright.  I have my pans stacked in a kind of weird upper shelf in my lower cabinets in my kitchen, so I have to be careful getting it in and out of the cupboard, but it DOES fit, which is all that matters to me.

The pan cost me seven dollars, which made me consider leaving it at first, but my husband convinced me to buy it as I'd been looking for something like it for a long time.  Hopefully it comes in handy.

And there you go folks.  My finds at our local used stores the last bit.  I hope your thrift shopping has gone better than mine the last few years.

Enjoy!