Goodwill outlet

I had gotten a groupon a couple months ago to the "Goodwill Outlet" in south Austin. Had never heard of it but just figured it was a Goodwill Store, maybe bigger than the normal stores but I was so not prepared for what I experienced. I came super close to just walking out and letting them have the money I spent on the groupon. I will preface this with it was a Saturday so may have been busier than normal. So the "Outlet" - well, I think it's the place where stuff that doesn't sell at the normal Goodwill's go. It was divided into 3 sections. Books, Clothes, and Housewares and everything was dumped in huge rolling bins about 8 feet long, 4 feet width, 2-3 feet deep. And you just dig! Seriously. It almost felt like going to the dump but not quite. I needed gloves. I stayed away from "Housewares" bins as I was sure I'd need a tetanus shot afterwards. So I just braved the clothes and books. Oh, and you pay by the pound. $1.30 a pound I think. First I tackled books and found many treasures actually. A bunch of American Girls books, some Golden Books like Lady and the Tramp and Bambi, a few books I hadn't heard of but looked interesting, Soul Revolution by John Burke (Gateway Church Pastor), and a few classics. All were in good shape so that was surprising as they were just thrown in big bins.

So then the clothes, figured I'd see about getting some stuff for Geneva to cut up and "upcycle" with her sewing skills. Well, I found a handful of baby clothes that were perfectly fine - mainly onsies, a cute toddler dress for fall (Tirzah size I think), and a bunch of stuff for Geneva to cut up (mainly I was just looking for good fabric) - oh and a Limited Too skirt that is Karina size. So, brought everything home and seriously washed it right away. But honestly the stuff didn't look dirty. But I wasn't taking any chances. So everything was washed and I started sorting it and counting the pieces. Everything ended up being about 30 cents a piece including the books. Not bad. But I still don't think I'll go back.

Most people looked like they were there to find stuff to resell. And they were super serious about it. There was one area that was roped off and people would line up and bins would be rolled out then a bell would ring and everyone would rush the bins and grab what they wanted. It was seriously deafening with the housewares bins. I stayed away from that. There were security guards and everything. Was definitively an interesting experience. And even a little scary at times. I totally do thrift stores but this took it to a whole new level. Whoa.