Bingo!

January 13, 2023May 11, 2023

Happy New Year! I hope the year is off to a good start for you, dear reader, and I want to give a very special shout-out to my Mother and Father in Law who sent my husband $30 to give me to spend at the Goodwill. I made two stops this past weekend and landed at $29.30 ($32 with tax) and a cart full of goodies at my first stop! And I found a few more treasures at my second stop as well. A thrifted gift is my very favorite kind of gift…as are all of these amazing new salvaged finds.

At the end of this post I’m going to add some pictures of some of the things I’ve already crafted with my finds. And feel free to visit Unearthed Relics on Facebook to see a recording of me sorting through my entire haul https://www.facebook.com/myunearthedrelics.

#createopportunity

Treasures in 2 hours for under $20?

November 20, 2022May 11, 2023

I had about two hours to spend between family events at the Goodwill outlet in Greenwood this weekend. The fact that this outlet is a little smaller than the others in the Indy area actually made it a little easier to navigate in a shorter period of time and it certainly did not disappoint in terms of the types of treasures I was able to uncover. Check out the corresponding video for this week’s haul at: https://fb.watch/gWbEObr5Wg/

There’s treasure in trash if you aren’t afraid _to_ hunt…meant to put the number 2 in there since I couldn’t find more T’s but forgot!

Check out the corresponding video for this week’s haul at: https://fb.watch/gWbEObr5Wg/

Be very afraid

October 16, 2022October 17, 2022

I had multiple opportunities to visit Goodwill Outlets over the weekend while staying with my husband and some of his friends from High School for their annual reunion. We ended up staying at a home that was formerly a store that the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy visited as a young man – and that happened to be across the street from his childhood home (which was torn down to make way for the Interstate that runs through the middle of the city). As such, that made the house we were staying in the de facto headquarters of all things Raggedy Ann related in Indianapolis. So you can only imagine my surprise and delight to find a Raggedy Ann doll on my final shopping trip. I decided to leave that doll as a gift for our hosts because (as you’ll see in the second video) they didn’t have quite enough Raggedy Ann memorabilia in the house. It also seemed like a fitting place for her to be.

Take a look at the video on the Unearthed Relics Facebook Page: https://fb.watch/gdkoLY650x/

And then check out a video of the Raggedy Ann Historic home site below.

Here’s how I used the spooky garlands to decorate

The old and the beautiful

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022

With just a few minutes to hunt through the bins at the Goodwill Outlet in Indy (while my husband waited in the car) I managed to find a few treasures, including a few books from the late 1800s and some from the early part of the 1900s. I found one older book peeking through a large pile…and then kept digging and found several others. When I got home I looked up a few of them to get a sense of value. So far I think the Scarlet Letter is my winner…with similar versions (i.e., of the second printing) retailing between $400 and $800. I think it is a beautiful edition, so I’m keeping it, but it just goes to show that it can really pay off to do a little digging through the bin.

Home Sweet Home

August 26, 2022August 28, 2022

When it comes to having a home away from home, some people feel at home at their favorite restaurant…a book lover might feel at home at the library or in a used book store…a golfer might feel at home on their favorite course…but I feel right at home at the Goodwill Outlet. Today’s trip was a rare mid-week visit on account of being able to duck out in the afternoon to go and have lunch with my parents in honor of their 50th anniversary.

Best day ever?

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022

On this trip I found some amazing old books, vintage photos and vintage postcards. I also found some great craft supplies, and Christmas decorations and vintage linens.

The angels above were in a box marked “fragile” but that warning had clearly not been heeded. Only one was intact and one was in several pieces, but all the repairs looked fairly straightforward and all the pieces seemed to be present – so I took a chance – and I rather like how the came out.

I’m not sure it was my best day ever, but all in all it was a pretty good day. Check out the video of this week’s haul to see more: https://fb.watch/f21r7TUwFz/

Restocking

August 14, 2022August 14, 2022

After a very successful (and fun!) garage sale last weekend – I couldn’t resist an excuse to go up to Indy to “restock.” I found many delightful treasures over the course of the day – and managed to visit with several family members as well. Some of my favorite finds included a vintage bread box and a few other rusty vintage tins…an NBA game which turned out to be from the early 80s (but nowadays, that’s vintage as well)…some cool old sewing supply and patterns…some old birthday and “get well” cards, an antique photo album, and one lone Shiny Brite that survived the bins. I also found a lot of great craft supplies.

If objects could tell stories

July 24, 2022

My niece Evie made it to the finals in several events for her state swim meet yesterday. Great for her, but good for me too since it gave me a chance to go shopping before going to see her swim in the finals. I went to the Goodwill Outlet on the west side of Indy because my parents were having lunch, and it seemed to be the closest option to Evie’s meet.

The first great find of the day was a vintage cooking set – similar to one I remember playing with at my Granny’s house when I was a kid. It looks like it was designed to be something like an easy bake oven – with a power cord that had been cut off (probably for the best since it was a little rough…and definitely old). I loved the stove, but the thing that delighted me about it even more was finding a little note tucked inside along with some of the tiny metal pots and trays that said it had been owned by Janet Kinsey Beanblossom and she’d received it around 1944.

I was also surprised to learn a little more about the creators of another object I’d found – a tiny dollhouse dresser. I had to scavenge through the bin to find all the pieces, and didn’t notice it at the time, but it seems to have been signed by its creators on the bottom of one of the drawers.

The next great treasure of the day was a 1919 Singer Sewing Machine. Whenever I find a vintage machine I love thinking about all the outfits or home decor items that had been sewn on it…and all the hours that its former owner would have spent on it stitching those items. Admittedly, this one is in rough shape…but it is still a treasure…having survived for more than 100 years and also surviving the Goodwill Outlet bins. I found the base earlier in the day but didn’t see the machine…so I ended up letting the base go…but I realize in hindsight that I should have grabbed it and put it back if I didn’t find the machine…because I later discovered the top of the wooden traveling case…and then the machine itself.

Good finds from Gary

July 23, 2022

On the way back from a trip to Chicago, I convinced my husband to stop with me at the Goodwill Outlet in Gary Indiana because I was shocked to find that there were no thrift store outlets (with bins) in Chicago. Which left me wondering where all their old stuff goes (but that’s something I can mull over more on another post).

The Outlet in Gary was delightful. They allowed shopping to continue in different sections of the store while rotations were taking place, and the rotations were announced with a train whistle sound effect played over the loud speaker. They also had several bins of books – which I haven’t seen at the Indy-area outlets in quite some time.

We only stayed for about an hour, but we still managed to find some treasures. I’d say Chris was the big winner of the day since he stumbled across a set of mix-matched vintage silverware. It is likely all just silverplated but there are some beautiful Oneida, Rogers and Community patterns in the mix, as well as a couple unique pieces. I think my favorite treasure was a set of screen printed holiday cards that hadn’t been used…or maybe it was an old science book that had many charming illustrations.

I’ve also been trying to do some live videos to show off my finds (long before I get photos posted on the web). Here’s the link to the video I did for this “haul” – https://fb.watch/erKDnhI4s0/

A few finds on Father’s Day weekend

June 19, 2022July 11, 2022

On the way back from Chicago I had time for a very short stop at the Goodwill Outlet on the West side of Indy and found a few treats including a Fashion Book with lots of wonderful illustrations and some vintage game and sewing treats.