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Shopping only at Goodwill for one year

December 20, 2011 @ 2:26 am (Updated: 5:50 am - 12/20/11 )

It's hard enough to stick with anything for a week or a month. Imagine challenging yourself to do one thing for the whole year.

Beautiful An Issaquah woman has done that by shopping only at Goodwill stores for all of 2011.

Listen to this report

I need to clarify two things right off the top. Goodwill did not pay the woman to spend her year "Living the Goodwill Life ." And, her name is Beautiful Existence. Really. She legally changed her name a couple of years ago after meditating on a mountain top in Colorado.

She has a unusual name and a curious outlook on the world. She wants to completely understand things that most of us don't give a second thought, like thrift stores.

Beautiful wondered, could a person get everything they need at a Goodwill store?

"It was my goal to buy just from the Goodwill everything except for food. Even though the Goodwills sell food, I couldn't really live off the snack candy or ask my family to do that," she says. "For the most part, and I can definitely say being at the end of this, you absolutely can find everything you need at a thrift store."

Outside of food, toiletries, and medication, she only purchased 15 items from a source other than Goodwill.

"They were very specific things like a particular color uniform for a class that I was in," says Beautiful.

But everything else from Goodwill? Prove it. Oh, she can with stacks of receipts for the full year. What she paid for an item at the Goodwill is listed, and next to each item she wrote a comparable price from a retail store. For example, a child's toy she paid 99 cents for has a retail price of $4.99.

The comparisons go on, and on, and on. Beautiful is waiting until the end of the year to calculate her savings, which she says will be "significant."

Among her discoveries this year, two treasures that she paid $31 for which might be worth $8,000.

"I have a piece of jewelry that I purchased and I have a limited edition print from artist Harold Keeler who was a well known around here," she says. "I'm trying to get a good estimate from a gallery and from a jewelry store before I actually put the final total together."

Here are a few of her favorite Goodwill finds:

goodwill-jewelry

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She learned from doing this challenge that our throw-away society gets rid of a lot of quality stuff, but that's okay because it helps people who need to shop at thift stores. She was also surprised to see so many professionals shopping at Goodwill.

"I have seen more people at thrift stores that I would have never seen 10 years ago. They're coming in off of work with their suits, definitely looking for designer labels," Beautiful says. "There's nothing wrong with it. If you think that all you're going to find in there are certain types of people, you're mistaken."

Now that her Goodwill challenge is over, she has projects lined up for the next decade. Her 2012 plan, which she'll also blog about, is called "Parents tested, mommy approved. Her latest edition of "Parents" magazine which has yellow sticky notes on almost every page. She's been studying the publication and she's going to spend the year testing the tips and suggestions found in articles, and taking on their advertisers to determine if their products live up to claims.

"I'll check out all those 'how to' articles about what you should do with your kids, or how you can improve your love life. Is any of that stuff true? I'll find out," she says.

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (23)


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  • Burn_Notice wrote...
    Before all you Animals.. begin...
    December 20, 2011 7:40 am
    savaging her about the .. "She legally changed her name a couple of years ago after meditating on a mountain top in Colorado." - She seems like a unique individual and wish her all the best.

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  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Hmmmmm...
    December 20, 2011 7:42 am
    I wonder how much of that stuff she buys, endes up on E-bay?? Just wondering..
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    Good for her for doing something different.
    December 20, 2011 7:45 am
    And yes, if you look for it, you can sometimes find very good deals at Goodwill and at Value Village (and similar types of places).

    I wish her and her family all the best.

    One can only hope that the trolls stay away from this thread.

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  • mnpat wrote...
    name change and self endulgence
    December 20, 2011 8:41 am
    She gave me an idea....was gonna change my name to Babe Magnet but I think Old but Ugly fits better
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  • EskieMom wrote...
    This isn't new
    December 20, 2011 8:54 am
    I'm a senior on a small fixed income, and I shop at Goodwill every week. All of my clothing, most of my furniture, kitchen equipment, etc. comes from that beautiful store. I find beautiful name brand clothing that someone maybe wore once then decided they didn't want it, I have high end furniture that only needed some vacuuming or light cleaning, I have some beautiful crystal wine glasses, and so forth. All from Goodwill and with my senior discount to boot! You do have to pick and choose your thrift stores, as some are full of the good stuff and some are full of the junk. The Goodwill store in my neighborhood is one of the best, so I'm keeping it a secret.
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  • Market72 wrote...
    Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
    December 20, 2011 9:09 am
    1000s of people do this on a daily basis. Why is it so unique that this woman does it? Gimme a break MYNW... How about some actual interesting articles...
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  • artimus wrote...
    Goodwill is terrible.
    December 20, 2011 9:09 am
    Don't buy anything there. Especially men's clothing. Especially size 32 men's jeans.
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  • DesertRez wrote...
    Kind of funny
    December 20, 2011 9:43 am
    because I was thinking about doing something similar to this, except I wouldn't buy ANYTHING for a year. Except for toiletries and food of course. I have enough stuff!
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  • incognito wrote...
    Goodwill prices are insane...
    December 20, 2011 10:33 am
    I have been a shopper of thrift stores since birth. Literally since 1974. Back in the day I thoroughly enjoyed going to the Goodwill. It was a place to hunt for treasures, while offering a place for those who are less fortunate to buy clothing and household items. My family has donated for generations. Unfortunately, over the past 10 years, Goodwill prices have become crazy. I was at the Bellevue store recently with my wife and we were upset at the sight of $35 for a single sweater with signs of wear. Retail on the sweater new would have been $50. A worn coffee table with a price tag of $74.99 was enough for us to leave in disgust. Keep in mind that these items were donated. It saddens me that Goodwill is so concerned with exuberant profit, that they lose sight of why the store was founded to begin with. Helping those in need by offering clothing and household items at reasonable and affordable prices seems to have taken a back seat to price gauging and insane profit. From now on, I donate only to St Vincent De Paul, who seems to have not lost sight of truly helping those in need and not over-inflating their own profit margin.
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  • MissPittyPat wrote...
    I have a better idea...
    December 20, 2011 10:37 am
    I've been buying "Made in USA" for over a year. I've been 98% successful. I've discovered that if it isn't Made in USA, I don't really need it that badly. And I agree with other comments ... many people do this all year, year after year, what's the big deal? As far as testing Parenting Magizine... every child is different and what works for one may not work for another. Personally, I learned early on to stop reading Parenting books (they just stress you out if your child isn't exactly the same as the article) and just ask God what to do in specific situations. He is faithful and did an AWEsome job on my children.
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  • Snout wrote...
    Lots of people have to do this
    December 20, 2011 10:46 am
    as a matter of necessity. They don't toot about it, though. For them it is not an amusing experiment. Awwww.....Look at all the little people struggling to get by. Aren't they cuuuuuuuute.
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