California Road Trip, pt. 4: Thifting in Goleta

The iceman cometh to Sleepy Hollow

What a day: I only left my bed to eat waffles and play with the Badgerettes. Now, I'm back in my warm den and thinking fondly of winter in Santa Barbara. Locals swear that seasons exist on the Central Coast, but I don't give much credence to their categories:

Thanks for rubbing it in, Santa Barbara Company

Jacaranda season versus...

www.mycoolbackgrounds.com knows what I'm talking about.
The SB Mission looked just like this in the first week of January.

...winter rose season. Bah humbug. Those thin-skinned beach people will never know the pleasure of ice skating on streets, like this local.

Thanks for the inspiration, Ossining Police Department! But I think I'll just stay under the covers...

So, other than the weather, does the Santa Barbara area have anything else to offer? Turns out, yes: thrift shopping.

I've written about Goleta's own Alpha Thrift once before. I love it, so I make a point of visiting its two Hollister Avenue stores every time I'm in town.

This year, I noticed something at the two Alpha stores that the locals have been complaining about: the prices!

See what I mean? Even if you catch the weekly half-price deal
(look for the signs about which color tabs are on sale),
it's too freaking expensive. 

Seriously, this is a THRIFT shop, right? Who's new to the pricing department, Alpha?

I was tempted by these $5 leather Børn slip-ons,
but I left them for you, just in case.

I was able to find a few beauties in the $2 "smiley-face stamp" rack, but I couldn't help feeling let down by my favorite Goleta thrift shop. So I moved on down the road, stopping next at Destined For Grace, at 5960 Hollister Ave.

Destined For Grace, which serves the children of Haiti, was offering some wild deals on Christmas decorations, and had good prices on men's and women's clothing. I am destined to return!

From Alpha or Destined For Grace, keep heading north on Hollister, then turn right onto Cortona Drive. At 6860 Cortona, you'll find another of my favorite places: Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which I also wrote about not terribly long ago.  It's big, clean, and full of stuff that I want for my own home.

Maybe I'm just getting desperate for a second bathroom in my sweet little hovel-for-four, but during this visit, I found the ReStore's bathroom items remarkably attractive.

If I bought this sink, the Badgerettes would open a public pool for Polly Pockets.

So classy, it has no place in my home, but I still LOVE it.

Reminds me of a Wayne Thiebaud painting.

Delicate, elegant, lovely. And, in my home, doomed.

These faucets remind me of a urinal, but not in an off-putting way.

ReStore's non-bathroom offerings are equally delightful.

SAWS.
Buy them all, then create your own hardware-themed homage to Wayne Thiebaud.

EXPAND-O-LIGHT!

Anyone have a 2-story tall entryway? Get this 1920s stained glass panel. Trust me.

Even though ReStore's prices are not rock bottom, they are about 25-35% of retail, which justifies a trip there before you hit the Goleta Home Despot....Or just skip The Despot altogether, and go hit the beach.




Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Feeding Your Inner Squirrel: WI School Clothing and Housewares Sale

Halloween is over--and with it, the end of this year's Zombie Siege of Sleepy Hollow.

Thanks for the nightmares, ibtimes

Rivertown Folks, is your Inner Squirrel suddenly feeling Late-Fall Languor? Are you wondering, "Where do I get my next good-deal fix?"

If so, the answer is here: Washington Irving School's "Gently Used Clothing and Housewares Sale."

Washington Irving School--hard to miss on South Broadway in Tarrytown

This sale is a fine example of why the thrift-loving love living in Westchester County.

If you haven't taken part in this sale before, here are three reasons why you'll love it.

1. They want YOUR (clean!) stuff
Check out your basements, closets, and attics. Chances are, you have unwanted extras in the following categories:

Clothing (any size, for everyone in the family)
Coats (especially children's)
Backpacks
Sports Equipment
Kitchen Items
Dining Linens

Just bag 'em (ideally by size) and drop 'em inside the front hall of WI.

2. You can load up on stuff you want or need...for so, soooo CHEAP

I SWEAR it's not all girl's stuff

For $10 a bag, you can stock up on clothes for the family. Coats are $2 a piece. In past years, I have found Gymboree, Polo, Hannah Anderson, and Justice for the Badgerettes.

Boys clothing is abundant, and frankly, we need more shoppers for men's clothing, too.

For me, the women's clothing is something of a revelation: why drop $150 on one Eileen Fisher knit top when you can sock a bagfull of flawless Fisher for $10?

Kitchen, Dining, and Sports Equipment are also DIRT CHEAP.

3. You'll love the cause!

Think of the WI sale as a massive clothing and home goods swap with a minimal handling fee, which funds the coolest 5th grade activity ever--The National Circus Project.

The National Circus Project teaches WI students strength, balance, and the joy of performing
in full clown makeup. See a video of past performances here.

Last year, this sale netted $2,000. Not bad, but I bet we can do better.

So, GIVE to get that serotonin boost, and BUY to get your adrenalin kick! See you there...

WHERE: Washington Irving School
103 South Broadway, U.S. 9, Tarrytown, NY 10591
(914) 631-4442
(Easy Parking in the back!)

WHEN: Saturday, November 15, 2014, 9am-2pm

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Take Me To Church... Literally.

Yes, yes! It's THAT weekend in the legendary Sleepy Hollow, when TWO local churches--Christ Episcopal Church in Tarrytown and Union Church of Pocantico--offer their best sales of the year.

Because quantum physicists have not yet developed an app that allows me simultaneously to be at both all weekend, I'm gonna give my suggestions for getting the most out of these excellent yet oh-so-different sales.

You'll soon recognize that this is not an unbiased review.

Christ Episcopal Church Fall Fair


Christ Church's Fall Fair promises a good time for the whole family. Plus, it makes that promise in both Spanish and English! Susan Copley, the rector, leads from the heart in all she and her church do.


See what I mean? Everyone is welcome.

At the Fall Fair, you will discover that open-hearted attitude in both word and deed. Deals abound--for clothing, housewares, toys, school supplies, bric-a-brac, collectibles, furniture, and much more.


Use this opportunity to explore the righteous deals in The Clothing Closet!

WHAT IS IN THAT TENT? I have to know.

If you're wavering over a price (not for games or food, mind), let them know--they're more likely than not to meet you halfway. The goal at Christ Church is to find new homes for these fine items, not to maximize profits and then kick the rest to the curb (ahem, see below). They have an excellent reputation for using their funds to help those most in need in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

BIG BONUS: The Fall Fair begins just before the festivities start for Tarrytown's Third Friday. I expect to stop by The Fall Fair a couple times this weekend, and I hope you do, too.

Union Church of Pocantico Hills




photo by Minna Irving for www.visitsleepyhollow.com

If you haven't been to Union Church yet, it's a good weekend to get a first impression. Union Church Fall Harvest Fair is famous for sneaking crazy finds into its masses of goods for sale. A couple years ago, I literally missed out on nabbing a genuine Channel handbag by mere inches. (INCHES.)

Give yourself more than an hour to move from tent to tent and room to room--each offers a different category. And the offerings are vast, I promise.

For those killer deals, show up early because keen eyes and quick fingers abound. If you miss the best of the best, you'll still find pretty darned good.

What you will not find, however, is anyone willing to bargain. I've seen too many smiling volunteers suddenly get tight-jawed when asked, "Could you lower the price on this?" Let me answer that one for you, Folks:

NO.

My suggestion is this: Buy it if you really want it and your finances allow. If you like taking chances or really cannot afford what they're asking, come back in the final two hours of the Fair, when everything is half off. Or, if you prefer to keep your cash in pocket, empty your vehicle and wait till the Fall Harvest Fair is over—They Curb LOADS of Furniture.

In any case, make time to visit the church's justly renowned windows, which were designed by Matisse and Chagall.

Union Church is now open for window viewing every day except Tuesdays.

Hours: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays (closed Tuesdays)
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday
2 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday

Both sales start tomorrow, so hit the ATM or ready the checkbook now because just as in the Good Book itself, you can't get these heavenly deals on credit. 

Christ Episcopal Church
43 South Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591
FALL FAIR: Friday 4pm-8pm; Saturday 9am-4pm

Union Church of Pocantico Hills
555 Bedford Road
Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
FALL HARVEST FAIR  (Friday, Saturday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m; Sunday 12- 4 p.m.


Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

The Best Deal in Town: The Clothing Closet

I love a good deal. I prove that point by spending far too much time driving around curb-shopping and dropping in at second-hand shops, yard sales, and thrift stores. Recently, though, I discovered that the best deal around is at Tarrytown's own Christ Church "Clothing Closet."

Susan Copley, the flat-out fabulous rector of Christ Church, took me on a tour of the Clothing Closet. I brought an offering of sorts to say thanks.

Turns out that when the place isn't open, it's used as a Teen Center, so most of the goodies were, in fact, tucked away in a small room.

You have to be fast to keep up with Susan Copley

I promise, they take these racks out of the closet on sales days,
so you don't have to clump over them to get at those dresses on the far wall.

Good, clean winter coats for a couple bucks.
And, check out that adorable vintage girl's dress in the window!

Rev. Copley did a bit of shopping while I snooped around.

Reverend Copley believes that Christ Church accomplishes its mission best when it is most inclusive, and the Clothing Closet proves that point.

Most items are a dollar or two, and if that price is too steep, just fill a bag with clothes and accessories for kids, women, and men, and the volunteer staff will happily negotiate a price that pleases. Much as I enjoy Goodwill, they never make deals.

Bins of baby clothes.
Don't forget to look under the racks for hidden gems.

I didn't see any yard sale cast-offs at the Clothing Closet (and please don't donate those here. Take ratty stuff to Goodwill, where their large staff makes use of everything).

The closet itself is bursting with good brand names like Ralph Lauren and St. John's Bay, plus cool vintage accessories, too.

That leather beret is so funky, I feel a sudden urge to watch Good Times.

In about ten seconds, I spotted a pair of Free People cords with the tag still attached.

Yes, that is an $88 retail tag.

It's Free People for practically free, People!

At the Clothing Closet, 100% of your purchase funds the San Marcos mission, which works intensively to support the local community.

The one negative about the Clothing Closet is its very limited hours. It's only open two days a month, 5-7 pm one Friday after the Food Pantry and 10-2 the following Saturday afternoon. This month, the Clothing Closet is open TODAY, Friday the 13th (yeah, yeah, don't let that put you off) and TOMORROW, Saturday the 14th.

While you are shopping--or any time you pass Christ Church on the corner of Broadway and W. Elizabeth--make a direct donation to The Food Pantry, too.
It doesn't take much to make a difference: for example, your $10 donation buys the Pantry $100 of food, thanks to the generosity of the Food Bank of Westchester and generous local stores like Mrs. Greens. Now that's a good deal all the way around.



How often does your money get a 10-fold return?
Every donated dollar goes far to fill these shelves.

I'll see you at the Clothing Closet tomorrow morning. If you snap up those Free People pants before I get there, I won't hold it against you.

Clothing Closet and Food Pantry entry is at the corner of John St. and W. Elizabeth St.

Christ Church

Rev. Susan Copley

43 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591

Ph: 914-631-2074

Email: contact@christchurchtny.org

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

The Right Way To Re-Gift!

Spring is sneaking its toe back into the icy pool of the Northeast. I'm seeing squirrels. I'm seeing robins. I'm seeing large numbers of snow shovels in the trash.

Ah, yes, the Badger is waking from her winter hibernation and finding that cruising the neighborhoods at night has value again.

Before Springtime Clean-Up gets too out-of-hand, however, I'd like to ask you Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow folk to keep some items OUT of my grubby little paws.

Here's What:

1. Wheelchairs (and other items for the care of the elderly or injured)
2. New-With-Tag gift-type items (soaps, gift baskets, purses, glassware, etc)
3. Office Supplies (including working PCs)

Here's Why:
















Tarrytown's own Neighborhood House needs these items.

If you don't know much about Neighborhood House, you're not alone. It quietly does its good work in this unassuming little building on the corner of Wildey and Washington Avenues.

The (mostly volunteer) staff offer locals seniors and students a comfortable place to engage in a number of activities, including Girl Scout meeting, SAT study sessions, exercise programs, and art classes. They even lend out crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs, a fact I learned firsthand in 2001, when I tore a ligament in my foot and Neighborhood House lent me a perfect pair of crutches.

After dropping off these walkers last fall (which I discuss more in "Give It Away NOW"), I asked Karla, a fixture at the front desk, what they need most at Neighborhood House. She listed the three categories above.

Karla put an emphasis on Neighborhood House's need for gift-type items. So, if you are feeling the Call of the Wild and want to dump those gifty things that have been languishing in your closet, drop them at Neighborhood House.

These items will be raffled off at their Springtime "Penny Social" (a term I know only because of the Little House on the Prairie novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder). Much-needed funds will be used to sustain their regular programs for seniors.

Now, is that the right way to re-gift or what?

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Where to Take The Excess: Santa Barbara Edition, pt. 1

While New Yorkers shivered under their down comforters this Christmas season, I was applying sunblock to the kids and hanging out on Goleta Beach with my in-laws, wondering why I didn't bring some tank tops with me.

Yes: I hate me, too.

Before giving myself over to the lazy luxury of a winter vacation in Southern California, however, I did my homework and found superb places to dump your excess clothing, housewares, toys, and building materials.

Today's Shop: Alpha Thrift

At least one generation of Goleta and Santa Barbara adolescents remembers when being called an "Alpha" was not a compliment ("Hail, future Fortune 500 CEO!") but a blood-boiling insult. For 60 years, Alpha's mission has been to educate and support the developmentally disabled and their families. (Let's just finish this paragraph by stating the obvious: Mean kids suck.)

For at least a couple decades, Alpha Thrift has held the crown as Best Thrift in Goleta, California. (Doubtful? Google "Best Thrift in Goleta" and see what you get.) Go in to one of their two shops on Hollister Avenue, and you'll be won over, too. Clean, well-organized, with minimal thrift store stinkiness!


To me, it looks like Santa Barbara Paseo Nuevo shoppers have nowhere to wear their fab high-end clothes, so they donate them, with original tags, so that you can get them from Alpha for two bucks. Yep, two bucks: look for happy face stamps on the price tags, and you'll be happy, too.

If you're not careful, Alpha Thrift will not help you clear out your mess, but you can swap your stuff for new--and better--stuff on the cheap, which is also satisfying.

Alpha Thrift sells and accepts donations of the following:
Clothes, Videos/DVDs, Rugs, Tools, Accessories, Books, Jewelry, Albums, Stereos, Furniture, Paintings, Linens, Shoes, Bedding, Electronic Equipment

According to their web site, they don't want the following:
Beds, Built In Cabinets, Text Books, Chemicals, Curtain Rods, Encyclopedias, Exercise Equipment, Ping Pong Tables, Lateral File Cabinets, Car Batteries, Large Desks, Large Outdoor Plastic Toys, Unframed Glass/Mirrors, Magazines, Built-in Appliances, Mattresses, Bed Frames/Headboards, Older CRT Televisions and Computer Monitors

And they pick up! So clean up and call (805) 964-1123

Or drop by one of their 3 Santa Barbara locations:

Alpha Thrift
5624 Hollister Ave and 5949 Hollister Ave.
Goleta, CA 93111

700 N. Milpas
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Copyright 2014, Tanya Monier

Where to Take The Excess, pt. 5: Furniture Sharehouse

"$29.99 for a used reading lamp--at Goodwill?!"

Goodness knows I love my Goodwill, but too often, I'll check out the price of an armchair or child's desk and gasp at their nerve. And if I'm giving my stuff away, I don't want it to be priced so that the people who need it can't afford it.

Giving It Away. NOW.

Instead of just grumbling about the state of things (like I just did), seven years ago, Kate Bialo, with the help of The Junior League of Westchester on the Sound, created something amazing and essential-- Furniture Sharehouse, a furniture bank out by the Westchester Airport.

I met Kate Bialo, the Executive Director of Furniture Sharehouse, on an icy Wednesday morning.

This is Kate Bialo. I want to be her--all brains and all heart...and organized.

One glance around, and my heart warmed enough that I could forget my freezing toes.

Kind-eyed volunteers were helping clients select items of furniture to help rebuild their lives. Some lost everything they owned after being evicted from apartments. Some were foster kids who had aged out of the system. Some had run from abusive partners with nothing but their children and their lives. One bleary-eyed, but smiling, Yonkers woman had worked through the night, then rode two different buses so she wouldn't miss her chance to get her children beds, chairs, and a table for their new apartment.

 Bless the volunteers: the temperature, inside and out, was exactly the same 27 degrees on the day I visited.

So, how does this place work?

Furniture Sharehouse takes referrals from 30 local agencies, which often cover the $25 referral fee for their clients. Based on availability, need, and family size, clients then get to select essential items: mattresses and headboards, some chairs, a table, a sofa, a dresser, a nightstand, a mirror, two lamps, two end tables, a few incidentals...  

Each client's choices are identified by color; piles of furniture--tagged pink, yellow, blue, etc--are collected and moved into trucks by more volunteers.

Delivery fees--$75 to the curb or $150 to set up inside--are covered by the clients. This expense alone is too heavy for many, Bialo notes. Ashamed, many will simply miss their appointment--for which they waited 6 weeks--because they can not cover the entire delivery cost.

A new start, about to be loaded into the delivery truck

 

Since the Furtniture Sharehouse opened 7 years ago, it has given away more than 37,000 pieces of furniture to more than 7,000 families. 



Impressed? Want to help? Here's how!

1. Donate Goods: Here's the list of what they accept (Don't worry. We'll find another place to take your massive buffet and your waterbed....)

The Sharehouse itself has very short business hours for drop off: Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m, plus the 3rd Saturday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 am.

But they do have MUNICIPAL COLLECTION BINS: 
CITY OF WHITE PLAINS: 87 Gedney Way, Weds. 2:00 - 4:00 pm, Sat. 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (April - October only)
LARCHMONT/MAMARONECK: Maxwell Avenue Recycling Facility: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 8:00 - 3:00; Sat. 9:00 - 11:45; closed Wednesdays (year-round)
VILLAGE OF TUCKAHOE: 15 Marblehead Road (year-round); Mon - Fri 6:30 -11:00 am & 12:30 - 2:00 pm

The bad news is that you generally have to be a resident to drop off, and no mattresses--which they desperately need!--can be dropped at the bins.

Clearly, we need to set up Municipal Collection Bins here in the River Towns.

2. Donate Funds: Bialo needs to raise more than $80,000 each year, just to cover warehouse rental and trucking costs. Any amount you can donate will help, and it's tax-deductible: Click here to learn more.

So, Westchester Friends, be proactive. Tell your friends about the Furniture Sharehouse now and save them from saying, "Oh, gosh, I wish I knew about that place before I threw all that stuff away!"

Not a Westchester Reader? Check out the web site of Furniture Bank Association of North America, which lists their US and Canadian Furniture banks by state. (And may I just add, good show, Northern California!)

Do Good, and make this Badger happy--Donate Today!


Copyright 2013, Tanya Monier

Where To Take The Excess, pt. 4: C & W Vacuum Repair Service

As I muddled my way through neighborhoods this fall, I noticed something undeniable: Folks throw away a lot of cleaning tools. Swiffers. Brooms, Mops. (Doesn't anyone play stickball with broom and mop handles anymore?) Cleaning pails. Vacuums. Oh, so many vacuums....

One evening, I saw four curbed vacuums on just one street, then came home to see my own tenant had put his one-month-old vacuum in the trash, too.

You may be thinking, "So what? Why not just buy a new Hoover for $100?" Other than the fact that their motors are so earsplitting that children, pets, and partners flee when you turn on a Hoover, it breaks! The brands I see curbed most often are Hoover and Dirt Devil. Humph. It's like the dead dictator of the FBI and Satan himself hold stock in landfill.

Who can help slow down this, ahem, sucky trend in trash? Wade, that's who!

Meet Wade!

On Tarrytown's bustling Main Street, C&W Vacuum Repair Service is easy to miss. I passed it hundreds of times before I found a need to stop in. Once I did, however, I made reasons to go back. Here's why:

1. Price: Wade informs me that the average repair job at C&W is between $50-75. That said, I have never paid more than $30 to have him clean and repair my vacuum, a 2003 Panasonic upright--which is ancient in vacuum years, and frequently clogged with the shed of my three longhairs (none of whom are pets).

2. Speed: Wade works quickly, so I can get back to doing what I love: cleaning house. (Excuse me for a minute while I go pour myself a shot of cooking sherry and weep...)

3. Variety: Do you see vacuums in the front window? No! That's because Wade is a man of many talents. He sharpens knives to a murderous edge, repairs and sells vacuums and vacuum parts, and also lamps,

 Buy the Rooster; then send me a photo of it in your home.

radios,

turntables,

and clocks.















and maybe those toys; I didn't ask.


And his use of wall storage in this small store would make Ikea proud. When you go in, just look around--and up!

 You are not imagining things: that IS a bullwhip.

I gave Wade my tenant's new-but-busted Dirt Devil, and picked up lamp harps to finish my Night Of A Thousand Lamps project.

 Win-Win, I say.

So, keep it local, River Towners, and if you just cannot bear the thought of repairing your vacuum, turntable, or lamp, DON'T DUMP IT. Give it to Wade. He's got Hustle. And I mean that as a compliment.



Copyright 2013, Tanya Monier