It's Weird Seeing Something You Donated...For Rent

 A friend of mine said whenever his family went to our local thrift store, they didn't "buy" things...they rented.

I thought that a very astute observation. Eventually everything you buy from a thrift store usually gets returned to the same thrift store.

The local thrift store chain where we live is called Deseret Industries. It's used as a donation/work skills center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's like Goodwill, but different, and it's one of my favorite places to go.

A few weeks ago, we loaded up our minivan with items from my mother-in-law's house and from our house to donate. With both of us moving, we have a lot of things we no longer need. I'm sure we could find several more van loads of things to donate...maybe when we get everything unboxed. 

Sure, donating is nice--you get warm fuzzy feelings by clearing out things you no longer need and you're helping others to find things they need--but another part of what I enjoy about visiting the thrift store is to shop...ah, I mean, find things to rent. I've found some good treasures over the years. Also, I've found some turkeys, too. 

The other day, I returned to the Deseret Industries closest to us--we needed a small file cabinet. Luckily, I found one. I also spotted a chair and ottoman that looked familiar. It looked familiar because we had dropped off that same exact chair weeks earlier. The chair was decades-old and in my mother-in-law's house all that time. It was a comfortable chair--in fact, it was hard to get out of once you were settled.

Not knowing all the secrets of the thrift store, I know they have to throw away a lot of things, things that are no longer "rent-able." I don't know if the chair found a new home, or if it's gone the way of all the earth. Who knows--maybe one day in the future I'll be browsing and I'll see that chair. If someone bought it, there's a good chance it may show up again...to be rented.