Bargains Abound On A Smaller Scale In Coeur D’Alene’s Thrift Stores
No one knows Coeur d’Alene’s thrift stores like my daughter. I am in awe of Megan’s ability to turn a simple dollar into an elaborate outfit complete with shoes and jewels.
Thrift-store shopping bores me but thrills and challenges Megan, who’s 14. Where else but Goodwill could she find men’s shoes on three-inch high platforms spray-painted gold? Or a three-dimensional poodle poster?
Her shopping circuit includes seven stores and starts at Goodwill at 1212 N. Fourth St. Goodwill moved into the old supermarket two years ago, scrubbed the floors, added neon signs inside for a department store look and trashed the idea that all thrift stores smell musty.
Megan depends on Goodwill for dresses and shoes.
St. Vincent de Paul’s Thrift, 108 E. Walnut, has great variety, too, though Megan says it’s best for dishes. The store spreads through three cavernous rooms and onto a patio, where broken bikes, tools, furniture and what-not await the tinker’s touch.
She finds her Halloween costumes at Animal Fair, 848 N. Fourth St., and summer shorts and Hawaiian shirts across the street at the Idaho Youth Ranch Thrift.
As a teenager, Megan finds little to buy at the Hospice Thrift, 2928 Government Way. But she recommends the store to seniors for clothing and to people with disabilities. Hospice seems to have more medical aids for sale than other stores have, she says.
For knickknacks, Megan goes to the Silver Lake IDFY store at 1520 Northwest Blvd. The store is small and doesn’t have many clothes, but it has a staggering supply of trivets and ceramic dogs.
Her last stop takes her five miles north to Hayden Lake to the Children’s Village Thrift Store, 271 W. Hayden Ave.
This is the place to go to furnish the conference room. The store specializes in used office furniture. But Megan goes for the new clothes, donated to the store by local boutiques.
Coeur d’Alene can’t match Spokane for bargains, Megan says, but “For the size town it is, it’s pretty good.”
, DataTimes