77 Year Old Woman Makes a Difference by Holding Garage Sales By Barb Tobias NABBW’s Thrifting Expert Rochester Hills, Mich: Neighborhood gives back for 19th year Here’s a tip: When visiting Joanne Marcil’s home, watch your stuff. Just ask her husband, Ray, who left a jacket lying around. Joanne grabbed it and sold it at her community’s Make A Difference Day flea market. When Ray later asked her about it, she just smiled. The project began in 1992 as a garage sale, raising $150 to buy high chairs for a soup kitchen. Marcil, 77, had such a good time she enlisted family and friends... Read More

Thrift Shopping Your Way to Wealth By Barb Tobias NABBW’s Thrifting Expert People often question why I continue to thrift shop … after all, I have more than everything I need. I guess it boils down to my love of the hunt.   I love to scour the thrift shops and garage sales for items that can be made into something else. I enjoy creating new things out of old or used items. After all, I am a Diva and I love to change my environment … often. I’m past worrying about whether I’ve made a purchasing mistake because I hold a Diva Sale at least once a year where I sell my “mistakes”... Read More

Thrift Has Come Of Age By Barb Tobias NABBW’s Thrifting Expert Times are changing. Back-alley thrifting is making its move onto Main Street, determined to stand front and center. Thrift shopping, utilizing secondhand products and conscious waste management are now in vogue. The early apologetic days are over. Thrifting has become a smart and environmentally responsible way of life. Whether the swing was due to the downward spiral of the economy or to a nation answering the call to live consciously, Americans have begun to see the wisdom in buying recycled goods. Thrift shops are booming,... Read More

Thrifting Habit Turns Her Into a Collector of “Orphans” By Barb Tobias NABBW’s Thrifting Expert I am the queen of the unwanted; a collector of “orphans.”  Over the years I’ve embraced the flawed, snatched up rejects others passed over, delighted in the blemished and greedily coveted the imperfect and scarred. Like metal to magnets, yard sales, consignment shops and thrift stores still lure me into their murky depths to find wonderfully tarnished bits and pieces that I meticulously turn into treasure.  Spotting décor that is unique or unusual has become my specialty … my signature... Read More

Fifteen Reasons to Fall in Love with Thrift… Cheap Doesn’t Need to be Chintzy By Barb Tobias NABBW’s Thrifting Expert I’ve been gleefully shopping thrift for over 30 years.  But, I’ve been wearing thrift since I grew from toddler to teen … from the proverbial hand-me-downs to the secondhand gown my mother bought me when I was voted Homecoming Queen.  Needless to say, having to live on the cheap for so long, I abhorred anything thrifty during my formative years. After I was married and on the rebound from my frugal years, I only bought new; determined not to live a life filled... Read More

Thrifty Christmas Decorating By Barb Tobias, NABBW’s Thrifting Expert I am a collector of orphans…the savior of parts.  I love to put together all the unloved pieces that people throw away and make masterpieces.  And, no season brings more opportunity than the holiday season. I begin my decorating by pulling out all my Christmas finds and begin sorting, purging and grouping “orphaned” items that will be used to fashion holiday displays. This year I made a splendid centerpiece from odds and ends collected throughout the year from various thrift venues…garage sales, flea markets... Read More