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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]