Thrift shopping bonanza

I haven't made a pitch recently for the National Thrift Store month petition, so here it is!

Yesterday, both Value Village and Goodwill had 50% off sales in honor of Labor Day, and daughter and I went shopping! Spending a total of $30, we bought:

-- Three kids' movies
-- Two books for daughter, and two for me
-- A hamper (a much needed item in our house!)
-- A purse for me, since the strap on my old one recently broke
-- An additional Brita pitcher and a popcorn bowl
-- Various clothing items for daughter, including winter boots, a leotard (she wants to take ballet), and two pairs of underwear
-- A necklace and jewelry case for daughter
-- The accessories to accompany my daughter's Halloween costume. My sister bought her a pink princess dress earlier this year, and we found some fairy wings that attach to her shoulders on an earlier thrift store trip. Yesterday, we were able to buy earrings, a necklace, a crown and a fairy wand to make the costume complete.

Among that list, there is one item I wish I didn't have to buy, and that's the purse. I now have in my closet three purses in great condition, except that the straps are broken. Not even the straps really, but the little piece of leather that attaches the strap to the purse itself. I have tried in vain to ask at tailor shops and shoe repair shops to see if they can fix them, and I've always been told no. In each case, it should be a relatively easy thing to fix, requiring only a few stitches if one has a heavy-duty sewing machine and thick thread. It just seems crazy that I should have to abandon decent handbags for want of a few stitches.

No Impact Man has written about this on occasion: the lack of people today who can repair things such as appliances, and how that negatively contributes to our throw-away society. I'm glad I found the new purse, but in the meantime, I'll hold on to the old ones in hope that someday I'll be able to have them repaired.

(*Note: my mother tried in vain to teach me how to sew by machine when I was twelve. I really wish I had been more adept, but even if I could sew, I'd need a heavy-duty machine that can handle leather. I can darn holes and sew on buttons by hand, however.)