An inside perspective of Goodwill

Many of us are familiar with the Goodwill store located on Watertower Rd in Menominee Falls.

Most of us only know the store from the outside - specifically the donations doors, where we drop off clothing, electronics, furniture, knick knacks and whatever other treasures are taking up space in our basements or garages. For many of us, we see Goodwill as the means to a charitable donations tax receipt. For the more saintly among us, donating is simply the right thing to do.

Recently I was introduced to Goodwill from a brand new perspective - the front door.

I have to credit my son, who currently works there, for opening up my eyes to what they have for sale. Our family is pretty well off and I admit that I've always held a bias against shopping there. I'm not sure whether I was "too proud" or "too snobby" or perhaps both.

All this time I was depriving myself of some fun. I've found that the Goodwill shopping experience is a little like an organized rummage sale without all the price haggling.

What Goodwill doesn't really advertise, is that they also offer new (overstocked) items from many of the Big Box stores. They pull off the garment tags, so you can't tell the store of origin, but nevertheless there are tremendous values for astute shoppers.

Other examples include stuff you need everyday. Just in time for Christmas they were selling AA battery packs for less than half the price of Wal-Mart! Who doesn't need batteries? Other recent purchases included a cell phone car charger and additional memory for a digital camera.

Last October we purchased some clothing for Halloween costumes there.

And remember that all proceeds go for a worthy cause. They also have an online auction store. Check it out for yourself.

Next time you're at Goodwill, try something different. Try the front door.