At Second Glance: Thrifting in the Grand Forks Region

There are many reasons to go thrift shopping. Some are hoping to minimize their impact on the environment by giving new life to secondhand clothing and treasures. Others like the sense of adventure and the thrill of the chase. Everyone is looking for a bargain!

On Saturday, May 3rd, my wife Jen (JB) and I picked up our daughter Ashley (AB) for an afternoon of thrifting in Grand Forks. I wanted to include these two expert shoppers in my fact-finding mission, and I am happy to report that there are many bargains to be found!

The set-up was simple: Each of us started with fifty dollars that we HAD to spend on the other two. That is to say, I had $25 in one pocket for JB and $25 in the other pocked for AB. My wife was to shop for me and our daughter, while Ashley was on the hunt for the best finds for each of her two parental units.

In our advance planning, we discovered that there were SIX thrift stores open in Grand Forks on the first Saturday in May (your mileage may vary). We visited all six in the span of under three hours!

Our first stop was Get Your Thrift On near the corner of North Washington and DeMers Avenue. This place had the feel of an antique shop, but with lower prices. Admittedly, it’s tough to purchase something on the first stop of a six-store tour, as we had so many more worlds to explore. I would like to pay this shop another visit without the pressure of our thrifting experiment because it might take me all afternoon just to go through all their games!

Our daughter mentioned that 701 Thrift used to have shop cats, but they weren’t allowed to be there anymore. Despite that less-than-purrfect bit of news, we found a number of items here, including one of my favorite finds of the day – a llama bank for AB! 701 has tons of inventory and a back room that seems to go on forever, so make sure you explore every nook and cranny!

This was our favorite store of the entire day! St. Joseph’s is well-organized and inexpensive, with friendly, helpful staff. I found left-handed golf clubs for AB along with a like-new quesadilla maker for my wife – just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

St. Joe’s also offers 25% off to various groups throughout the week:

• Monday: All shoppers 55 years old or better
• Tuesday: Medical professionals
• Wednesday: Active military/veterans, police, fire
• Thursday: All teachers and students

When you donate and shop at St. Joseph’s Thrift Store, your contributions have a significant impact on those in need right here in Grand Forks. Clean, gently used items in good working order are accepted either for drop off or pick up as scheduled below:

• Drop Off Donation Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
• Pick Up: Mondays and Wednesdays after 1:00 p.m. (please call 701.795.8614 to schedule a pickup time in advance)

Items are then sorted, with some going into the thrift store and others being given to those in need.

We were also very impressed with this store, which is in a new location at the end of a strip mall. The ARC had a bit more limited selection when we visited, but the shelves and racks were well organized, as if items were carefully selected for display. I found some golf balls to get AB ready for the course!

All of the profits from thrift store sales are used to support The Arc Upper Valley’s programs and services, which promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively support their full inclusion in the community throughout their lifetimes.

Donation drop-off hours are typically the same as the store’s operational hours (Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).

Goodwill felt very much like a discount retail outlet, with a wide selection and lots of staff members. Prices were a bit higher than at some other thrift stores, but many items were new or like new, and the high number of shoppers seemed to indicate that this place stays busy and turns over inventory quite often.

Easter Seals Goodwill North Dakota holds an affiliation with two national organizations: Easter Seals and Goodwill Industries. Their services include skill development, personal care, meal preparation, and money management, and their mission is fulfilled through the sale of donated goods.

Goodwill accepts drop-off donations during regular store hours.

Our last stop of the day. We struggled a bit to spend the remainder of our thrifting funds, as the inventory seemed a bit picked over. Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch thrift store also supplements their donations with some new items available for purchase.

This thrift store benefits a residential treatment and educational center for children and their families, providing trauma-informed care and giving people a safe place to live, learn, and heal. By donating to or shopping at one of the eight Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Thrift store locations, you are giving children the tools they need to be their best selves.

This location accepts donations Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon – 4:00 p.m. or until the store’s donation space is full. Donors are asked to bring in only saleable items.

Note: Salvation Army, the seventh thrift store with a Grand Forks address, was closed on our shopping day. Despite this, their website explains how they have a wide variety of products for sale. Your purchase always contributes to the Salvation Army’s important programs as well, so you’re being more sustainable and helping those in need!

For more than one hundred years, the Salvation Army has operated rehabilitation facilities across the country that provide help and hope to individuals with a variety of challenges, including issues relating to substance abuse. Their charitable residential programs offer spiritual, emotional, and social assistance in an environment designed to help participants live healthy, fulfilling lives.

Items can be dropped off between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our thrifting adventure:

• This would be a fun family adventure, friends’ day, or unexpected date idea. We had much more fun shopping for each other than we would have had shopping for ourselves. (you could shop for each other, and then wear your new outfits out to dinner!)
• Even though each of us had a couple of items on our “wish lists”, we really shopped with an open mind, and I think that enabled us to have more fun and embrace the adventure.
• As inventories change rapidly, it would be a good idea to re-visit favorite stores at least once or twice a month.
• Most of these thrift stores also make a community impact by re-investing dollars into services and social care programs that benefit our citizens. Please thank them for embracing that mission and doing good in the world!