I recently decided to venture out into Florence and visit a few local thrift shops in order to tell other college students where to find bargain shopping. I turned to my all-powerful iPhone and Siri to assist in guiding me to my destination, and sure enough, it brought me to my first store of thrift.

I was guided to The Blue Door Thrift Store. This store was filled with interesting delights. I found a lot of kitchenware, such as crystal glasses, plates, coffee mugs and teacups (which I bought, being an avid hot tea drinker). I found living room décor, vintage lamps, a dazzling bell collection and old wall hangings of random nature scenes. The store had many clothing options for both males and females, all at very affordable prices. To top it off, they had a huge collection of novels, a good selection of college textbooks and even tons of VHS movies, which included some titles you may know like “The Land Before Time” series and Harry Potter.

Second was the Christian-owned Loaves and Fishes thrift store. This store is kind of petite and had mostly women’s clothing and kitchenware. I dug deep and, sadly, only brought forth glass grapes on a vine, which I immediately purchased — but don’t ask why. Impulse buying is oftentimes one of my worst habits. Loaves and Fishes also had a lot of women’s handbags and shoes. To be honest, I didn’t linger long.

To finalize my thrift store excursion, I came upon a well-known local business — Fashion Exchange. A bit more posh than the previous two, it had better décor, finer furniture for sale and more refined decorating supplies. Fortunately, even though these things are nice, their price tags were consumer-friendly. I found some great living room lamps, mirrors and knick-knacks. They also sell a large array of clothing, of course. One particularly unique item I found was a karaoke system with a built-in monitor.

My adventure to discover thrift stores was an informative and beneficial one. I (surprisingly) enjoyed myself, but I also had a few bucks to spare. I recommend taking a trip of your own to explore the thrift shops in the Shoals area if you are able to do so.