I'm a real sucker for Goodwill and Salvation Army. (In case you don't have either in your area, they're charity-run thrift stores that sell donated goods.) They seem to have a high throughput rate, and I almost always find something that's actually interesting. To me, it feels really neat to wear something that's been around; it's like wearing history. (Assuming that that history doesn't show. I'm not into wearing dirty clothes!!) Given enough time, I always find what I'm looking for. Tonight, I found a beautiful, fitted, full-length winter coat for 7 USD. Too bad winter's almost over...
I've also had good luck with my dumpster, believe it or not. So few people are willing to do as much as peek, aside from bums, who usually aren't interested in nice furniture or pretty clothes. Before winter break, I found four or five large bags of clean (freshly-laundered) clothing (about a third of which fit), bedding (including a complete comforter-sheet-bedskirt set), several purses and an (empty) wallet, and kitchen supplies. I'm pretty sure that it was thrown away by a foreign-exchange student who couldn't take it all back home. What I kept was easily worth $100; my local Goodwill was *thrilled* when I dropped off the rest.
(Having no sense of shame feels really good.)
~ Burgundy ~