The Monroe Thrift Shop, 119 S. Monroe St., Monroe, Mich., is promoting its Christmas merchandise with items such as Christmas decorations, holiday clothing for women, infants and children, toys and housewares.

The shop also currently has a large selection of men’s clothing, shoes for the family, linens and reading material.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, except for Tuesdays when the shop closes at 1 p.m.

The Monroe Thrift Shop Association is a volunteer group, with all store proceeds going back to the community through charitable donations.

If you are shopping second hand, I have a sidebar listing the contact information and hours for this and other thrift shops in the Monroe, Mich., area.

Trent and Lily’s Resale Boutique, 513 N. Telegraph Rd., Monroe, Mich., is advertising that it is purchasing name brand, gently used fall and winter clothing from Nov. 9-25.

There’s also a 15 percent off coupon for your entire purchase at Trent and Lily’s in this month’s Saving Sense book distributed by The Monroe Evening News.

The store’s phone number is (734) 457-0574.

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Monroe, Mich., has announced its Sixth Annual Coat Drive.

If you are able to donate a gently used winter coat in children’s or adult sizes, or children’s snow boots, deliver them to the parish office at 924 E. Second St., from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays (closed noon to 1 p.m.) and from 9:30 a.m. to noon Fridays.

If you are in need of a coat, the distribution will be free and on a first-come, first-served basis from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday Nov. 7 at the parish hall, 937 E. Third St. Just show up, bring any family members who are in need of a coat, and try on the available items to see what fits.

This distribution is like a giant hand-me-down closet, so it works best when there is a good selection and range of sizes. If you or the kids have changed sizes in recent years, drop off your old coats during the donation times. There usually are good early season sales on winter coats, so now is a good time to take inventory and see what you intend to replace this year.

Or maybe another family will, in the meantime, have dropped off winter clothing at the church that will fit you better.

The Monroe Thrift Shop, 119 S. Monroe St., Monroe, Mich., has announced its specials for October.

Women’s and men’s slacks will be buy one, get the second one free. The summer jackets are half off.

The shop volunteers also report they still have Halloween costumes and fall decorations in stock.

The store features linens, shoes, housewares, toys, books and gently used clothing in both children and adult sizes. The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, except for Tuesdays when the shop closes at 1.

All proceeds go back to the community through charitable donations.

Be sure to check out my list of second-hand shops in the Monroe area.

But if you are a family on a budget, I’d be hestitant to surrender your money for themed clothing that has a short shelf life.

Holiday shirts tend to be about the same cost of any other special design, sports or character clothes you might find in the stores. So it might seem to be a reasonable purchase.

But you’re only going to get two or three wears out of holiday shirts during the appropriate time of year, and then what? Are you expecting your kid to wear that skull shirt again during December?

Besides, the kids will be in a bigger size by the time next year comes around. If you have younger children at home whom you can hand down that holiday outfit to, that’s fine. Otherwise, you have purchased a shirt that you’ll have to put in a Mom 2 Mom Sale or donation box after just two or three wearings.

Even if you buy the adult-sized shirts for yourself or someone else, there’s a limited time of year when a holiday shirt will be worn.

Now, some parents and grandparents might prefer to buy Halloween play clothes in lieu of Halloween costumes. And that’s worth considering, if a holiday tee is replacing a more expensive costume purchase.

But here’s my better idea:

Spend your clothing money on solid-color tees, sweaters, blouses, sweatshirts and sweatpants in a variety of colors. You can often find the solid color tees and sweatshirts at a less expensive price in comparison to licensed character or graphic designs.

Then dress up your outfits during the season with accessories that have holiday or sports team themes such as these barrettes and hair bands (that were only $1 each at Target), men’s ties, necklaces, character pins, handbags or totes, slogan buttons, baseball hats, funny hats and bracelets.

Why is it a frugal option to spend your money on holiday accessories instead of holiday clothing?

First, solid color clothing can be worn year round, for a variety of occasions. Check out this list of ideas I brainstormed about what you can do with a red shirt or an orange shirt.

Second, those accessory pieces can be put into your holiday decoration box at the end of the season for use next year. I have a Halloween cat pin that my mother-in-law got tired of and gave to me nearly 10 years ago, and I still get a lot of use out of that pin every October. I can wear it on a dress shirt for work, on a sweatshirt to wear to a casual party, or I can put it on my jacket.

Stock up your dresser and closet with a bunch of solid color T-shirts, tank tops, blouses, skirts, pants and sweaters, and you will get much more use out of each piece of clothing.

Invest your theme money instead on mascot and campaign buttons, awareness ribbons, holiday pins, team logo ties, necklaces, earrings, hats and other accessories that you can wear from year to year, no worry about sizes, and no fuss about a shirt wearing out. You’ll find those doo-dads just as easily as you’ll find that souvenir shirt.

And frugal crafters can create some cool accessories that nobody else will have “seen in a store.” I still have a handcrafted 9-11 memorial pin that a friend made for me in September 2001.

Stock up on solid-color attire in these colors for …

• Red or dark red: Monroe High School games. Bedford High School games. Valentine’s Day. Christmas. Thanksgiving. Pentecost. Ohio State University games. Patriotic holidays. Kwanzaa. Political rallies. American Red Cross blood drive days.
• Blue, light blue or dark blue: Jefferson High School games. University of Michigan games. University of Notre Dame games. Detroit Lions games. Patriotic holidays. Chanukah. Political rallies. Police officers’ support event. Prayer service honoring Blessed Virgin Mary. Baby shower for a baby boy. Mother’s Day. Boy Scout event.
• Green: St. Mary Catholic Central High School games. Michigan State University games. St. Patrick’s Day. Christmas. NASCAR. Green Bay Packers games. Mardi Gras. Kwanzaa. Recycling event. 4-H event. Girl Scout event. Earth Day.
• Orange: Halloween. Thanksgiving. Detroit Tigers games. Bowling Green State University games. Beach party.
• Black: Halloween. Day of the Dead. Kwanzaa. POW-MIA Day.
• Brown: Halloween. Thanksgiving. Cleveland Browns games.
• Gold: Mardi Gras. Christmas. New Year’s Eve. St. Mary Catholic Central High School games.
• Pink: Valentine’s Day. Breast Cancer Awareness events. Easter. Baby shower for a baby girl. Mother’s Day. Beach party.
• Yellow: Military family events. POW-MIA Day. Easter. University of Michigan games.
• Purple: Advent. Lent. Easter. American Cancer Society Relay for Life events. Mardi Gras. Valentine’s Day. Harvest festival.
• Silver: Christmas. New Year’s Eve.
• Khaki: Military family events. Girl Scout event. Goes with almost anything.
• White: Valentine’s Day. Patriotic holidays. Goes with everything.

The staff is also featuring Halloween costumes along with holiday decorations and display items.

The store inventory includes linens, shoes, housewares, toys, books and gently used clothing in both childrens’ and adult sizes.

Monroe Thrift Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, except for Tuesdays when the shop closes at 1. The Thrift Shop Association is a volunteer gorup with all proceeds going back to the community through charitable donations.

The Stuff Under Twenty blog might be just your thing.

Thanks to Rob for the link!

We never made August a big time for clothes shopping. We bought jeans, shirts, shoes, socks, jackets, Girl Scout uniforms, etc., year-round as sizes changed or specific needs came up. Therefore, the shopping list at any given time was easy to manage.

Now that my daughter is in college, she is home only on occasion. This summer she was away for 10 weeks on a college internship. Since she doesn’t have her own car, we always cram in a bunch of errands when she is home.

As the frugal momma, I was buying notebooks, pens, highlighters and dorm room supplies before she got home.

But the only clothes I have personally picked out for my daughter in recent years have been a couple of sweatshirts and three sweaters. Sometimes, we go shopping together and I give her a budget to stay within for whatever she’s in search of that day. She also buys clothing with money she earns from her jobs or receives as gifts. It’s pretty typical in our family for grandma or an auntie to say “I’ll take her clothes shopping for her birthday!” and I say, “Have fun!”

This summer has resulted in one of my daughter’s biggest closet and dresser overhauls to date. It’s not that my daughter is picky, but as a 20-year-old, she has been settling into campus and professional fashions rather than high school fashions. And some of her older clothes just don’t fit any more.

We took some boxes of clothes to Goodwill to clear out what she isn’t using.

The big task this week: find some new jeans.

I usually give the girl my car keys and let her shop on her own. But this week, we were combining other errands with trips to northwest Ohio stores after she maxed out her shopping options here in Monroe.

The problem for my daughter is: she’s in between standard juniors’ sizes on jeans, in addition to being in between on petite vs. regular length pants. She did find a total of three new pairs of jeans, in addition to some new tops. But she has spent a lot of time in the fitting rooms at multiple department stores this week seeking out jeans that fit properly.

What’s Mom been doing in the meantime?

• Texting on the cell phone. At one point today, my husband sent a text asking about dinner plans. I texted back we were still shopping in Ohio, and he could have frozen pizza for dinner.
• Wandering around the women’s clothes aisles. Much to my surprise, I happened to find a pair of jeans that fit me for only $15 at one store, and two dressy sleeveless tops for $6 each at another store.
• Chatting with my mom. It was Grandma’s suggestion which mall to hit today, after hearing what stores we had already been to, and she came along with us today.
• Sitting on the floor at one store, and sitting at the bench at the entrance to another store, because the merchants couldn’t be bothered to put a waiting area with chairs near the fitting rooms. Hello?
• Listened to the conversations of some Ohio families whose school is adopting uniforms for the first time this year. “It’s not my idea!” one mom said in exasperation to her daughter, who fussed why a particular pair of pants wouldn’t meet dress code. “This uniform situation is costing me a lot of money this year.” (When it comes to uniforms, the cost savings show up a year or two after the dress code is in effect and hand-me-downs are easily available. You will have to spend money the first year on a new style of clothes that are not already in one’s dresser or closet.)

I did survive the annoyances of back-to-school clothes shopping this week.

I don’t know how you other moms put up with that ordeal year after year after year.

The Aug. 11 edition was hosted by It’s Frugal Being Green. Here are some of the posts you will find:

• Sound Money Matters presents Affordable Wedding Photography: “Ask your friends to take the photos? Unless your friends are professional photographers who are offering your services as a gift, you will probably regret this. First, there is an art to wedding photography and capturing the right moments. Our friends sent us their digital snaps, which were lovely, but our professional images were better and higher-quality.” I see this situation in newspaper photography too. Although my main job is a newspaper reporter, I also used to shoot pictures and a lot of my photos made it into print or won local awards in Ohio during the 1990s. The problem is, one needs the right equipment to make professional-quality pictures happen. My 35mm camera is not repairable, I can’t afford to upgrade to professional digital equipment, and pocket digitals aren’t going to do the job.
• The Homemaking Helper presents Bridal Shower on a Budget: “The theme for the shower was “A Year of Firsts”. Basically, each person had a gift assignment to go along with the theme. For example, one of the bride’s friends was assigned “first house cleaning”.” The traditional gifts of a bridal shower are not old fashioned or demeaning to women, they are practical. Regardless of a couple’s social status, careers or income level, there are still homemaker duties that need to be done by one or both people.
• Simply Saving presents Saving Money on Clothing and Personal Care:  “Buy only because you need clothing and buy only those items that will fit into your present wardrobe. If you are choosing between two outfits, buy the one that goes best with what you already have.” One of my tricks is to buy solid color shirts that will dress up to a variety of seasons and occasions with a hat, scarf, necklace or pin. A solid blue shirt, for example, can be worn on a patriotic holiday and to celebrate your favorite sports team.