How to Find Planters at the Thrift Store + Tour of the NEW Deseret Industries Store in Fontana, CA

This post is sponsored by Deseret Industries. All opinions are 100% my own. I was recently invited to check out a brand new thrift store in the IE this past Thursday: Deseret Industries has opened a new location in Fontana, CA! The store is enormous, filled with 40,000 items with an average of 2000 to 3000 new items added DAILY. Yes, DAILY! I had shopped Deseret Industries in the past, when they had locations in San Bernardino and Colton, California. Three things about this new Deseret Industries store really impressed me: the selection, the prices, and the staff. While at the store, I was able to score a bunch of amazing things with my $50 budget, including an entire summer wardrobe for my son Matthew! I'll be posting a haul video of all the wonderful treasure I found at this thrift store soon as well as more photos of the inside of the store. Today, I want to share my tips for finding fabulous affordable planters at the thrift store. Mother's Day is tomorrow and if you are freaking out because you haven't found the perfect gift for mom yet, don't worry. Get $10 and head to the thrift shop … but first read this post to see how to find planters at the thrift store and make them into a fabulous potted plant gift.

I am pretty sure my mom does not read my blog so it's safe to share this with you. I spent less than $5 on my Mother's Day gift! Is that a badge of honor? Probably not but hey, she does not need to know what I spent.  My mom likes blue and yellow so when I saw this pitcher at Deseret Industries, I knew she would love it. For a few years, she has been making comments about how much she wishes she had an herb garden like mine. I recently posted a photo of a thyme plant in my garden on Instagram and she said she wanted some thyme. Well, how about getting her a thyme plant of her own? I picked up a thyme plant at a local home improvement store for a few dollars. I already had a big bag of potting mix at home so I went to work. Here's how I turned this $1.50 thrifted pitcher into an upcycled herb garden for less than $5:

1. Fill the pitcher 3/4 full with potting soil.
2. Remove a growing herb from the pot it came in. Insert into the top of the pitcher.
3. Surround the plant with more potting soil to fill in any spaces.
4. Water sparingly to avoid over-saturating the soil.

It would be super cute to collect several pitchers and plant different herbs in each of them to make a pretty tabletop herb garden. You can use seeds rather than established plants but since Mother's Day is tomorrow, it might look sad to give your mom a pitcher of dirt so just spend a few bucks to get the living herb plant this time around. These upcycled pitcher herb gardens would also make great housewarming and wedding gifts!

If you're concerned about drainage, use a drill bit for tile to drill holes in the bottom of the pitcher and add a saucer underneath to catch any run-off. I'll be sharing the succulent project above next week, using a bowl I also bought at Deseret Industries for just $2. I found both of these “planters” in the kitchen and housewares section of the store. Look for shapes and colors in containers that you would like to use with your plants. Similar pots and planters can cost nearly $80 to purchase, like this one from West Elm. With kids, cats, and dogs around, there is no way I am spending that much money on a breakable item in my house but I still want my house to look nice.

Here are my best tips for helping you find affordable planters at thrift shops like Deseret Industries:

I hope this gives you some ideas about how to look at great finds at the thrift shop in a new way to see how you can use them in your home and life. Today is the last day of the Grand Opening celebration at Deseret Industries, located at 16593 Valley Blvd, Fontana, CA. There are free tote bags for the first 500 attendees and Brooke White, finalist for American Idol, will be there from 1:30 pm to 3:15 pm. There are some amazing finds to be had, such as prom dresses, jeans, new clothes, and more! When I walked in the store, this lady had a gorgeous like new dollhouse in her cart!

Not only can you save money and score some great deals at Deseret Industries, you can feel good about it too. In 2014 alone, Deseret Industries provided over 75,000 community grants, helped more than 3500 people find permanent employment, produced over 55,000 humanitarian kits for disaster relief, and manufactured and shipped over 72,000 mattresses in humanitarian efforts around the globe. Not only does your purchase save you money, it helps people find jobs and get training as well as helps those in need here and around the globe. I might just go back for more great finds today… will I see you there?

Be sure to post your finds to social media using the hashtag #DIFinds and connect with Deseret Industries on Facebook for the latest news.

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