Best Big Thrift Shop

You pays your money, you takes your choice. And with the size of the newest Goodwill store -- a robust 11,300 square feet -- you have to be alert to the good things Goodwill will sometimes have coming and going. Skis? Sure. Snowboards? Once in a while. The best way to check it out is to check it out. While the economy was booming (remember that?), donations were up. However, the recent downturn has also been good for business, with buyers pushing profits from donated items over $20 million, organizers say. That's enough to fund programs for more than 6,000 disabled and disadvantaged people annually, mostly through job-training and support services. All while giving a few of those snowboards, skis -- and maybe some faded Levi's -- new lives with new owners.