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GREENSBORO — Peggy Smith sees customers of all stripes at her thrift store.

Treasure hunters. Those barely making ends meet in tough economic times. Rich and poor.

Lately, college students and their moms have been shopping for dorm room supplies on the cheap at the Freedom House Thrift Store on West Market Street.

One thing many have in common? Filling the thrift store's donation jar on the front counter.

The money is used to support a group home for mothers struggling with addiction that's run by Freedom House, a nonprofit Christian ministry.

"A lot of people I know who are struggling themselves will put a donation in there, however small," Smith said inside the store, her voice filled with emotion. "It touches my heart."

Giving back to the community? Priceless.

Great deals? Icing on the cake.

Freedom House has plenty of those, too.

Take the brand-name jeans such as Route 66 and Gap in great condition for $3.99 to $6.99. Or two-piece women's suits for $5.99, purses for $3, men's suits for $8.99, king-size bed sheets for $6 to $7.

Plus other merchandise including books, CDs, records, 45s, paintings, dolls, trinkets, jewelry and more.

"We basically have a little bit of everything," Smith said.

The store has also seen a steady increase in customers since opening in 2007.

Reasons include the recession, which reflects nationwide trends regarding customers hoping to stretch their dollars by turning to resale shops. But there are other factors. A recently opened flea market that shares the same shopping center space is drawing some new customers to Freedom House Thrift.

More customers visit the store whenever fashion consultant Beth Sartore features it in Style Cents, her column that appears on 24l7 the first Sunday of each month.

"Every time we're in the column, you know, I have it up, and people will say even now -- we were in there two months ago -- that people will say, 'Oh, that's how I found you,' " Smith said.

The store is at 4639-B W. Market St. in Greensboro. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Learn more about Freedom House at www.helpfreedom house.org.

You can also check out a slide show I created about Freedom House Thrift.

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Get your musical instruments for a song.

If you have something collecting dust you'd like to sell or need an instrument for your child, you might want to check out next month's musical instrument consignment sale in Greensboro.

Bring your used instruments to The Music Academy of North Carolina at 1327 Beaman Place, Suite 100, in Greensboro from 3 to 8 p.m. Sept. 25. They will then be evaluated and priced by music professionals. The instruments will go on sale to the public the next day beginning at 8 a.m.

To reserve your space to sell, send an e-mail to sdicamillo@musicacademync.org or call 379-8748, Ext. 112.

The academy's Web site is www.musicacademync.org.

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Morrisville is a bit of a hike from the Triad.

But it might be worth the extra time and gas money to check out Kids EveryWear's huge consignment sale.

It starts next weekend at Morrisville Outlet Mall.

"People drive from Florida, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina," said Gail Walker, co-owner of Kids EveryWear, which holds children's consignment sales twice a year. "A fair number of people even schedule their vacations around our sale."

The event features more than 1,000 consigners and hundreds of volunteers selling kids' clothing, toys, furniture, maternity clothes, boutique-brand items and more.

The consigner slots have been filled. But you can still consign if you volunteer at least 12 hours. As an added bonus, consigners and volunteers get first dibs on the merchandise starting Saturday.

The sale is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 11 and 12, 1 to 6 p.m. Sept. 13 and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 14 and 15.

Some items will be 50 percent off Sept. 14 and 75 percent off Sept. 15.

More information, including directions and how to volunteer, is available at www.kidseverywear.com.

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So, you may have heard JetBlue's recent announcement it will sell a one-month $599 unlimited travel pass.

That allows travelers to fly round-trip from 57 cities between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8.

Deal or dud?

"The bottom line: You'll need to do your homework on the rules and restrictions and do the math to compare the pass to fares on JetBlue.com and other sites," according to SmartMoney, the Wall Street Journal's sister publication. "But if you've got a couple of trips you've been wanting to take and you're willing to squeeze them all into one month, this could be a good way to save."

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Become Web savvy. Check out the Bargain Blog. Also, subscribe to the weekly Bargain Bytes e-newsletter, which is free, at www.news-record.com/bargains. You can also sign up for my Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/bargainblog.

Contact Mike Fuchs at 373-3465 or michael.fuchs @news-record.com