If you enjoy a hot beverage once in a while, you've probably felt it: the conviction that a lovely mug would make you happy. Do you know the domestic bliss encapsulated in that tableau; a clean surface, a project you enjoy, a mug that signifies your style? It's the still-life art as life.

But there's a dark side to this scene of homely perfection. Mugs break. And if you're clumsy like me -- or if you have a houseful of roughhousing children, like me -- it's a good bet that your tableaux are often shattered (figuratively, literally, noisily) by an errant elbow, an exuberantly tossed pillow, a swift brotherly punch. (I'm trying to break the boys of their fighting but, troublingly, they're boys.)

It's why buying mugs from thrift stores, is the better way to go. Never troubled by a chipped or crackled mug, I delight in discovering the lonesome pottery or ceramic that might make my coffee table complete. I pay a dollar, or less, per interesting colorful vessel and it brightens my life, until it breaks, without depressing my wallet. I don't have to commit to just one look, either; I can choose the speckly one with coffee, the green one with tea, the snow-flake-covered one with hot chocolate. Thrifting mugs? It's a win-win.

This post was written as part of a series on how to thrift shop smarter. Read more on what to buy, and not to buy, at thrift stores.

I used to be something of a mall rat, flashing my plastic to buy whatever pretty thing was on sale! (40% off way too much, whee!). And then I grew up, got a couple of kids, and discovered real happiness at the Goodwill Outlet in my town (we call it "the Bins"). All the same fashions as the mall -- well, all last year's fashions -- but sold for 69 cents a pound. True love ensued.

Now I'm a savvy "picker," a woman who knows what to look for and can spot a valuable find an aisle away. I've also filled up big boxes of failed purchases to send back for some other unschooled thrifty soul. Here are a few things I've learned:

Do thrift: Coffee mugs. I don't know about you, but I love a cute mug. It makes me happy, sitting there on my desk, and I'm always wanting to spend $9.99 on a cool new shape at Starbucks. But wait! In another year it will be calling your name in a bin at your friendly thrift store, for 99 cents, and you won't mind so much when you drop it. After all, there's sure to be another great new mug waiting in the wings.

Don't thrift: Baking pans. Why do I persist in believing I can scrub that spot of rust off? I've ruined a fair number of perfectly good cupcakes with (ahem) "vintage" baking pans I found for such a bargain. New loaf pans, cupcake tins, and pie plates are the way to go here.