Best Thrift Shopping Tips
I’ve been thrift shopping for the last few years, and I’ve learned so much over the years. Some of my most favorite things and collections in our home were found at the thrift store. So much has changed for me when it comes to thrifting, and I’d love to share it with you, what’s working for me now.
Here’s my best tips for thrift store shopping.
1. Go Often: For me the biggest trick to finding great things at the thrift store is to go often. That’s it! If you are there often, chances are you will find some cool stuff. I love to go once a week maybe twice a week if I can swing it. I try to figure out the times they bring stuff out and swing by around those times. Sometimes it’s hit and sometimes it’s miss, but if you are there often, chances are it will be more hit than miss. And when it’s a good day…it’s the best!
2. Use a Coupon: I know…I know, it’s already cheap stuff, right?! Well, if you go often, you’ll find out quick that it’s not cheap, especially if you have good luck. It’s a great idea to use a coupon if they offer it. By bringing in a small donation of unwanted items from around your home, some stores offer a 20% off coupon that can really help your bottom dollar. Part of the big draw with thrifting for me is how inexpensive I can find things. The coupon is a bonus to that satisfying feeling. If the store near you offers a coupon, use it!
3. Make a List: Be very specific about what it is you are looking for every time you shop. You will always be glad you did. Not only will you spend less money, but you will spend less time too. It helps if you collect something specific, this way you have a clear thing in mind that you’re hunting for.
4. It’s okay to leave empty handed: As much as I love to thrift shop and shop in general, I must say there’s something so satisfying about not buying anything at all sometimes. Knowing that your money stayed with you. If you really don’t see anything special that day, don’t ever buy something just to buy something.
5. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover: Some of the best finds I have found at the thrift store were bought with the intention to give it a make over. In the last year, I have started shopping in the clothing section. This summer I needed a new pair of denim shorts, but it was toward the end of Summer, and I knew they’d be hard to find in the regular stores. So I tried on a bunch of jeans and judged them solely on how they looked on my (big ole’) behind. I found a pair I loved and had them made into shorts.
That’s it for my tips. I’d love to hear what works for you when you go thrifting too. Recently I’ve taken my vintage hunting from thrift stores to Ebay, and I’m in love! It’s all the thrills of the hunt from the comfort of my home. Ebay just rolled out a new feature called Collections that really makes it so easy for me to organize my favorites together. It’s so great! Whatever it is that you love, you can create a collection and basically organize or curate all those like items together.
Right now I’m loving vintage brass things, from ornate frames to little animal figurines, there is something so timeless about brass.
I shared my milk glass collection here a while ago, but I would love to start adding some vintage jadeite pieces here and there. Here are some of the fun jadeite finds I’ve added to my eBay collection.
I can’t leave out the vintage pyrex. I’m just getting started with the vintage pyrex, and I would just about DIE if I ever found bowls like these amazing scalloped Crown Bowls that Little Betty Designs found. Are these not the most cute bowls?? Talk about your best thrift day ever!
Here are some fun vintage pyrex dishes I’ve added to my eBay collection:
Have a great day!
