My Thrifting Tips
With the rise of grandmillenial style, and even more time spent at home I believe people are wanting to create homes that truly tell their unique story. That is where thrifting comes in. Thrifting is the search for second hand treasures at a discounted price.
The beauty in thrifting and why I LOVE the thrill of the hunt is that you never know what type of bargain or piece you will fall in love with. I have been sharing my thrifting adventures on my Instagram stories and many of my followers have had questions about thrifting. So today I thought I would answer some of those questions by sharing my tips for this fun hobby!
As a backstory, I have been thrifting and searching for vintage items for about 20 years. I grew up (and currently live) about 30 minutes from Round Top, Texas, which is known for its antique and vintage treasures because of Texas Antiques Week. I used to go to Round Top with my mother looking for treasures. Then, as a poor college student I used to visit thrift stores to find unique treasures for my home and my closet at very inexpensive price points. Fast forward to my first home with my husband, and I still visited thrift stores to score amazing and unique deals. And today I enjoy the thrill of the hunt even more, because I know what items cost and I have honed in on my decorating style even more.
*Before we start, I want to say that I am just a thrifting hobbyist. I am not an expert. These are tips that have helped me along the way. So, please let me know if you have more tips to share. Thank you, and Enjoy!
What is Thrifting?
As I mentioned above, thrifting has become very trendy recently and I am so here for it. Thrifting means to go shopping at a thrift store, garage sale, flea market, antique store, or estate sale where you'll find gently used items at discounted prices.
Difference between a Thrift Store, Antique Store, Estate Sale, and Garage Sale?
There are many wonderful places to score fantastic finds at great prices.
Thrift Stores: A thrift store is a brick and mortar store that only sells gently used items. Some national and popular thrift stores are Goodwill, Savers, and Salvation Army. However, you may have a local thrift store in your area that serves the community. You may also have a thrift store in the area that is for profit and is owned privately. Each thrift store operates differently, but they all sell gently used items.
Antique Store & Antique Mall: Whereas a thrift store is a random variety of gently used items, antique stores and malls are normally carefully curated vintage items. The shopping experience is generally better, but the prices reflect that. However, sometimes the booth owners of the antique stores may be willing to negotiate on prices with you.
Estate Sale: Estate sales are my favorite! Generally an estate sale is a collection of items from someone’s home after they leave their home. It has then been organized and priced to sell by an outside business that runs the estate sale. If you stumble upon the right estate sale, you can possibly get some amazing items. Estatesales.net is a great resource to find out about estate sales in your area. There are also normally pictures of the actual estate sale to see if you are interested in any of the items before you venture out.
Garage Sale: Garage sales are sales normally run by the owner of the house selling items they no longer need. You do have the potential to score some amazing deals at garage sales.
Why Thrift?
I believe in creating a home that tells your story. Thrifting allows for you to create a very unique and custom home with vintage pieces that are one-of-a-kind. I also enjoy the process of learning about vintage items. Their origins and the stories that vintage items tell are so fun. I love repurposing vintage items to serve a new modern purpose, like our vintage workbench turned kitchen island in our kitchen.
Now for the Thrifting Tips:
List
As you start to hone in on your design style, create an ongoing list in your phone of items you collect or are looking for. If you set an intention of something you are looking for, then chances are you may find it. Thrift stores can be overwhelming so it is good to train your eye to look for something that speaks to you.
Other social platforms may be a helpful resource, but I am partial to Instagram because that is where I spend most of my social media energy. I love following fellow thrifters on Instagram to learn more thrifting tips, to see trends, and to continue to hone in on my style. Some of my favorite accounts to follow that are thrifting inspirations are: The Makerista (She even has her own Thrift Club where you can learn more thrifting tips) | Leah Ashley (She has a Thrifty Thursday Live segment where she talks with thrifting experts every week) | At Home with Ashley (Every Thursday she goes thrifting, and her style is so cheerful and DIY attainable) | Oleander and Palm (She has her own vintage shop which is full of thrifted goodies) | Wicker Picker (Laurel has a cute Instagram shop that focuses on thrifted items).
What to Bring When you Thrift
Blanket and Ratchet Straps to keep your purchased items secure and safe on the ride home.
Hand Sanitizer. Thrifting can be messy so it helpful to keep hand sanitizer nearby.
Measuring Tape with a list of dimensions from your house where you are looking for treasures. I keep a measurement list in my notes section in my phone for areas in my home that I am looking for specific furniture or art pieces for. The scale of a piece looks completely different in a store versus your home.
When in Doubt, Pick it Up
When you find an item that you love, place it in your basket. Too many times I have loved a piece, but wasn’t ready to commit. So I browsed the store with the intention to think on it, and when I returned to get the piece it was gone. You can always put the piece back if you decide not to get it.
Go Often
Once you find your favorite thrift store I recommend going often. Items are constantly being shuffled and brought in. I also recommend getting to know the employees to see what day of the week or time new items come in.
Visit Smaller Towns
Not always, but sometimes the thrift stores in larger towns are picked through. I recommend venturing outside of the city limits once in a while to visit the smaller town thrift stores.
Visit Affluent Neighborhoods
I like to visit thrift stores in areas of town that I know are more affluent, because there can be some amazing deals with great treasures!
What to do when you outgrow your thrifted finds?
I love this question, because our style is constantly changing and evolving. I am under the design impression that if a piece doesn’t serve or make you happy than it is time to say goodbye to it.
Gift: I have given thrifted finds to family and friends as a gift if I know they will love it.
Sell: You can sell your thrifted finds that no longer serve on Facebook Marketplace. My only suggestion is to determine if you will get a return on your investment. Most of my thrifted pieces don’t cost a lot to begin with, so unless I believe I can make a decent amount of money on a piece I won’t normally sell it because it does take time to list, sell, and deliver a piece on Facebook Marketplace. However, it is all up to you.
Donate: Most of my thrifted pieces that don’t serve anymore go full circle, because I donate them back to our local charity thrift store. It makes me happy to think that someone will get just as much joy out of as I once did.
Favorite Online Thrift Stores
*This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure page here.
If you want to shop from the comfort of your own home for thrifted items, there are many options to do so. Here are my favorite places to visit.
ShopGoodwill This is an online Goodwill store. Each item is a part of an online auction with an end date and time. You bid as much as you want on the item until the time is up, and you will be notified whether or not you won the thrifted item. If you use the search box you can find some great pieces. However, I will warn you to always check to see how much shipping will cost because that can get expensive. One time I thought I was getting a stellar deal until I realized the shipping was more than the actual thrifted item.
ebay This is probably the most well known platform to purchase and sell items.
Etsy Etsy is not only a great resource to purchase handmade items, it is a wonderful shop to purchase used and vintage items. I love browsing all of the vintage items they have to offer.
Facebook Marketplace As I mentioned above, Facebook Marketplace is a great resource to buy and sell used items in your area.
1stDibs 1stDibs is a higher end marketplace that sells antique and vintage items. You may not score the deals you do at a thrift store, but you will score some beautiful treasures.
Thank you so much for following along today. I hope you learned some things, and now feel inspired to just go to a local thrift store and start looking. See what catches your eye, and before you know it you will start creating your own second hand collection that brings you so much joy!
Elizabeth
