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Inspired by both the Apartment Therapy thread (thanks to that and jennyw's retrodepot twitter I've been fantasy cramming my house with beautiful furnishings I have absolutely no need for) and Anne's lament in the reTagit thread about never having any thrift store luck I'd like to start a forum to share thrift store finds. A place to share not only your personal scores, but things you saw that you don't need (a la the Apartment Therapy thread) in the hopes that someone else might score.
I hit a thrift store or two once every 1-2 weeks. I started off in the same boat with Anne: hearing about amazing finds but never finding anything myself. Then I changed my approach. I started going more often and I stopped going with specific expectations for each time. If I have something detailed and specific I'm trying to find I've learned to save the time and frustration and buy it new, I'll never find it thrifting. For instance, I can find a black skirt. I can't find a black knee length pencil skirt with a ruffled hem. This generalization has served me well.
Things I now buy pretty much exclusively at thrift stores:
- Purses (haven't bought a new purse in over two years)
- Wallets (ditto)
- Picture frames
- Baby clothes
- Plastic storage bins of every size from drawer organizers to tubs
- Exercise clothes ('cause who cares what it looks like?)
Things I will never buy from a thrift store: any bedding, pillows, stuffed animals, underthings. Just no.
My favorites are the Volunteers of America at Indianola and the High Street Clintonville Goodwill. Generally speaking I get lucky at Volunteers for baby clothes, coats, wallets, kitchen utensils, small storage bins. Goodwill for lamps, purses, large storage bins, picture frames.
Tips from my experiences:
- In clothes look at color first, feel for quality, then look at size. That way you don't waste time looking for clothes that fit if everything else is wrong. You know what colors you'll wear. And just because it's $1.00 doesn't mean it should be cheap. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll start being able to pick out the higher end labels based solely on how something feels.
- Try on clothes that have a tendency to shrink. I've relied on the tag size of too many sweaters only to realize at home they're fit for a 12 year old now.
-Go often but don't spend a long time digging, it's too frustrating when you don't find anything.
- Wash clothes before wearing (hopefully obvious)
- Keep a list of general, non-essential items that you'd like to find at a thrift store as you think of them so you'll remember to look out for them.
- Pay it forward. Donate your unwanted items to your favorite thrift store.
My hope is that this thread will inspire others to try thrift stores first before buying something new. It's not always feasible or practical, but it feels so awesome when you find something you need (or want) in good used shape at a fraction of the retail cost. It's the ultimate reduce, reuse, recycle.
Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.