What to Always Look for at Thrift Stores

Thrift stores are one of those things you either love or hate. I personally love the thrill of the hunt, finding a good bargain, and knowing that I’m reusing something rather than buying new. Alex, on the other hand, feels grimy sifting through other people’s old crap, so it’s usually a solo venture for me on the weekends. That’s why I felt it was time to put together some tips for a thrift store shopping guide.

Some of my favorite home decor items have been from thrift stores or Facebook Marketplace (which to me also counts as thrifting) and I spent close to a year collecting frames and bud vases for our wedding decor, but I will say it takes persistence and sometimes stopping in a lot to find what you’re looking for.

So, if you’re new at thrifting (or just a little overwhelmed), here’s my quick hit list of what to always look for in the store:

Frames and art

Sometimes you’ve got to dig through homemade inspirational quotes and creepy paintings of little girls, but if you can find vintage artwork or really big frames on the cheap, it’s totally worth it. For our wedding, I used the glass from large frames and my Silhouette to make calligraphy-style seating chart signs, and love finding unique or old-looking frames for gallery walls.

Cutting boards

So disclaimer, usually these are for decor more than actually using them, but the older the better in my opinion. I try to find different sizes, shapes and wood tones for open shelf styling.

Cookbooks (and just books in general)

Have you guys tried to buy new cookbooks? Literally $20 to $30 each. Thrift stores do generally have a ton that smell like old lady must, but every now and then you’ll find a crisp, new-looking one that doesn’t even have any spaghetti sauce-stained pages and they make another good open shelf styling item.

Baskets

Do I have too many thrift store baskets throughout my home? Possibly. Will I stop buying them? Absolutely not. I find it easiest to have some kind of idea on what type of basket I’m looking for in a certain space, but I often also see a 99 cent cutie I just can’t pass up and add it to my collection. In a tiny home like ours, you can never have too many baskets to corral all your clutter.

BONUS TIP:

If the idea of walking into a secondhand store is a little much, keep a note saved in your phone with any items you’re looking for so you’ve got some kind of direction any time you stop in. If you know you’re looking for a dresser for your guest room, for example, it’ll be much easier to stay focused when you’re shopping if you’ve got your idea written down.

Extra points if you keep dimensions of items you’re looking for and a tiny tape measure in your purse.

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