My Favorite Items to Thrift

I have loved going thrifting since I was in high school. When I started making my own money around the age of 16, thrifting was the cheapest option if I wanted to go shopping for clothes, and I fell in LOVE. I have always loved the idea of giving a second life to used items. My tastes have changed now that I am 37, and there are certain items I gravitate towards when thrifting. I thought it would be fun to share with you my favorite items to thrift and include some of my tips when deciding on what to buy!

Picture Frames

Picture frames and wall art at places like Fred Meyer, Walmart, and Target can be ridiculously expensive. And picture frames at The Dollar Tree are cheap, and the quality is not great. I don’t think I have purchased a brand new picture frame for years, except for when we got custom framing at Michael’s done for a few paintings my friend has done. You can find great deals on good-quality picture frames at the thrift store.

A few tips:

Look for wooden frames with fun one of a kind designs.
Remember measurements if you are looking for a specific size frame. Remember, you can always add matting to a frame that may be a bit too larger for your needs.
Make sure there are no cracks in the frame or the glass.
Look in the wall art section, the art can always be removed if you love the frame!
I like to think of other ways I can use frames like these Halloween decorations I did last year for Blogtober!

Serving Dishes

Over the years, I have gotten more into hosting people at our house. I soon realized how little we had in the way of serving dishes. Most of what we had were things we only brought out for Christmas. While I love using those things for other hosting jobs, I wanted some other unique pieces to add to our collection. While wandering through Value Village one day, I happened upon the serving ware section, and it did not disappoint! I brought home a beautiful, large serving bowl for less than $5, and I was hooked! I haven’t bought much serving ware since, but it is one of my favorite sections to browse whenever I am shopping!

A few tips:

Make sure there are no cracks anywhere on the piece.
Look for fun and unique designs.
If something comes in a set or there are multiples, consider buying the set or the others. I like to serve things like olives and pickles in matching dishes.
Make sure to wash everything once you get it home. I always look to see if something is dishwasher safe as well for easy clean up but it’s not a deal breaker.

Books

If you love books as much as I do, the thrift store is the perfect place to add to your “to be read” list! Stores like Value Village and Goodwill always have sales like buy 4 and get the 5th free! The price of books at the thrift store cannot be beat either! So even if you buy all 4, you are not going to break the bank.

A few tips:

Don’t just browse the fiction section, the cookbook section has some gems in it as well!
Look for coffee table books; you can get these at a bargain, and the covers can be removed to match any decor.
Once you’ve read the books you bought second-hand, consider putting them in little libraries around where you live. I think a lot of times thrift stores can get inundated with more books than they can display, so some of them could end up in a landfill. A little library is the perfect way to pass on a story that you love to the next curious reader!

Tops/Sweaters

When I was in high school, I used to get all my t-shirts from the little kid section of the thrift store. They always had fun designs on them or were from local youth sports teams. As an adult, I have graduated to the women’s section and have found a few terrific second-hand pieces for my wardrobe. For the most part, I stick to blouses, t-shirts, and sweaters when I am browsing. The items I have brought home are some of my favorite pieces to wear! I found a brand new J.Crew cashmere sweater at Value Village for $5 one time, and it still is one of my favorite Fall/Winter sweaters!

A few tips:

Make sure to examine each piece closely. If it has a stain or a funny smell, I will not buy it, but if it’s something I can fix I will take it with me!
Browsing the tops can feel overwhelming because there is always so much. So, if I don’t have much time, I look for colors I like and look at those pieces instead of looking through each item of clothing on the rack. A lot of times I like to stick with simple patterns or solid colors when I am looking through the racks.
Make sure to check the size, and if there are dressing rooms at the store, you can always try things on.

Holiday Decor

Many of my holiday decoration DIY’s utilize pieces that I have found at the thrift store to upcycle! I love thinking outside of the box when it comes to holiday decor. The great thing is, there is usually a seasonal section in the thrift store all year round and to me, it’s never too early to be thinking about more fun holiday decoration DIY’s I can do for blogtober and beyond!

A few tips:

Most items can be upcycled or changed in some way. You can paint over a lot of things, remove things that are broken, sometimes you can repair other broken pieces. Think outside the box when you’re browsing, and I think you’ll find that there is a treasure trove of second-hand items that you can make your own!
A lot of times, there is a seasonal section of small bagged items, don’t miss out on this. Last year I found a bag of 4 little ghost candles that were a great addition to my Halloween decor collection!
There are always holiday candles available if you aren’t wanting to purchase new candles every year around Fall and the holidays.
Little wooden signs or wooden pieces are always a good buy. Most of the time, you can paint over them and make them your own!
I love to look at the florals section for wreaths. There is usually always a grapevine wreath, and towards Christmas, they put out some evergreen wreaths as well. These can easily be made to look more expensive with some paint or other festive items added!