If there’s one thing I love, it’s thrifting. It’s my form of self-care: taking myself out for a coffee date and then walking aimlessly around a thrift store and seeing all of the interesting things that people have abandoned, and wondering what the story is behind each item.

I’m glad you asked. By my definition, thrifting is the act of purchasing secondhand/used items from a store or person that sells those kinds of items. For the purposes of this post, I will be using this definition.

Thrifting has become more and more popular throughout the years, and for good reason. There are literally 0 downsides to thrifting: there are unique styles and pieces that no one can find anywhere else, it’s good for the environment AND your wallet, it’s a testament to your personal style, and it’s therapeutic. It’s a form of retail therapy, but without the price tag, which I LOVE.

I went to my first thrift store when I was 10 years old. I didn’t really know about thrift stores, or their purpose; I had never been to one prior. My family moved to a big city and there was a Goodwill just outside of our neighborhood. It was a favorite activity of the neighborhood kids, and I quickly learned to love it as well. We’d spend summers riding bikes and scooters down to QT for our soda pop fix, then circle back around to Goodwill where we’d browse the aisles for what feels like hours.

There’s nothing like walking in with zero expectations of what you’ll discover and then finding one of your favorite pieces to date. It’s quite literally a spike of serotonin, which makes it so addicting. Just the other day I found a faux Fendi purse. It could’ve passed for the real thing from a distance. It made me really excited because it had been a while since I found something that ignited in me the same level of interest as this, but I decided against it due to the wear & tear of the purse.

Thrifting also happened to be one of my dad’s favorite activities, and he’d take me on some of his shopping trips. Not only is thrifting a form of self care, but it’s one of the things that connects me to my dad the most, and for that reason I love it. He was the person that sold me on thrifting. I remember he showed me a brand-new pair of Vans he found at Goodwill and the excitement in his eyes made me want to seek that same spark of love for thrifting. I loved that, for him, it didn’t matter what the value of something was; if you found something you loved, something you were looking for, you struck gold. At that age, I had only known thrifting to be a hobby. My dad taught me that for some people, thrifting is a lifestyle. His house was furnished and decorated with mostly items from Goodwill, and for some reason, that made me love him even more.

Obviously when you’re thrifting, you’re limited to what is there in the store. It’s not going to be like online shopping where every website has the same items in different sizes and different colors, where it’s convenient to mix & match, where you can search for exactly what you want and add to cart with a click of a button. When you’re thrifting, each piece is unique, so the mixing & matching gets even more creative. It creates a fun challenge to put together an outfit or space (if you’re going the home decor route) that fully captures your vision. So, I’ve put together some tips I’ve learned over the years when it comes to thrifting so that I get the most out of it!

The first thing I’d advise when it comes to thrifting is to not have any expectations of what you’ll find. You’ll either a) luck out and find exactly what you want, or b) be severely disappointed in a way that turns you off from thrifting for good. BUT If you’re going to several thrift stores, then having expectations is more manageable because your chances of finding what you want are greater. And that’s why I try to make an entire day out of this hobby, because not only is it time-consuming but I have the best luck when I’m able to hit up several stores in one day. And if you don’t have any additional thrift stores in your area, another thing to note is that items in thrift stores move quicker than you think, so wait a week or 2 to come back and it’ll be as if it were an entirely different store! (At the very least, it might be messed around a little, so you can still view the store with fresh eyes and find goodies you couldn’t find before!)

I feel like this one really goes without saying, but I’m going to point it out in case you don’t do this already. You really don’t want to miss out on maximizing your thrift finds. To do this, look EVERYWHERE. If you go into a thrift store shopping for bottoms and only look in the jeans section, you’re doing it wrong. Look in the men’s section, look in the shorts section, look in the pants, activewear, nightwear, dresses, etc. Not only do you have better luck, but you’re exposed to more items that you wouldn’t otherwise be if you only looked for things where you expect them to be. THUS maximizing your finds! It kind of goes along with having no expectations, because the majority of the time thrift stores can be so unorganized that you’re probably wasting your time anyway.

As I mentioned before, adding multiple stores to your route not only increases your good luck, but you really do get the most out of your time. I’m telling you, spending an entire day thrifting truly is the way to go.

This one also goes without saying but when I first started thrifting more seriously, I exclusively went to Goodwill. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but again, there is so much more out there, so it’s good to try new places! Once I started going to 360 Thrift, D.I., antique stores, and locally-owned thrift stores, my life was changed. You could even go as far as to search Facebook Marketplace, Offerup, Depop, Poshmark, and more. There are so many online platforms for people to sell unwanted items. (But a word of caution: sites like Depop and Poshmark are incredibly popular, and because of the popularity boom of thrifting in recent years, some of the pieces you find online are severely overpriced. You should not be paying more than thrift-store price for any secondhand hand-me-down. That being said, if you decide to sell your thrift finds, don’t be that person and charge an arm and a leg for your finds. Not only does that suck the fun out of it for everyone, but it defeats the entire purpose of thrifting and jeopardizes its’ good reputation.)

Ahhh yes. Good ol’ DIY. Sometimes, if you’re struggling to find your vision, that’s a sign you might need to create it. I can’t count how many times I’ve found something while thrifting and just thinking if it had one little tweak, it’d be perfect.

Personally, I’ve never taken this route before. (Unless you consider cutter jeans into shorts genuine DIY, then I am the master.) I’m looking forward to thrifting a sewing machine and doing some research/taking lessons so I can really enhance and personify my wardrobe!

DID YOU KNOW most thrift stores have a discount policy? (I mean yeah, Allie, that’s like the whole point of them.) For my people who are ballin on a sTriCt budget like ya girl, utilize those deals. For example, Goodwill does 1/2 off random colored tags everyday. If it’s green, I’m going to keep my eye out specifically for items that are green first before looking at anything else. (Or blue or yellow or whatever, you get the gist.)

Many stores offer discounts for students, teachers, first responders, veterans, etc. It never hurts to ask!

I don’t know if 360Thrift is local to only Arizona, but if there’s one near you I believe they (still) offer a rewards program in the form of punch cards!

This goes for books as well! Did you know Half-Priced Books also has coupons and a reward program? Why I never knew that until just this past year is beyond me but nonetheless it’s knowledge that I’m grateful for now (as a book lover).

If an item is torn/stained/ripped/scratched/cracked/etc., make sure to let the cashier know. Thrift stores should absolutely give you a discount for those items, so make sure to check everything thoroughly for any signs. The only downside is that these items are usually final sale so you cant return them if you change your mind.

And thus ends my ramblings on about thrifting. I appreciate you all for taking the time to read and discuss with me my favorite activity. In case you couldn’t tell, I truly love thrifting and it has given me so much, and I hope that this inspires you to one day try out that sketchy-looking corner store at the strip mall. I promise there’s hidden treasure inside!

Anyway, what are YOUR favorite thrift tips/tricks? What’s your favorite find currently?

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Also, let me know if you’d be interested in VLOGS where I go thrifting/book hunting! I would love to take y’all with me while I’m out here looking for some great pieces. (I’m definitely more of a writer, not a speaker, but I promise the videos would be appealing and worth your while. :)