What Do You Want To Know About Thrifting?
This post (or rather, series) has been a long time in the making.
I love answering reader questions about thrifting and personal style and have covered quite a few over the years, but I want to come up with a more cohesive system to keep all your questions organized and handy for you to access!
So with that, I’m going to start tackling a list I’ve had growing for the past 5+ years.
As we go along, if you want to see a question get answered, please feel free to leave a comment or send me a DM on my social media!
Without further ado, let’s dive into some thrifting basics.
Q: Do you have a specific way of organizing or keeping track of your clothes and accessories?
A: Until recently, no. This started becoming a problem because I have brain fog, and it lead to buying doubles or very similar pieces.
Then last year, I started seriously trying out digital closet apps and fell in love with Whering. I now reference that app on a near-daily basis.
To use it, I either snapped photos of my closet or found items online and added them to a digital wardrobe.
I’ve discussed the Whering app in depth on my blog and would encourage you to check that out if you want to learn more about how it works.
But the bottom line is, I can quickly pull it up at a thrift store and see if I have something similar in my closet already. It’s a game-changer!
Q: Do you have a thrift wish list of items that you’re actively looking to acquire?
A: Yes, I do!
My thrifting wishlist is mainly housed on Pinterest, but I also carry around scraps of paper (if I can’t find a reference photo) and have a running list in my Keep/Notes app on my phone.
It may not be the most sophisticated system, but it works, and I manage to find what I’m looking for!
Q: What are some guidelines to buying things you’ll actually want/wear/use?
A: This is tough because I’ve surprised myself by buying things from my wishlist that didn’t work well for me in real life. Likewise, I’ve impulse-bought things that have become staples in my life.
The best advice I can give is to picture how the item would work in your life. If it’s clothes, can you wear it with at least three items in your closet? If it’s a knick-knack, do you have space on a shelf for it? If it’s a tool or gadget, can you imagine using it at least three times?
If you’re ever not sure one way or another, consider the price. If it’s low enough, under $5 or so, I’d say it’s okay to take a chance on it. You can always donate it back, give it to a friend, or try to resell it at a later time if it’s not for you.
Q: Do you have a budget for what you can spend thrifting?
A: Not officially. But I think, like a lot of people, I have a perceived value of what I want to spend on items. If something is over that made-up price, then I pass on it.
I’ve been thrifting my entire life and have learned that letting something go that’s too expensive usually comes back to me years later in my price range. It might take years, but it will happen! (The only exception: rare vintage. I’m still kicking myself for putting back a few things!)
If you want to learn more about my thrifting budget, I have an entire post on my spending habits!
Q: How do you shop for things that are difficult to find in a thrift store?
A: Piggybacking off of what I just said about putting back rare vintage, I turn to my network or the internet!
There have been a few instances where friends or family members had what I was looking for stored away in their basements.
And when all else fails, there is always the internet. There’s the tried-and-true eBay or Etsy, but I also like the explosion of apps that act like a thrift engine for online thrift stores. This includes apps like Beni, Gem, and Cirkular.
What We’ve Learned About Thrifting
Thank you for reading through this first round of questions about thrift stores! I could probably yap about thrifting all day.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with a friend! That helps my little colorful corner of the internet grow so much!
See you in my next post!
