How To Thrift Like A Pro: Decorate On A Dime

Yard sale season is coming to an end so I have to rely on thrift stores, flea markets, barn sales, Restore, antique stores and other honey holes to find amazing pieces for our home and this blog. If you receive my newsletter than you know all of my yard sale shopping tips and tricks, but today, I wanted to share how I shop my other favorite places. This post will show you how to thrift like a pro so that you find the best things for your home without breaking the bank. 

{You can sign up to receive my yard sale guide HERE.}

If you can believe it, I used to think thrift stores were not fun.

My mom used to take us all the time when we were little and then in my “tween” years, I thought thrifting was not for the cool kids. 

Once I hit high school, that phase ended and I started going to thrift stores on my own. Since then, my love for thrift stores, antique stores, barn sales and yard sales has grown. When I first met Matt, he would talk about his college days spent at the thrift stores with his roommates and I knew then, he was a catch. A man who understood me!

Throughout the years, we have learned so many things about thrifting and I wanted to share some tips and tricks on how to thrift like a pro.

Before I get to my tips, I want to say that thrifting is all about what you want it to be. This list will go over how I thrift to find amazing pieces for our home, to share on the blog and to flip (more about that in a later post). When I am at a thrift store, barn sale, antique store, etc., I am on a mission. I have an end goal I am trying to achieve. How to thrift like a pro will tell you how I do it.

(I need to do more Instagram stories when I am shopping so you can see me in action. Follow me HERE.) 

Let’s get to it!

How To Thrift Like A Pro:

1. Know What You Are Looking For:

Once you start thrifting, you will hone in on what exactly you are looking for. This will also come as you decorate your home. What do you need in your space? Is there a particular style you are looking for? What colors and textures make you happy? In the beginning, you should have a sense of what you are looking for so that the store doesn’t seem so overwhelming, but know that you probably aren’t going to find exactly what you think you are looking for. Instead, have an idea of what it is you want and see what inspires you in the store. It will help you thrift like a pro. When I saw the piano bench below in the store, I knew it could be used for so many things in our home. I had to buy it. See what it looked like when I bought it HERE.

2. A Plan Isn’t Always Productive:

If you just want to jump in and start thrifting, head to the stores without a plan in mind. If you don’t have any expectations, then the process will not be frustrating. Start by getting a feel for the stores, see what kinds of things they carry, check the sale rotation, etc. I was not looking for a metal cabinet when I hit the store one day, but when I saw it, I knew it had potential to work in my office. To see what it looked like in the store, head HERE.

*Super, duper top thrifting secret: Since you are here, I am going to tell you a big secret of mine. Most of the time, if I walk into a thrift store without any expectations, I find the most amazing things. When I have a plan or something particular I am looking for, I don’t seem to find anything. It is just the way the cookie crumbles.

Remember, that is a secret…… between you and I.

If you tell all your friends then they will walk in without a plan and get all the good stuff before you get there. 🙂 

3. Have A “Route” You Shop Each Time:

In every store, barn sale or shop I am in, I have a route I go every, single time I shop it. I do a quick walk through my route and then I stop and dig deeper in areas I want to. I don’t know how many times I have not done this and then I see someone a step ahead of me putting an amazing piece in their cart. UGH! That is the worst feeling ever. If I had just stuck to my route, that piece would have been in my cart.

(To see the yucky top this table had when I bought it, head to THIS POST.)

4. Know The Sales When You Walk In:

Most thrift stores have sales all week-long. Each day is something different. Before you start shopping, make sure you know what the sales are. Sometimes, if there is a sale on something particular, I will change my route to browse the sale items first. I have gotten a lot of old books during book sale days and we have scored some amazing furniture pieces at 50% off sales.

(Most everything in the photo of our living room was a yard sale find or thrift store score. Read about it HERE.)

5. Search The Not-So-Obvious:

To thrift like a pro, you need to do a little hunting. Thrift stores try to make shopping as “organized” as they can, but a lot of times, I find amazing pieces in spots they shouldn’t be. Also, people will pick things up and put them in other places. Don’t skip the toy aisle because you aren’t looking for toys. A mom could have had a cart full of killer stuff and then ended up in the toy aisle with her child and decided against some things and set them down next to the rubber dinosaurs and naked Barbies. Trust me. I have found some great decor pieces in the toy aisle.

6. Check The Piece Before You Buy It:

Depending on the store you are in, there may not be a return policy. If you are buying something, make sure you check it out really well before you buy it. Check for broken pieces, pieces that are missing, etc. The frame below had some chunks missing from it, but that didn’t bother me. I knew I was going to paint it anyway and I liked the character it had. Sometimes you can look past faults a piece has depending on what you are doing with it.

{See how the thrift store chalkboard frame turned out HERE.}

7. Re-imagine A Piece That Isn’t An Exact Fit:

This tip is one of my favorites. It is something I have been doing for so long and the reason I love doing what I do. To thrift like a pro, you need to re-imagine pieces if they aren’t exactly what you are looking for. My Creative Days is full of ways to do that and I hope I have inspired you to look past the “ugly” because you know you can make it exactly what you want. 

I needed a filing cabinet in my office and I knew I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a new one. I found one at my local Restore. It was very ugly when I saw it, but it was the perfect size and was exactly what I was looking for. See what it looks like now in my office HERE.

8. Frequent Your Favorite Spots Often:

This one is important. If you want to find the best stuff, frequent your favorite spots OFTEN! They are usually bringing new things out all day so new things can be seen all the time. Start a rotating schedule so that you are hitting the best spots as often as you can.

If you have been wanting to decorate your home like you see in magazines and on TV, thrifting and yard sales are great ways to get the same look without spending a lot of money. I always say I wish I would have kept a list of how much money we have saved decorating this way. I need to use a Sharpie and write the price on the bottom of each piece I bring home. 😉 

Depending on where you live, yard sale season is still in full swing. We will have yard sales through October. If you want my yard sale shopping tips, sign up for my fun, weekly newsletter HERE.

After reading this post, will you try thrift store shopping? If not, tell me why. I want to convert anyone still on the fence. 

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