Folks seem to be interested in my recent uptick in frugal posts, so here’s one more devoted to thrifting.
I’ve written about how we thrift for clothes…
But now it’s time to tackle everything else.
There is very little we won’t consider buying second-hand. Many of our thrifted finds aren’t even in our closets or on our walls — they’re scattered throughout the house, quietly doing a variety of jobs.
We buy bowls.
We (okay, mostly me) buy bins.
We buy Christmas decorations.
Including our artificial Christmas tree, which was less than $30! (Obviously the kids Christmas jammies were thrifted.)
We buy gifts.
We buy accessories: Edison twinkle lights for our shed, sleeper earrings, and a $1 phone case.
I’ve bought silly mugs, socks, and Jibbitz (and the Crocs for said Jibbitz).
Other items in our home that are thrifted:
- Shower curtains
- Garbage cans (every single one, including a gold wire basket and two push-pedal cans)
- Various electronics (including several laptops)
- Yoga mats
- Laundry baskets
- Most of our soccer balls and all of our tennis rackets and ice skates
- Boot trays (for wet shoes)
- Our dehumidifier
- Our freezer (which was gifted to us by friends…who bought it second-hand)
- Every alarm clock in our house
How do we do it? The same “rules” apply whether you’re thrifting jeans or a garbage can:
- Visit regularly. Inventory turns over fast. If you’re not there when the good stuff hits the floor, you’ll miss it.
- Test things. Most thrift stores have stations where you can plug in electronics. Always check functionality before you buy.
- Not all thrift stores are equal. Some are cluttered, overpriced, or picked over. Don’t give up if the first one disappoints. We have a few go-to favourites and that’s where we almost always go, avoiding places that routinely don’t seem to have good quality items or a broad selection.
Your turn.
- What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve ever found secondhand?
- Have you ever gifted something you found secondhand?
- What’s the weirdest item you’ve seen at a thrift store?
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I have gifted clothes ( to my adult kids) and puzzles from the thrift store. The stores here don’t usually have a large collection of neat stuff- just the usual -clothes, coffee mugs, and weird records from the 70s.
We donate a lot of stuff, which included a portable toilet for camping. Is that unusual enough?
Okay, a portable toilet IS unusual!
Some thrift stores are…very mediocre. I do think where we live in Canada has a strong tradition of thrifting and that likely makes the turnover rates a bit better? With high traffic in the stores, it drives new things cycling through on a regular basis.
Love this! It’s so inspiring to see not just how much you thrift, but how stylish it always looks. And that photo of your shed in winter, absolutely gorgeous!
The other day Kai and I were walking through our neighbourhood when we spotted a neighbour putting things out on the curb before moving. Among the treasures were six beautiful wine glasses… and yes, we happily carried them home.
When we volunteered at the women’s football championships, we came away with loads of freebies (flasks, caps, backpacks). I ended up gifting all of it to others, and they were super-happy.
I do not like winter, but I find it difficult to see anything in the world that looks more beautiful than snow-covered trees and buildings! Add in twinkle lights and it’s game over.
Yay for free wine glasses. That is the ultimate treasure; when someone’s literal trash becomes your treasure!
Love this!! I have been thinking about this for a while, but I sometimes struggle with impulse buying at a thrift store because it’s cheap. For example, I will often buy thrifted books for myself but I almost NEVER read them, they just sit on the shelf… do you have a list you stick to of things you are hunting for?
My friend will often pick up things for me and/or my kids (she is a big gift giver, lol) while at a thrift store! I don’t do this, but it always makes me feel loved to know she was thinking of me!
It is definitely a challenge not to overbuy because things are less expensive and/or you see such a broad array of things at a thrift store. So while you might go in for jeans, you might come out with a toaster. The same is not going to happen at Old Navy.
I don’t necessarily stick to a set list, but I feel like I am often looking for specific items. Right now Indy needs a puffer jacket (he lost TWO last year). Belle wanted a hanging shoe rack for her closet and we went looking and found one that very day! But I also like to just browse. Sometimes I’m looking for a specific item, and sometimes I’ll just happily upgrade what I already have.
For us, in a way, thrifting is a form of entertainment. So I don’t mind spending a little bit of money to buy a nicer set of salad tongs if I’ve been using the same ones for a decade.
I don’t pick things up for other people often, but sometimes I’ll spot something that is just too perfect to resist and I’ll pick it up and stash it away for my gift bin.
You are a thirfting inspiration! This year, I have focused on donating more, but I am going to shift my focus to buying second hand as well. I am currently hunting for 2 twin bed frames (matching is nice but not necessary…)
Good luck! I find furniture SO hard to find second-hand. (We don’t use Facebook, but I think Facebook Marketplace is awesome for this.)
And hooray for donating!
Oh gosh, so much… our dining room chairs and hall chest of drawers were from freecycle, coffee table from the zero waste (all mid-century and so much nicer than the stuff that gets sold today). Lots of kitchen stuff, some bookshelves, and my pride and joy – the gorgeous portrait I sent you a picture of a few months ago.
We have great charity shops – I mostly buy books and coffee mugs (we always need more for a big party we host), but we also have great second hand apps. I check Vinted before buying anything and 90% of the time, I can find it used (often NWT or in very good condition). I’m a bit fussy about other people’s detergents so have to be a bit careful.
I also volunteer at this massive (fills a school gym hall to the brim) zero waste festival every November and it’s so great to see things find new homes.
It sounds like freecycling and thrifting is ALIVE AND WELL where you live. That’s awesome, Coree.
And you’re so right about furniture (and other things – dishwashers! washing machines! fridges!) not being made like they used to be. Things are so flimsy and plasticky these days. I bet your free furniture will end up lasting for decades.
I think the visit regularly/not all are created equal bullet points are why we don’t have a lot of things from the thrift store (but are not opposed). Some of my kitchen things like my cake pans are from thrift stores, but it’s not an extensive collection. I saved money when I got them back in the day, but there were plenty of other things that I couldn’t find used so I bought them new. What I’m most proud of are the few furniture items that I found left on curbsides over the years. The only piece that I kept when I moved in with the Hubs was a wood cabinet, but it looks good and it’s been very useful over the years.
Curbside surfing is the best. We don’t have a lot of options for that where we live (garbage pickup will only take large items 2x/year, so mostly people only put stuff out those two times of a year), but we have some real treasures from “big garbage day” as we call it.
So many great finds, Elisabeth! Our thrift stores are inconvenient to get to from here and so I never go. I feel I lack the patience to search for things. I’ve never gifted anything secondhand, mostly because I don’t really buy things secondhand, but I have definitely regifted. I think it’s a smart thing to do, because often I will receive like a scented candle or something pretty that I won’t use, and I think it’s nice to give it to someone who will.
We are fortunate to have so many thrift stores nearby and we’re often just passing through the area and stop in for a few minutes. It would not be nearly as frequent if it were inconvenient.
I love this post, Elisabeth. I can sure see my home in it. I buy a lot of the same things. I love the colorful bowls you found. I like to get pretty, colorful plates to set beneath my plants. I also pick up mugs. I tend to use them awhile and then re-thrift them but I have a classic Dunkin’ Donuts mug I use daily. Coffee just tastes better in my Dunkin’ mug 🙂 Thrifting is so much fun!
I have a favourite mug, too, and agree that everything tastes better from it. It is NOT thrifted, ironically. But my second-favourite mug is the Busy Introverting one and it was such a fun find.
I don’t have very many thrift stores where I live, besides Goodwill, and they are terrible. Their stores smell bad to me (that old grandma house smell) and their prices are ridiculous! I think the only thing ever bought there were items to put together a clown costume for Halloween.
I have found some great stuff at garage sales, especially books and toys. And my best find ever was a Barbie dreamhouse that someone in our neighborhood put out with the trash!!!! There was nothing wrong with it! I cleaned it up and gave it to my two granddaughters for Christmas last year. I had saved their mom’s dollhouse furniture and people and it was perfect.
Some thrift stores smell soo bad. Even “good” ones, tend to set off my dust allergies if I stay too long.
Aww. That Dreamhouse find is incredible. Those things aren’t cheap and what a win-win. You saved something from the dump, and you got it for free. A bonus win because I bet your granddaughters were delighted.
Nearly all the plates/glasses/silverware we use are secondhand (I did splurge on some local pottery pieces): the silverware was my grandmother’s that she replaced for something fancier; the glasses (including wineglasses when we wanna be fancy with our French lemonade, lol) were thrifted; as were most of the plates collected over the years. I’d been picking up kitchen wares that I liked when I saw them for yeaaaaaars – building myself a “hope chest” for when I’d either buy my own house/get married 🙂 It’s an eclectic mix, but they all work together.
French lemonade must taste much better in fancy glasses!
Eclectic mix describes our home decor and kitchen items exactly. But it works, and most items have a fun (thrifted) story behind them.
LAPTOPS??? How do you thrift a laptop? I’m intrigued. I’ve set an intention to start buying my things from thrift shops, but haven’t started yet- but that’s mostly because I really haven’t bought much lately. My son- influenced by his girlfriend- is setting a shining example though. He’s bought a lot of things second hand for his new place. The closest place to me is Goodwill, which I don’t love- but there are other shops around, I just need to explore them.
Keep the inspiration coming!!!
So we’ve bought laptops (and desktops) and Google speakers and calculators and various other electronics at thrift stores. People bring them in for donation! A few times they haven’t worked out, but the investment is low.
Not many of our op shops sell electronic goods because they generally need to be tagged before sale, which requires someone with certification to do the work. At the place where my dad used to volunteer, there was another volunteer who came in one afternoon a week to check the electrical goods. I want to get better at buying secondhand, but I don’t like shopping that much so I’m probably doomed to fail.
I also dislike shopping, but in a way don’t feel like thrifting feels the same. It’s more of a treasure hunt and I don’t feel like I MUST come away with something. When I walk into a regular store on a mission, I feel disappointed if I don’t walk out with exactly what I want, but it doesn’t feel the same leaving a thrift store empty-handed.
Almost everything we own is second hand.
I think the weirest thing I’ve seen at Goodwill was food…pasta to be exact.
I’ve seen pasta at a thrift store, too!! (Most places won’t take food, but I one place occasionally has some and it always seems so bizarre!0
I love these posts! I wish I had better thrift stores around me. They are OK, but I don’t often get enough time to visit regularly enough to solve whatever house issue I have at the time. For instance, I know I could have gotten more school uniform second hand this year, but I didn’t check what we needed early enough and then I just ended up buying new which was annoying but part of lack of planning. Oh well! However, all of our kids bicycles are second hand. Most of our adult bikes are second hand. We buy a lot from Gumtree and Vinted and then we give a lot away on freecycle so I feel like we are hopefully giving back to the resue-world.
I read an article once that said the average item of clothing is worn 7 times and I joked that the average item of clothing I buy for the kids has already been worn 7 times by the time I buy it!
I appreciate that joke, too! Ditto in our household. I
It does seem to take regular visits to routinely fill needed holes in wardrobes/household items. And there are definitely times we just have to go buy things new (we bought both kids gym sneakers new this year because we simply could not find suitable pairs at thrift stores). But every little bit adds up and you are clearly keeping MANY things out of landfills. Gold stars!
I absolutely adore your thrifted items, especially your art! SWOON!!
You are inspiring the thriftiness inside of your pal, Suz.
You couldn’t pay me a higher compliment, Suz <3
I really really want to go to the thrift stores more often but there are just not many around. However there is one I keep passing with the bus even though it’s more an antiques store. But I guess I could have a look.
As for your answers… I am drawing a blank on every single one.