A Girl’s Guide to Thrifting

By Jo Douglas

Image provided by Wasted Repurpose Marketplace via Facebook

INTRODUCTION

I come from a long lineage of ‘junkers,’ as my mother would say. ‘Junking,’ in this context, is the scavenging for cheap treasures – essentially, the equivalent of thrifting. My mom manages a ‘repurpose’ store filled with booths of vintage and hand-made items (one of which belongs to her);  my GiGi (her mother) works at auctions, fixes up old furniture to sell and has multiple booths of her own; even my little sister has a penchant for haggling. It’s a genetic trait at this point, passed through generations of women who know how to save their pennies. When I told my mom that I was writing this story, she told me of her own childhood experience in thrifting:

When I was a little girl, Saturday mornings were meant for yard sales with my mother and her mother. We [would] wake up very early, get the newspaper out, circle all the [yardsales] and put the addresses in order so that we would have a map of everywhere we were gonna go… We were always back at grannies by [noon] to eat lunch.

So, yeah. We’ve always been passionate about junking. Other people’s trash is our treasure, and we take great pride in what we do. 

However, this lifestyle isn’t for the light-hearted. If you want to thrift, you’ve got to be willing to go the extra mile – wake up at the break of dawn, search a store for hours, get trampled at an estate sale (true story!) and perhaps even more than that. It’s a gruesome business. But if you think you have what it takes, this guide is just for you. 

STEP ONE: SCOUT

As my mom thoughtfully listed out, unless you just want to visit your local Goodwill, you’ll need a list of locations. (No offense to Goodwill – that place is a lifeline – but it has been invaded by vultures and is quite basic. It’s always good to branch out!) Some of the most successful places you can look for are local thrift stores (shop local, please!), like yard sales, estate sales and auctions. 

A newspaper would help with finding many of these places (archaic, I’m aware). Be wary of where you choose to go. For example, estate sales are for the most serious thrifters. My Gigi, God bless her heart, was once trampled by two much older men at an estate sale, before eight in the morning! Yard Sales are people’s junk; you may find something you love for cheap, or you may find nothing at all. Auctions are competitive – always be ready for a fight here. Thrift stores are a mixed bag; sometimes they can be expensive (usually when people are bringing in handmade goods), or they may be super affordable.

At the end of the day, you’ve gotta pick your own poison but make sure it tastes nice and sweet. It may kill you, but you still want to have fun!

STEP 2: DIVE

Now that you have the Xs on your map, it’s time to sort through the trash and the treasure. This part is subjective; you might find what I like tacky, and I may find what you like garish. What matters is that you want to take it home, to wear it, to use it as decoration or whatever other uses there may be. 

You can’t just buy everything. There’s not enough room in your house, nor enough money in your bank account. It may be tempting – my mom brings home just about everything she can find “for a good deal”‒ but it’s always good to have discernment. Collect your gems and keep them close until you can sort through them. If you love it, buy it, or wrangle that price down.

STEP THREE: HAGGLE & BUY

If my ten-year-old sister can haggle a twelve-dollar tea set down to eight dollars, you can get that perfect two-hundred-dollar vintage desk down to one-seventy-five. It doesn’t hurt to stick your neck out with a “what about one-fifty?” to get that price down, as every penny counts.

Of course, this can’t and should not always be done, but a good junker knows when and how to haggle. Don’t try this at Goodwill, for example, but you can try your hand at a local thrift store where vendors are accustomed to bartering, or yard sales where people are selling their junk. Just be aware of the work vendors go through to find, fix up and sell those items.

Once you have that price settled, it’s time to bring your treasures home to your trove. Whether you’re heading to another location or content with your loot, you’ve earned a pat on the back. After all, you just learned the basics of thrifting. 

CONCLUSION

Congratulations! You’ve gotten to the end of this guide and have now graduated to expert junker. I don’t have a medal, certificate or participation trophy for you, but I do have academic validation. Good job! You’re ready to go out into the world of thrifting and utilize what you’ve learned: scout, dive, haggle and buy. I hope you have the time of your life. . . and don’t get trampled in the process.

Happy junking!