Hello and welcome back to the blog, on my last post, we defined and discussed what thrifting was so, the only logical next post would be to give thrift newbies a “how to knock it out the park on their first trip to the thrift store” post, right? To kick it off, let’s create a list of supplies that you may need on your first trip to the thrift store.

Thrifting check list:

So be fore we get started, a little disclaimer: Please note that this would be my suggestions based on my personal experience and is a living, breathing check list that could be tweaked to suit your individual needs and purposes. Now that we have that out the way. let’s dive right in.

Step one: Do your research- Before you actually can head out to the thrift store, you’d want to do an online search on the thrift stores within your vicinity right? This would be not only to get the address(s) but to find out their store hours and how accessible aka how easy or difficult it is to find parking. Remember that thrifting takes time as you’d be digging in to bins, flipping through tons of items on racks(racks on racks on racks, lol! Sorry, I couldn’t help it) and of course, shelves.

Step two: Dress for the occasion- Do keep in mind that a lot of the items at the thrift store might have been in storage for a while, collected from donation bins, the possibilities are endless here guys, so don’t expect them to be box fresh or anything like that okay? So, if you intend to try them on for fit, it’d be a great idea to dress for the occasion. What does this mean? For me, it’s layering your outfit with something form fitting, so you can still be sort of clothed but still successfully gauge the fit of an item before you buy as most thrift stores have a strict “no return” policy.

Step three: Get your supplies- Again, these would be based on individual needs but a couple of things you may want to have are:

A mask: If you’re not used to being around thrift stores, it may be a good idea to mask up as you’d be around items that may be dusty or could be unwashed (there shall be no aggravation of allergies on my watch ,lol!)

Some sanitizer: When you’re done thrifting or even as you thrift, you may want to sanitize your hands before touching your personal items so, it’d be smart to pack some sanitizer in your thrift kit.

Gloves: I personally don’t need or use gloves anymore as I’ve been thrifting for the longest but a new ‘thrifter’ I’d recommend gloves especially if you’re a germaphobe.

Bottled water and possibly, a snack: As a newbie, you’d be new to scanning through piles and piles of items(items are not sorted by size) and it might take you a while master so, prepare to be at a thrift store a little longer than you would a ‘regular’ store. That said it’d be a good idea to pack a bottle of water and maybe even a snack to keep your energy up.

Step four: Call ahead- It wouldn’t hurt to call the thrift store you intend to visit ahead of time to find out their discount days(most thrift stores have a 30-50 percent off day) so you know what day to visit to get the biggest discounts.

Step five: Head over to your pre-cased thrift store, this one is a no- brainer but the list would be incomplete without it, so… added it as a step

Thrift store tips/ strategies

1. See it, grab it: Most thrift stores, have exactly, one, of an item that is unless of course, the items were donated in bulk, which rarely happens. So, don’t see something you like and leave it with the intention of circling back as most times, the item is already gone.
2. Refine your ‘stalking’ skills: Lol, please note that I’m by no means encouraging stalking, hence, the single quotes but, on some rare occasions, when you lose an item to someone else, you can retrieve it. How you may ask? Sometimes, the item doesn’t fit, sometimes, the person has a change of heart about the item, so it’d be a good idea to glance back from time to time to see if the item gets put back on the rack/shelf especially the fitting room rack, which leads me to my next tip.
3. Don’t be limited by sizing on tags: This is especially important at a thrift store as vintage items are sized differently and for larger items of clothing, in most cases, they could be tailored. If something catches thy eye, put it in your cart and see how you feel about it after you’ve tried it on or at the check-out line.
4. Don’t stick to sections: Don’t stick only to the Men’s or Women’s section, depending on your gender and here’s why: You might find an item(s) that was placed in the wrong section, there might be unisex items, the possibilities are endless. So, go explore the store and grab whatever pleases your soul or senses.

This should be enough to get you started but as I’d mentioned earlier, this would be a living, breathing post and I’ll probably update it from time to time as necessary, but for now, go out into the world and do some thrifting and I’ll see you on my next post. You take care now.