She's Crafty: How I shop at the Thrift Store

Thrift stores are pretty popular right now.

It's the trendy thing to shop second hand. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and all that.

But do you walk into the thrift store and turn right around because you're grossed out?

I understand!

But before you give up, let me show you how I shop thrift stores.

My local thrift store is Goodwill.

I drop in about once a week or every other week.

I keep a running list, either written down (in the notes section of my iPhone)

or in my head of the things I'm looking for.

Don't let the scary porcelain dolls run you off. Overlook them and

turn your attention to the good stuff.

Look through all of the shelves.

Bend down and look in the back of the bottom shelves-

sometimes the good stuff gets hidden back there.

I've found some awesome milk glass, Pyrex and silver plated bowls hidden there.

You probably will see some crazy things, but again, don't let it scare you off.

Because if you keep looking, you're bound to find treasures.

Old crates, vintage office supplies, and silver platters are there for dirt cheap prices.

The most expensive thing in this picture was the silver footed platter for $4.

Of course you won't find treasures every time you go.

Sometimes all you see are ratty stuffed animals, broken toys and empty spaghetti sauce jars.

But don't give up- try again the next week!

For the longest time, I was afraid to look at clothes at the thrift store.

The thought of not knowing where the clothing came from was too much for me.

Lucky for me I got over it. Now, I love the hunt!!

When searching for jeans, I look at the washes I like first. Then my trick is to touch them.

The nicer quality ones, feel softer.

I found these Citizens of Humanity jeans for $4 (regularly $150)

I've also found J.Crew, Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, Ann Taylor,

Banana Republic, and The Limited for pennies on the dollar.

Totally worth searching through the racks.

Now to clean:

I put everything that will go, in the dishwasher.

For items that can't go in the dishwasher, I wipe very thoroughly with antibacterial wipes.

When I get the clothes home, I wash everything on an extended wash cycle.

Sometime I put it through another wash cycle if I feel it didn't get clean the first time.

In summary, my tips for thrift store shopping are:

1. Go often

2. Keep a list of what you're looking for

3. Overlook the things you aren't interested in

4. Don't be afraid to dig a little, you can wash your hands.

5. Be patient

6. learn when the sales are

(the first Saturday of the month everything at my local goodwill is 1/2 price)

7. Clean everything well!