HOW TO THRIFT LIKE A PRO
I launched a three part series at the beginning of this month with the help of great friends in our Thrift and Flip Community:
Eli - @ sacredlibrarianfurniture - Professional Couch flipper and furniture flipper
France Lee - @ Chezmemevintage - Profession Rug vendor and interior stylist
Reina - @ Curated Dreams Vintage - Professional Furniture flipper with specialty in mid century modern
These friends have helped me create a list of the TOP thrift tips to employ when you go thrift shopping.
I’d especially like to point out that our favorite thrift stores have become The Habitat Restore in Metro Denver in Littleton, Denver, Aurora and Arvada. While they all have wide variety and diversity in inventory at each location, I’d suggest to keep these thrift tips in mind when shopping at any of their locations.
TIP #1: CHECK ROTATING INVENTORY & TALK TO THEIR FRIENDLY EMPLOYEES
Identifying the sections in a thrift store where they have the most rotating inventory can be extremely helpful when decorating or even running a business like furniture renovation and staging. If you find that the Wall art section in a thrift store has the highest rotating inventory, you’re guaranteed to find something unique.
If you don’t visit thrift stores often enough to identify rotating inventory, simplify this process by just looking for a friendly employee. “Being able to have an engaging conversation with the staff is all about curating a welcoming space of connection.” (Eli Rutherford)
Creating a relationship with the staff also educates you about the community that you’re contributing to by shopping at stores like The Habitat Restores in Metro Denver. If you shop at The Habitat Restores in Metro Denver, you’d discover that your purchases contribute to creating affordable housing in your local community and home repair programs that empower local homeowners. Shopping at thrift stores with missions like these, you can rest assured that any purchase you make has a direct impact on your local community.
Conversations with employees at your local thrift store can also provide you insider information on what new inventory to expect, what sales to take advantage of (like the Earth Day Sale happening in April.) and at times even first dibs on new inventory. Furniture flippers in my community always do their best to maintain a relationship with thrift store employees, not just for first dibs on inventory but because thrift shopping is always more fun when you have friends there with you.
TIP # 2: FIND UNIQUE ITEMS BY STARTING SMALL
The easiest way to find a gem at the thrift store is usually by starting small. Art related books or Interior design books are often the most overlooked find at any thrift store, but these items make GREAT decor for coffee table books or even art projects down the line.
Coffee mugs and glassware are also great decor finds that are quite cheap to acquire. I don’t encourage people to try to get matching sets of more than 4 items when it comes to glassware or mugs, because the appeal of unique items like this is that they are one of a kind. (Or at least feel like it.)
Tip Courtesy of Reina/Curated Dreams Vintage.
TIP # 3: GET SMART ABOUT DISCOUNT COLORS - MAJOR SALE DAYS
This is something that I had to get smart about when I began thrift shopping both as a fun hobby and also as part of my business. Considering that I sell furniture and home decor as part of my business model, keeping prices accessible and affordable for everybody can feel difficult when prices can wildly range at different thrift stores. The best way to simplify this is by becoming familiar with your thrift store’s discount method.
Some stores employ color discount methods. ARC for example, has 50% OFF FOUR colors every Saturday, Goodwill on the other hand chooses two discount colors a day, one color is usually 50% OFF for the day and the other color is 30% OFF for the day. The Habitat Restore in Denver has also begun employing these color discount methods at their four locations for an even more affordable shopping experience.
Exclusive Sale days are also important to keep an eye out for. The Pig and the Pearl thrift store in Boulder hosts $1 days at their thrift store, exclusive to specific days of the month, and The Habitat Restore’s HUGE Earth Day Sale is also another sale to keep an eye out for. Better than 50% off days, Habitat Restore Denver is having 15% to 60% off ALL inventory on their Earth Day Sale, 4/20/2024 at their four locations in Arvada, Denver, Littleton and Aurora. Their Denver location is especially my favorite, considering the space is extremely large and contains so much diverse inventory from new paint to wall art and furniture. (I’m a sucker for wall art especially.)
If you want to find more information on the Earth Day Sale happening at The Habitat Restore, be sure to click the link here or sign up for their customer loyalty program here.
Did I miss any thrift tips?
I’d love it if you could leave a comment below with any tips you want to share with the community, as there is a NO gate keeping policy here when it comes to helping others.
Thanks for being a friend and Happy Thrifting!
