Fantastically Frugal: Thrifting 101

Now some of you looking at the title Thrifting 101, are thinking “yuck” and crinkling up your noses. Some of you may be like Jillian and I…eyes glazed over thinking “Ahhhh thrifting”. However you feel at the moment, there is little denying  that thrifting is a great way to save money and it is good for the environment too. There are many that have embraced thrifting simply because it is a very green thing to do. For our families, thrifting is a way of life. We purchase most of our consumer goods at thrift stores. Ha! We are outed as thrifters! Now, since we are not in there by ourselves…others have discovered this lifestyle choice too.

For those of you nose crinklers…what do the names Gap, Guess, Ann Taylor, Tommy Hilfiger, Apostrophe, Alfani, Charter Club, Chaus, Jones New York, DKNY, and Calvin Klein (to name a few) make you think of. I know where you are. You’re in the mall. I’m in my closet! All of these treasures…thrifted of course! Most of them new, some with tags on, all were thrifted for pennies on the dollar. One of my favorites, an Apostrophe blazer, still had the tags on for $149. I paid $1.49. Don’t think the irony of that price escaped me. Someone paid $149 for my blazer; I am very happy it wasn’t me.

If you are still worried about buying something “used,” find someone that works in the dressing room at your favorite retail store. Ask them how many times that sweater you are buying has been tried on. We have done this…it’s illuminating. Realize that your “new” clothing has been worn, albeit briefly, by 15-50 people on average. Jillian has been thrifting pretty much as far back as she can remember, and she just continued into adulthood. It is a game to her now, a treasure hunt.

I began thrifting at age 13. My Dad was a teacher (before retirement) and my Mom stayed home with us. My Dad sometimes worked 3 jobs so you can imagine the reaction when I came home from school and asked my Mom to buy me a $50 pair of Guess jeans. I was the type of 13 year old that would have died before being seen driving through a thrift store parking lot. My Mom being the brilliant women she is, told me that she would pay for half of my jeans. I could use babysitting money on the other half. But…and this was huge…I had to go to the thrift store to see if I could find them first. I really wanted those jeans. So I went, convinced no thrift store would have Guess jeans. I walked out with 10 pairs all for less than that half would have been. I have been hooked ever since.

Jillian and I have been to many thrift stores. Two of the best that currently vie for our dimes are Eco Thrift and Thrift Town. The key to thrifting is to know where to go. You don’t want to spend your time sifting through more trash than treasure. The next thing is to know what their sale days are. Both Eco Thrift and Thrift Town have color tags that go on sale. Ask the employees…be sweet, and you can get the inside track. We are so cheap that we will only buy when things are between 50-75% off.

Color change days are the busiest days. You brave the crowds a bit, but you really do get the best selection. Know your family’s sizes when you go in. This saves time and money. Some stores do not take returns on their merchandise. If at all possible, get out of the habit of shopping for a specific item. Thrifting really is like a treasure hunt. If you go in looking for a red shirt, you will almost certainly be disappointed. If you go in looking for winter clothes however, you may leave with a cart full.

Eco Thrift is located 7305 Greenback Lane, Citrus Heights 95621, phone 729-8474
Thrift Town is at 6328 Fair Oaks Blvd, Carmichael 95608, phone 480-0312

Do you have a favorite thrift store you’d like to share? Post a comment, the community would love to hear from you!We will be exploring thrifting as a conscious choice starting Monday. We are writing a column per day all next week. Our Conscious Christmas ideas will help you take some of the pain out of your pocketbook and put joy back in your holiday season.

Till Monday…Brandy and Jillian

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Posted by Brandy Barris on Nov 6 2009. Filed under Viewpoints. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.