Reader favorite revisited: my thrifty shopping tips

This is a repeat of a post from June of last year. Since it's almost yard sale season once again, I thought I'd share it for new readers who might have missed it the first time around.

{random pretty photo - I hate posts without photos}

Being frugal for all of my adult life, I've learned a thing or two about thrifting. One of the most frequent questions I get is how I find such good deals. Good deals sometimes just come around, but most times it takes time and work to get them from being frumpy to fabulous.

Find your favorite. It took me quite a while to find a good one. Searching one out can take one Saturday morning, a couple of weeks or even a few months. Look in the yellow pages, ask friends, even ask workers at "bad" thrift stores if there are others in the area. Church run shops tend to be great stores in my area. Other people have great Goodwills. It takes a little time to figure it out.

Check your list twice. Just because a store seems bad the first go round, give it another try. Every store has good and bad days. Maybe you hit a bad day the first time, it may get better. However, if all the clothes are 70's rejects and all the dishes are chipped, you may have a "junk" store on your hands, but if things are in generally good condition, then give it a second shot.

Shop often. Once you find the perfect place, go often. I shop at my favorite store at least three times a week (and often more). Since their merchandise is all donated, it comes in every single day. You never know what you will find. Monday is always on my mind, since yardsale leftovers come in on Saturday afternoons. Once you get to know the store, you will be able to spot new items quickly, and you will know the location of your favorite types of items. I can be in and out usually within 15 minutes, but if I have more time I will check the areas I skip when I am in a hurry.

See through the flaws. Look at the lines of furniture to see if it's pleasing to you. Next, give it the "wiggle test" - put it on level ground and see if it wobbles around. If it is sturdy it might be worth painting or recovering. If it is wobbly, it has structural issues. Structure issues can be small and fixable, or they can be severe and not worth the effort. BUT, a table can be cut in half and mounted on a wall, or is it cheap enough to cut apart and use the different pieces. And don't get me started on paint! Paint can hide a multitude of sins!

Get schooled. Don't know how to reupholster a chair? You Tube has a video to help you out! Can't figure out what color to paint your table? Search for inspiration on blogs & home improvements website. You will need a few tools to be prepared to take on any task, which I will talk about in an upcoming post. If you don't know how to attack your problem, and don't know where to start, feel free to email me anytime with questions or photos. I can only tell you what I would do with a piece, but it would be a start!

What's your secret thrift shopping tip?

Posted at Kimba's DIY Day