For the first time in my life, I just found out that I've been way out on the leading-edge of a trend!  Long before it became fashionable!  CNN is reporting that thrift store shopping is catching on in the middle class. 

The Salvation Army, Goodwill and Savers are my department stores.  I buy almost all of my clothes there, with the exception of underthings and shoes.  I find bargains that are almost new-some are!  And some still have the tags attached.  We even get our furniture there.  I found our leather sofa for our family room at the Salvation Army-it still had the tags.  I've got over two decades of thrifting experience, so I'll share some of my secrets.

Thrift Store Tips

Go early and often. I find the best deals during the week, before the Saturday rush. Good merchandise doesn't stay around long. 

For clothing

Here's a big secret-look at the garments in your size-but also check the ones not in your size.  Example: I'm an XL.  But I always check the petite section. Every now and then I find a designer piece in my size tucked in there.  My theory is that some hesitant big gal is thinking about buying it, and she stashed it in the Gwyneth Paltrow section to hide it until she makes a decision. I found two heirloom Norwegian ski sweaters this way!  They cost over $200 bucks a pop on Ebay.

Another clothing tip for larger or taller women-check the men's department.  Everything looks unisex nowadays anyway.

Shop "off season."  In the summer, look at the sweater rack.  In the winter, check out the linen.  Nobody else is looking here-so you will get the fabulous finds.

Whatever you purchase, make sure it goes right from the bag into the washer when you get home.  I've never had a problem with any bring-home grunge in over 20 years of thrifting, but I've always been careful.

Household items

Kitchenware and dishes-thrift stores are brimming with bounty. I will probably never buy a brand new cookie sheet.  Thrift stores have good-as-new Pyrex® casseroles, Corelle® --you name it.  Big confession: Shhh! I've bought gifts here.  Some household items are still in the original box!  However, before you "regift" it, make sure you check the inside of the box thoroughly to avoid embarrassment-you don't want a new bride opening your gift and finding a birthday card tucked inside that says "Many happy returns, Marion."

My favorite department is the books. There is a whole library in every store.  If you don't need a title that's currently on the New York Times Bestseller list, knock yourself out.  Were it not for a thrift store, I may have never read "The Education of Henry Adams," by Henry Brooks Adams.  Henry was the grandson of John Quincy Adams and therefore the great-grandson of John Adams.  This book is his lifelong journal-it's also the only autobiography I've ever read that's written in the third person.  It's a bit ponderous, but I hung in there with ol' Hank and I learned a lot about political history.

Many years ago, I found a book at Goodwill that changed my life in a meaningful way.  It's called The Luck Factor by Max Gunther, and it's currently available used on Amazon for 48 cents. Very thrifty!  I'd never seen this book before, and I haven't seen another copy since.  The first half of the book covers concepts such as superstition (which didn't speak to me) and intuition (which was kind of useful).  However, the last half of the book was remarkable.  It covered the notion that we can make our own luck by staying alert, keeping up one's skills and maintaining professional networks. 

This book has an idea that has stuck with me all these years and that's something Gunther calls "the Ratchet Effect."  As he explains, a ratchet is a tool that preserves gains.  It turns something ahead, and then holds it in place until you can make another turn and move ahead some more. 

Gunther likens this process to the art of moving through life successfully.  Half the battle is not falling behind.  Sometimes success is measured by just staying in place.  In times like these-during a drastic economic downturn-just maintaining a holding pattern is a triumph.  Business and career booms and busts are always cyclical.  The point is to keep your hand on the ratchet and be ready to give it another turn when you get the chance.

This is a book-and a valuable life concept-that I found only because I picked it up at Goodwill. Gunther will have you believing in serendipity... like the "luck" of finding an obscure book at a thrift store that gives you a principle that guides your life-or seeing it recommended on a blog.  Hmmm.

Things NOT to buy at thrift stores

Small household appliances

I always buy new ones;  it's a safety thing.  The reason that the toaster was donated to a thrift store may have been because it has the annoying tendency of not turning off.  I tested a blow dryer once and it shot out sparks and then a small flame!  I asked the clerk to throw it away.

Child items

Toys, carseats, cribs, etc.  These items at thrift stores are beyond the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall system.  Many were manufactured before state-of-the-art safety standards. It's hard enough for parents to keep up with the new warnings.  This would be a good place to provide the link to the CPSC's latest recall information. 

Getting Past the Shame

Many new thrifters may feel embarrassed to be shopping in second hand stores.  Get past it.  Thrifting makes sense environmentally-reduce, reuse, recycle.  I occasionally find antiques and collectibles that I've sold on Ebay.  Get a good antique book with lots of pictures and study it. If you know who Homer Laughlin is or if you can spot hobnail Fenton art glass at 10 paces, you've got a little pin money.  I found a gorgeous Millefiori nightlight that sold "Buy it Now" on Ebay in 10 minutes. And I have found quite a few tone-y accessories over the years, such as Coach purses.  

The best find I know of personally is one nabbed by a girlfriend.  She found a strand of pearls-real ones. There was a clue... the clasp was 14K; nobody puts a gold clasp on fake pearls.  She took them to a jeweler; the appraisal?  Eight hundred clams, if you'll pardon the expression. 

Pass it on

Just one final thought, and that's "give back."  Most of us likely have clothes and household items we're not using that someone else needs. I went through my cupboards about a year ago and realized that I had accumulated four Bundt pans. I've never made a Bundt cake in my life.  Sometimes I have an outfit that I've (ahem) outgrown or one that is perfectly good-I'm just tired of it. Do you? Donate them to one of these thrift stores.  Many of them are charitable organizations, and they are now in great need.  According to the CNN article cited above, donations are dropping off, so to speak.  Happy thrifting!