When it comes to clothes I’ve always been a fairly frugal shopper. My mom raised me on clearance racks and discount stores. At about age 14 I was given control of my monthly “budget” for clothes, makeup & toiletries. At age 15 I had my first job – most of the money went toward clothes and hanging out with friends. I was not much of a saver.

While I occasionally dabbled in thrift stores, for a long time I resisted. My husband seemed to find great stuff but my argument was that men’s clothes (at least his style) was more classic and therefore easier to find. It seemed the hunt for great women’s clothes at thrift stores was MUCH harder.

Well it grew on me and now I kind of enjoy the challenge of seeing what I can find.

I wrote about a recent thrift store shopping trip on my blog with some of my top tips.

Check it out here – see how I found 9 fantastic items for a little over $6 each (averaged out).

Thrift stores! Well that, clearance racks and Ross 🙂

There are at least three “chains” in our area – Salvation Army, Goodwill & Savers. Salvation Army (at least here) is my least favorite. Not organized as well. Goodwill is good – depends a lot on the store but we have a fairly large, newer one. My favorite though is the Savers chain. I don’t know why but they ted to have a bit nicer stuff.

Here’s some of my tips for successful thrift store hunting…

1. Know what you’re looking for before you go – either specific pieces or specific colors. Each season I like to see what the “in” colors are and find just a couple key pieces in those colors that can be mixed in my wardrobe. This season I was on the hunt for gold and teal.
2. Know the stores discount system. For examples, are there days where a specific color tag is half off? Do they have dollar days? Most stores have one day each month that EVERYTHING is half off. As can be expected, the stores are kind of crazy those days.
3. You probably don’t need to sift through every piece of clothing. I kind of scan the clothes to look for colors, patterns and fabrics that jump out at me. It takes some time, but you get better at it the more you do it.
4. Try stuff on. Returns at thrift stores are a hassle and you usually only get store credit.
5. Don’t search in just your size. If I have time (and no kids with me) I will usually take the time to scan one size up (and sometimes down). Depending on the time and fit I get some great items this way (see below).

Teal (Yay!) sweater, still had tags from Kohl’s ($36 retail), this was a “size up” find. $14.99 but BLUE tag so $7.50!

This one was a size down but fits perfect and is super cute. $8

I don’t generally do turtlenecks but this one isn’t super tight and I like that it’s long and will go over leggings. I liked the bottom of the sleeves too. It’s a loose weave so it will be nice for the Phoenix winters. Plus it was only $6.

My wardrobe has 4 base colors – black, grey, creme and brown. So when I’m doing those “scans” I always pay attention to those colors. Saw this one – cute cotton sweater to layer. Again perfect for Phx winters.

Total after my discount coupon? $60 for 5 sweaters and 4 pairs of jeans. That’s an average of $6.66 for each item.

Now I just need it to get cold 🙂