20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores

~ Chastity Eads

20-things-i-look-for-at-thrift-storesHappy Wednesday Friends!

 A few days ago I shared how to make candles using vintage containers. Even though I spend a lot of time at home in the Winter one thing I still love to get out and do on a regular basis is visit my favorite thrift stores.  When searching for items I am usually looking for items to buy for decorating my own home,  for supplying my Etsy shop, and for prepping for a local vintage sale. Throughout the entire year whether I a shopping at a thrift store, yard sale, or flea market I tend to gravitate to some of the same things.

Here is a list of what I look for when shopping second hand:

1.) Paint by Number Paintings

20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores

2.) Unique or Chunky Frames

20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores

3.) Beautiful Ironstone or Transferware

20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores

4.) Pretty Quilts
5.) Doilies
6.)Colored Glass Canisters
20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores
7.)Waterscape Paintings

20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores

8.) Old Books

img_20161023_110359695

thrifting-tips-005

9.) Unique Architectural Spindles 

Both  {THIS} project & {THIS} project were made from some of my found spindles and furniture pieces.

thrifting-tips-006

10.) Small Side Tables & Stools

thrifting-tips-011

11.) Hanging Shelves and Organizers

thrifting-tips-016

12.) Unique Mugs and Pottery

vintage-sale-tips-017

13.) Old Cabinet Doors for Upcycling Projects

thrifting-tips-036

14.) Vintage Colorful Planters

thrifting-tips-037

15.) Colorful Plates

I created a Vintage Plate Wall in a corner of our home {HERE} and shared some ideas for vintage plate wall combinations {HERE}.

thrifting-tips-038

16.) Old Cameras

thrifting-tips-039

17.) Colorful Glassware

img_20161112_123459490

18.) Old Chairs

img_20160908_153815979

19.) Unique Canisters

IMG_20150910_163036855.jpg

20.) Anything I can put a fresh coat of paint on!

thrifting-tips-008

thrifting-tips-018

What do you gravitate towards while buying second hand?

Thank you for stopping by!

I am sharing this post at…

 DIY Show Off – A Stroll Thru Life – Home Stories A to Z – Savvy Southern Style

Colors and Craft – Tatertots & Jello – Pierced Pastimes

Nifty Thrifty Things – Finding Silver Pennies – The Crafted Sparrow – Snap Creativity

Ginger Snap Crafts –Seeking Lavender Lane  – Skip to My Lou – Homework

Making It In The Mountains – Joy In Our Home – Live Laugh Rowe

Worthing Court – Design Dining Diapers – White House Crafts

Redo It Yourself Inspirations – Small Home Soul – The SITS Girls

One More Time – Denise Designed – The Crafting Nook

Advertisements

50 thoughts on “20 Things I Look for at Thrift Stores”

  2. You know the old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” You’ve found some wonderful treasures. Thanks for sharing. (visiting from Waste not Wednesday)

    Like

    Reply

  6. Wow, these are all great things! I usually stick to looking specifically for books, and then I just wander around to see what I find. I have picked up some great paintings and side tables though!

    Like

    Reply

  8. The upcycled time card racks in the last picture is a brilliant idea! Unpainted, those racks are ugly and plain. Painted they are whimsical and wonderful! They are pretty common too. People just overlook them 🙂 Stopping by from the SITS sharefest.

    Like

    Reply

  9. I really admire how you can see beyond what it is to what you could make it be; I wish my ‘eye’ were a little more developed in this area!
    I came to visit through Nifty Thrifty bloghop; I hope you’ll take a moment to visit me at the 4Shoes & let me know you’ve been. Another site I wish you’d PLEASE visit is about a missing child; keeping her story alive in the eyes of the public (who hopefully share the WITWIK story also) is the only way this Mum may every see her abducted child again http://www.where-in-the-world-is-kaydance.jigsy.com

    Like

    Reply

  10. I always have a list of things to look for when I go to the thrift store. I start at the books and look for ones about the region where we live, then the cookbooks, cooking utensils and cookware, dishes, hats (some unique ones from our town), and anything special I’m looking for. It took a few months, but I found a nice tripod form my camera for $5 rather than the $100 new price. Worth waiting for. – Margy

    Like

    Reply

    1. I love finding fabric at thrift stores too! I can’t remember when I bought curtains for our home brand new. I have quite the collection of fabric stacked for pillow making in the near future. Thank you for stopping by!

      Like

      Reply

  14. Love, love, love the things you look for! They are pretty much exactly what I am always on the hunt for as well 😉 There are just so many great things at thrift stores that get over looked. Thanks for linking this up to the Inspiration Galore Project Party this week. i will be sharing it on my facebook page. Have a lovely day and keep thrifting 😉

    Like

    Reply

  15. I am also interested in how you painted the time card holder. I picked one up for the fact that it would hold so many vintage postcards, and other ephemera that I love. What was your painting technique?
    Thank you. Debbie

    Like

    Reply

  16. Thank you for the great ideas, Chas! It looks like you have certainly gotten some great finds.
    Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight). I plan to feature you next week!
    ~ Megin of VMG206

    Like

    Reply
  23. Pingback: Brag About It Link Party | VMG206 - VMG206
  24. Pingback: Waste not Wednesday #35 - A Link Party! - Gratefully Vintage
  25. Pingback: Monthly Blog Recap & A Free Blog Post Calendar | Let's Create Events

  26. Great list, Chas–glad I “stumbled” on your blog via Tutorials and Tips link party. We’d love it if you’d consider linking up at our party, Vintage Charm, Thursdays at 8 am. You can find it at Adirondack Girl @ Heart.

    Like

    Reply

  29. First time to visit your blog … love what you look for while thrifting. Love the old green chair and how you have used the vintage ceiling fixture for candle holders with your colored grass and grapevine pumpkins. I have some like that and they make beautiful candle holders. Coming over from Waste No Wednesday.

    Like

    Reply
  31. Pingback: DIY Frosted Bottles | Let's Create Events
  32. Pingback: Waste Not Wednesday #35 - a Linky Party - Small Home Soul

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s