For the first thrift haul of 2023, the term “haul” may be a little overstated. However, I am certainly sticking to my goal to be much pickier about what comes into the house!
This month I thrifted just 1 item. Let’s take a look:
Blue Velvet Chaps midi skirt, $4.79
I actually didn’t even bother trying this on when I was shopping, figuring that if I made a $5 mistake I’d just re-donate it. Thankfully, it fits well because it is so incredibly soft and I love the shade of blue. Believe me when I say that NOBODY at my work pays any attention to my outfits – but the day I wore this skirt I received multiple compliments. MULTIPLE.
For work this month, I paired the blue velvet skirt with a light-wash denim shirt, dark purple tank top and sparkly blue flats.
I feel like this type of skirt is super versatile and can be paired with a tank and cardigan, topped with a long sleeve blouse, or made even more casual with a t-shirt and denim jacket. For less than my typical Starbucks order, I consider it a steal!
As we say goodbye to 2022, I’d like to take a look back at this year’s thrifting and secondhand shopping scores. Some years, I share my most “exciting” scores and last year I shared my most worn favorite items bought secondhand in 2021, as well as my most exciting scores based on value. Well, for 2022 I tried to be much more selective in what I purchased.
Of course, I still make mistakes which get released back into the thrifting wild. But for 2022, let’s consider these my thrifting “wins”:
My Favorite Thrifted Home Items for 2022:
I feel like I had an exceptional year of thrifting for home items this year. Some years, I find all the fabulous clothing deals… well this year, my home got a new outfit!
Blue crochet blanket, $6 – April 2022
Metal and Wood Sculpture, $6 – June 2022
Flower picture, $6 – June 2022
Colorful squares crochet blanket, $6 – September 2022
My Favorite Thrifted Clothing Items for 2022:
I did find few winners this year when it comes to clothing:
Pilcro and the Letterpress denim jacket, $25 – January 2022
Plaid flannel shirt, $2.50 – November 2022
Talbots skirt, $13 – November 2022
Jack’s Favorite Thrifted Items for 2022:
My little mini-me loves to come thrifting with me and he found some pretty fantastic STEM toys in 2022. He loves them, I love them… it’s an all-around win!
Snap Circuits Skill Builder, $3.50 – January 2022
K’Nex Ferris Wheel with Motor, K’Nex Roller Coaster + K’Nex Super Set, $5 – 10 each
I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures we find in 2023!
YAY, it’s thrift haul time and this month I actually had time to go thrifting three separate times!
One of the things I love most about thrifting is going in and seeing what is waiting for me. Typically, it’s something I didn’t even know I needed… but then once I find it, it suddenly is my FAVORITE! Sure, I still make plenty of mistakes (that inevitably get released back into the thrifting wild), but those surprise scores are the ones that keep me in love with thrifting!
For example, I didn’t have any of this stuff on my list… but it fits perfectly in my house:
1950’s Fire King Jadeite bowl – the perfect size for a pretzels snack
Squares crochet blanket – my daily snuggle buddy while reading in our den
Metal & Wood sculpture – looks fantastic in our living room
So, let’s see what I found this month:
Plaid flannel shirt, $5 half off for $2.50
I’m really picky about my flannel shirts. They have to be super lightweight, so I don’t overheat. They also have to be oversized enough that I don’t have any pulling around the chest buttons, but not TOO oversized. And it has to be super soft and a *good* plaid color combo. This shirt checked all the boxes for me and was an absolute steal at just $2.50. I’m happy to add this to my weekend shirt rotation this winter!
Dress, $5
This is my hmmmmm face. This dress is a maybe and honestly may end up back in my donation pile. Or it may be turned into a pillow. The fabric is so pretty in person – kind of soft and lightweight with sparkly stamps – and was made in India. I like the flowy waist/skirt and pockets. I was super lazy and just threw it on over my jeans, but I’m imagining this styled with black tights/leggings, combat boots and a fuzzy cardigan. It will be a perfect outfit for casual telework days, while still looking pretty enough for a zoom call. Even if it gets re-donated, it was only $5, so it’s worth a try.
K’Nex Roller Coaster Set, $2.50
According to Jack, this was obviously the score of the month. He loves K’Nex and you would be surprised how often you can find full, unopened sets at the thrift store. I basically always have K’Nex and snap circuits on my list to look for. This set was missing a few pieces, but fit seamlessly into the rest of his K’Nex collection. He spent literal hours playing with this over the weekend with the television and video games off. When I asked him if it was $2.50 worth of fun, he said it was actually $8,000 worth of fun. So, worth it!
Madewell cover-up, $19
This one was another gamble, but it still had the tags on it from Madewell for $98 so I figured if I didn’t love it, I could always resell it on Poshmark and hopefully make my money back. I wasn’t really sure what it was until I googled it after, but I thought it was a fun fabric and had a hunch it would look great with a belt. I tried it two different ways – one with a straw belt alone, and second with a brown belt and denim jacket.
It’s pretty cute, so I added it to my summer stuff to break out next summer.
For my second stop this month, I dropped by one of my favorite consignment shops. My goal was to open up a consigner account, which I did with a whole tub full of clothes. When I was done, OF COURSE, I had to do a little perusal of what they had. As it turns out, the day I was there it was raining super hard all day – and I bemoaned the fact that I didn’t own a raincoat when I left the house.
Well, I found one. With my name on it.
Joules Raincoat, $56.50
And it fit perfectly! Joules raincoats are on their website for $140 – $150, so I’m thrilled for my purchase.
Even better, I’ve already worn it three times this month to keep me warm AND dry in rainstorms.
I had my last thrifting trip of the month around Thanksgiving, which was super fun because they have holiday stuff out now.
Deer head, $13
Did I *NEED* a mounted deer head? Um… not particularly. But, did I see it and immediately fall in love with it? YES. This thing is SO COOL! It’s made out of a heavier material and in perfect shape (after a little bleach wipe action). I used google lense to try and track it down since there are no markings and the closest I can find are similar designs at Wayfair for $75-100ish. This could certainly be a holiday decoration, but I’m kinda feeling like it deserves a permanent installation somewhere in my house.
Corksicle Classic Canteen, $4
I love Corksicle and currently own 2 of their coffee mugs and 3 of their travel tumblers. I’m not exaggerating when I say I use them every single day for my coffee and water. I don’t have any of their ‘canteen’ bottles, so when I saw this one for just $4 I snatched it up. It’s still in great condition and went directly into the dishwasher for a deep clean. Their classic canteens sell for $32.95 on the Corksicle website.
Rockin Rover, $5
Jack asked me to keep an eye out for something he could build, and this new-in-box set met the criteria for just $5 (currently $30 on Amazon). He has already built the robot and then took it apart and rebuilt it into a bunch of other contraptions. I’m especially glad I got this before Thanksgiving, since Travis and I were out of commission with Covid and Jack had to entertain himself!
Talbots skirt, $13
I was able to find this skirt online and it was sold at Talbots as the ‘floral jacquard full skirt’ 2 years ago. This one was still new with the tags on it and fit me perfectly — even thrown on over jeans and a t-shirt! I love the swish of this skirt, it has pockets, and I think I might wear this for an upcoming work holiday event!
