thrifting fun - Pocketful of Joules

January Thrift Haul

The start of the year means a whole clean slate for thrifting fun. Crossing my fingers that I learned from my mistakes of the previous year (I probably didn’t….), and looking forward to all the new treasures to find!

DRU Holland Dutch Oven, $6.99

This was a ‘start the car’ moment for me while out thrifting a few weeks ago. In fact, they hadn’t even put this adorable dutch oven out yet when I yoinked it out of the bin and put it in my cart. Within 60 seconds, another lady started sniffing around and asked if I really wanted it… BACK OFF LADY!

Anywho, DRU Holland Dutch Ovens were made between the 1930’s and 1960’s and many pieces were distributed as premiums in grocery store sin the 1950’s. Most of their pieces are enameled in pastel colors with contrasting trip and adorned with depictions of tulips or other flowers.

I love it so much and it fits right in with the rest of my mid-century collection! PS, you can see I also have a smaller blue tulip version too (another thrift find).

Glitter Converse One-Star Shoes, $8.99

I’ve been casually looking for a pair of glitter Converse for a couple months now, after falling in love with a bejeweled high-top version on Poshmark. These are super silvery sparkly, but not actual glitter (so it won’t be shedding while I walk). They were a little dingy, but a bleach wipe and a magic eraser cleaned them right up and now they’re looking as good as new!

A New Day rain boots, $5.99

Another pair of shoes – but these weren’t on my list at all. However, they were new with tags ($26 retail) and my size, so I figured I’d try them on. They are super comfortable and I don’t have a pair of rain boots, so I figured I might as well buy them. A quick wash with some dish detergent and they look fantastic. So far, these have come in really handy as ‘leave by the front door’ boots, since I can step into them for hands-free ease to run out to the mailbox.

Athleta Arrival skirt, $13.49

I love Athleta, so when I saw this super lightweight skirt in a cool pattern I scooped it up. It’s the “arrival” skirt (retail price $89) and it’s made for hot days and traveling, since it won’t wrinkle. This will be great for the summer paired with a tank top and some sandals. I washed it in the laundry on cold and let it hang dry — now it’s waiting in my closet for the spring to come.

2023 Thrifting Wrap Up

Each year I enjoy looking back at my thrifting purchases. Sure, I still make plenty of mistakes (especially when I can’t try items on), but thrifting is a pretty low stakes – and low money – way to determine if something is not going to work for you, your closet, or your home. And worst-case scenario, you just re-donate the item and it can find someone who will love it more!

When picking my favorite thrift and secondhand purchases of the year, I basically just chose the items that made my heart sing. If I LOVE an item, I’m going to wear it and use it a lot… and these were the winners for 2023.

2023 Favorite Thrifted Items for my Home:

Looking back at 2023, May was quite the lucky month for me for home items. Also, I’m really loving the color scheme of this photo gallery:

Cactus picture, $14.50 – May 2023
Lu-Ray Cups and Saucer set, $12.50 – May 2023
Chive Pooley 2 Vase, $4.50 – May 2023
Pyrex Casserole Dish with Lid, $4.99 – July 2023

This year, I found some beautiful items to add to my vintage ceramics and pottery collection. The Lu-Ray cups and saucer set was made in the United States in the 1940’s and the Pyrex casserole dish is a special promotional item from the winter of 1969.

The cactus picture is one of my favorite finds and hangs right next to my bed to remind me of our amazing trips to Arizona. That Chive vase lives in my kitchen and regularly gets filled with fresh flower stems!

2023 Favorite Thrifted Clothing Items:

These four items make my heart happy, so they absolutely deserve to be in my end of year thrifting wrap up:

Blue Velvet Chaps midi skirt, $4.79 – January 2023
Johnny Was Cedella Blouse, $39.50 – March 2023
Rag & Bone Linen Knit Top, $5.29 – April 2023
Sparkly tank top, $2 – May 2023

The blue velvet skirt is the perfect neutral with a little extra kick — I wore it to work back in January 2023 and I’ve worn it this month too. It’s so soft and luxe and it was less than $5! The floral Johnny Was blouse was a consignment steal — it retails for $205 and I purchased it secondhand for $39.50.

The Rag & Bone striped linen top was a surprise favorite this year — it looks fantastic tucked into my many high-waisted skirts and was a great deal (retails for $160, thrifted for $5.29). As for that sparkly tank top, I purchased it for $2 for my Taylor Swift Eras concert look… but recently wore it again for a sparkly holiday work outfit.

I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures we find in 2024!

November Thrift Haul

Much like our multiple Thanksgiving feasts, this month’s thrifting was bountiful! I ended up having the opportunity to thrift twice this month and one of those days aligned with a 50% off sale! Let’s check out this month’s haul:

Chaps linen + cotton oversized blouse, $7

I picked this up. Put it back. Picked it up. Put it back. And finally added it to my cart. I was hesitating to add it to my closet because I have a couple other oversized button up shirts and I don’t wear them super often. However, this linen/cotton combo was really soft and I like the faded red/pink stripes. I’m imagining it half-tucked into a pair of jeans, or worn open with a tank top and pair of jean shorts in the summer. This probably won’t be one of my frequently worn pieces, but I do think I’ll get at least $7 worth of happiness out of it. I’ve put it away in my closet to rediscover in the spring.

Loft cardigan, $5

This sweater doesn’t feel like it’s been worn more than once or twice — the fibers are all smooth and there is no pilling under the arms, which is all good signs. Not my normal colors, but I do love a great stripe so it made sense to bring this one home with me. This will be thrown on with a t-shirt and jeans on non-work days and would also look cute with a blouse and twirly skirt for work. It’s giving me ‘spring’, but I’m going to leave it in my main closet because it also feels a bit like a candy cane for the holidays.

Adidas track jacket, $7

I absolutely LOVE this track jacket and was thrilled when I grabbed it off the rack and saw that it was my size! I did a little research and this is from the Adidas Originals 2014 “Mountain Clash” collection. I love the painterly mountains landscape mixed with the black cuffs and iconic three stripes on the arms. The back is just so, so cool too! I’ve been eyeing the Adidas x Farm Rio collection on Poshmark and this fabulous track jacket totally scratches that itch for just $7! I can’t wait to pair it with leggings and joggers for a sporty, but cute look!

3 Shirts for Jack, .75, .75 and $2.50

Jack recently hit another growth spurt, so I’ve been stocking up on kid’s size larges to replace his mediums. These three are totally his style and at a price that can’t be beat. And I have no idea why two of these are marked cheaper than the third… but I just had to order him some shirts from Target and these are certainly a steal!

Merona cardigan, $7

A black chunky cardigan with buttons was on my thrift list, so I was happy to find this one still new with tags! This is exactly what I was looking for to fill a hole in my closet, so yay!

Vintage Hand Embroidered skirt, $3.75

Oh my gosh, I wish you guys could see this skirt in person because it is so well made. It’s a thicker linen/cotton with all the embroidery done by hand. And all the inside seams are so beautifully sewn, you can almost wear this inside out. Since our thrift store no longer has dressing rooms, I eyeballed this one and unfortunately it was too small in the waist. BUT, I decided to get a little crafty and I replaced the waistband with elastic and it’s perfect now! You can find my post where I did it here: DIY: Adding Elastic to a Too Small Skirt.

Madewell skirt, $1.75

I was able to find this skirt online and it’s the ‘side-button skirt’ from Madewell that had the retail price of $98. It’s a pretty, flowy and lightweight cotton skirt and totally my style. I don’t love the extra short slip sewn into the skirt, so I may cut it out and replace it with my own slip. However, this skirt was less than $2, so any alterations I make will be worth it.

Universal Standard sweatshirt with side slits, $5

I was able to track down this exact item on the Universal Standard website and it’s the Fiona open side sweatshirt for $94. I forgot that Universal Standard has a different sizing chart, so this large is very oversized on me. However, I bought this for either an ‘around the house’ topper with leggings, or to add to my pajamas when I need an extra layer, so it will work out fine.

North Face “Furry Fleece”, $6

I was super surprised that they didn’t mark this North Face fleece way up, because I’ve seen them at the thrift store for $20 – 30. This one must have slipped through the cracks, at just $12 and then half off. It is super fluffy and comfortable and warm, and I really like the pretty color too. I found an identical one online for $98, so once again… quite the thrift steal!