Tips for Shopping Secondhand: Part 1

We get asked so often how we get “lucky” finding such neat vintage, antique, and secondhand furniture, so we thought it was time to pull back the curtain a bit on our strategy for creating the collected cottage look you’ve come to expect here at The Southern Azalea.

Today, we’re chatting all about frequency.

The best possible tip we can offer for those interested in curating more secondhand pieces is to shop often.

Some of us have schedules that are a bit more conducive to frequently wandering the aisles of thrift stores. For those with more constrained schedules, we’re answering a few frequent issues that arise when addressing frequent secondhand shopping.

Most thrift stores are only open during my work hours.

I know several people in this particular predicament, and it requires a bit of creativity. If you have a lunch hour, use that time to squeeze in a quick trip to the thrift. Pack yourself a lunch on the go, and spend that glorious hour wandering the aisles of your favorite thrift for treasures.

We also can’t say enough good things about shopping online for secondhand treasures. Some of our favorite pieces in the house are the result of purposeful, daily checking of Facebook Marketplace. And a few, we found by accident while searching daily for other things.

The fun part about frequently checking Facebook Marketplace is that the algorithm will start to get pretty good at knowing what you’re drawn to and will begin to show you cool things that you didn’t even know you needed but match your aesthetic. That’s how I stumbled upon my antique jelly cupboard! I’ll share my Facebook Marketplace strategy in an upcoming post.

Certainly, being constrained by commitments elsewhere makes it a bit harder, but it can breed more creativity and intentionality if you approach the endeavor systematically. Getting familiar with the different sections of your favorite thrift stores will allow you to make the most of those limited minutes. Maybe on one particular day, you prioritize the art and linens section. Maybe another dishware. And so on.

My children are with me during the only times I can thrift, which makes it hard

As people who would much rather thrift solo, we completely understand. But that’s not always an option. We decided a long time ago that we could avoid something that brings me joy altogether because the conditions aren’t ideal, or we could embrace the challenge and figure out how to make it work.

Let them look through a section that interests them. Our boys are obsessed with books and puzzles, and we can usually incentivize them to behave themselves with the promise of a purchase. At most of our favorite thrift stores, books cost anywhere from $0.50 to $2.50, so we think that’s a small price to pay to be able to do what we love.

Make the experience a game. Sometimes I’ll use colors: “Find something really cool in your favorite color.” But most often, the game is “Find the weirdest thing in the store.” That one always ends up garnering so many laughs. It keeps them busy and allows you to dig into some good junk.

Bonus: I go often, but I still don’t find anything

Some thrift stores just aren’t worth visiting. I have a few that I just truly never find anything at, even with frequent visits. I will usually sunset those for a few months in favor of places I’m having better luck.

I think more often than not, failing to find anything is usually a result of not understanding your style. It can be overwhelming to attempt to shop secondhand and be surrounded by piles of stuff if you’re not really in tune with what it is you love.

So, we have homework for you: Start a “discovery” journal, and fill it with images cut from magazines that exemplify looks you love. That will give you an idea of what to look for on your trips. My style has really taken on a more primitive/country turn in the past 18 months, and it’s been fun to really shift my thrifting to meet that change. As I started to pay really close attention to the things I was drawn to, visually, I found that I was finding so much more at the thrift. And I don’t think the reason for that is because there was suddenly an influx of good donations.

We’ll be back Wednesday with the second part of this week’s series on secondhand shopping tips; please be sure to stop back by!