We Went to Goodwill Every Day for A Week. Here's What Happened.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the best way to find all the good stuff at thrift stores is to go often. Now that we have some extra time on our hands, we did a little experiment and went to Goodwill five days in a row. We share the lessons we learned, the things we found, and whether or not we’d do it again.

Takeaways After Going to Goodwill for a Week:

Set a budget! It’s easy to get caught up in the #dealsdealsdeals.

There is SO MUCH STUFF at thrift stores. Inventory changes daily, several times a day and this reminded us of the sheer volume of stuff we consume every day in the United States. We knew that thrift stores put out thousands of items daily, but seeing it happen day in and day out is truly remarkable.

The more you go, the less you buy. Sounds weird right? But it’s true! You see a lot of the same types of things at thrift stores – we call those thrift store staples. So it’s okay to pass on them sometimes because you’ll most likely see them again.

Going often helps you find some of the things on your “every day, mundane” lists that you thought you’d never find at a thrift store like a can pressure cooker, lamination paper, and even poster boards. We even found matching cushions and cups for things we already had at home. Going often could help you complete sets of things you already own!

Thrifting could easily throw your daily routine off. Going early in the day is best but next time we’re making sure we get all of our responsibilities out of the way first. Going early and coming back to a house or desk full of work was not fun.

Keep an open mind and remember that some days are going to be incredible and some days are going to be boring. The right mood and mindset is very important. Going in with high expectations sometimes ends up ruining your thrift mojo. But the flip side of that: give the areas you would usually skip over a chance.

Find a balance that works best for you. Dina was exhausted by the end of it because she did “marathon” thrifts where she spent over an hour at each store. Shannon wasn’t as tired because she did “power” thrifting. Finding your comfort level prevents thrift burn out.

Would we do it again?

YES! But with some modifications.

This episode is brought to you by Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio.

Thanks, it’s Thrifted is a podcast about secondhand shopping hosted by two treasure-hunting friends, Dina & Shannon. Subscribe today. Follow us here: @dinasdays and @fatdontcrack.