August 17th is National Thrift Shop Day. We all know that I think it should be a national holiday. I love my thrift shopping – both shopping and writing about it.

When you shop The Ridgefield Thrift Shop, My Sister’s Place, Salvation Army, Habitat For Humanity, Cauz For Pawz, Housing Works, and countless others, you are supporting PHENOMENAL causes and helping change countless lives.

In honor of National Thrift Shop day, here are some quick tips for thrift shopping:

Be friendly and ask the staff when the most new merchandise is put out.

Be kind when thrift shopping, most of the people who work at charitable thrift shops are volunteers and they have already spent hours filling the racks. If you are putting items back, put them back on the right rack.

Know your labels and brands – know what to invest in for your basic wardrobe pieces and what to buy for fun.

Don’t buy something just because it is your favorite brand, make sure you love the piece and will wear it.

Remember if you buy an item and it needs alterations, the alterations can cost two to three times what you paid. Choose wisely when buying a piece that needs to be altered.

The smaller thrift shops sometimes have the best buys.

Sign up for for your favorite thrift shop’s email list so you know when the sales are.

ENJOY the hunt and know that you may not always find something. Just keep going back when you find a thrift shop you love.

Merchandise is also very geographical so go out of your own area and you will be surprised at how different (in a good way) the merchandise is.

I hope you find these tips helpful.

Thank you for reading – if you like my blogs, please like my Facebook page: TonionThrifting

Until next time, Happy Shopping