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Before you buy another thrifted item, ask yourself these 3 simple questions first. 👀
In today’s video, I’m sharing the exact questions I use before bringing home thrifted decor, furniture, and vintage finds. These tips can help you avoid clutter, save money, and make smarter decorating decisions while thrifting.
Whether you love antique stores, flea markets, Facebook Marketplace, estate sales, or thrift shops, these questions will help you shop with intention and decorate your home more thoughtfully.
| CHAPTERS |
00:00 INTRO
00:47 CLEANING
02:10 TRANSPORTING
05:39 RESTYLING
07:36 OUTRO
| LINKS |
BLOG POST: "3 Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Thrift" - https://diannedecor.com/blog/before-you-thrift/
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more home inspiration and decor tips!
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0:03
Hi, it's Lindsay Diane from
0:05
dianecor.com. In this video, let's talk
0:08
about three important questions that you
0:10
should ask yourself before you thrift
0:12
items for your home. Thrifting is a
0:15
great way to decorate on a budget. You
0:18
can find some really amazing high
0:21
quality pieces at a fraction of their
0:24
original price when you thrift or buy
0:26
secondhands.
0:28
However, whether you are thrifting for
0:31
small decorative accents or looking for
0:34
accent furniture or statement furniture
0:36
or functional furniture pieces for your
0:38
home, there are three things that you
0:40
should absolutely consider before you
0:43
make that purchase. So, let's get
0:45
started with question number one.
0:48
Question number one is, can I clean it?
0:51
Items that are coming secondhand or from
0:53
the thrift store are often dirty. You do
0:56
not know how long anything has been
0:58
sitting around. It could have been
1:00
abandoned in a home for 10 years before
1:02
a relative decided to clean out a house
1:05
and sell it. You know, you never know.
1:07
So, you have to take the time to clean
1:11
your thrifted furniture before you bring
1:13
it into your home. And cleaning
1:15
furniture and other accents can
1:18
sometimes be a little bit more
1:19
challenging than you would think. So ask
1:22
yourself, am I going to need an
1:24
upholstery cleaner or a steam cleaner
1:26
for this item? Am I going to need silver
1:29
polish or something to remove tarnish
1:32
from a decorative bowl or um some other
1:36
sort of metal piece? Will I need a rust
1:40
remover or a wood cleaner? Is a
1:43
professional cleaning required? And does
1:45
that fit into my budget?
1:48
Always inspect cracks, crevices, seams,
1:51
and drawers for signs of pests, nests,
1:55
and webs before you thrift and load them
1:59
into your car. If cleaning feels
2:01
overwhelming or unrealistic, it's
2:04
usually best that you walk away. In
2:07
short, if you can't clean it, don't buy
2:09
it. Question number two, can I transport
2:12
it? Most thrift stores and Goodwill
2:16
stores do not offer delivery services
2:19
and so it is left up to you to sort out
2:22
the transport of larger items on your
2:25
own. Now this means that before you
2:30
thrift for large items like headboards,
2:33
chairs, sofas, and desks, you need a
2:36
transportation plan. Measure your
2:38
vehicle opening ahead of time. Not just
2:42
from seat to seat, but what is the
2:43
opening of your trunk, the area where
2:45
you're going to put or the the area of
2:48
your door frame? You know, wherever
2:50
you're going to slide that piece of
2:52
furniture into your car or your truck,
2:54
you should measure that first before you
2:56
even purchase this item to make sure
2:59
that you can fit it into your vehicle.
3:01
And even when you've measured and you've
3:03
decided ahead of time that you're going
3:05
to go ahead and buy this piece, remember
3:07
to take tools with you. take a
3:09
screwdriver or a cordless drill so that
3:12
just in case you have to disassemble a
3:15
leg or something like that to fit it
3:16
into your car, you're prepared. Now, if
3:19
you don't have a truck or a large
3:22
vehicle, consider using a third party
3:24
moving service like Dolly Lug or finding
3:28
somebody on Thumbtac. These service
3:30
providers can meet you at the store and
3:32
then deliver it directly to your home.
3:36
You can also rent a U-Haul, but often
3:38
that's more expensive. And again, you
3:40
have to factor that price into the
3:42
purchase price of your item to decide
3:44
whether or not you're really getting a
3:45
good deal by purchasing this thing. On
3:49
average, a one-way local delivery should
3:51
cost anywhere between like $50 and $75.
3:54
So, be sure to add that price into your
3:57
thrifted finds when deciding whether or
3:59
not it's worth it before you thrift.
4:01
Now, consignment shops, on the other
4:03
hand, do often offer delivery as a part
4:07
of the purchase price of your item. They
4:10
usually don't charge you any more for
4:12
delivery. That's usually added in for
4:13
free, and they have a contract with a
4:15
third party company. And so, they'll
4:17
arrange a date and a time. It's usually
4:20
not same day, although it may be. Um,
4:22
but generally, they're going to have to
4:24
arrange a date and a time in the future
4:26
for them to deliver that item to you.
4:29
That being said, consignment items are
4:32
usually at a higher price point than a
4:35
place like Goodwill or Salvation Army.
4:37
Um, because consignment is a place where
4:42
someone is going to basically sell the
4:44
stuff. They are not donating like with
4:47
Goodwill or Salvation Army or some of
4:50
these other donation centers. Instead,
4:52
with consignment, I'm going to bring my
4:55
gently used, really high-end piece to a
4:59
consignment store so they can put it in
5:00
their showroom where people are going to
5:02
come and go and look at it. And when
5:04
they purchase it, they're going to take
5:06
a certain cut. They're going to give
5:07
some money to me. And there we go. I've
5:09
gotten rid of my item. I'm not donating.
5:11
I'm trying to sell it. And I'm going to
5:13
give a cut to the consignment shop for
5:16
selling it for me. So, when you shop
5:18
consignment, expect that you're going to
5:20
have a higher price tag, but you're also
5:22
going to have a much higher quality item
5:25
as well. Now, that's not to say that you
5:28
won't find high quality, you know,
5:30
diamonds in the rough at uh Goodwill or
5:32
something like that. Um, but you're much
5:35
more likely and almost guaranteed to
5:37
find them at a consignment shop. And the
5:40
last question you want to ask yourself
5:41
before you thrift is, can you restyle
5:44
it? Is this item going to work as is? If
5:47
so, fine, purchase it. But if not, can
5:50
you restyle it so that it will work for
5:53
your space?
5:55
Do you have to paint it, stain it, and
5:59
do you have those supplies at home? Will
6:02
this require uh a spray painter, new
6:05
hardware, or craft materials? Can I
6:09
realistically finish this project on my
6:11
own? These are all the types of
6:13
questions that you want to ask yourself
6:15
when you're thinking about going about
6:17
restyling something. So whether you want
6:19
to change the color or the finish of a
6:21
piece of furniture, maybe you want to
6:23
reupholster a chair, it's got good
6:25
bones, but you hate the fabric that's on
6:27
there and you think that you could
6:29
reupholster it. Ask yourself
6:31
realistically, do I have the materials
6:33
on hand? If I don't, how much are those
6:35
going to cost? Because you've got to
6:36
factor that into the purchase price of
6:38
this item. If by the time I buy this
6:41
staple gun and this fabric to
6:44
reupholster and maybe some um particular
6:47
screws that go with this chair, all
6:50
those things plus the price of the chair
6:52
and possibly plus the price of the
6:55
transport,
6:57
is it really worth it? You know, is this
6:59
going to be a good thrift for me? So,
7:01
make sure you ask yourself the right
7:03
questions about whether or not you can
7:05
restyle it before you thrift. The best
7:09
thrift finds are ones that require
7:11
little to no restyling and can be used
7:14
multiple ways. Smaller items like
7:17
baskets are a classic example. They work
7:20
in every room. Candy dishes can hold
7:23
jewelry or sugar packets and trays can
7:26
be styled on coffee tables, vanities, or
7:28
kitchen counters. These small items are
7:31
the ones that are great to target if
7:34
you're shopping secondhand.
7:36
That's it for this video. I hope you
7:38
found it helpful. Those are the three
7:40
questions you should ask yourself before
7:42
you thrift. If you like this video,
7:44
please give it a like and consider
7:45
subscribing to my channel. I thank you
7:47
so much for watching. Don't forget to
7:49
visit me at diancor.com. I post all
7:52
about home decorating ideas over there.
7:54
Thanks again for watching. I'll see you
7:56
in the next one. Bye.
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