Insider Tips from a Professional Thrift Shopper with my Aspie Perspective

I grew up in a large family with hand me downs and thrift clothes all of my life. I never knew anything different and didn't feel like I was missing out on much with this. As an adult I worked in thrift stores for over 16 years and I shop in them regularly, so I have a multifaceted perspective on this topic. Now, I am ready to impart some of this knowledge to anyone who is interested.

First off, for all clothes, wash everything that you buy before you wear it. You never know where it was and who used it last. Despite what some people believe, thrift stores don't have the time or resources to wash everything before it goes out on the sales floor. Sometimes people wash their clothes before they donate them, but many don't. Sometimes the clothes have been in an attic or basement for years before someone was cleaning out and decided to just donate everything without a second thought. You don't really want to know all of the things that we have seen when things get donated. Just be safe and wash everything that you possibly can.

Buy clothes out of season. People clean out their closets for the season that they aren't in and so that is what gets brought to the stores and put on the sales floor. There might have a few exceptions, like swimsuits, Halloween costumes, heavy winter coats, etc., but for the most part they don't have the space to store everything in the off seasons, so this is the time to stock up your wardrobe for what you will need in the next few months. You also will get a better selection to choose from because not everyone is thinking ahead, and they are only buying for their immediate needs/wants. I personally wear lots of sleeveless tops all year round because my northern blood does not adjust to the southern heat, and I usually stock up on these during the winter months while everyone around me is buying the long sleeves because they are cold. Trying to buy sleeveless in the summer is hard because everyone else is buying them too, so the selection is very slim.

Don't shop for a special event, like a friend's wedding that you have to go to next weekend. Finding a specific outfit on short notice at a thrift store is nearly impossible. Instead, shop to expand your wardrobe. Have a list of types of things that you are looking for but make them general areas. You never know what you will find and when you will find it when shopping at thrift stores. If you have a full wardrobe, then you will have things on hand to make a new outfit for a special occasion when one comes along.

Make several trips to check for new items, but space your visits apart because even though new things come out to the sales floor all day every day, not much is going to change in the selection in 24 hours (though there are people who shop at the same thrift store every single day and multiple times per day). Patience is the key to finding the best stuff that will fit what you are looking for. You have to give time for the other customers to buy all of the things that you didn't want to buy and for new things to be put out. Also, check out multiple locations. Each store will have a different selection available. There are 8 thrift stores under the ministry that I worked for, and I have been to all of them more than once, some way more than that.

Plan ahead to what you are looking for. There is a lot of stuff at thrift stores, and it can get overwhelming, especially for autistics, if you don't know how to focus on just certain areas. Know what sections you are looking in and that means that you can avoid the others. For instance, I usually only shop for clothes for myself, so that means that I can skip the whole men's and kid's sections and I only have to look in certain rows in the women's section that include my sizes and what I am interested in filling my closet with. That alone eliminates about half of the store from what I have to look thru. I know what types of styles and fabrics that I am looking for and the lengths that I want, so I can quickly scan the clothes as I walk down the aisle and find quickly anything that might fit what I am looking for. I know what kind of things I like in my kitchen, so I can quickly scan the shelves of kitchen wares and find what appeals to me quickly and avoid all of the rest. It also helps to keep lists of things that you might be looking for, especially when it comes to books and movies. I have a list in my purse of movies that I am interested in buying.

If you are wanting to purchase furniture, plan ahead for how you will get it home. Most stores will hold paid for items for a few days, but some places are shortening the available hold time because of limited storage space. There have also been people who have little compact cars and think that they will be able to fit large pieces of furniture in there, like a sofa, etc. I know what kind of space that I have available in my car, so I shop accordingly.

Some people shop with a "One item in, one item out" policy at their house. I personally don't do this (I have a different purging method), but I know people who do. This might work really well for families with kids who have tons of toys already. It could be easy to say, "If you want to buy that toy, then you have to pick an item from your toy box at home to donate." This policy can keep your home from being overcrowded with stuff and teaches them personal discipline and allows the old toys to be bought and appreciated by someone new. I know adults who use this policy for themselves to keep their lives from getting out of control. I even had a former coworker who had this policy with her and her husband, but she would buy stuff and hide it in the trunk of her car until he wasn't at home and then sneak it into the house and hope that he wouldn't notice. It takes a lot of discipline to have this policy.

I hope these tips can help someone who could use this information in their life.