8 Things You Must Shop For When You are in Goodwill!

Don’t miss these 8 things on your next Goodwill thrift store shopping trip plus a few secrets on how to score the best finds to create a home you love on a budget

Hey and happy Tuesday! This is a post that I’ve wanted to put together for a while, because as many of you know, thrifting is one of absolute favorite things to do. While I haven’t been thrifting as much as I have in the past, I still love to drop in my local Goodwill on occasion just to what treasures that I might find. And FYI, this is not a sponsored post, but something I wanted to share.

So because I love you all THIIIIIIIIS much, I had to let you in on some of my secrets when I hit up my local store, some of the sections that I HAVE to hit up when I go, and when I typically go. I don’t like to say I’m addicted to the rush of thrifting, but when I walk through the doors, I definitely feel a rush, lol. Pure exhilaration!

This post is a combo post. Basically I am sharing the areas that you have to hit up when you are doing your own Goodwill thrift store shopping, along with some my #LPOPthriftingtips in between.

So let’s get into it. I hope they are helpful, and that you find your next treasure. All of these pics were taken with my cell phone, so excuse the low picture quality.

8 Goodwill Thrift Store Things You Can’t Miss!

1) Blazers and Jackets

When popping into your local Goodwill thrift store, you HAVE to check out the jackets and blazers. I’ve found blazers from some of the trendiest places, to vintage and classic designers. I love the broad range of colors that you have to choose from as well. Definitely make this one of your stops inside of the store.

On a few of my most recent trips, I’ve picked up several really nice blazers from the Goodwill clothes section!

2) Pants and Jeans

Again, the Goodwill clothes section can’t be skipped! I almost exclusively attempt to get my work pants from Goodwill only. This is mainly because I can find so many different brands, colors, and styles all at once.

I’ve purchased pants from Banana Republic, The Limited, Gap, etc all in perfect condition, all from my local Goodwill thrift store for a fraction of what it would cost me to shop retail.

I’ve only recently started shopping for jeans in my local stores, and I can’t believe what I’ve been missing out! Pants are one of my favorite thrift store finds to date. It’s pretty much the same model as the more business casual pants, with the variety of brands and styles at a fraction of the cost.

This last shopping trip, I browsed the jean section and found these really cute distressed Zara jeans. They retail for well over $50.

3) Belts

I love buying my belts from Goodwill. Can you guess why? VARIETY! So many different styles, widths, colors, etc. Nothing better than finding a leather belt that can be worn in different ways, for a fraction of what you would pay in even your cheapest discount store.

4) Books

From self help, to children’s, to religious, to cookbooks, there is something for everybody. It’s literally the only place that I buy books for my son. And here is a tip. NEVER buy Dr. Seuss retail. I can guarantee you that the book you are looking for is at Goodwill, and in perfect condition.

Pretty much every book in my son’s room is from Goodwill, along with all of the decorative books around my home.

I love to decorate with books as well! The Readers digest books are my fave to luck up on.

5) Glassware

Your Goodwill thrift store should always be your first stop when seeking wine glasses and serving dishes (especially white ones). You know all of those awesome fancy entertaining dishes that people put on their on wedding registry, accumulate, love on for a year, and then donate? Yep, this section of full of all of these items and more. I consider this thrift store find GOLD! I’ve accumulated every platter that I use for entertaining, etc from my local Goodwill. I always keep my eye out for more when I visit a store.

Here are a few that I’ve collected over the last few years.

6) Lamps

I love browsing the lighting section at Goodwill. While I may not be on the hunt at every moment, I love to see if I can find anything unique to replace any current lighting that I may have in my home.

Sometimes even if a lamp is not the correct color, it’s okay to think outside of the box and spray paint it the color you need and grab a new lamp shade. The lamp will be good as new!

I grabbed these lamps from my local Goodwill and absolutely love them. I just bought two new lampshades to compliment them. Thankfully, I didn’t have to change the color of them, but if I did, it would have been an easy change.

This lamp was also one of my favorite thrift store finds. I just added a new shade.

7) Chotchkies

This section in Goodwill has to be one of my favorites! It’s the perfect spot to find unique items to style a bookcase, coffee table, or vignette. I typically look for pretty vases, candle holders, unique boxes, brass objects, etc.

Here are some items that I found in Goodwill and the different ways I’ve used them around my home.

8) Furniture

Used furniture is something that can be loved and and easily brought back to life. My office sofa, desk, chair, and file cabinet were all Goodwill thrift store finds.

This chair was also found at my local Goodwill.

And as a bonus, here are a few extra Goodwill thrift store tips that I swear by! 

Shop early!

While you can still find some good things at Goodwill in the evening and on the weekend, it’s often times picked over by the time the evening comes, and the stores are over crowded on the weekends. I don’t know about you, but I am personally not interested in standing elbow to elbow with someone trying to decide which one of us is going to snatch up that bomb piece of used furniture first. I.simply.cannot. So I prefer shopping on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, in the mornings if possible, just to avoid the crowds and have a chance at items that were donated over the past weekend. However most times I do shop in the evenings early in the week, and can still luck up on some really cool things.

Shop Often

In my more active thrifting days, I made sure that I shopped my local store at least 1-2 times a week. By doing this, you have more chances of lucking up on some really unique thrift store finds. So if possible, go as often as you can.

Circle the Store more than once

I actually circle the used furniture department several times in one trip. This is because items are constantly being brought to the floor, so I like to circle multiple times in case something that I haven’t seen makes its way to the floor.

So that’s it. Those are my must shop sections, along with a few bonus tips to help you get your own great thrift store finds. Let me know what you think? Does this help make you even more prepared for your next Goodwill thrift store run?

Let me know! And if you have any tips to share, leave them in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time!