For those of us who adore hunting for treasures in secondhand stores, what’s not to love about thrifting? According to Canadian TikTok influencer Ashley Coull, whose MommyDoesntDoDishes account has more than 200,000 followers, there is a whole lot.
“I have been wanting to ask this question for months,” Coull said in her video, which quickly went viral and created such a firestorm among the thrifting community that she took it down. “Who are you people that thrift? Can you explain to me how it is that you find such joy in vintage items, i.e., crap? I got onto the side of TikTok where they do thrift hauls all the time and ‘Thrift-mas,’ and they’re finding all these amazing things, or so they think,” she said. “I cannot for the life of me get behind it!”
Since Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, I prefer to relish what I love about thrifting, collecting, and reselling rather than ruffle my feathers over one person’s opinion.
Whether you call it a job or a hobby, thrifting is not for everyone, and I’m sure many people—not just Ashley—don’t understand it. And guess what? It’s OK!
Humpty Dumpty Tent is old and faded but sold for over $1 million in 2017.
To Thine Own Self Be True
That said, I do not fall into the camp of people who love watching TikTok videos of influencers throwing stuff into their shopping carts. Just like Ashley, I can’t for the life of me get behind that, which again, is OK.
Thrifting requires fortitude and creativity. Yes, we rise before dawn to scout garage and yard sales under the hot summer sun, wait in the cold to enter an estate sale in a dusty old house, or battle it out with other bidders to purchase an abandoned storage unit packed with unknown treasures. We wear masks and gloves as we pick through piles of grimy stuff in oversized bins at the back of a thrift store and crawl on hands and knees to pull out things on the bottom shelf. We research brands and product histories, which often spark a love affair with the history, like vintage McCoy cookie jars, antique art, old advertising tins, or maybe antique tools like wooden clamps, pulleys, industrial fans, and lights.
We bring our thrift hauls home, then get to work. We repair, scrub, rewire, wipe, scrape, soak, and darn with needle and thread. After that, we can display or even wear our stuff with pride. Or, we may resell it to a collector who has searched long and hard for that specific tchotchke we discovered, like that vintage brass blow torch my partner Dave found a few years back. We sold it in our eBay store to a buyer in England who collects and restores them. He was thrilled with his purchase, which made the transaction all the more enjoyable.
Another memorable sale is the antique banker’s desk we sold in our Etsy shop just after the COVID-19 pandemic. An accountant setting up his firm in Asheville, North Carolina, purchased that desk, and we not only personally delivered it to his door (cheaper than shipping it), but we also stayed through the weekend to sample the local thrift shops and restaurants. The experience made us enough money to cover our mini-vacation, and we returned home with wonderful memories.
Thrifting for Profit Isn’t Wrong
Because more people than ever are flipping thrifted items—especially clothing—for profit, the practice was bound to be criticized. You may have heard rumblings about the “gentrification of thrifting,” in which critics blame resellers for taking needed items away from low-income shoppers so they can stay fashionably trendy on a budget. Critics also claim the increase in reselling has prompted thrift stores to increase their prices. Yes, prices have increased, but everything is more expensive.
Meanwhile, the number of fellow thrift shoppers asking me for tips when they see me photographing and researching an item on my iPhone far outweighs those who give me the stink eye. Additionally, nearly every thrift store I’ve shopped in has so many clothes that navigating the packed aisles is challenging. My personal solution to this problem is not to be greedy and overbuy but to regularly donate to non-profit thrift stores that actively use those proceeds to assist and improve low-income communities.
five original pieces sold for more than $1 million in 2018.
Thrifting Is Eco-Friendly
Because I’ve always considered myself an environmentalist, thrifting has been a part of my life for a long time. My mom would take me and my sister to yard sales to make ends meet and fund her love of sewing. Nothing was ever really ordered at those yard sales. Boxes of clothes and shoes lined the driveway, competing with tables piled with knick-knacks and toys. Back then, and even today, I see it as a joyfully chaotic paradise where strangers can quickly become friends after bonding over something as simple as an antique porcelain head vase.
Thrifting Is Love
Designer Erin Flett said, “Collect the things you love that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your story.”
After I downsized to a small home in 2016, decorating has been one of my favorite pastimes because it allows me to reveal my creativity. Sure, I still get utilitarian pantry storage bins and paper towels from Target. But, I prefer to share my unique discoveries with friends and family, like the thrifted area rug in my living room. A professional deep cleaning revealed its warm colors and wear marks, and once I rolled it out, my space instantly became comfortable and welcoming. That, right there, is precisely why I’ll always love thrifting.
Between excursions to hunt for antiques and vintage décor, Lynda Houston is busy restoring her 1950s cottage in Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her partner, Dave Beck, operate TheRustInPeaceShop on Etsy.
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