As the year winds down, I like to take the opportunity to look back at my thrifting purchases. While I still make a thrifting mistake here and there, thrifting is a pretty low stakes (and low cost) way to determine if something is going to work for you, your closet, or your home. So let’s take a look at my thrifting winners and losers for 2024!
My Favorite Thrifted Home Items for 2024:
- DRU Holland Dutch Oven, $6.99 – January 2024
- Handmade Pottery Tray, $6.49 – April 2024
- Starbucks ceramic mug, $3.99 – June 2024
- Pampered Chef Bar Pan, $5.99 – July 2024
- MCM Bamboo bowl, $12 – August 2024
- Rifle Paper Co x Corkcicle travel mugs, $18 each – August 2024
My winning home items from 2024 were a mix of super useful and super adorable. The Starbucks mug, Pampered Chef bar pan and Corkcicle travel mugs have been used heavily since I purchased them — ranging from every day to a couple times a week. The handmade pottery tray and the bamboo bowl are also super useful, holding stuff in my den. The DRU Holland Dutch Oven is more of a ‘makes my heart sing’ sort of item, that I just love!
My Favorite Thrifted Clothing Items for 2024:
- Laura Ashley skirt, $7 – February 2024
- L.L. Bean 100% Cotton cardigan, $3 – February 2024
- Vintage skirt, $8.29 – April 2024
- Madewell Walker Chelsea suede ankle boots, $5.99 – May 2024
- Coach Dakota purse, $29 – June 2024
- Sorel sandals, $20 – August 2024
- Target Pleated Running Skort, $5.99 – September 2024
- Lands End Squall Waterproof Parka, $17.99 – December 2024
These are my absolute favorite clothing thrifted scores over the last year! The Laura Ashley skirt and Vintage skirt have both become my absolute favorites in my closet. The L.L. Been cardigan and Lands End parka (a recent addition) are more ‘sleeper winners’ in that they are super useful and keep me nice and warm. The shoe winners of the year – the Madewell suede ankle boots and the Sorel sandals are both comfortable and cute, and have gotten lots of wear. The Target skort is super cute and will go into heavy rotation once the weather warms back up. Lastly, that Coach purse. SWOON! It gave me the opportunity to try out my rehab skills and it’s oh so gorgeous and timeless!
And here were some of my 2024 mistakes that I will learn from:
- Athleta Arrival skirt, $13.49 – January 2024
- Kate Spade Viva Colores Sidney Skirt, $11.29 – June 2024
- Anthropologie Skirt, $5.29 – June 2024
- Halara workout dress, $12.99 – July 2024
- Made in France bowl set, $9 – October 2024
- Johnny Was dress, $9 – October 2024
For the three skirts and two dresses, I have the same issue… I need to TRY ITEMS ON. However, with all the dressing rooms closed, I take a gamble. While I can get back to my local thrift store within a week to make returns, when I thrift further from my house I can’t always get back out before the return window closes. So, to learn from my mistakes: I will be more selective when thrifting if I don’t know if an item will fit. And if possible, make sure to make those returns in time!
My mistake with the bowl is that I totally overlooked two huge cracks (they were covered by tape). Sigh. Lesson learned!
Moving into 2025, some wins that I’ve learned from is to ALWAYS do the vacation thrifting! Some of my favorite items of the year were purchased on our travels and in addition to being great items, they also have some fun memories built in. As for lessons to learn, I need to be more selective with items that may not fit and make returns when possible.
I can’t wait to see what kind of treasures we find in 2025!