Guest Writer: Story From a First Time Thrift Shopper

Today I'll be handing the reigns over to a friend of mine to give you guys a post about what thrift shopping is like for someone who has never gone before.  You're in the for a treat!  She also takes way better pictures than me.

---

Hi there! This post is going to a bit different, because I’m not Erin. My name is Allison and I’ll be doing a guest post this week. If you would like to read more of what I have to say, check out my blog full of college advice at http://adviceforthealmostadult.blogspot.com.

I have almost no experience with thrift stores; I’ve always been a bit weary of them because I thought they were all disorganized, smelly, and full of ugly clothes. It probably comes as no surprise to you thrift store savvy folks that the thrift store I went to was actually quite nice.

I decided to go to the Delta Humane Society Thrift and Gift Boutique because I wanted to support their cause. This post will be about my experience exploring the store as a novice, but Erin has already written a very informative review of this store, which you can find here http://2nd-hand-stories.blogspot.com/2013/03/thrift-store-review-delta-humane.html.

That's a Rap: Thrift Shop by Macklemore Has No Effect on Goodwill Sales?

I've avoided it for long enough.  I've tried my best to review every thrift store in Stockton, give you some anecdotes about my life as a second hand shopper and take pictures of interesting things I find.  But, the elephant in the room must be addressed.  The elephant wearing an enormous fur coat and sunglasses.

10 Commonly-Used Thrift Store Terms

This week I'll be giving you a quick run down of thrift store, dare I say it, lingo.  I am no Webster's Dictionary, or even UrbanDictionary, so these are all my own interpretations based on how I've seen the words used.  Some of it is hard to decipher.  I've left out the ones that make me weep for the future of the English language.  Here are some common ones:

1.  Thrifting:  the act of going thrift shopping.  Most commonly used by the high school/college age, usually preceded by a hashtag.
Origin:  People's tendency to make any noun into a verb by adding "ing".
Often seen with the words: adventure (how exciting, let me get my pith helmet), spree, haul, trip.

2.  Secondhand: the namesake of this blog, meaning exactly what you think it means: it's been owned by someone before you.  Commonly used by advertisers trying to get around the word "used".
Origin:  May be a shortened version of hand-me-down.  (which still doesn't make sense to me)