How I Shop Secondhand in my Pajamas: A ThredUp Thrift Store Shopping Review
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This post is sponsored by ThredUp.
When I started my first job at a clothing store at the mall, I became responsible for my clothing budget. Wanting to stretch my money as far as possible, I decided to check out the local Goodwill. $20, an hour, and a few bags of clothes later, I was completely hooked on thrift store shopping.
Especially when it comes to increasing sustainability and my constant efforts to “go green” in our daily life, shopping at the thrift stores helps reduce landfill overuse since clothes can be used instead of just left at the garbage dump.
The thing about thrift store shopping is the time investment. While single, I developed a system to streamline my time looking through clothes and then trying them on.
Now that I’m a mom of two, one of whom is quite mobile, I can’t spend as much (read: any) uninterrupted time meandering through the aisles of the thrift stores. The baby in the carrier also inhibits me gathering armloads of clothes. It’s okay though, they are cute and I love them.
So when I found ThredUp, I was intrigued. An online thrift store? With all the brands I would snag at Goodwill, but all were previously evaluated for quality and organized by size, brand, and price? This might be too good to be true!
ThredUp Thrift Store Shopping Experience Online
I spent a long time perusing everything in my size on the website. I had to hold myself to a strict budget or else I would have ended up with 3 pairs of Banana Republic jeans, a Michael Kors vest, and a Coach diaper bag (but even all that was only around $150 total). I finally settled on a green tunic and pair of Banana Republic wool pants.
I also love shopping for my boys, so I looked around in their various sizes. I found a pair of Hugo Boss pants, a shirt that says “my big bro is my hero,” and a pair of overalls for Dean and I squealed with excitement when I found this perfect condition Spider-Man hoodie for Tristan. My excitement paled in comparison to his reaction when it arrived! He loves it and only answers to Spider-Man while wearing it.
My total for all of this? $52.93! The Hugo Boss pants for Dean and Banana Republic pants for me were on sale for only $3.99. I couldn’t pass them up, even though I don’t actually have a “need” for office wear anymore. But, you know, if something business casual comes up at some point, now I have something to wear!
My favorite part was going through all my favorite name brands (at 2am). Before marriage and babies, my closet was stuffed with Banana Republic, J. Crew, Gap, and Express. Now that I’m getting back to being able to wear my pre-baby clothes, it’s so fun to spruce up my wardrobe with some new items in my favorite styles. I was especially tempted with all the Lululemon they have stocked right now!
Selling Your Clothes to ThredUp
ThredUp makes it super easy to clean out your closet, too. Just request a “clean out kit” on their website, and the package will arrive in a couple days. The “kit” is just a big, polka dotted, postage-paid bag. Fill it, close it, and put it on your porch for your mailman to pick up. Since I tended to drive around for weeks with my car full of clothes to donate, this was especially handy.
While the payout isn’t very high, it’s such a handy service, and I’m all about convenience right now.
I mean really, not only can you go thrift store shopping, but you can also send your items in for consignment, all without leaving your home? This secondhand-loving mama says, “yes, please!”
Ready to try ThredUp for yourself? Use this link to sign up and get $10 towards your first shopping adventure!
Be sure to share this post with your secondhand-loving friends!
What a great deal! I love thredup, especially the measurements they include for shirts—I now know my minimum inches for bust and length 🙂 Also, your site looks great on my phone now, well done!
Thanks so much! I’ve been tweaking it. 🙂
The code’s not working for me, do you think you’ve already had 100 people use it? Because that would be awesome 🙂
Hey Rebekah, let me check with the account manager!
I am fascinated and I have a bunch of clothing to donate. I will definitely be looking into this.
Yay! I just love how easy it is!