In general: be picky. have high standards you refuse to compromise on. know thyself.

Just because you like something and think it's cool doesn't mean you have to make it yours. you can take a picture to share the cool thing you found and that usually scratches the itch.

No polyester EVER. I check the tags of every garment I'm interested in. 100% cotton is my goal but obviously a little spandex or nylon for stretchy things is fine. rayon/viscose/lyocell is also acceptable but cotton is preferable for me personally.

Avoid cheap synthetic materal in general. for furniture and homegoods look for solid wood, metal, glass, stoneware, and leather. particle board is the devil. give furniture items a good Jostle to see if they're wobbly.

Do Not buy any garment without trying it on first. some thrift stores sell clothes but don't have fitting rooms which is bullshit but if you show up wearing form-fitting athletic wear and slip-on shoes you can try stuff on over your clothes. people might look at you weird but that's ok it's the store's fault and you're not any breaking rules.

Just because you can physically get a garment onto your body doesn't mean it fits. establish your own personal zero-tolerance policy for how you want your clothing to fit and feel (one of my rules is "nothing that feels tight in the armpits or thighs") and enforce it with brutality.

Focus on versatility. don't buy anything unless you can easily imagine how it will fit into your existing wardrobe/decor/life.

At the same time, try to avoid buying anything really similar to something you already have. Unless it's a better version of that thing in which case you can probably get rid of the old one.

Do Not buy anything you will have to repair, alter, or excessively clean unless you are 100% certain you are willing to actually do that. even if you think you are willing, you probably aren't.

Be on the lookout for specific brands you know you like, especially if their retail prices are normally way higher than the thrift store's price. I've thrifted 3 items from Madewell and keep my eyes out for more because they make really comfortable high quality clothing and I'm not going to shell out a hundo buckaroos for a single pair of pants no matter how good they are.

I got this one from a youtube video but: if you're about to check out with a lot of items, first close your eyes and try to describe every item in your cart from memory. if you failed to remember something, don't buy it.

it's ok to leave the store emptyhanded, especially if you were looking for something specific. don't settle for something that's ALMOST the thing you want but not quite it, you're just going to be dissatisfied in the long run

The importance of adhering to these guidelines directly correlates with the price of the item. if something is like $3 or less I'm willing to bend my own rules sometimes lol

smaller locally owned thrift stores are usually a good place to shop, but it's also where I take things I'm getting rid of instead of donating them to Goodwill.

Consignment stores that offer to buy your items instead of donating (like Buffalo Exchange) are a fucking scam. you can shop there if you want, but it will be more expensive than a thrift store that runs on donations (albeit better curated). just don't bother trying to sell stuff there unless you're confident you have something worth a lot of money. even then, you only get a fraction of what they value the item at and they may try to give you your payout in the form of store credit because they hate you.