When I became a full-fledged thrift addict (and reseller), my son was around 6 months old. I’d thrifted a good amount of baby items for him, but my love of thrifting really revved up when I realized that my remote job wasn’t as flexible as it seemed, and suddenly became a stay-at-home mom without planning or saving for it ahead of time.
I’d been financially supporting myself since 18 and working since 15, and it was quite jarring to go from bringing in a solid income of my own to relying on my husband’s income. Thrifting and reselling became not just a great way to make some extra money, but also to get the baby and I out of the house.
That baby is now SIX and has spent a fair share of time shopping at thrift stores with me along with his little sister. I’ve become a big advocate for taking kids thrifting and have learned a LOT about how to go on a successful sourcing trip with my kids in tow. For working moms and stay-at-home moms alike, it can be tough to find time to source alone, but bringing kids alone can definitely shorten trips or complicate things.
If you are looking for tips on having more successful sourcing trips or just want to foster a love to secondhand shopping in your children, these are some things I suggest:
1. SNACKS
This is number one because it’s probably the most obvious. New and seasoned parents alike know that the first line of defense against a tantrum is food. I like to bring moderately healthy snacks that take a while to eat, like puffs or pretzels. My daughter also loves the party mix at our local thrift store, so it’s a special snack she will only get when we are thrifting!
If you have tiny kids that have bottles or are prone to throwing snack cups, I recommend investing in some safety/toy straps to keep cups and toys attached to the stroller or cart so they don’t hit the floor, and keep a small pack of disinfectant wipes on hand if something does hit the deck. (PS, I also recommend a cart cup holder for keeping that required thrifting coffee handy and upright during your trip.)
2. Making a game out of it
I swear that my son mastered colors because we practiced them so much by looking for colored barbs at the thrift store! Since you never know what you’ll find at the thrift store, it’s easy to come up with little games to keep kids entertained while you shop.
For little ones, you can have them identify the colors of or numbers on tags and have them help you look for a certain color of the week. For older kids, they can try to find as many items that start with the letter “C” as possible or have them try to out-thrift you by finding the most expensive items in the store, funniest item, etc.
3. Knowing the bathroom situation and keeping a potty in the car
At least in my area, the bathrooms at thrift stores are often inaccessible or gross. Before I bring my kids to a new store, I make sure to scope out the bathroom situation first. Especially when my kids were potty training, it was important to know whether we needed to leave enough time to ask for a key or whether we would need to leave and walk or drive to find a bathroom. In my experience, stores are STRICT with no public restroom policies, even for children.
Avoid disaster by keeping a training potty with a disposable bag in it in the back of your car in case of emergency. We’ve had to use our potty more than once, but it’s kept us from having any accidents or cutting our trips short as soon as we walk into a store because my kids decided they needed to go NOW.
4. Visiting toys or books first to “borrow” them
My kids love the novelty of “borrowing” toys and books from the thrift store - aka playing with a toy or reading a book during the shopping trip and putting it back when they are done. While I will sometimes buy them a toy when we are thrift shopping, most of the time I am trying to teach them that we don’t need a toy every time we shop, so I set clear expectations that this is just a toy we will play with and not take home with us. Often by the time we are done shopping, the sparkle of the toy has worn off and they will put it back nicely without too much convincing.
5. Having a special toy or screen time
If your kids have a hard time with putting toys back, you can always bring a toy or book from home or allow shopping time to be a special screen time. Screen time is a controversial subject for parents, which is why I wanted to throw out options where it was used and it wasn’t. We only allow our kids to watch phones when shopping, but also try to go the toy route as often as possible. Like you can limit screen time to shopping trips, you can also have a special toy that kids only get on sourcing trips. My son LOVES to take a digital camera with him when we are thrifting so he can take pictures of cool things he finds in the stores.
6. Knowing the order you want to shop in
My kids are thrift store pros at this point, but it was pretty common for us to have to leave thrift stores quickly due to meltdowns or nap times when they were tiny. Because of this, I’ve developed a system for which areas of the store I go to first. I always start with shoes, then move to womens dresses, tops, pants, then on to children and men with housewares last. It makes me look a little bit random when I’m navigating stores, but it allows me to prioritize what I look through if time is cut short.
7. Taking time to teach them about sustainability
There is no better time to teach kids about sustainability and secondhand shopping than while you’re thrifting! We’ve used thrifting trips to talk about how to recycle, the life cycle of items donated to thrift stores, and the importance of upcycling and reuse.
8. Planning whether you’ll use a stroller, cart, carrier, or a mix
Logistics are important when it comes to planning a shopping trip, especially when you have babies. How you transport your kids will change based on whether or not you’ll need to feed or change them, how long you’ll be shopping, and if you’ll need more space for items than a stroller will allow. When my kids were tiny, I kept my stroller and carrier in my car at all times so that if I needed more room for items I sourced or needed to soothe a tired baby, I could accommodate.
9. Planning something fun for after your sourcing trip
If my kids seem particularly bored during a sourcing trip, I try to promise something fun for afterward. It can be as simple as getting a coin for their piggy bank, going to a playground, or going to drive past a cool mural they like. Size days we will go for a special lunch as a thank you for going along with this reselling ride.
10. Setting a timer and sticking to it
This one is so tough for me, because I can easily spend hours upon hours at the thrift store, but try to give your kids an expectation of how long the sourcing trip will take and set an alarm to keep yourself accountable. While you want to make your sourcing trips worth your while, kiddos have a limited amount of patience. Setting an alarm and limiting yourself to a certain time will help the sourcing trip end on a good note.
I’d love to hear other moms’ thrifting tips and tricks to add to this guide, and I hope that as you continue on your reselling journey, these help you have successful sourcing trips and happy-to-shop kids.
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