Thrift Store Items with Practical Charm | Family Economics

By Cathe

Have you been to a thrift store lately? There are so many charming items that can be turned into practical pieces around your home! Here are a few ideas for using thrift stores items from my house:

• Vintage small planters, colorful coffee mugs and graphic tin cans are great as pencil and scissor holders.

• Trim the legs from a vintage tiered side table and paint a bright color to create a pedestal centerpiece for special events or to display your collectables. Even small step stools (cleaned up and/or painted) work well for elevating dishes on a table.

• Don’t settle for pet store feed dishes when you can use vintage pottery for your pet’s food and water. Place them on colorful thrift store placemats on the floor.

• Use vintage white pottery bowls and small planters to hold keys, cell phones and spare change on a table just inside the front door.

• Large enamel bins work perfectly for firewood.

• Large wooden picture frames can be painted to coordinate with your décor.

• Cut a piece of chalkboard-painted slate to size, creating a chalkboard for family messages.

• Vintage bedspreads can be cut down to create washable dog blankets for your home or car.

• Hang brooms and dusters from a vintage garden rake head in the garage.

• Use vintage closet shutters as standing screens to hide the water heater in your laundry room.

• Graphic t-shirts make fabulous, warm neck scarves.

• Vintage picnic baskets are wonderful to store things like hand-wipes, first aid kits, water and snacks, etc. in the back of vehicles.

• Large platters make lovely bird feeders placed on a garden table. Deeper platters make excellent birdbaths.

• Old pocketbooks or purses make great coupon and gift card holders to keep in the glove box of your car.

• A small side table painted to coordinate with your home’s exterior makes a welcoming statement at your front door as a plant stand. If it has a drawer, place a pen and notepad inside for friends and family to leave a message if they miss you at home. We also keep tennis balls for our dogs in the drawer of our front porch table.

Share your practical ideas for thrift store items!