How to Decide What Vintage Items You Should Buy or Leave Behind
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When you're vintage shopping at a flea market, thrift store, antique mall or estate sale there's a huge amount of items to buy. Which pieces should you buy and which ones should you leave behind? How do you decide what would fit best in your home? There's plenty of ways that I filter out what items come home with me. Here are some tips to decide what vintage pieces you should purchase.
Create a vintage shopping list
Just like you'd create a grocery list to prevent impulse buying, create a list for when you go vintage shopping. I always have a running list going on the notes app of my phone. I currently have vintage towels on my list for my bathroom.
Narrow down your design style
Narrowing down how you decorate your home will be very helpful for deciding what items to buy or not. I know that I'm a colorful vintage maximalist and something I always am tempted to buy is white items with designs or floral patterns. Since the item itself is white and not colorful enough I now leave it behind. I'd rather have a colorful item that really makes me happy vs. something that's cute but not quite right.
Just because it's cheap doesn't mean you need it
I struggle with this one so much. I love cheap vintage items so much I wrote a blog post about it. If I see an item at a flea market that I know is a good deal, I want to buy it! For instance, I saw a Blendo chip and dip bowl (which is on my vintage items worth money post) at a flea market for $5 but I already own one. It's SUCH an insanely good price but I know I wouldn't have the room to display it. So I decided to leave it behind for someone else to buy.
Learn your vintage item limit
Do you already have 20 Pyrex dishes and you don't have anywhere to put them? Tell yourself you won't buy any more until you've found a way to display them. There's no point in buying items if you aren't going to have them out where you can see them! If you need help decorating with your collections and getting them out of the box, let's talk! I offer vintage interior design one on one calls to help you create the home of your dreams. Let's find a solution for your space together.
Does the item spark joy?
Marie Kondo says to keep things in your life that "spark joy" and that's what helps me the most when I'm deciding if I want to buy a vintage item. I'll hold the item in my hand and ask if it makes me happy and would I be joyful looking at it every day? If I'm unsure then the answer is no and I don't buy it. If it's a yes then I can't pay for it fast enough.
When I held this Alladinware daisy pitcher in my hand I knew I had to have it. It sparked SO much joy and, even though it was a little expensive, I bought it anyway because I adore it.
Decide a price limit
Don't talk yourself into spending more than you have or more than an item is worth. To figure out what something is worth on the fly I'll check out the sold prices on Ebay. Search for the item and filter to only view sold items. Then you'll see what that vintage rotary phone is generally worth and whether you're overpaying.
Don't have too many projects at once
If you have two china cabinets in your basement that need to be painted, give yourself permission to not buy more furniture that needs a lot of work. Projects are great but when they start taking over your house and overwhelm you, then take a break and try to finish those projects before buying more project pieces.
That's my list of how to decide what to buy and what to leave behind. For more interior design tips check out my blog post on How to Create a Vintage Rainbow Home Decor Display.
