Top 5 Songs to Listen to While Thrift Shopping

Just like running or studying, thrift shopping needs a playlist too. Thrift shopping is an enjoyable time so why not have good music to accompany your thrift store adventures? Get amped up to shop with five songs that fit perfectly with used item shopping. This playlist will begin your journey on a happy note and will only get better from the start. Music makes everything better and will make your buying mindset clear as day. Just from listening to these song you will know what to purchase and what not to purchase.

I think everyone is familiar with the recent famous song "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore. But we can't forget that this wasn't the first song released that talked about thrift shopping. This song impacted our culture around buying used items at thrift stores. Macklemore makes thrift shopping sound so much fun and after this song was released I saw many more teens floating around at thrift stores. It is funny how one popular song can grab the attention of that certain age group. It is most definitely an essential to the playlist. It is one that everyone knows and will sing along too. "I wear your granddads clothes. I look incredible. I'm in this big ass coat from that thrift shop down the road." This song is so catchy. It is perfect for your future shopping endeavors. 

"Good Day" by Nappy Roots will put you in a fantastic mood. Children sing along with the chorus with artists in Nappy Roots. The soul from the southern rappers proves their hip hop talent. The song immediately puts you in a good mood with the lyric "Were gonna have a good day and ain't nobody gonna cry today cause ain't nobody gonna die today." I love the lyrics in this song because its just really all about having a good day and enjoying life. Thrift shopping is a great time and this song will make it that much better. 

"Thrift Shopping" by Matt Ward and "Salvation Army Clothes" by Star and Micey are more on the indie tunes spectrum. They both have a happy upbeat tune that convinces you to go thrift shopping. They both incorporate being in love with thrift shopping. They both are telling their thrift shopping stories but in song form. The instruments take you to a happy place with the strings on the guitar and ukelele. 

        

The last song that is a must for this playlist is "Garage Sale" by Kosha Dillz. This one has a beat just like "Good Day," it instantly puts a smile on your face. The song lyrics are about the culture of garage sales and getting family and friends together to sell their used items. It motivates me to want to do a garage sale in the Summer and just play this song on repeat. 

Songs are a necessity for any type of activity and since my favorite activity is thrift shopping I just had to make one. I hope you all enjoy this playlist as much as I do. 

Macklemore Has Nothing on Todd Wemmer

        
       Todd Wemmer is a Communications Professor at Endicott College. As I walked into Todd Wemmer’s office and tapped on the door, I noticed all of his stuff that was scattered around his office. From the pile of rocks on the ground that had me confused to boxes filled with photography books to vintage Polaroid’s, so many items caught my eye. I could tell right away that he had to be a collector and he had a story to tell. Then, my vision panned to Todd as he was intently doing something on the computer with his bulky headphones plugged in.
            If the phrase “thrift shopping” is mentioned on the Endicott campus, Todd Wemmer is the name that comes to mind. Whenever I mention to anyone that I have a blog around the topic of thrifting, their response is, “Have you spoken with Professor Wemmer?” After many students asked me this question, I knew I had to set up an interview.
            Thrift shopping is something that has recently become a popular topic in our society. As I was talking to Todd, he mentioned the popular Macklemore song, “Thrift Shop.”
            “I know there’s that song by Macklemore and it’s a funny song, but I also find it stupid because what it’s saying is that there are only these kinds of things at these kinds of places or the song is really about our true culture,” said Wemmer. “I like the line where he says, ‘I have a broken keyboard so I bought a broken keyboard’ and there is that culture of people that go, that are hoarders who just buy stuff, but the thing I wasn’t aware of is that basically people buy too many clothes.”
            Wemmer first got into thrift shopping because of some hand-me-downs he got from his uncle.
            “My uncle gave me like 3 bags of almost new Brooks Brothers dress shirts and they were just really nice and I thought, ‘Oh I can just get some more of these’ because there could be another color. I went to Brooks Brothers and they like $100 a piece and I thought, ‘there’s got to be another way.’”
            Upon finding out how expensive some retail stores can actually be, he ventured to find deals.
            “I was looking at a used bookstore and next store was this thrift store and I went in there and the first things I bought were these basketball jerseys for my nephew and some football jerseys; They were the ones that were 50 (or) 60 bucks, even the kids ones and they were so cheap, they were like 3 dollars.”
            When Wemmer had his children, he used the art of thrifting to his advantage. “For my kids’ clothes, they grow every 2 weeks; I just started buying everything there and then I started buying my own clothes there and it took a while to figure out that it wasn’t just vintage clothes,” said Wemmer.
            Wemmer added how immense some thrift stores are. “I actually have been going to the salvation Army on Route 1. They have everything, its like their headquarters Salvation Army for the Boston Area. So like all these clothes come in there and it is massive,” said Wemmer. He emphasized how large the Salvation Army is, talking about one of his recent experiences. “Just the other day, I was in there and my son needs bathing suits and there were like 1000 bathing suits.”
            Some thrift stores, like the Salvation Army offer daily or weekly deals. Wemmer hinted at this, saying, “Every single day, they have a tag colored that is half off.” Wemmer continued by saying that, “on Wednesdays, basically everything is half off.”
            Wemmer went into detail as to why he likes some thrift shops over others.
            “I like the Salvation Army for clothes for me and then I like Savers for kids clothes – it’s the best place for kids clothes.”
            Professor Wemmer loves to find the best deals available and shared an experience he had last year at the Shore County Day School thrift shop.
            “I guess they only do this every other year, and its on a Saturday, and I went this last year and I started filling up this bag of kids clothes. I think I got 3 north face jackets, I got swimwear, and a fleet of brooks brothers polos and lacoste and boots,” said Wemmer. What he did not know is how much it actually was going to cost him. “I’m just filling up this bag and then I turn around to one of the ladies and I go, ‘Wait, how much is this stuff?’ and she goes, ‘Oh, the kid’s stuff is free, we’re just taking donations.’ So it was all donation and then I gave them 20 bucks because I had so much stuff.”
            When Wemmer is not at school or thrifting, he is looking for other things to add to his collections. For example, he has a rock collection with rocks exclusively from Marblehead. However, when on his thrift store runs, Wemmer’s spouse does not like to accompany him.
            “She acknowledges that I can find anything that she says we need,” said Wemmer.
            Wemmer has a daughter and a son. Like his mother, Wemmer’s son does not like to go along with him to the thrift shops. However, Wemmer’s daughter is a frequent shopper with him.
            “My daughter likes it and she’s 7,” said Wemmer. “I’ll take her to savers and I’ll say, ‘Whatever shirt you want, whatever you want, you can have it.’ So we go through there, as long as it doesn’t have Hannah Montana on there, she can have it.”
            Negotiating prices in retail stores is something that is not usually done. However, with a thrift store, sometimes it is acceptable. Wemmer does not usually haggle at thrift stores, but did reminisce on one instance that he did.
            “I was at Savers and they had all these winter jackets and I thought, ‘yeah, I need one of these outerwear winter jackets that everyone’s wearing.’ They were all like 10,15 bucks and there was a red Patagonia one and they had it marked at 40... they had 10, 10, 10, 10, 10; they even had nicer jackets that were cheaper,” said Wemmer. “So I said to the guy ‘look, I never ask for anything overpriced’ because I see ladies in there haggling all the time. I said, “This jacket’s 40, look at all these others are 10.” I said, “I just think that’s too high,” and he goes, “Yeah, you’re right, how about 15?” And I said, “Sounds good.”
            Wemmer went on to talk about the anxiety people feel going into thrift shops and how there is too many things around. He also provided an answer for people like that, saying that if you set your mind to one spot in the store and get out if you see nothing, you will not be trapped by everything else the store has to offer.
            “The kids, I know their sizes so I just go in there, flip through really quick, and you’re out,” said Wemmer. “If you start browsing around like, ‘what can I find?’ the broken keyboard, or the kneeboard, or whatever the thing is in the song, then you’re stuck in there and you are going to bring back a bunch of stuff you don’t need.”

Todd Wemmer gave me great advice on the topic of shopping for used items. He really knows the ins and outs of thrift stores and thrift shopping. After he told me about that Salvation Army, I was quick about getting there that Wednesday, I could barely wait to see all the deals they had in store for me. Buying the kids clothes from thrift stores is very important to Wemmer, he thinks it is silly to buy expensive children's clothes when his children are growing at such a fast pace. I call Todd Wemmer an extremely smart consumer. He doesn't fall into the traps of expensive items because he knows that there  will be something similar waiting for him at Savers or Salvation Army. I was so inspired after speaking with him and I cannot wait to use all of the thrift shopping tips he shared with me.