Thrifters’ delight: A comprehensive thrifting guide for Rexburg

REXBURG (BYU-Idaho Scroll) — A lot goes into liking or disliking a thrift store—the quantity and quality of clothes, how often new merchandise comes in, even the smell.

To provide a guide for the local thrifting scene, here is the rundown on six of Rexburg’s thrift stores and what each has to offer, from supporting a non-profit to increasing sustainability and, as always, killer deals and once-in-a-thrift-haul finds.

Daisy Links

A thrift store with a twist, one can walk into Daisy Links and see the entire right-hand wall covered with plants. Daisy Links shares a building with AA Plant House.

“We tend to keep a pretty high standard of quality when we bring in clothing,” said Hannah Hunt, a store associate. “But also keeping in mind that not everybody has one set style.”

To keep clothes out of landfills, Daisy Links hand picks their clothes from estate sales, yard sales, other thrift stores and donations while avoiding wholesales, according to Hunt.

“We’re kind of picky … we kind of have a quality standard we go off of,” Hunt said.

Daisy Links lint-rolls, shaves, cuts loose strings and removes stains from the clothes before selling them. The store donates any clothing it doesn’t use to the Family Crisis Center, according to Hunt.

“I think another reason thrifting is becoming more trendy is … also because our culture now is like, ‘Save the turtles,’ and being super environmentally-friendly. And that’s definitely what thrifting is,” said Brecklyn Reese, a junior studying communications at Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Local musicians perform at Daisy Links during after-hour events every other Thursday night. The entire store is 40 percent off during events, and activities range from karaoke to pot painting (one free plant included).

Daisy Links’ website provides information on upcoming events, store hours, available clothing, prices and a thrifting blog.

For every transaction and every $10 spent, the customer can get a stamp on a Daisy Links loyalty card. The customer receives $10 off once the card is full.

Daisy Links is located at 155 West Main Street #9, next to Red Rabbit Grill and The BookViking.

Preloved

Preloved’s business model sets it apart from typical thrift stores.

Walking inside Preloved, one doesn’t find racks of clothes organized in the often-maze-like fashion of other thrift stores. Instead, wooden booths spread throughout the building, each displaying a different vendor’s items.

“What I think is fun … is as you go through the booths you can see what somebody’s style is and what their size is so you can see, ‘oh this person is like too big or too small for me,'” said Kylee Rex, a sophomore studying apparel entrepreneurship and a thrift store enthusiast.

Anyone can rent a booth for $25 to sell their clothing or home items.

Booths are set up Saturday morning and taken down Friday evenings, providing new items every week. Vendors discount their items, starting on Tuesday, and drop prices as the week progresses.

Every Preloved location includes a kid’s corner, “filled with an array of fun and engaging toys that will keep your little ones entertained while you shop,” Preloved’s website said.

Preloved encourages vendors to list the brands they are selling and how to organize booths best.

“It’s also fun when you find a booth, and you know, ‘Oh, this is a return sister missionary; look at all of these dresses that they don’t want anymore,'” Rex said.

Additionally, spaces may be purchased for selling smaller items such as jewelry, according to Emily Lamb, a Preloved employee.

Preloved is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 24 South First West, Rexburg.

Thrifted Lennons

Thrifted Lennons is a dreamscape for any vintage fan.

Aliza Fisher and her husband’s enthusiasm for all things vintage is evident in the bright orange sofa, disco ball and Van Halen tees.

“It’s not necessarily like a DI, where they just like accept anything and sell anything,” Fisher said. “We, like, go out and curate or just find vintage pieces, or we also buy vintage pieces from other people.”

Fisher researches vintage clothes and looks for specific styles and indicators before buying pieces.

Quotes for selling clothing are available at Thrifted Lennons’ website. Clothing must be at least 20 years old to be considered vintage.

Thrifted Lennons also offers custom-made rings made out of spoons for $20. Customers can pick out their preferred utensil, write down their ring size and pick up the ring three days later.

Besides the Fishers’ love of vintage clothing, their other motivation for thrifting is standing up to fast fashion brands like Shein or various other clothing outlets.

Fisher explained that fast fashion is a term for cheaply-made clothes, often mass-produced in sweatshops in foreign countries with questionable labor conditions.

Thrifted Lennons is located at 22 College Avenue, Rexburg. Store hours are Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Second Helpings

Second Helpings is part of Rexburg’s Family Crisis Center, a non-profit specialized in assisting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault for over 30 years.

Second Helpings functions like a typical thrift shop; anyone can donate or shop there, but all proceeds go directly to Family Crisis Center clients, according to manager Becca Bateman.

They have an entire section for kids and another for home goods.

“Their prices are some of the best prices I’ve seen for a thrift store — really, really good,” Rex said.

Second Helpings’ website offers information on how to volunteer, donate, receive help or information regarding assault and abuse.

Second Helpings is located below the Family Crisis Center at 16 East Main Street and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drop-off for donations is located behind the store.

Goodwill

If someone says thrift store, Goodwill might be the first image that comes to mind. However, this classic is new to Rexburg, having opened in September 2023.

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Goodwill is a non-profit thrift store that offers job training and opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities, low-income workers and elderly individuals.

They offer senior-specific job training to help seniors reenter the workforce and build skill sets and behavioral health services on a sliding scale.

“No one will be denied services due to the inability to pay,” Goodwill’s website said.

“I am not a super wealthy individual,” Reese said. “Like, I wouldn’t say I have the greatest style, but something is so satisfying about finding something I could have bought for $60 and getting it for like $6.”

Goodwill has one of the more extensive collections of goods offered by Rexburg thrift stores. Unsold items are salvaged by Goodwill’s recycling vendors to limit waste from going to a landfill, according to the store’s website.

Goodwill is open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 125 Valley River Drive, near the North Rexburg McDonalds.

Deseret Industries

Larger quantities can offer opportunities for unlikely finds. Deseret Industries, or D.I., might have the most to offer of any Rexburg thrift store.

Those familiar with the shopping experience at D.I. know that 100 percent of its inventory comes from donors. You can find everything from clothing, books, furniture and many other items at discounted rates.

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In addition to the donated items D.I. receives, the store also manufactures new merchandise. They have a plant that builds new furniture, mattresses and box springs, dressers, tables and chairs.

Like Goodwill, DI was founded as a job training facility in 1939, according to DI’s website.

Rexburg’s DI is at 611 North Second East, Rexburg. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. It closes at 6 p.m. on Monday.

Happy thrifting!