Most people walk into a thrift store, see a wall of mismatched glassware and walk right back out. Thrifter Jessica Grimsland does the opposite. She treats every shelf as a treasure hunt, and she says one of her favorite tricks is to pick up $1 glass plates and set them on top of china that contains lead. The other is to dig through the utensil bins, where she says treasures often cost just 25 cents.

In a video on her channel, Jessica Grimsland took viewers along on a week of daily thrift runs in the Raleigh area. Her aim was to show exactly how she looks at items and how she sifts through all the clutter to find the hidden gems.

Her first stop was North Raleigh Ministries, where yellow was the sale tag color that day. What follows is her method, stop by stop, plus a few lessons any bargain hunter can steal.

Train Your Eye Before You Walk In

Grimsland says the biggest secret is deciding ahead of time what you love. Her eye goes straight to silver plated pieces, crystal, pewter and blue and white. When she steps into a glass section she scans first for color, then for cut glass and anything that has a richness to it.

She says that eye has to be trained, because there is a lot of junk out there. Looking at every single glass would take forever and make you miss the good stuff, so she lets the things she loves pop out during a first scan.

Once something catches her attention, she slows down. She checks for dents, scratches and cracks, and she wants the piece to feel substantial. Her advice is to touch and move everything, since things hide behind other things and the feel of an item tells you about its quality.

The $1 Glass Plate Trick

One of her favorite finds is a plain glass plate. She reminded viewers that she always looks for these because you can set them on top of your china that contains lead. At $1 each, she called it a steal of a buy.

The idea is simple. Some older china was made with glazes that contained lead, and a clear glass plate gives you a barrier so your food is not sitting directly on the surface. She also pointed out that dollar plates can double as cookie plates, and she liked a set of holly glass plates at a Habitat Restore for that purpose.

Dig Through the Utensil Bins

Her other big tip is to never skip the silverware or utensil bins. She says you can find some great treasures in there, but you have to dig. A spreader and fork set she found would look great on a charcuterie board, and she keeps an eye out for glass swizzle sticks for her bar cart and for bottle openers, including a nautical one.

These pieces are usually around 25 cents each, she says. At that stop, the bin she dug through was four for a dollar. It is also a good place to pick up stainless steel kitchen utensils, which she says you can swap in for plastic ones to make prepping and cooking easier.

What She Bought and What She Passed On

At North Raleigh Ministries she found a Mud Pie napkin holder for $1 on sale, a pretty green bowl for $1 and champagne glasses with gold on top for $1 each. A silver-plated dish new in the box was $2, and a sugar bowl for $1 had a tag on the bottom showing it once sold for $8.99. She also found a wall sconce for $5 that was really heavy.

Some pieces she left behind. Glass candlesticks she loved were priced extremely high, so they stayed on the shelf, and a black and silver plate went back because there was only one and she wants a set of at least four. She also skipped a single red and gold glass for the same reason.

At the Habitat Restore in Raleigh, wrapping paper was a dollar and a roll of red and white striped paper came home with her. Paperback books there were two for a dollar and hardcovers were a dollar each, and she hunts for coffee table books and vintage cookbooks. She also picked up a vintage tennis racket for $3.

At Goodwill, tartan caught her eye first, and a silver plated gravy boat for $2.49 seemed perfect for Thanksgiving. At the A through Z Thrift Shop, she noted books at 50 cents for softcover and a dollar for hardcover, plus a vintage Heidi book. She also spotted a watering can that she says she had seen priced at $189.

Her Three Rules for Furniture

When she shops for furniture she follows three rules. It needs to be made of solid wood, its shape should be different or eye-catching, and she has to be able to reupholster it if needed.

She also shared a fix for crazed platters, the fine cracks that appear in old glaze. She says you can put the piece in the oven with some hydrogen peroxide and it comes out really nice.

Shop Smarter Using Her Playbook

Whether you are decorating for the holidays or just stretching your budget, her approach comes down to a few habits you can copy this week.

• Know your favorite colors and materials so they jump out during the first scan.
• Check every piece for cracks, chips and scratches, and feel the weight.
• Dig through the utensil bins and bagged items, because patience pays off.
• Walk away from anything priced too high and wait for a set.

The point, as she sees it, is to find beautiful things for your home without paying beautiful prices.

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