Laurel, Mississippi has become one of the most talked-about small towns in the state in recent years, largely thanks to the HGTV renovation show Hometown, which put Laurel’s historic homes and downtown revival on a national stage. Country Thrift Store operates in that same Jones County community, giving budget-conscious shoppers, renovators, and secondhand hunters a local option for used goods that does not require a drive to Hattiesburg, roughly thirty minutes to the south, or Meridian to the east. As a thrift store rather than a curated boutique or antique mall, the shop’s strength is in the everyday: clothing, housewares, furniture, and the steady rotation of donated and resold goods that define community thrift shopping.
Thrift stores like this one play a particular role in smaller Mississippi towns, where they often serve double duty as an affordable shopping option and an informal recycling system for household goods that would otherwise end up discarded. For a town in the middle of the kind of home renovation boom Laurel has experienced since Hometown first aired, a thrift store carrying furniture and household items is especially useful, giving homeowners working on fixer-uppers a low-cost source for functional pieces and giving downsizing residents a place to pass along what they no longer need. That local, circular relationship between sellers and buyers is part of what keeps small-town thrift stores like Country Thrift Store relevant even as larger regional donation chains expand into the same markets.
Shoppers planning a visit should call ahead at 601-335-5867 to confirm current hours, since independently run thrift stores frequently set their own schedules rather than following the posted hours of national chains. Laurel itself rewards a visit beyond the thrift store alone: the town’s Historic District is lined with early twentieth-century homes built during the area’s lumber boom, and downtown Laurel has seen new restaurants, shops, and foot traffic follow in the wake of its television-fueled popularity. A stop at Country Thrift Store fits naturally into a day spent exploring that broader downtown revival, especially for visitors hoping to find an affordable piece of furniture or a forgotten treasure to take home alongside their Laurel souvenirs.
What distinguishes a genuine community thrift store from a larger chain resale operation is often the inventory itself: because stock comes directly from local donors and consignors rather than centralized distribution, the selection at Country Thrift Store reflects what Jones County households are actually letting go of at any given moment, from work clothes to kitchenware to the occasional standout furniture piece. That unpredictability is part of the appeal for regular shoppers, who know that patience and repeat visits are usually rewarded with something worth the trip.
For anyone in the Laurel or greater Jones County area looking for affordable secondhand goods, or visitors combining a thrift stop with a walk through Laurel’s celebrated historic downtown, Country Thrift Store offers an accessible, locally rooted option. In short, Country Thrift Store is a Laurel, Mississippi thrift shop offering Jones County residents and visitors an everyday mix of secondhand clothing, housewares, and furniture just minutes from the town’s historic downtown district.
