Thrifting

THRIFT Shops, Bargain Basements, Estate Sales, Antique Auctions and your very basic Dumpster Diving! Thrift Shoppers around the world love to and have been finding stuff or what we like to call treasures since the beginning of time. No matter what we do it for : the love of the hunt, uncovering treasures of a time gone by, a good sale ,or just the pure nostalgia of finding that same coffee table that use to sit in grandma’s house. We as humans have loved everything “treasure or unpolished jewels”. What ever the drive, people have been thrifting, bargaining and “upcycling” things for numerous reasons throughout human history. So what’s the buzz with this anyways? Simply put, it’s a TON of fun! This article will go through a few reasons to why I thrift shop and how it has lead me on a path of sustainable and mindful living and … of course, pictures of some of my favorite finds over the years!

BACKSTORY! HOW I STARTED “ JUNKING”

I have had experiences with thrift shops and bargain basements since I could remember. My mother had an affinity for going what she called “Junkin’” She would rouse me out of bed (at the crack of dawn) ,and we would get into the car and head out. Newspaper in hand with circled addresses for yard sales was like having a treasure map where “X” marked the spot for the next potential find. It was like we were on an adventure and I loved every minute of it. I wasn’t sure where my mom got the liking of going thrifting , it was possibly due to being raised by my depression era grandparents, whom during this time in history, didn’t throw away or waste anything deemed useful. All I know is that it was just time with my mom where I had her to myself in her busy schedule of all things mom, work, and my pesky little brother. Unknown to me though, this beloved affinity my mom past down to me would become something of a staple of how I live my life today.

SHOPPING INTENTIONALLY

I’m sure we have all heard by this time about minimalism and the power of de-cluttering. While I don’t consider myself to be a minimalist ,( I don’t know if I possess that power of discipline) , I do consider myself to have a mindful and intentional way of living and strive to be more sustainable. If I can make it, grow it, fix it, or thrift it to have a more present and mindful way of life ;then I’m going to do it ,or at least seriously consider it before I make that brand new purchase. I’m not saying that I don’t buy new things! I do with some things and that’s totally okay! I just really like to find things at thrift and second hand shops.

Never being a person to follow the next big thing , my super power in life (besides reading tons of books) ,seems to be mindfully oblivious to the latest and greatest fad or fashion. I have always marched to the beat of my own drum, thifting my clothes and cutting them up, fabric painting or sewing something to make a new original style or bringing back an old one (hello bell bottoms and mom jeans! ) . I have bought pieces of furniture and Youtubed how to reupholster, build or paint properly a thrifted find and make it a custom piece of furniture for my house, a gift, or to sell! I love to upcycle!

But also I am completely one of those people, and I’m not sure if other people do this, but I will look at all that merchandise in stores and think to myself “Do we really need ALL of this stuff?” For example, right now, in our world ,we have almost thirty times, yes that’s right, 30x more baby merchandise than we do babies! With reaching 7 billion people on the planet and babies born everyday….That’s a lot stuff! Stuff that will NEVER get used when the next best thing comes out. Also ,babies grow faster than you can say rubber duck so save the parents’ budgets and the planet with using most things second hand. I’m not going to boggle this down with a load of facts and a soap box in this piece though. I’m just saying that I personally think about things like this and wonder “What can I do to help not contribute to so much stuff and so much waste in the world?” this is what has lead my thinking into a mindset of being present and being mindful in what I feel I need and want.

I know that buying second hand and having used things (the horror and embarrassment of middle school) use to have this stigma of being poor or parents not having enough money to buy new things. I personally feel that with a more thrifty and mindful way of shopping we can definitely bring an end to this ostracizing ideal. If we all did a bit of thifting in our lives we could encourage a more accepting society that doesn’t put a sense of value based on the cost of what a person has. I heard the saying somewhere that “ Cost and Worth are very different things.” I think, in all people who thrift, have shifted gears toward this mindset. It isn’t the cost of what we are striving for when we go “treasure hunting”. It’s simply the worth of the treasure to us.

Outside of living a more sustainable life, I find a great joy in this sense of the things I have I really love. The knowledge that I have these little treasures that have meaning in my life or usefulness to me isn’t dampened by the fact they were previously loved or gently used. It actually makes me feel good about myself, my way of life, and my small part in the world.