I love thrift shopping. I always have. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and I going to our local thrift shop, finding bags carefully packed with toys. We were pretty poor growing up, so most of my clothing came from thrift shops. I didn’t mind, and I loved being able to find clothes that weren’t trendy. The few times I got new clothing from the store were a huge disappointment. Finding clothes at regular stores as a tomboy preteen in the early 2000’s was an absolute nightmare, full of low rise jeans, short shorts, and god awful logos. I thrived on thrifted skater shirts and shorts originally targeted at boys.
It took me years to figure out type of clothing fit me. Most of the things I bought I had to alter to fit, but because I spent $0.50 on jeans rather than $40, I was willing to experiment with altering. Using different fits from different generations helped me understand why some pieces worked on me, and some didn’t. Eventually, I was able to visualize how something would fit on me but looking at it on the rack.
While I love thrifting, I know the thought of buying other people’s old items can make some people uncomfortable. Family members used to wear disguises when going into a thrift shop so nobody would recognize them. Granted, this was before thrifting became cool, and people started realizing they could make money off their thrifting hauls. Thrifting has become streamlined and clean, with most of the dirty work already done. My husband didn’t really appreciate the value from thrifting, but I just show him how much it would cost otherwise. Now he only rolls his eyes half the time.
While I was pregnant, I spent my Sundays taking the bus up to the nearest Goodwill. I’d stop in at Starbucks, grab a drink, and walk my way over. I loved the routine. I loved searching through the racks. I stocked up on thrifted clothes for H, finding some things brand new with the tags still on. Now that H is outgrowing a lot, I’ve given away clothing, toys, her baby tub, my maternity clothes. It makes me happy knowing those items have gone on to live in another happy home, and keeps these items out of dumps. I’m all about trying to minimize waste in creative ways. I’m hoping to teach H these values, that there’s no shame in making use of things that other people have given a home to first.
Since Covid, I’ve started spending time going through the free and for sale section of NextDoor, and have picked up some absolute scores. I live in an area where high value items are frequently given away or sold, and I’m definitely excited to benefit from that fact. Nearly new items for free or heavily discounted? I’m there!
Among other things, I’ve collected a giant plastic bin full of wooden train sets, and endless books that became instant favorites. And I plan on passing them along to another family when we’re all done with them. I really just love finding things secondhand. It’s a mystery, you never know what you’ll find. Plus, you’re doing something good for the environment. It’s a win-win.