All Things Thrift
Earlier this year I decided to stop buying anything new from a
regular department store. I have always been an avid thrift store
shopper. So, I decided to make a concise decision to get all
of my clothing (accept underwear, socks and bras), furniture,
dish wear, silverware and anything else I possibly can from a thrift store.
My goal is to only by QUALITY items. The clothing MUST fit, be free of
spots, have zippers that work and be better than anything that I could
of purchased at my local department store (
Khoals, Target,
JC Penny,
Old Navy). When I enter a thrift store I listen closely to my
inner voice. Great pieces speak to me. I get a certain feeling when there
is a "score" hanging on one of the racks. I have literally tried
to leave a thrift store and HAD to walk right back in and search a
certain rack. The first time this happened to me I found a
LUCKEYbrand shirt. (This is my FAVORITE brand!) It was green with a rose print,
the right cut and it fit PERFECTLY! From that moment I was hooked! Since that
day I have not bought one single new piece of clothing.
I sold fabric on
eBay for 8 years. I can tell if a piece of clothing is quality after
touching it for one second. I am also extremely PICKY about how clothes feel.
The fabric must have movement and stretch before I will wear it. There is a huge
difference between a pair of stiff 80s jeans and a newer pair of jeans. Those old nasty
stiff jeans weigh about a pound more on the hanger. I HATE how the
waist bands of an old pair of "CHIC" or
JORDACHE" stabs you in the
gut and will not budges a single cementer! One of the easiest things for me to find
are great tank tops. I am small so everyone leaves these for me. Where
I shop they are always $2.00 each no matter which brand. (I HATE how
some thrift shops will raise the price per item depending on which brand it is!)
This is quite literally my drug of choice. I will spend an average of $20.00 and
easily get $250.00 worth of quality stuff at a thrift store at least once a week.
I love not paying any tax and most of all I LOVE not blindly consuming new items!
We should all try to do our best to recycle and
repurpose. Not only is it fun and
creative but you a winner each time you thrift shop. One of my all time favorite
sayings is "A penny saved is a penny earned." I think of this every time that I spend
my cash (not credit card) for my thrift store scores. Our society is desperate for us
to shop and consume and for us to put it all on a credit card and pay interest. I spent
all of my 30s in dept. At any given time I had at least 1,000.00 in collective dept to
all of my favorite department stores. Ann Taylor Loft,
Mervyns,
JC Penny, Buckle and
Macy's just to name a few. I adore clothing, prints, colors, ides and cool stuff. I have
the hardest time saying "NO" when I see something super cool. So, I just can not go
to the mall more than 2 or 3 times a year. The one time I did go to the mall this
summer I allowed my self to go in my favorite store URBAN OUTFITTERS.
I found the coolest pink rose wallet. To prevent impulse shopping I made myself
walk away from it. I told myself that it would speak to me and call me back later
if it was meant to be mine. Two days later I went back and bought it. I had not one
single moment of regret. This beautiful pale pink rose wallet serves as an example
to me not to impulse shop. It sits in my cool yellow rose purse and helps me to
remember to follow my decision to spend
consciously and not
unconsciously. If I
do by something new, I only buy something I
truly love and adore. It is very important
to point out that I need to not only LOVE them item but I must LOVE AND ADORE
the item before I purchase it! One of the things that I do is I keep a little tablet in my
purse. I add the item down on my "wish list". An item must be worthy of adding to my
list before I ever consider buying it. Each item has it's own energy. I let some time
pass and I either cross it off or I buy it. This protects me from impulse shopping.
Believe me, I need a lot of help in this area!
