IT’S NIFTY TO BE THRIFTY

 

When my granddaughter (now almost 17) was 14 or 15, she and her buddies taught me the art of THRIFTING.  None of them could drive then, so I was often asked to be their chauffeur.  We would hit up the only THRIFT STORE in our small town, then head 30 miles away to a GOODWILL.  Those girls would just crack me up going through all the clothes as if they were looking for the Golden Egg at an Easter Egg Hunt.  And they would always come away with a bag full of tee shirts and other items and their pocketbooks still holding some change.  (Yes, I’m old-fashioned and still say pocketbook!)

Well, you guessed it…I caught the bug, and I’ve been thrifting ever since.  I don’t mind wearing “slightly used” clothing since I grew up wearing my cousin’s hand-me-downs.  And although I do love getting good bargains and saving myself money, I am also happy that I am helping the environment.

“Shopping at thrift stores is a simple & easy way to go green.  Manufacturing, producing, packaging, & distributing new clothing takes a lot of energy & water.  Disposing of unwanted clothing also takes a toll on the environment.  In the U.S., individuals throw out 60  to 80 pounds of textile waste each year.  It can take months & even years for these materials to fully break down in landfills.  By choosing to buy secondhand clothing instead of brand new, you reduce waste & help the planet.  In this way, thrift shopping is the ultimate way to live out the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ motto.”

              www.cincinnatigoodwill.org 

 I recently visited our local BROTHER CHARLIE'S THRIFT STORE which helps drug-affected and homeless men in the community.  You can get some great deals for only $2 or $3.  For example, this is a GAP jacket I recently bought and it’s like new.  I absolutely  love it…and I got it for the grand price of $3!  I snatched that thing off the rack so fast it made my head spin.  

And look at this sweet jacket by EMMA JAMES that will be perfect for spring that I got for only $2!!!

 

 And this is the prettiest sweater by CHICO'S that I also swept up for $2.

I don’t find too much at Goodwill…the nearest one is just not very good.  But occasionally my husband and I make a trip to SAM’S CLUB for supplies and we’ll do a little thrifting there.  I’ve even got my husband hooked after he got these ORVIS pair of pants that normally sale for about $119 for $15!

My favorite place to thrift, however, is online.  Although I’ve only found a couple of sites I like my favorite is POSHMARK.  It is sort of an “upscale” thrift store with prices from very low to very high.  I even have my own “closet” on there which I’ll tell you about in a moment.  Here are some recent goodies I scored at (to me) great prices:

 $7 + shipping

 $10 + shipping

 $16 + shipping

 $10 + shipping

(Yes, I’m a shoeaholic!)

 $17 + shipping

  POSHMARK is amazing but can be a little overwhelming at first because there is SO MUCH at all different price points.  It takes awhile to get the hang of it whether you are buying or selling but I think it’s worth it.  One good thing is that if you don’t like the price shown, you can make the seller a lower offer and every time I have done that (and I always do that), the seller has given me a better price.  The down side of POSHMARK is the shipping…$7.97...unless the seller is nice enough to give you discounted shipping.  There are some good youtube videos to better explain POSHMARK.

 Another online thrift store I have had luck with is THRED-UP.  With this one you have to look through a lot of duds before you find that diamond in the rough.  To make it a little easier, you can search for what you want and you can set your size, preferences, etc.  You can also save your favorites (can do in Poshmark also) and go back to them later.  THRED-UP has good sales often so that’s a plus.

 Both pieces $29

If you like a good bargain, don’t mind hand-me-downs, and want to help the environment, I highly recommend THRIFTING.  (By the way, I do wash/clean each piece when I receive it...just in case!) And to get started, I’d love to have you check out my POSHMARK CLOSET at:

CHERI'S CLOSET

https://poshmark.com/closet/cherischatter

HAPPY  THRIFTING!!!

Try it....you just might like it and the environment will thank you!

PS:  This lady on youtube (LITTLE POET) does a lot of thrifting and finds the neatest things.  There are also lots of other youtube videos about thrifting and about Poshmark.

Hello, Blog...Long Time No See!

 UPDATE:  After posting this for some reason I cannot now reply to my readers' comments which I usually like to do.  It keeps telling me to sign in to my Google Account but I am signed in!!!!  Oh the frustration!  If anyone knows how to fix this please leave a comment.  I would greatly appreciate it.

My poor, poor blog…it has been SO very neglected.  I love writing so I don’t know why I keep shutting my blog down for months and months at a time.  Oh, wait a minute…yes, I do know……..it takes LOTS of time and work plus BLOGGER can be so aggravating at times!!!  I am RETIRED though so you’d think I’d have lots of time.  I do stay rather busy, but I really do have time so I need to see if I can get myself back into the habit!!!  If nothing else, it will give me memories to look back on!

 

So what have I been up to since I last wrote in September, 2022????  Well, the MRI I had showed nothing…I was both glad and somewhat disappointed.  I had hoped they would find a tiny little something causing my problem so we would know what all the hurting was about.  HOWEVER, as of now (knock on wood), I am not hurting.  Hopefully whatever it was is long gone never to return.

My college boy (grandson) made Dean’s List his first semester and also was initiated into his dad’s and Papa’s fraternity…Kappa Sigma.  I don’t know which of the 3 was the proudest!  The boy is absolutely loving college life!

 

My beautiful granddaughter still has her boyfriend which has definitely cut into my “girl time” with her, and she is still using her God-given talent to paint.  She has also been bitten by the acting bug since taking theater in school this year.  She will have one of the leading roles in an upcoming play…her grand debut!!!

My Valley Girls along with husbands and MANY other high school and college friends recently attended another reunion with our high school “boy band” giving us a chance to once again “shake a tail feather”….even though the average age of the band players is 75😊  We had a fabulous weekend.  Our Class of ’67 had a mini-reunion the night before.  Little compares to going back in time with your old friends, some I hadn’t seen in more years than I can count.  A wonderful time was had by all.

 I am still tutoring 3 kiddos every Tuesday morning and teaching my Girls in Action group at church on Wednesdays.  Also teach an adult Sunday School class every 4 weeks.  I try to get in my walking as many days a week as possible.  My life is soooo exciting (cough, cough!)

Hopefully my next post will be more exciting than this one and that I will come up with ideas for future posts!!!  Happy 2023 to everyone…hope it will be a blessed one for all of us.