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.