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What is thrifting?

Thrifting is more than Goodwill and Savers.

“Thrifting refers to the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a low price.”
— From Definitons.net

According to the definition of “thrifting” from definitions.net, thrifting is typically “shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or a shop of a charitable organization.” This can include places like Goodwill, Savers, Salvation Army, and more! However, I think thrifting also includes finding good items at a low price, unheard of in regards to what you’re purchasing. Shopping the clearance section at stores such as Old Navy, JCPenny’s, and Target can also give you some amazing goods at some low prices.

Clothing waste is a huge problem in the United States and generates more waste than you can imagine. According to Sustain Your Style, “A family in the western world throws away an average of 30 kg of clothing each year.” We discard so many clothing items without thought of what it does to our world.

When a new style of clothing comes out, we are so quick to purchase it when we already have many clothing items in our homes that would suffice. Working in retail has shown me how wasteful we can be without blinking an eye. When items are stained or damaged, we cut them up and throw them away to prevent dumpster divers from taking them out of the trash and keeping them. Even when it’s an easy fix such as a missing button or small snag in the item, we have to throw it out. The photo attached to this post is a bin full of shoes and clothing- many of them cold weather items- that I had to cut up because there was a minor error with them. To eliminate some of this waste, we should shop at stores that recycle clothing or find alternative uses for our old garments.

Unlike department stores, many thrift stores have a mission statement that helps lives of others in many different ways. From making consistent donations to an organization to providing work for many people, thrift stores are changing the way we shop. Goodwill has their mission statement posted on their website as follows: “Goodwill works to enhance people’s dignity and quality of life by strengthening their communities, eliminating their barriers to opportunity, and helping them reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.” Not only are they working to eliminate waste, they are working to better the lives of the surrounding communities.

The next time you go shopping, I have a challenge for you. Head to your local thrift store and see what you can find. Not only is it cheaper, it’s helping to create jobs, eliminate waste, and better the community.

Works Cited

“About Us.” Goodwill Industries International, http://www.goodwill.org/about-us/. Accessed 5 Nov 2019.

“Definitions for Thrifting.” What Does THRIFTING Mean?, http://www.definitions.net/definition/THRIFTING. Accessed 5 Nov 2019.

“What’s Wrong with the Fashion Industry?” SustainYourStyle, 2017, http://www.sustainyourstyle.org/en/whats-wrong-with-the-fashion-industry. Accessed 5 Nov 2019.

Peer Blogs

Hindi’s Blog: https://hindielm.wordpress.com

The first blog I looked at was Hindi’s blog about how she is changing the community. Hindi chose Meadow Park neighborhood which is extremely diverse but all the residents of the neighborhood are united. Her goal was to bring the neighborhood closer and be able to get to know each other by hosting events that everybody in the neighborhood was invited to. Once she became familiar with the neighborhood, many people made her feel welcome like she had lived in the neighborhood for years.

The first event hosted was a day out at the park provided with coffee and hot chocolate for all those attending. She passed out flyers in three different languages in order to help all the residents of the neighborhood understand the event. Hindi reached out to residents, introduced herself and invited them to the events in person. She made the effort to make them feel welcome and get to know someone who was helping to organize the event. While organizing the second event, she chose to find some volunteers to help out with the event. They provided food and drink, had activities for children, and played bingo with prizes!

Ella’s Blog: https://collegedecisions.school.blog/?wref=bif

The second blog I looked at was Ella’s blog. She writes about how to choose the perfect college for your liking. She is writing about this topic because she believes it will help her choose the perfect college for her. Some of her considerations are: Why you want to go to college, type of college, location, and cost. These all play a factor in what type of college you want to attend. She uses a lot of sources to back up her ideas and find new ones.

Talk of Sports: https://talkofsports.wordpress.com/?wref=bif&wref=bif

This blog mainly talks about happenings in sports and digging deeper into these events. They can be factual or opinionated. The posts contain videos and photos to give you a deeper look into the issue and what’s happening. I like that there’s photos of the players included so you know who they’re talking about if you don’t know sports very well. It was very easy for me to understand and comprehend as well.

Thrift Smarter, Not Harder

In my last post, I detailed how to find good items at the thrift store without extreme effort. So I went to Savers with items in mind and $20 in hand to find the best and cheapest finds.

Here’s a list of items I was looking for:

A pair of bootcut jeans with a long inseam.
A Vikings or Twins t-shirt that I can wear on game days.
A winter jacket that I can wear as a casual coat.

I went into the store with a limit of $20 and I was determined to find at least two of these items – and I did just that! Typically when I enter a thrift store, I grab a cart to store all my goodies in. But this time, I skipped that step so it would be easier for me to stay at my $20 limit. I began by looking at the t-shirts because you can typically always find an NFL or MLB shirt in there. Since I had one of my friends with me, she looked in the athletic wear section for me so we could spend as little time as possible in Savers. She found this amazing Vikings 3/4 sleeve tee for me. It was only $2.49! SCORE!

With my Vikings tee in hand, I headed to the jeans and only looked in my size. I wear a long inseam so I was looking at the sizes on the jean’s tags to determine whether I would pull it off the rack or leave it for the next shopper. On this particular day, I got extremely lucky by finding a pair of jeans with the correct inseam to fit me! This rarely happens, but when it does, I grab them off the rack right away! This pair of jeans fits like a glove and they’re Lee Riders so I know they’ll last a long time. Especially in their amazing condition! This pair of jeans only cost me $5.49! ANOTHER score!

Not only did I have these items in hand but I had a couple others I was unsure about so I headed to the fitting room to try them all on to see whether I would like them or not. I did end up buying both the jeans and the tee but passed on the other items I had in my hands.

For only $9, I left the store with items I’ve been wanting for a while and I was a happy shopper. The store staff was kind, as always, and was as excited as I was about my new finds.

This week, I challenge you to go find something at the thrift store that you’re unsure about and try it on. You never know, you may love it!

Tips for Thrifting

Thrifting is a sustainable and cheap way to find amazing and unique finds, as I have mentioned in previous posts. Although searching for those great finds isn’t the most efficient, there’s ways around that. You can search for things that catch your eye or go into the store already having an idea of what you wish to find that day.

In the article “10+ Tips on How to Thrift Shop Like a Boss” by Kathleen Elie, she mentions how taxing it can be to spend hours in a thrift store and not come out with what you want. To remedy this issue, you should go in with an idea of your style and some things you’re specifically looking for that day. This will help narrow down the options and you will have more of a chance finding something that you love. You can look for a brand, style of clothing, or something new that you want to try out.

She also recommends coming in with comfortable clothes on. Not all thrift stores will have dressing rooms available so you may want to try on the clothes over what you’re already wearing so you can see how it fits and if you like it. She says that a tighter fitting tank top and leggings is always a good idea, especially if the store doesn’t offer fitting rooms. This way, you can try your items on over your clothes to determine if you like the fit or not.

Looking at Kathleen’s suggestions made me think of some that are the same and some that are different that I typically do to make it easier to shop. Here’s my list:

Always try to find something you need.
Bring a friend so you can look for each other and cover more ground.
Find out other people’s views on the thrift store before you go by searching reviews and asking other people who have been there.
Set a budget before you go in so you don’t overspend or get items you don’t love.
Have a wishlist of things you’d like to find at the thrift store and always search for them.

Compiling your wants and needs into a list before you go shopping will help you find what you want in a more timely matter. You won’t have to spend hours searching for your finds but you’ll find some great ones! In my next post, you’ll see me looking for some of the items on my needs/wishlist and how I found them.

Work Cited

Elie, Kathleen. “10+ Tips On How To Thrift Shop Like A Boss.” The Good Trade, The Good Trade, 4 Jan. 2019, http://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/thrift-shopping-tips.

“You can thrift… books?”

To start our thrifting adventure this week, my friend and I stopped by a used bookstore to check out some new reads to take home for a low price. We decided to shop at The Friends’ Bookstore, located right outside the library entrance. They sell books that the Rochester Public Library doesn’t need and books that have been donated to them. Most of their reads range from $3-5 in price with one exception: their shelf of books for $1 each. Yep! ONE DOLLAR! They put out new books everyday so of course I had to go twice to get my hands on all of the good reads they have priced at one dollar per book.

My first checkout experience was very fun and easy. The bookstore is run by volunteers that are very kind and personable. They like to start conversation and a wonderful bond between bookworms. My time at the bookstore is filled with laughter from conversations with the volunteers but also despair because I know the walk to my truck while carrying 10 books isn’t going to be a fun one!

The bookstore gives punch cards to every customer and with each 10 books purchased, you get $4 to spend in the store. That is anywhere from 1-4 FREE books! So how many books did I purchase by going to the bookstore and how much did I spend? Between the 2-3 times I went to the bookstore, I purchased 25 books for only $31. That’s only $1.25 per book! In those trips, I got 5 free books from my $8 from full punch cards.

Purchasing used books saves your money and gives you a great read! It also saves on printing and disposal costs. If these books weren’t purchased, they may be donated but they may also be thrown away which wastes paper. The library would most likely have to pay to dispose of the books they are no longer using. Having a bookstore brings in money for the library to keep their collection up to date and have a nice facility for the community.

Next time you’re looking for a book, I would suggest you head to the Friends of the Library Bookstore and support them and the library. They are great people and support such a great asset to the community.

Work Cited

“Friends’ Book Store.” Friends’ Book Store | Rochester (MN) Public Library, http://www.rplmn.org/my-rpl/friends-book-store.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.