This morning, contrary to my usual routine, I sat down in front of the TV to watch the news, something I rarely do. It was Channel 5 and a young woman name Sally Bjornsen was being interviewed. What she is doing intrigued me and prompted me to create this blog.
Now Sally has started a movement called The Great American Apparel Diet where members swear off buying any new clothes for a year, barring underwear, accessories and shoes. Sally’s idea stemmed from one day, looking in her closet and realizing that she wears the same clothes over and over and that she had far too many clothes.
At that point, boing! A lightbulb went off and I thought, we go one better than that.
We certainly haven’t stopped buying clothes – far from it! In fact, not a week goes by that we haven’t been shopping. But our shopping is completely guilt-free and is a win-win for everyone. You see, we shop at thrift stores. Goodwill, Salvation Army, you name the charity, we shop there.
When I say our and we, I mean me and my best friend Susan, and we are sometimes referred to as Dos Susanas or Susan Squared. A year or so ago, both of us were desperate to loose some weight, and found what we consider a miracle diet. Our results were almost instantaneous, leaving us flopping around in our now-oversized clothes. What to do? The weight kept falling off – and so did the clothes. A pound a day meant clothes that fit last week were now a size, or more, too big. This really is no exaggeration. And as we all know how expensive clothing is, it was a real dilemma! Susan decided it was time to hit the local Goodwill.
And what a treasure trove it has turned out to be. Designer labels for under $10, some still with labels intact. And the best part? If you don’t like it when you get home, or in our case, if we grew out of it in a week, we could donate it back to the store. The ultimate reduce, reuse, recycle. Our buying provides jobs, we help the environment, and we look good in the process.
So here’s our challenge. We think it will be a lot easier than Sally’s.
Spend a year buying only from thrift stores and consignment stores, recycling unwanted items back to them and look – and feel – good doing it. Let us know about the treasures you find, your experiences, and your insights into giving back. The only things to buy new would be underwear, because -eeeooow – nobody wants used undies!
In the next couple of days, we will give you some tips on how to find the best deals, how to shop in these stores and some of our favorite pieces of clothing.