10 Reasons I love Thrifting

There is a family joke about my mom and her need to stop at every garage sale we pass.  The sound of screeching tires imitated as we passed a piece of furniture sitting beside the road.  And rarely a weekend went by when someone else's 'junk' didn't become out 'treasure.'  I can probably count, on one hand, the furniture and decor items in our house we purchased new.  This continues now as I have my own home.  

I am my mother’s daughter.  There is no questioning that.  I love thrifting, garage sale-ing, estate sale-ing, and all things of the like.  Honestly, there is not much better than a good block sale. Why you ask? (Really, did you just ask that?)

1. '50% Off or More' All. The. Time.  The amount of money I have saved is reason enough.  It has enabled my meager budget to afford nicer things - for less than half the cost of a new item. And often these new things are of lesser quality.

2. Unique. You will rarely walk into a friend/family/neighbor’s house and see the same furniture that you see in my house.  I didn't buy it at a big box store that sells 100’s of the same items every day.  I bought it at someone’s house who loved it for 60 years and now it's one of the few remaining.

3. Go Green. Because I'm buying/receiving/pickingituponthesideoftheroad from a stranger, they are not throwing it in the garbage. The landfill just got one less dresser. You’re welcome. As well as less demand on our already limited resources.  Save a tree - buy used!

4. Making it my own. Rarely do you buy furniture to paint. Rarely do you find a sweet chevron dresser with purple and teal. Or rarely do you buy an old wooden box marketed as a floating shelf. Nope. You THRIFT these wonderful things that just scream YOU.

5. Its got history. If you buy a plate from Wal-Mart does it have character? Sure. Maybe. Does it have a history? Well, if by history you mean madeinafactorybyasmallchild than yes.  But think about buying a plate from an old mansion that is having an estate sale. That has history. Think about the dinner parties they might have held with that plate. Or why is that plate set missing 1 plate - because they threw the missing plate at the wall in the heat of the moment. History is just neat.

6. House tours. Do you walk into other people's houses and wondering what they were thinking when they hung that pink and green floral wallpaper? I do. I especially love the chance to tour an old mansion or farm house. Rarely do you have such an opportunity to tour someone’s life like you do at an estate sale.

7. Adventure. You are going down a windy road that appears to lead to nowheresville, wondering if this garage sale that was listed on craigslist is really leading you to a serial killer.  Then the landscape opens up to a modest house and the most gorgeous mountain back drop.  After chatting with the owner (and realizing he doesn't want to wear your skin as a coat), he offers you fish food to throw into the pond.  When you scatter the food, a plethora of koi fish rush to the top in a rainbow like fashion.  You can’t pay for that.  Well, I guess you can.  I got two neat old toolboxes that are now used as centerpieces. They cost me $2. Total.

8. Adrenaline   Finding a Lane coffee table for $50 when they are listed on eBay for $200 is a rush.  I just saved myself $150.  Buying a solid wood sleigh bed for $25 is a rush. I just saved myself a few hundred dollars.  Buying an almost new lawn tractor for 1/4 the cost new is a rush.

9. Shop Local.  There is no better way to keep your money in your community than to thrift.  If you buy a coffee table from your neighbor, the money is not divided fifty ways till Sunday.  It stays there.  That neighbor then might take that $50 you paid for a $200 coffee table and invest it in his garden, which boosts the curb appeal of his house, and increases the property value of your neighborhood. Whereas if I spent $200 at a big box store, maybe $5 would stay in our local community. Maybe. In many cases, thrift stores like Goodwill or Amvets, you are supporting a worthy cause and getting something nifty!

10. Saving Money. Really this is reason enough. It's so great it's worth mentioning twice.

Why do you love to thrift?