Thrifty Business

Over the past 2 weekend I and a few of the girls have been hitting up the thrift stores. I need more sweaters (I do NOT want to build a snowman, thank you. I want SUMMER), and pants that fit (always a challenge due to my apparently constant weight fluctuations).

Did you know? According to the EPA Office of Solid Waste, Americans chuck an average of 68lbs of textiles in the garbage  every year! And yes, that is PER PERSON! O_o 
There are plenty of statistics out there - do a quick Google search for clothing waste. And don't get me started on top designer brands destroying leftover stock to avoid it falling into the hands of certain  less desirable demographics!

Confession: I don't shop at thrift stores out of a devotion to Zero Waste, reducing the demand for stylish new clothes every few months. Mostly I'm just poor. More importantly though, I'm terrible at enjoying Current Fashions! I like colors and patterns and the more at once the better! (It helps that I work as a nanny) I was positively Devastated when neon jeans suddenly became the In thing- all in Skinny and Tapered!!! Anything less than Boot Cut and I look like a triangle walking on its head!

So thrift stores it is! Where embroidered Bell Bottoms and obnoxiously pink sweaters abound!

It does HELP, of course, that I'm not creating a fresh demand. I also have a One-In-One-Out mandate on my closet- to prevent a stockpile of clothes I no longer wear.

So where do these unwanted clothes go??

1- Friends!!! This is actually the smallest option as a lot of my clothes originated with friends in the first place. Nobody wants their even more worn out castoffs back...

2- Donation! I usually try to donate everything (not just clothes) to the Purple Heart. But if I've been driving around with a box of things to go for a while it'll usually end up at whatever thrift store I'm passing.

3- Rags! I'll take a pair of scissors to your best shirt to clean my bathroom just as easily as inviting you in for tea! (My Earthy Crunchy Mama used our cloth diapers to clean her house for the better part of 30 years!!!)

Moral of the story:
4 Thrift stores
5 sweaters
1 dress
1 camisole
3 pairs of trousers
$50!

What did you get for the last $50 you spent on clothes?
What do you do with your old clothes??

To do- actually get to my mending pile!!!