Thrift, Donate, Repeat

I began living a thrifty lifestyle 12 years ago when I turned 18 and moved from my parents’ home. I knew if I wanted to shop within my budget for more than Wal-Mart options, I would have to thrift for them.

Thrift, noun:

'The quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully' - English Oxford

Over a decade later and I am still thrifting. The reasons I do, though, are greater than just economic restraints.

The EPA recently published findings stating that in 2014 over 10 million tons of textiles ended in landfills and only 2.6 million tons were recycled.

This textile waste is mostly clothing

My time spent at Wear Ever warehouse in Blaine, MN. POST COMING SOON!!

These numbers have been on a steady incline for the past 5 decades and unless something happens, they will continue to rise.

I’m going do something!

My goal with 'Thrift Ethics' is to inspire you to donate your unwanted, unworn clothes and to recycle the ruined ones. I will help you to shop secondhand by sharing lessons I’ve gained through personal experiences as well as through interviews with local donation centers. I want to share with you what I've learned from my contact with recycling centers and landfills. Together, we will discover what to donate, what to recycle, and where!!

Along the way, we will struggle with thrift hauls and wanting all the things. But we will find shops that give their proceeds to organizations that make the splurges a bit less discouraging. There’ll be times when patience is run so thin you wonder how people ever shop secondhand. The need for instant gratification may call to you from time to time from your Amazon app, or the innumerable bright, trendy fast fashion stores. But it’s all in the learning process and after those first few thrift scores, you’ll start to understand the thrift hype.

Scenes from my last donated haul sent to The Community Closet, where proceeds go to the Pearl Crisis Center in Milaca, MN.

From donating items I’ve just bought to buying items I’ve just donated, over a decade of thrifting has taught me a lot and I am STILL learning! Communities on Instagram have exposed me to the joys of natural fibers and neutral palettes. On a new journey as a mom and wife, this past year has been filled with lessons in thrifting for our home and for our daughter. And now with this blog, I have been fortunate to learn more specifically of the places I donate, the people who benefit, and where the waste ends up.

Join along as I continue to learn about thrifting ethically and get inspired to thrift along!

See you on the feed Thriters