This past year, I made a huge change in my shopping habits. I went from purchasing most of my clothes from places like Target or the mall to making amazing use of hand-me-downs and finding awesome gems at thrift stores.
When you make the decision to shop at big retail stores like Target, you are missing out on some amazing deals you can find thrifting, and you're also making a poor environmental decision. Thrifting promotes small businesses, reuse of clothing and material, and it's honestly super fun!
1. Your bank account will thank you.
Making the transition from shopping at regular retailers to going to thrift stores was a big change, but nothing but positive experiences came from it. One of them being I was saving SO MUCH money. I realized I would spend $20 for a t-shirt I could find for literally $3 at a thrift store.
2. It's environmentally friendly.
When you shop at a thrift store, you are promoting the recycling of material. When we think of recycling, we usually only think of food products or papers and plastics. Clothing is definitely grouped in with items that need to be recycled more. When you buy something at a thrift store, that is one less piece of cloth being produced when it doesn't need to be!
3. You're supporting small businesses.
Most thrift stores aren't chains and just locally run. The owners rely on locals and regulars to wander in and keep their business afloat. Target never has to worry about running out of clients, but that thrift store down the street does. Keep that in mind next time you want to go shopping.
4. There is no better feeling than finding the diamond in the rough.
A lot of times, people get fed up thrifting and end up leaving because it took too long to find anything. Most times, there will be more items you don't want than you do want. But if you keep up with it and really look, you will almost always find something amazing. Even if you don't find something great, you can always purchase something you're somewhat interested in and go home and customize it to your liking (crop it, add patches, etc.).
5. It's fun!
If you go into the process simply just looking to have a nice time, then I promise you will. Thrifting is therapeutic, and if you bring a friend or two along, it can be really fun!
