A recent survey has shown that nearly 90 per cent of American and Canadian consumers have engaged with a thrift store through shopping, donating or both in the last year, up from 83 per cent in 2022.
It seems there is a trend to thrift now. Which is great news for most people’s wallets and the environment.
There is something thrilling about browsing the aisles of a second-hand shop and finding something interesting, or even better, something you need. It is like a treasure hunt.
Before Christmas, I cleaned out a couple of closets in my house and brought them to the local second-hand store. It feels so good to have clean closets, it almost feels like it also cleans my mind.
Less clutter everywhere is good for me. However, I still have more to clean. My kids got spoiled at Christmas with lots of toys and new clothes. My children are also hoarders. My oldest won’t even let me throw out the boxes her new stuff came in.
I haven’t decided yet if I am going to wait until she is away at school one day and throw out some stuff or if I should include her and teach her how to declutter. Both don’t sound like fun options.
This January, I also made myself a small challenge to see how long I could go without ordering anything online. For Christmas, I mostly shopped locally except there was one very specific doll that my middle daughter wanted so I ordered it from Amazon. (After checking every single store in Smithers and beyond.)
Joke was on me, it ended up getting lost in transit and my daughter had to wait until several days after Christmas to open it. That just solidified my decision to stop ordering online for a bit, or at least try.
Also, most of what I probably buy online is impulse. Do I really need it? And if so, then it can wait until I can go shopping to get it.
Maybe because it is the beginning of a new year but I am hopeful to have less clutter, a cleaner house and spend less money on unnecessary things.
I have to remind myself that my house doesn’t need to look like it belongs in a magazine, my children’s birthday parties don’t need a Pinterest board and my clothing doesn’t need to be new all the time.
Wish me luck.