My NEW LOVE of Secondhand Shopping
8 Reasons to Thrift Shop my holiday edition to inspire you to OP SHOP first!
What a year this has been… it feels like a massive blur. I am currently reflecting on my life and will share when the time is right, but for now, I want to share something that I love, which is OP Shopping; they call it in Aussie.
JOIN MY JOURNEY on socials
If you have been following me on Instagram, you will have seen the series I have started to share every time I go Op Shopping and the things I have found along the way.
I hope this sparks your interest in considering it if you haven't yet! It doesn’t just help your bank account get things for less; you are helping the planet by not supporting shops that keep producing products.
CREATE A Thrift Shopping List
THRIFT SHOPPING has become my new obsession as I have created a list of cool things to find for myself but also things for the kids. These are just a few items that I HOPE to see, but I do not CARE if I don’t, as I do not necessarily need them. However, if I find them, it will be like finding buried treasure.
CONSIDER BUYING SECONDHAND 1st!
SINCE everyone is currently in the SHOPPING mode, whether online or at the mall, buying food for parties and events or gifts for Christmas presents, Secret Santa and a new outfit for your work Christmas party or if you are like me and haven’t been employed for YEARS (small business owner) now stay at home mama … you go out with your friends or mama’s group!
NEW OP SHOP CHRISTMAS DRESS / Summer outfits
These are five dresses I bought from Good Sammi’s the day before my party, and the total for all five dresses was $68 (the three coloured dresses were $10 each)
I honestly could not decide what dress to wear to the party as I loved them all, but the red dress told me I had to wear it for the festive season. So I did an Instagram poll, and the red dress won the most votes, so I was very excited to reach a consensus. I put on my red lipstick and dusted off the designer red heels in my closet that I haven’t had the heart to get rid of yet. (Totally forgot to get a photo of myself when I was ready)
I have been wearing all of these dresses throughout the week, which is why I didn’t mean to purchase them all.
Having LESS | Decluttering Wardrobe | Loving What You Wear
Even though I have done such a massive decluttering of my wardrobe, and I have been meaning to share more on YouTube about my minimalist journey, at the moment, YouTube is on pause. I am just grateful to find time to write this article. It’s not even time that is the problem; it’s when I have time and enough energy to do anything. That is my problem as a zombie mama that I have become.
I have bought more dresses than I had hoped for in my minimalist wardrobe. Still, the fashionista inside me, who has always remained very strong-willed, has accepted that I will never follow any particular rules like Project 333, where you reduce your wardrobe to 33 pieces. I have started reading about it but have yet to follow it. I have watched a lot about a 10-item wardrobe, which sounds extreme, but I love the concept. They have all helped me reduce my wardrobe but have changed my mindset to NOT want the TRENDY items from $$$ Brands or $ Cheap stores.
I had been looking at buying this red dress for $140, but it sold out. In the end, I found all the dresses above for $68. I am happy that they all have elements of this one dress.
Fashion changes so much and goes in and out of your closet, and managing it is something I would rather NOT do as a Mama of two busy boys. I have LOVED fashion all my life and it has taken me on a wild journey in certain parts of my life, which I’d love to share about another time.
What I really really want is to…
Look happy, not tired.
Feel like I can have fun running after my boys in dresses or any clothes that makes me feel HAPPY!
Right now, shopping at the Op Shop vs. my favourite brands is where life is for me because the hunting of discovering these pieces makes me FEEL happy.
Phoenix has now started selecting the dresses he wants me to wear and has his favourites. This has been a cool development for me.
So, in the end, it doesn’t matter where I purchased my clothes, whether new or secondhand, as long as they make me feel good, I can do all the things I need to do while wearing them, and I don't care if there are muddy hands all over them by the end of the day.
That’s all that counts!
TOP REASONS TO GO SECONDHAND SHOPPING:
1. It’s like a TREASURE HUNT, which ultimately brings out this inner child inside you to search for what you seek. When you discover what you are looking for the rewarding feeling you get is so satisfying vs just going to the shop knowing it is there and buying it.
2. For the most part, it is WAY CHEAPER to buy things secondhand than new and in this financial climate we are all hurting in... it is nice to get more out of the dollars you spend.
3. You are NOT IMPACTING the PLANET as you are buying LESS, and they are used goods. You are giving the item a second life (or more) as you don’t know if the item might of already been donated before.
4. You are supporting a CHARITY as most OP Shops in Australia are runned by charity organisations so your money is giving back vs to a private company only making profit!
5. When you shop at OP shops you start to APPRECIATE all the things you have in your home because you see so much that is being tossed out.
6. You also start to consider the things you can DONATE to the charity shop that you don’t even use in your home that is just taking up clutter and someone could use it and LOVE IT vs just taking up dust in storage.
7. There is honestly NO point buying COSTUMES brand new when most op shops will have some sort of outfit you can create with all the clothes and even costumes they have in store. Some shops even have a section specifically for costumes so consider this for your next Halloween costume for you kids/yourself!
8. FRIEND HANG OUT vs going to the shopping centre or regular cafe hang out. Mix things up and support your local thrift/ op shop. Just make your hot beverage at home and put it into a keep cup and walk and shop together and catch up on life whilst putting on clothes in the changing rooms. It is such a laugh as you will be amazed at what you will find.
Okay I need to end this article as I have been writing it for days on and off when I have spare time. Which is rare at the moment and Memphis has just woke up from his nap and I said to myself I would finish and publish this article today as my goal.
I hope this season of shopping brings you joy vs stress as it can easily turn into that if you don’t notice and are careful with how you are spending your time.
BE KIND to yourself this season
BE KIND to your loved ones
BE KIND to strangers and people out and about who maybe are having a bad day
I hope to write one more article before the end of the year.
So for now…happy thrifting and please share with me your journey through secondhand shopping if you are already doing it or if you are new as well.
Lots of love
Kim