Thrifting: A way to reduce, reuse and repurpose

As seen in the Friday, January 27, 2023, edition of The Bluffton News-Banner.

Evidence of my new hobby can be found all around my house. Hanging on my walls and in my closet. In my son’s toy bins. Decorating my home office.

All of the items have stories, their own lives before they were ours. And every penny used to support my hobby also supports a local nonprofit or small business.

While I’ve never been big on garage sales, my new hobby is thrifting or buying secondhand. It’s an economical and environmentally friendly way to buy new-to-us toys and clothes. It’s also proven itself as a fun way to find handmade art and ideas for projects.

I visit Community Thrift often and rarely leave empty handed. Funds raised through the store on Main Street support women and children in our community. I am also part of a family-owned online auction group based out of Warren, purchases from which helped me decorate my home last year. Some beloved puzzles, a large area rug and storage ottomans have come from that group – as well as an antique magazine holder I’m going to refurbish (hopefully) soon.

My hobby has inspired me to declutter and donate to a good cause — whether that be Community Thrift, The Closet at Family Centered Services, or the Bargain Hut, which served as my original go-to donation destination for a long time. My hobby has also provided an opportunity to have important conversations with my son about helping other families and children in our community when we buy new-to-us items or donate items once we are through with them.

But it’s the stories that these items have that continue to fascinate me. Like the handpainted poppies on canvas — what was the inspiration? Or the mini abacus — did its previous owner use it or display it as decoration? And the bracelet bangles — what kind of social functions did they see in a previous life?

Sometimes, when I walk up and down the aisles of the thrift store or scroll through auction items online, I wonder about the people who once owned the items or who made the art – like antiques I often see for sale online, or the pair of woodland scene paintings now hanging in my stairwell, or the clothes with the tags still on them that I have added to my wardrobe.

My hobby has also led to its own unexpected community. I’ve posted about my finds and fielded questions. I have engaged with content creators on Instagram who have posted about their incredible second-hand finds or thrifted do-it-yourself projects from across the country. More often than not, it’s a conversation starter with others when I get to excitedly say, “My whole outfit is thrifted!”

Perhaps a goal for me this year should be to thrift my entire Christmas shopping list for friends and family. It would be a challenge – but also incredibly fun. Isn’t that the point of a hobby?