The thrill of shopping but without all the guilt .
All thrifted everything, everywhere, all of the time!
Thrift Therapy
Philosophy
I love shopping! And am guilty of using shopping as a kind of "retail therapy". But I do not love the retail experience: high markups, cold shopping malls, multiples of every item, and the constant pressure to have the latest styles. Not to mention, the high costs of mass production and overconsumption on our planet. These are just some of the reasons I prefer Thrift Therapy; same dopamine high and self care, but less guilt and harm.
You may be asking, what I mean by 'thrifting'? For me, it is shopping secondhand goods cast off or donated by someone, and then reused by others. These items range in quality and age, and are found in flea markets, charity shops, online reselling platforms, vintage shops, clothing swaps, or salavaged from the garbage. Sometimes thrift items are free, or low cost, and sometimes they are restored carefully and curated at higher costs.
Since I have been thrifting for over 35 years, I am an expert at this point! I use my thrifting skills to meet almost all of my family's consumer needs, from home goods and fashion, to making art and even traveling the world. Now I want to share my creativity and what I have learned about living sustainably with you. Follow along via the Thrift Therapy content below. And most importantly, Happy Thrifting!
Thrift Therapy
The Podcast
You might have noticed, I love talking about thrift, but nonthrifters around me are tired of hearing about it, know what I mean? So I started a podcast called Thrift Therapy. This allows me to blather on about all the thrifting things, chat with other thrifters, drop the details of cool places to thrift around the world, and do a deep dive into the psychology of being a thrifter. I hope through conversation and connection or sustainbly minded community can grow and influence others to enjoy Thrif Therapy over shopping retail. LISTEN HERE
Thrift Therapy
The Style
Since I was a little thing, I have loved style. My favorite toys as a kid were Fashion Plates and Barbies with their little houses. I would play by myself for hours pretending to be a fashion designer or home stylist. Now I use my Instagram page @thrifttherapystyle to be my own fashion plate and show off my unique vintage style. My goal is to stay true to myself even when the world gives me weird looks or suggests I should "dress my age" (I am 54 BTW) and show others that you don't need to buy new or spend lots of money to have quality goods and live large. I hope you follow along for some style and thrifting inspiration!
FOLLOW HERE
Thrift Therapy
The Travel
In the post Covid era, I found myself an exausted therapist, menopausal wife, an empty nester mom, and with an itch to explore the world. But travel is expensive, so my partner and I sold our home and became digital nomads. Now, we get to travel the glode in a more sustainable way, focusing on enjoying a culture as temporary residents instead of tourists, using long term stays and lower consuption to keep our footprint small.
As we travel across Europe, we pack light and thrift most of what we need when we get there. We then donate or resell what we don't keep when it is time to leave. I then share all my favorite finds, shops and experiences on the podcast! Travel & Thrift Therapy is healing my mind from the drain of being a therapist during the most stressful era I have ever lived through.
Thrift Therapy
The Shop
As you might have guessed, I have a rather large collection of vintage both here in Europe and in storage in the US. My favorite things to thrift currently are vintage jewelry and linens
Thus my current creative project is to upcycle jewelry bits and bobs, and linens from around the world to sell online. Thrift Therapy with a resell twist! Be sure to follow my Intagram and Podcast profiles so you can catch the live sales and shop drops when they happen.
