All thrifted everything, everywhere, all of the time.
Thrift Therapy
Philosophy
Thrifting has long been a lifestyle for me and I have been part of the thrifting movement for over 30 years. I consider myself an expert at this point, a masterful hunter of curious things, a scavenger of special stuff, and a curator of many treasured collections. I love to use my thrifting skills to meet almost all of my family's consumer needs, from home goods and fashion, to making art and having fun. But most of all, thrifting is a form of therapy for me giving me a sense of purpose and meaning because it affirms my values, connects me with likeminded others, and does a hefty amount of restorative self care. As a psychotherapist, I know all too well how critical these things are to mental wellness and resiliency. I am going to go out on a limb and guess you also use thrifting as self care, don't you?
You may be asking, what I actually mean by 'thrifting'... for me it is simple: thrifting is shopping for secondhand goods cast off by others. Sometimes I do this at a flea market, or at a thrift or charity or opportunity shop, or at the dump or skip, or even curbsided garbage pickup. Online, I also scour eBay, Poshmark, Bazaraki, Vinted, Thred Up, The RealReal etc for the best possible deal on a preloved desired item (boots and bags especially). I also buy on Instagram or Popup markets from vintage resellers who carefully curate their wares, but consider that more of a treat than thrifting per sey. What do you call thrifting?
Thrift Therapy
The Podcast
You might have noticed, I love talking about thrift, but my local people 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 sometimes do a deep dive into the psychology of being a thrifter. Haven't you ever wondered about what goes on in the minds of thrifters? 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 hope you follow along for some style and thrifting inspiration! FOLLOW HERE
Thrift Therapy
The Travel
When I was 29, I sold all my cool thrifted vintage belongings to travel the world and publish a cynical webpage called Danger Magaizine (think The Onion, before that even existed). But before I could leave town, I found out I was pregnant and wanted to go ahead with becoming a parent (which surprised me). So my dream to see the world went in the cellar. Fast forward 22 years to the post Covid era, I sold all my curated vintage, house, care etc again, to travel the world as a digital nomad and this time the dream came true.
Jan 2024 we left the US with one carry on each and our dog, and have been traveling all over Europe since then. We initially spent a month in each country, thrifting what we needed for the month then donating back what we would not ship home or carry to the next place. Now we have a home base in Cyprus, so it is much easier and I get to keep more of my thrifted treasures. What do you think about digital nomads? About thrifting when you get some where intead of packing more than you need?
