Thrifting is the name of the game and lucky for you, I am a thrifting Jedi. I have been purposely opening my Facebook account around people who doubt I have any friends so they can see piles of unanswered notifications.
You know what those notifications are? Bids on my used furniture. You know where I got most of my furniture? Free from other people.
You, too, can play this game and come out on top. And playing it more often could also reduce our reliance on sweat shops.
Since it’s that time of the year when perfectly good couches are getting ready to end up in the dumpsters, I think we all may need a few pointers.
The transitory nature of college students is both the cause of this problem and part of its solution: We’ll always have things we can’t take with us, but there will always be people who need the things we leave behind.
The first and most important lesson is that new does not equal better. As I’m sure you know from living in a world saturated with infinity scarves and Nikes to befit every mood, we are a society brainwashed to consume.
Our fascination with our stuff tends to quickly fade after our purchases. The value of the thing is still there, yet it hangs in our closets for years, feeling the sting of unrequited love. Okay, maybe things can’t feel love — but it helps to imagine they do.
The best thing you can do for your clothes is to give them purpose. This may mean admitting its current neglected state and passing it on for someone to love better.
Sweetly tell your shirt, “It’s not you, it’s me,” and let go. You’ll at least get the price of a coffee date out of it.
