It’s National Thrift Shop Day!

Many individuals think thrift shopping is about redecorating on a budget and dressing for less. However, it’s not just about finding great bargains, it’s also about finding unique vintage or antique items reflecting the shoppers’ own extraordinary individuality. Some even appreciate being able to contribute to the evolving history of certain items.

Have you ever wondered what fate your donated items will receive? Every single thing you contribute contains stories, like a history book. Whether it’s an old faded pair of jeans or the bed comforter from your childhood bedroom, each item has stories presenting the unique significance of personal history. When a person buys an item from a thrift shop, it receives more added stories of another individual history.

How cool is that? I have to admit I didn’t really appreciate the authentic uniqueness of secondhand items when I was younger. I preferred shopping at the mall and buying new items and wear. However, my uncle taught me the significance of donating items and shopping at thrift shops. My uncle Justin was five years old when I was born, so I considered him more like an older brother.

My uncle taught me to wear the same pair of sneakers until the bottoms came off. He also taught me to not choose new clothing over old clothing, to recycle and to reuse.

“You know you can buy like four outfits the same price as that one outfit.”

“I don’t care. All cool kids are wearing this.”

“You don’t know what being cool really means, kid.  You’re missing the point. Trends revolve like everything in history.”

“Shut up, butthead.”

As I got older, his opinion on thrift shops became clear to me. I realized what he meant. I can find any current trend in thrift shops as easily as I can find it in shopping malls. Thrift shops hold stories of the decades. It is really exceptional to find a used piece that will now tell your own story.

My uncle, who has now passed, taught me goodness and wisdom. His thrift shop experiences have stuck with me.

A story that has stuck with me, that I think you’ll appreciate, took place when my uncle was a teenager. His girlfriend’s dad gave him a jacket, which he later donated to a Goodwill store. In 2016, my uncle and his latest girlfriend found the exact same jacket on the racks at a different local thrift shop. He knew it was his because it had his name written in the collar with black Sharpie. When he explained the history to the attendant, she said she had never witnessed such a thing in all her years of working at thrift shops and insisted he take it as a gift. 

He took it of course and jazzed it up with funky pins and patches. This experience shows the real truth behind thrift shopping. We don’t just pick up a piece of used clothing, there is history to each and every item we buy.

So. what are your favorite thrift shop stories or findings? Have you ever come across your own history at a thrift shop?