August 17 – National Thrift Shop Day

nPosted on August 17, 2017

n

n

n

nI love to save money, of course – doesn’t everybody?

n

nBut I have to admit that I’m not much of a thrift-shop shopper. I am not inclined to pick through used clothes, to see the possibilities of what an item of clothing could do for me. There is, I have to admit, a teeny bit of a squeamish reaction for me, as if “used” means “dirty.”

But, then again, you have to realize that I also hate clothing shopping of ANY kind. I prefer thrift shopping for clothes to the sort of thing you see on movies – women trying on one fancy outfit after another, trying to find THE perfect dress. I mean, I really really really would hate that!

n

nWhen I was getting married, I looked for the sort of dress I liked – and by “liked” I mean a peasant style, ready-made, very inexpensive. I found only one, but I tried it on and loved it. Voilà! I found my wedding dress in like 15 minutes!

n

nSo, yeah, I’m not a shopper.

n

nToday we celebrate thrift stores, and there is a lot to celebrate. Not only do customers save money, but society and the Earth wins, too!

n

n(1) Lots of thrift shops are run by charitable organizations. So buying from them can help children and families in need.

n

n

n

n(2) Most of the rest of the second-hand / thrift shops are small businesses rather than chains owned by giant corporations. It’s great to support local small business owners!

n

n

n(3) Whatever is being sold in a thrift shop or any other second-hand store is NOT being plunked into a landfill. That whole “reuse, renew, recycle, repurpose” thing is partly based on the willingness for people to use “used” stuff!

n

nDid you know that about 10.5 MILLION TONS of clothing is sent to landfills EVERY YEAR? 

n

nThat’s…mountains of fabric!

n

nApparently, only about 15% of clothing is donated. We have got to get that percentage up!

n

nAbout half of all donated clothing finds its way into someone’s closet again, via thrift stores, and the other half is recycled – torn down into fibers that are used to make things like insulation and carpet padding and even industrial rags.(Check out this article for more on all of that.)

n

nCelebrate the day by donating clothes, by visiting a thrift shop, and by promising yourself you will do your part to keep stuff out of landfills.

n

n

n

n

n 

n

nAlso on this date:

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

Cupcake Day
n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

nPlan ahead:

n

n

n
• nAugust holidays

  n

n

• nAugust birthdays

  n

n

• nHistorical anniversaries in August

  n

n

n

n

n

n
• nSeptember holidays

  n

n

• nSeptember birthdays

  n

n

• nHistorical anniversaries in September
  n

  n

n

n