While hanging out my laundry on this sunny, warm Thanksgiving Monday, I realized how thankful I truly am for thrifting. I am thankful not just because I find all the goodies that delight me and the diamonds in the rough but because it puts me in a place that I am more comfortable with in the consumer cycle. Before I started regular thrifting, I considered myself a mindful consumer and savvy with a deal. I purchased the best quality and long lasting items wherever possible and tried not to buy what I did not need. One drawback was that I found passing on what was not longer useful to me difficult because I had put so much thought and resources into that item. Also, as consumer products became less expensive, it became harder to resist the deal and frustrating to encounter the reduction in quality. Stepping out of this part of the cycle has been refreshing. What started as looking for vintage Pyrex, sewing notions and aprons has extended into almost everything I buy. Clothing for the family, gardening gloves and a dishwasher cutlery basket!
The small step ladder and the enamel tub holding the the geraniums were both thrifted. Amazingly these tender plants are still thriving outside! In my thrifting adventures I have even found a replacement brass rose for my
Haws watering can. I have found that if I am able to buy much of what I might need on a daily basis via thrifting, when I want something more specialized and expensive, I am able to do so. I have also become more aware of the life the things I bring to the thrift store when my family no longer has a use for it. It is a subtle difference but it is making the process of de-cluttering that most of us struggle with just a little bit easier.
Today was a day to clean-up the garden and put it to bed for the winter. I was grateful for the huge help that I had from my mother-in-law in this somewhat daunting task. She helped to cut down the dead foliage from the foliage and filled three more of the pictured yard waste bag. We have three large compost piles but really appreciate the municipal yard waste collection at this time of year. I still need to clean up the vegetable garden, herb garden and the bed adjacent to the compost on one side of the house. By the end of the week I will start to bring some of the tender plants into our three season sun room and spray with insecticidal soap in preparation of bringing them indoors for the winter. I have had varying success with over-wintering geraniums and fuchsias so I will also do a little more research this week. The geraniums here are in a thrifted basket on a curbside find of a chair found after I missed out on
these.
I am looking forward to working with these finds from the past week and again, I am thankful for thrifting yet again! I have found more interesting textiles at the thrift store than anywhere else. While great textiles can still be found at select fabric stores, both brick and mortar and online, most of the best fabrics and trims are now directed to the garment industry. I just love the trims here and I am looking forward to remaking the damaged tablecloth on the left into a new apron.
I will likely make tote bags with the drapery and upholstery fabric on the left but I not sure what the lighter weight fabrics on the right will wind up as -I may just need to enjoy them in my stash for awhile.
I know that this scarf is a welcome addition to another stash of mine: my collection of vintage scarves. I was very excited to find this miniature bottle of Je Reviens by Worth. I like to wear this vintage scent in cold weather and it is impossible to find. Apparently it is still available at Harrods but I did not get there this past summer. The little 'made in Italy' framed print made me think of Julie's recent creativity at
Jane's Apron. When I first saw it, I thought that the frame would be plastic and that I would try Julie's treatment but now I am kind of liking it with the reproduction of a 18th c. French painting.
When the geraniums are ready to be brought indoors, I have some more cache pots to contain them. I have always been inspired by the
Swedish style of lining up a few pots of geraniums at the window to remind us of warmer weather. The opportunity to share my thrifty finds in this blog is also something for which I am thankful. Other blogs are also sharing their finds on
Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.
While hanging out my laundry on this sunny, warm Thanksgiving Monday, I realized how thankful I truly am for thrifting. I am thankful not just because I find all the goodies that delight me and the diamonds in the rough but because it puts me in a place that I am more comfortable with in the consumer cycle. Before I started regular thrifting, I considered myself a mindful consumer and savvy with a deal. I purchased the best quality and long lasting items wherever possible and tried not to buy what I did not need. One drawback was that I found passing on what was not longer useful to me difficult because I had put so much thought and resources into that item. Also, as consumer products became less expensive, it became harder to resist the deal and frustrating to encounter the reduction in quality. Stepping out of this part of the cycle has been refreshing. What started as looking for vintage Pyrex, sewing notions and aprons has extended into almost everything I buy. Clothing for the family, gardening gloves and a dishwasher cutlery basket! 
The small step ladder and the enamel tub holding the the geraniums were both thrifted. Amazingly these tender plants are still thriving outside! In my thrifting adventures I have even found a replacement brass rose for my Haws watering can. I have found that if I am able to buy much of what I might need on a daily basis via thrifting, when I want something more specialized and expensive, I am able to do so. I have also become more aware of the life the things I bring to the thrift store when my family no longer has a use for it. It is a subtle difference but it is making the process of de-cluttering that most of us struggle with just a little bit easier. 
Today was a day to clean-up the garden and put it to bed for the winter. I was grateful for the huge help that I had from my mother-in-law in this somewhat daunting task. She helped to cut down the dead foliage from the foliage and filled three more of the pictured yard waste bag. We have three large compost piles but really appreciate the municipal yard waste collection at this time of year. I still need to clean up the vegetable garden, herb garden and the bed adjacent to the compost on one side of the house. By the end of the week I will start to bring some of the tender plants into our three season sun room and spray with insecticidal soap in preparation of bringing them indoors for the winter. I have had varying success with over-wintering geraniums and fuchsias so I will also do a little more research this week. The geraniums here are in a thrifted basket on a curbside find of a chair found after I missed out on these.
I am looking forward to working with these finds from the past week and again, I am thankful for thrifting yet again! I have found more interesting textiles at the thrift store than anywhere else. While great textiles can still be found at select fabric stores, both brick and mortar and online, most of the best fabrics and trims are now directed to the garment industry. I just love the trims here and I am looking forward to remaking the damaged tablecloth on the left into a new apron. 
I will likely make tote bags with the drapery and upholstery fabric on the left but I not sure what the lighter weight fabrics on the right will wind up as -I may just need to enjoy them in my stash for awhile.
I know that this scarf is a welcome addition to another stash of mine: my collection of vintage scarves. I was very excited to find this miniature bottle of Je Reviens by Worth. I like to wear this vintage scent in cold weather and it is impossible to find. Apparently it is still available at Harrods but I did not get there this past summer. The little 'made in Italy' framed print made me think of Julie's recent creativity at Jane's Apron. When I first saw it, I thought that the frame would be plastic and that I would try Julie's treatment but now I am kind of liking it with the reproduction of a 18th c. French painting.
When the geraniums are ready to be brought indoors, I have some more cache pots to contain them. I have always been inspired by the Swedish style of lining up a few pots of geraniums at the window to remind us of warmer weather. The opportunity to share my thrifty finds in this blog is also something for which I am thankful. Other blogs are also sharing their finds on Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday.
1 comment:
I am totally in agreement with the "reduction in quality" of regular consumer goods. This is one of the things I often write about as well. I think the white planters are great!
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