Love thrifting? I know I do! But some people are still turned off by the idea of buying items that were once used by others. I get it – you imagine someone sweating all over a shirt – it’s wet, stinky and so not okay – you couldn’t possibly wear it after all that. BUT what if that shirt was an Anthropology blouse valued at $65, and you get swoop it up for a mere $4.99, throw it in the wash and have a new-to-you top – would you reconsider? Think about this, when you stay in a hotel room – and I would think most of us have – you are sleeping on sheets that hundreds, maybe even thousands (ick!), of other people have slept in. And sleep is not all that’s happening on these sheets, people – I’ll let your imagination do the wandering. However, these sheets are stripped from countless numbers of beds to be washed and reused by the next poor soul – and the cycle continues. Sorry – did I just ruin hotels for you? This strange example is how I convinced my husband to at least take a peek at the men’s clothes at our local Goodwill – and what do you know, he went home with a J. Crew t-shirt (so PROUD!), a summer tank and a very nice patterned button-up shirt for work, all for around $15 – #winning! (is that still a thing?). The same goes for dishes, utensils, rugs, blankets and pretty much everything else – I draw the line at intimates and bathing suits… just… no. Not only does a thrifty lifestyle save you a bunch of time and money (I say time because you can usually get all goods at one thrift store *cue angelic choir*), but you are also helping to lessen your footprint on our Mother Earth. So many items are manufactured and sold every day only to later be tossed aside or, in the best cases, donated to your local thrift stores. You are literally helping to save the Earth one thrift trip at a time – it doesn’t get better than that!

AND SO – for my first post, I am going to give you my top 5 items to purchase at a thrift store and why. For those of you that are also located in Sacramento, I’ll even include where I think some of the best thrift stores are for specific items AND throw in some note-worthy sale info. Keep reading to learn how you too can get the best for less, while also earning a grown-up sustainability badge that can make anyone feel better about buying more stuff.