Truth, I love shopping, but it does make me feel guilty for the ressources and money spent. I can only buy things that are reduced in price, since I have been a student since forever, and the feeling of being short on cash feels quite close.
This past year I have had a steady job with a real paycheck and it feels amazing but I still don’t like spending. Also, my job now revolves around all the waste accumulated in our world, and it does make me sick to my stomach to think about all the stuff we buy, that we don’t really need.
Cause really what do we need? Most of it is just fun, tat and surplus.
I still like buying things. And let’s face it, most of the stuff I buy I don’t really need either, but it helps to know that I buy it secondhand. So that’s become my new routine.
We have an awesome thrift place here in my town, Hjørring, with both furniture, knick knack and clothes. I go here once a month normally. I can get new plates for 5 kroner each, used books, retro stationary sets (boy, I will post about that some other time…) or fill a big bag of clothes for 100 kroner – or a huge sack for 175. For a life that is very non-minimalistic it fits in fine.
It’s the thrill of the hunt that I like. Not knowing what I will find. Sometimes I am on the lookout for something special, but mostly its just a fun trip to see what crazy finds there are. I get stuff for my mum, for the girls, and I take it all home to wash it. Sometimes it goes back to the thrift shop if I misjudged the fit, so it just continues the cycle of reuse.
It’s a nice way to get my shopping needs satisfied, and it makes it so much harder to buy normal new stuff – cause when you can get a sack of clothes for a cheap then shopping with ordinary prices just seems crazy. So it saves money in a lot of ways.
It’s puzzling the things that get thrown out, and I don’t think it’s a good sign for our planet, but that’s a completely different story…
I love that the girls like to come with me, and I hope that they will continue to be ok with getting new things like this. It’s hard to imagine that they might soon ask for expensive new things. I just hope they will also enjoy this kind of hunting for fun things and good bargains.
