by Kristy Smith
“Celebrate National Thrift Shop Day this Sat 8/15 and Sun 8/16 with 50% off the entire store! Important: No Discovery Rewards points can be earned/redeemed and no additional discounts can be combined with offer. See you this weekend!”
That was the text that popped up on my phone one mid-afternoon this past week from one of my longtime favorites among thrift shops: American Cancer Society Discovery Shop at 4432 W. Main Street in Kalamazoo. As you may have guessed, proceeds from the sale of their mainly high-quality donated items go to support the mission of the American Cancer Society.
An upscale thrift establishment, Discovery Shop had been open only for a couple of years when I moved to Kalamazoo to work and live. Its contents held broad appeal, as they outfitted me with some very nice professional dress clothing, nearly-new shoes and all kinds of accoutrements for my (then) new (to me) home. I’ve scored curtains, classy tablecloths, sturdy picture frames and many scarves (the kind you wear around your neck) and several pair of earrings – all at bargain prices to begin with and as much as 50% off during end-of-the-month clearance days and other special sales. Great finds!
As the digital notification I received about the halfoff sale indicates, this is not your typical grandmotherstyle thrift shop venue – where the “haves” donate clothing in all sorts of conditions and the “have-nots” forage through the racks, shelves and bins in hope of finding something they can safely wear in public. No, this is the kind of store where people from all walks of life shop side-by-side looking for needful secondhand things.
For those who are coming in late to the game of thrifting, I should slow down and take a timeout to explain: thrifting is shopping for pre-owned (although sometimes you find new) items at thrift stores, garage sales, consignment shops, social media marketplaces, flea markets, bazaars, swap meets, auctions and at the ends of driveways to find low-cost and unique items rather than buying new stuff.
Now that I hopefully have your attention, are you any more interested in trying your luck on August 17 – aka National Thrift Day? A blurb on the facebook page of Goodwill of Northern New England states, “It’s a great chance to celebrate all the ways thrifting can make a difference.”
How, exactly, can thrift stores and thrifting make a difference to the world? Four common ways are: 1. Saving consumers money over traditional retail purchasing; 2. Supporting causes; 3. Reducing waste (which helps save the environment) through re-using items; and 4. Offering an alternative to those who appreciate vintage, rare or one-of-a-kind pieces that aren’t available in modern retail stores.
The facebook post that followed featured a thrift guide for multiple types of thrifters, identified as Little Trinket Collectors, Nostalgia Chasers, Moodboard Buddies, Grandmillennial Curators and Trust-theProcess Upcyclers, plus offered examples of the kinds of items for each category of bargain-hunters.
Which classification do you fall under? I am definitely not interested in little trinkets; I can’t pull off the funky vibe required of moodboard buddies; and I’m too textile-altering untalented to be a full-fledged trustthe-process-upcycler. However, I not only chase but brake for nostalgia – as evidenced by my delight at finding an excellent-condition early 1900s Universal grinder for only ten bucks at an out-of-state antique store on July 4th. Fireworks come and go, but a useable blast from the past is a gift to myself that keeps on giving!
I must also plead guilty to the title of grandmillennial curator because I have always been drawn to wellpreserved sets of vintage and antique items, from books to tableware.
Where will I be on National Thrift Day? Probably staying the heck out of thrift stores. You see, once one’s life is stuffed with stuff, there’s no point in acquiring more (although I could always use as an excuse to go thrifting the fact I’m searching for a gently-used, vintage10-pound capacity enamelware roaster for my son.
That said, I just walked into my bathroom to replace the roll of toilet paper and the springy end of the antique wooden spindle it goes on broke off. Oh, crap! Guess I will be thrifting, afterall, on August 17th!
Kristy Smith’s Different Drum humor columns are archived at her blog: diffdrum.wordpress.com
That was the text that popped up on my phone one mid-afternoon this past week from one of my longtime favorites among thrift shops: American Cancer Society Discovery Shop at 4432 W. Main Street in Kalamazoo. As you may have guessed, proceeds from the sale of their mainly high-quality donated items go to support the mission of the American Cancer Society.
An upscale thrift establishment, Discovery Shop had been open only for a couple of years when I moved to Kalamazoo to work and live. Its contents held broad appeal, as they outfitted me with some very nice professional dress clothing, nearly-new shoes and all kinds of accoutrements for my (then) new (to me) home. I’ve scored curtains, classy tablecloths, sturdy picture frames and many scarves (the kind you wear around your neck) and several pair of earrings – all at bargain prices to begin with and as much as 50% off during end-of-the-month clearance days and other special sales. Great finds!
As the digital notification I received about the halfoff sale indicates, this is not your typical grandmotherstyle thrift shop venue – where the “haves” donate clothing in all sorts of conditions and the “have-nots” forage through the racks, shelves and bins in hope of finding something they can safely wear in public. No, this is the kind of store where people from all walks of life shop side-by-side looking for needful secondhand things.
For those who are coming in late to the game of thrifting, I should slow down and take a timeout to explain: thrifting is shopping for pre-owned (although sometimes you find new) items at thrift stores, garage sales, consignment shops, social media marketplaces, flea markets, bazaars, swap meets, auctions and at the ends of driveways to find low-cost and unique items rather than buying new stuff.
Now that I hopefully have your attention, are you any more interested in trying your luck on August 17 – aka National Thrift Day? A blurb on the facebook page of Goodwill of Northern New England states, “It’s a great chance to celebrate all the ways thrifting can make a difference.”
How, exactly, can thrift stores and thrifting make a difference to the world? Four common ways are: 1. Saving consumers money over traditional retail purchasing; 2. Supporting causes; 3. Reducing waste (which helps save the environment) through re-using items; and 4. Offering an alternative to those who appreciate vintage, rare or one-of-a-kind pieces that aren’t available in modern retail stores.
The facebook post that followed featured a thrift guide for multiple types of thrifters, identified as Little Trinket Collectors, Nostalgia Chasers, Moodboard Buddies, Grandmillennial Curators and Trust-theProcess Upcyclers, plus offered examples of the kinds of items for each category of bargain-hunters.
Which classification do you fall under? I am definitely not interested in little trinkets; I can’t pull off the funky vibe required of moodboard buddies; and I’m too textile-altering untalented to be a full-fledged trustthe-process-upcycler. However, I not only chase but brake for nostalgia – as evidenced by my delight at finding an excellent-condition early 1900s Universal grinder for only ten bucks at an out-of-state antique store on July 4th. Fireworks come and go, but a useable blast from the past is a gift to myself that keeps on giving!
I must also plead guilty to the title of grandmillennial curator because I have always been drawn to wellpreserved sets of vintage and antique items, from books to tableware.
Where will I be on National Thrift Day? Probably staying the heck out of thrift stores. You see, once one’s life is stuffed with stuff, there’s no point in acquiring more (although I could always use as an excuse to go thrifting the fact I’m searching for a gently-used, vintage10-pound capacity enamelware roaster for my son.
That said, I just walked into my bathroom to replace the roll of toilet paper and the springy end of the antique wooden spindle it goes on broke off. Oh, crap! Guess I will be thrifting, afterall, on August 17th!
Kristy Smith’s Different Drum humor columns are archived at her blog: diffdrum.wordpress.com
