Dina over at Dina’s Days has a great post on how to embrace minimalism when you’re a thrift addict (or maybe how to live with your thrifting habit if you’re an aspiring minimalist?).
I consider myself minimalist-in-the-making and loved her tips. I find getting rid of the unwanted excess in my life helps hone my thrifting skills; it’s so much easier to identify perfect fits and say no to everything else when you’ve pared down your belongings enough for a clear vision to emerge.
My favorite insight from her post? “Give yourself the chance to miss something” instead of fretfully imagining that you could never live without it. What a paradigm shift.
Dina’s got great thrifted style and her own thrift boutique up in Akron, Ohio; if you live in the area, go check her out.
Happy weekend, Thrifters!
That’s a great post (and a good blog) — thanks for pointing it out.
Like you I am an avid thrifter and a minimalist(ish)-in-the-making. I agree with you that paring down my belongings has made it easier to identify which thrifted treasures should come home with me and easier to leave the rest behind (although it’s still tons of fun to just go and see what’s on the shelves). I have to admit that this applies most to books, fabric, tchotchkes, and the like — it’s still harder for me to say no when it comes to my clothes. I suspect that’s partly because my wardrobe is more of a source of self-expression, but also partly because I still need to do some hard thinking about what I’m really trying to accomplish with buying clothes. I guess I’m saying that my closet is still a bit of a log in my eye, if you will.
It IS a lot of fun to still go “window shopping,” as it were—but I find I do have to have the impulse to buy firmly in check in order to really enjoy that process. Instagramming my thrifting visits has been a great way to keep me on track since it feels like I get to share a great find (either truly great or absurdly great) with others and enjoy it that way instead of having to own it to enjoy it.
I have the hardest time with clothes, as well (although it used to be books—I think I figured out I was buying a lot of classics to look sophisticated and then not reading them :) ). I love your admission that you need to do some thinking about what you’re trying to accomplish…because as much as I love books, I have worked on the habit of passing on what I’ve read, only keeping what I adore, and only occasionally buying a new (to me) one that I know I’ll love. So now I need to figure out how to (consistently) apply that to my wardrobe as well!
Thanks for the inspiration!