Zen and the Joy of Thrift Shopping.

(or can we continue to thrift shop and still simplify our lives?)

It may seem odd to read about the joys of shopping at thrift shops, flea-markets and yard sales on the same blog where I’ve been writing about our efforts to pare down our possessions, de-clutter and simplify our lives. If you think about it, being mindful about consuming too many things and shopping at thrifty places really can go hand in hand. If you are trying to buy less stuff and really consider each purchase you make, why not jump on the reuse, recycle, re-purpose wagon and shop second-hand!

Tons has been written already about the benefits of shopping at thrift, second-hand and flea markets, so I won’t go too far into it here. Everyone has their own reasons, here are a few of mine.

Top Reasons to Thrift Shop

Reasons for shopping thrift stores, flea markets and yard sales:

1. Be frugal (save money)
2. Spend time with family and friends who like to thrift shop
3. Find cool vintage clothing and household goods
4. Be eco-friendly (feel good about re-using and re-purposing)
5. Help a charity (goodwill, salvation army, charity thrift stores)
6. Find great bargains and value
7.  Shop local
8.It’s fun!

If de-cluttering your possessions is important to you, think about donating unused items every time you shop. If you bring something in – take something out! Encourage your kids to “recycle” their toys by donating or selling old unplayed with ones. They can use the money they earn to buy something new (or used) to bring home.

Thrift shopping and Zen

A great place to read more about de-cluttering is at the blog Zen Habits. Leo Babauta, the author, is a master of explaining how to live simply and without clutter, so you can focus on what’s really important. His blog is one of the top 50 in the world and worth checking out.

When thrift shopping or going to a flea market setting limits and having a budget is helpful, but tough to do, everything can look like such a bargain and it can be easy to get carried away. We have joke in our house that when we go junk shopping and want to have some semblance of control we can only buy things that fit in our pockets and we bring a set amount of cash.  This works well sometimes, (especially if you have small pockets) and not so great other times…stay tuned for some upcoming posts on this topic!

Zen Circle – Photo* Flickr: Triratna

Becca from the The Vintage Cabin – another of my favorite blogs, shared this response with me when I tweeted the question – Is it possible to balance the joy of thrift shopping with the urge to purge ?  She says “Sure, open a store on Etsy”.
visit hers now – she has some great stuff!

This may in fact be the perfect way to balance the joy of thrift shopping and striving for minimalism – sell what you buy, which in turn helps fund the next shopping trip.

Brilliant!