And a word from our sponsor: ME
Why do I love op shopping / op shops? A few reasons.
I'll give it a bash to explain some of them.
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People throw out/donate the most amazing things. - I volunteer as a sorter for a charity and while people donate a lot of rubbish that really does need to go to the tip (op shops pay massive tip fees), they also donate some amazing items that go on to benefit others e.g. vintage glass, pottery, electrical items, clothing, whole deceased house contents... really the list is endless. Sometimes it's AMAZEBALLS what I've pulled out of donated boxes, it's almost like unwrapping Christmas/birthday/valentines prezzies all at once. I know you are asking 'Do I keep any of it'...ME: I don't have the room! I have enough years of collecting stuff/enough stuff/ un enabling myself, have you seen my website!
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Keeps a lot of things out of land fill. annnnnnd nowadays who doesn't want to keep stuff out of land fill that doesn't need to be there. There are absolutely tonnes of things still very wearable/usable that can be distributed around the community instead of being buried for future archeologists to find and wonder why it was all buried. Let's admit it, we are a culture of throw away excess. It can slow down/stop with us.
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Helps those that need helping when the budget is extremely tight. Majority of op shops have affordable items for the community. You can dress your children in fabulous clothes from an oppy and no one would know.... I know I certainly did... received a few compliments along the way on not only their clothes but mine. My kids (now adults themselves) still op for clothes, and why not...there are lots of fab stuff out there and they save $$.
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Provides an income source for programs that help people and causes. YES, I know people complain that some op shops are a bit on the unsexy exxy side. Please remember that not all their stuff is expensive... be mindful that they are funding programs that help those in the community who desperately need it: feeding homeless, giving a roof/food/safety to domestic violence abuse victims, clothing vouchers, contents vouchers, running educational programs for the community. The list goes on, but I won't.
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An inexpensive way of updating your outdated wardrobe. You want that edgy piece of clothing... MAAATEEE I just saw it at an op shop, and it still had original tags for a fraction of the original price.
I know a few people who donate part of their clothing/accessories wardrobe then go thrifting for more clothes (helps also to fulfill that desire to OP). It's a fabulous way of shifting your seasonal/next size up/next size down clothes around without having to stuff your house full of excess material. But of course, KEEP those favourite bits...they are classic, and you wear those pieces all the time, rrrrrrrrrright? Or do you? If you don't donate it and get something that will become your favourite clothing item.
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You can outfit a house with thrifted items. No brainer - Most op shops (not all) have furniture and (tested) electrical sections. Need a new bed, setee (couch for those who don't know what a setee is), armchairs, curtains, TV, VCR, record player (really showing my age there), DVD player, Kenwood mixer for the kitchen, fridge, freezer, oven, etc etc you get the gist.
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OOH did you say VINTAGE. - Dedicated vintage sections or even the whole shop dedicated to that bygone era (Why yes.... thank you). I'm a chick of the 60's who grew up in the 70's, made it past the 80's, had some formulative embarrassing years in the 90's and am currently surviving the 2000's.
I find comfort in items from the 60's and 70's, even the 80's. I often laugh when people say, "that's from the 60's it's an antique", (not quite) I haven't been put out to pasture yet... and the 60's were only 50ish years ago so I'm both adorably Retro and Vintage but I digress, what's oldish is cool again - Humphry B Bear, Fat Cat, Rubics Cubes, Simon (Simon was an electronic game from the 80's where you had to match the colour and sound), flares, batik wrap skirts, vintage kitchen canisters (massive collectors out there for those), Roman sandals, flokati rugs, brutalist smokey glass topped tables, anything Danish in furniture, anything Czech in art glass, anything Italian in anything lol. It all goes full circle and I'm old enough to have seen a few full circles.
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You meet the nicest people, and this often builds a community of like-minded people who become friends. - I have met the most amazing people over the years who love to do what I do (no not over fill a house with stuff, or stuff storage containers full of stuff, shhhhhhhhhhhhhh) but to go from op shop to op shop meeting familiar faces, to find that elusive piece to complete that collection(s) and this sometimes creates some light hearted competition in what can be found..... and just maybe/ just perhaps post in online forums because we love to share the joy of the thrift. My friend.... saw this and thought of you... you can find it in such and such Op shop.... (a gift, a token for family, friends)
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Volunteering at an op shop is good for your soul. - When you volunteer you are doing something not for yourself but to help others and it's a very good feeling when you are doing something selfless. The chemicals (endorphins) in your brain that give you the warm and fuzzies also help with your overall mood and when you are down (and admittedly over the years I have been very, very down) help to give you back that self-respect and personal elevation that you feel you may have lost.
Op shopping is not a hand-out but a hand up.
