In an interesting article today, "In A Tough Economy, Old Stigmas Fall Away" on NPR, it is reported that more and more people are looking for value when it comes to shopping for a variety of products and services. With unemployment continuing to hover around 10 percent and real wages falling for working Americans, the vast majority of folks are trying harder than ever to make their dollars stretch.
We have frequented secondhand stores during economic good times and bad. For us, it's not simply the idea of saving money that's appealing; it's the notion of providing a "home" to items shucked aside by our throwaway society!
I am often amazed and dumbfounded at the quality goods tossed aside by some people. Most of my clothes have come from thrift stores and a great deal of our home furnishings have been purchased from these establishments too. Like adopting wayward dogs, cats and rabbits, purchasing cast off clothing and other items makes my wife and I feel as if we're making a positive statement about our lives. As much as we can, we don't allow good stuff to go to waste!
As Lao Tzu tells us, living simply has merit unto itself.
The Goodwill store in Paramus, N.J., a middle-class New York suburb, is buzzing on a recent weekend afternoon. A steady flow of shoppers comb through racks filled with second-hand clothes, shoes, blankets and dishes.While shopping at discount and thrift stores may be a new experience for many, my wife and I have been doing it regularly for over two decades!!
A few years ago, opening a Goodwill store here wouldn't have made sense. Paramus is one of the biggest ZIP codes in the country for retail sales. Shoppers have their pick of hundreds of respected names like Macy's and Lord &Taylor along this busy highway strip.
But in the wake of the Great Recession, the stigma attached to certain consumer behavior has fallen away. What some people once thought of as lowbrow, they now accept — even consider a frugal badge of honor...
We have frequented secondhand stores during economic good times and bad. For us, it's not simply the idea of saving money that's appealing; it's the notion of providing a "home" to items shucked aside by our throwaway society!
I am often amazed and dumbfounded at the quality goods tossed aside by some people. Most of my clothes have come from thrift stores and a great deal of our home furnishings have been purchased from these establishments too. Like adopting wayward dogs, cats and rabbits, purchasing cast off clothing and other items makes my wife and I feel as if we're making a positive statement about our lives. As much as we can, we don't allow good stuff to go to waste!
As Lao Tzu tells us, living simply has merit unto itself.
It's why I drive a 20-year-old car, well-maintained, on the way to immortality!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's also why my house is so cluttered, not very zen-like, hard to discard potentially useful stuff. I need to make a trip to Goodwill to get rid of stuff!
You bring up a good point. A person can be both thrifty AND still hoard too much stuff. My wife & I have suffered from this, but we're getting better at paring down what we "think" we need. :-)
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