Secondhand Blessings

Confession time: I love thrift store shopping. Now, I get various responses when I share this information with people. Everything from, “Me too! I love looking for treasures,” to “Ew! How can you buy clothes with other people’s dead skin cells in them?!” So if you’re not a fan of second-hand stores, bear with me. I’d like to explain myself.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” I believe this to be true. To an extent. I mean, some things are just meant for the trash! I have seen plenty of junk at secondhand stores. Like unquestionable junk. But you can also find some really nice things. And on the flip side, I’ve donated some of those really nice things. In fact, I’d like to suggest that thrift stores are one way we can bless each other.

When I moved into my new house, which is half the size of my previous one, I really had to purge. I am certainly not a hoarder, but I do tend to hang on to things with the idea that someday I will surely use it/wear it/enjoy it out of the box. Then it sits for another year and I tell myself the same story. So this time I switched my perspective and thought, “how can this bless someone else?” I imagined the person picking that item off the shelf and getting super excited about their find. Perhaps it was something they wanted for a long time and couldn’t afford, or maybe they didn’t even know they needed it in the first place but there it is and they wonder how they ever lived without it (okay, maybe this is just me!). This made it so much easier to part with said item. Knowing that someone else would experience joy by owning it.

Selfishly, I love being that person too. I just seem to be frugal by nature, and finding a good deal makes my heart happy. It may have something to do with my childhood. Growing up, we were never in crisis, but we definitely pinched pennies. I remember handmade clothes and jeans that missed the floor by about 2 inches (“Waiting for a flood?”). My mom was so good at finding deals and making things stretch. To this day we make it a point to go to Goodwill together on every visit. So I guess I could have gone the other way, having an aversion to secondhand items. But I don’t. And if you do...no judgment here. But I hope my perspective has helped you understand the joy I believe it can bring to others.

So whether you’re switching out your summer clothes, moving, or just looking around your house, I’d ask you to consider donating things that could possibly bless someone else. Or think about supporting businesses like Goodwill that benefit others and may just have hidden treasures waiting for you!