a thrifty life

i've talked about it a lot lately. my love for vintage. my change in attitude about buying used vs. new. i haven't really explained the extent to which i'm trying to implement this in our family. i've spoken to a few friends online and in real life about it, but thought i'd share it here with everyone in hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

i've always loved thrifting whether it be in a thrift store or at garage sales. i love the feeling of finding a treasure among junk. as thrifting started to become something i did more i soon began to realize the multiple benefits it had.

1. things are much, much, less expensive than buying new.
   
2. by buying used, it saves things that may have otherwise been thrown into a landfill.
   
3. vintage is cool!
   
4. the opportunity to teach my children that new doesn't always mean better.
   
5. the opportunity to teach my children that recycling can extend past soda bottles and cardboard boxes. 
6. the opportunity to be creative and turn something old into something with a new look and a new purpose. 
7. exposing the kids to things that mommy and daddy had when we were growing up.

as i started to realize all these things, it spurred me on to change our lifestyle. i wanted to buy everything i could by thrifting versus spending our money in the big box stores. i've purchased toys, books, clothes for the boys. they're not always in perfect condition, but it doesn't matter to the boys. they're so excited to have new stuff that they see right past that. 

at the beginning of the year i made a resolution to make thoughtful handmade gifts for friends and family this year. believe it or not, i've actually found a ton of supplies to make these gifts through thrifting! it's fun finding something that i know i can use to make that perfect gift for someone. i can't give too much away right now because i don't want certain people to know what's coming, but i'll definitely post my holiday crafts once the gifts have been given. 

speaking of christmas, we've decided that we're going to thrift as many gifts as we can for the boys this year. it's not that we couldn't afford to go out and buy new toys for them, but it makes me feel good to know that we're not. the photos above are just a portion of the books i found them at garage sales for christmas this year. some of them are in perfect condition and some of them are "well loved". many of them are super old with great artwork which obviously caught my eye right away. again, the boys won't know the difference. to them, they're new books. i also scored an easy bake oven for them along with a few packages of mixes for christmas as well. they'll love it for their kitchen. i plan on talking with them about it and sitting down to write a letter to santa explaining how we'd love him to bring us toys from garage sales or other kids who are done using them. the kids will be so excited about it. they both love going to garage sales with us. for them it's a place to go and play with a ton of new toys.