Why Haley loves Thrifting, and you can too!

Good morning y’all!

Today I am excited for several reasons.

1.It’s Spring Break and i’m on vacation right now.
2. I’ve got some guest bloggers coming to ya this week.
3. Today i’m introducing you to Haley.

So here’s the thing with Haley. We were BEST friends growing up. From when I moved to Texas at age 6, and she moved to the house at the top of the street we were inseparable. You would have found me at Haley’s house more than my own. I have so, so, so many memories with her and there will be times I just randomly think of something we would do or that remind me of her and I get sad. Because why do we have to grow up and get old????? She now lives in Ohio where she’s finishing up her degree so I don’t see her anymore. I saw on Facebook that she recently started a blog and knew that the next time I had a guest blogger she was going to be asked! I love that so many of my friends are becoming bloggers now. (I forgot to upload an old picture of us before I left for vacation! :()

She blogs over at JustHaley.com from anything ranging from her personal life, photography, being a vegan, and her health and fitness journey. I am super proud of everything she has accomplished!!! Today she is talking about thrifting and I can’t wait for you to read!

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Hi friends! My name is Haley and my little corner of the internet is at JustHaley.com. A big thanks to Molly for asking me to participate in her “Why I love ____, and you can too” series. I love the idea of sharing what we love and giving it as a gift to others.

I’ve always been obsessed with clothes and fashion since I was a little girl. As I got older though the clothes started to get more expensive and I couldn’t always afford the styles I wanted at retail price.

Whenever we would grow out of our old clothes we always donated them. When I was 10, I asked my mom where the clothes go, and she showed me the Goodwill store.

It was then that I discovered thrifting and my life was changed.

I hardly ever buy new clothes anymore. It actually pains me to spend more than $10 on a piece of clothing. Sometimes it’s necessary, but I would rather hunt for unique styles than just buy things off the mannequin.

Thrifting is definitely more of skill than people think though. It takes patience, good judgment, and an eye for style in a sea of mundane drapes, wildly printed shirts, shoulder padded jackets, and everything denim.

Saving Money

Obviously the best part about thrifting is that everything is SO cheap. The last time I went thrifting I was in search of office clothes for my internship and I came out with 2 pairs of pants, 2 blouses, and 2 shirts for $15. Not to mention they all were in immaculate condition, some still had the tags on them. If I had paid retail price for these items, it would have easily been over $100. I’m pretty sure no amount of coupons could ever get me $85 in savings. Feel free to challenge that idea though.

The Hunt

You never know what you’ll find at a thrift store. Thrifting is like searching for buried treasure. You might be searching for awhile, but once you find that piece you were looking for, and only pay $3 for it, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that you didn’t settle for something that costs 10 times more. Even if you aren’t looking for a specific thing, it is still just as fun to go in and see what you find. Get $20 from grandma for your birthday? Challenge yourself to see how many things you can buy for that $20 at the thrift store. I did this challenge with my boyfriend and we got some awesome stuff like a 1980s Rainbow Polaroid and a waffle iron. Because who doesn’t love waffles?

Some of my thrift store finds:

Helping Out Mother Earth

Did you know that about 90% of the clothing purchased in the U.S. comes from abroad? That means that new sweater at the department store traveled thousands of miles and used tons of energy to get into your closet, polluting the air with carbon emissions. There is also lots of packaging associated with new clothing that ends up in landfills. With secondhand clothes, housewares and other products, you are reducing your carbon footprint and following the basics of environmental friendliness: reduce, reuse, recycle.

Being Unique

As a lover of fashion, I’m always looking for the next big trend. What I love most about thrifting is the challenge of taking old clothes and making them fit modern trends. “Vintage looking” clothing is a super popular trend right now that retail stores are trying to sell for at least 3 times the price of the thrift store. But why pay that when you can get the same look or better for less? Sometimes you’ll finds items that aren’t sold in a retail store to put together a genuine, unique look that will have your friends asking where you got your outfit from. You can decide to tell them the truth or not.

I hope this helps you learn a little bit more about thrifting and inspires you to check out your local thrift store. If you wanna learn more about saving money, awesome healthy recipes, beauty and life hacks, and fitness tips, click on over to JustHaley.com. I also post on Instagram daily. Another big thanks to Molly for letting me express my love for thrifting on her site!

 

Best,

Haley Baker
justhaley.com

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Haley, I am so glad you agreed to guest blog for me!! I feel like I know everything about you, but this is something I didn’t know 🙂

I agree 100% though! I’ve mentioned on my blog that I don’t like spending money on clothes. I would so much rather do something than get something. This is probably why we always got along so well though…the fun of the hunt for 5 pieces of clothing under $15 sounds right up my alley.

Thank you again!!

To see more of this series check them out here:

Why I love Running, and you can too!
Why I love Yoga, and you can too!
Why Kylie loves Spinning, and you can too!
Why Jamie loves Celebrating, and you can too!
Why Christina loves Hosting, and you can too!
Why Julie loves Hiking, and you can too!
Why Randi loves Pittsburgh, and you can too!
Why Angie loves Self Care, and you can too!
Why Mattie loves Zumba, and you can too!
Why Katie loves Reading, and you can too!
Why Lindsay loves Hot Yoga, and you can too!
Why Emily loves Decorating, and you can too!
Why Tara loves Cooking, and you can too!
Why Erika loves Online Shopping, and you can too!
Why Lauren loves Traveling, and you can too!
Why Shelly loves Giving to Others, and you can too!
Why Alexandra loves Photography, and you can too!