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Being a Good Thrifter, and the Benefits of Thrifting with Ashley Harrison - Episode 46
52 Plays1 year ago
*CHECK BELOW FOR EPISODE RESOURCES*
Today, we had the pleasure of chatting with Ashley, she's a slow fashion advocate, fitness professional, and part-time de-influencer. She hopped on the show today to tell us all about her love for shopping recycled fashion, and to share the not-so-talked-about topic of fast fashion and consumerism. Ashley not only shared absolute facts about how WE as consumers hold lots of power that could shift the fashion industry, but she also gave us an absolute gold mine of tips and tricks to apply the next time you hit the thrift store. She taught us what to look for when shopping second hand, how to know if the item you have found is good quality, and also offered some wisdom in how much your mindset matters when shopping secondhand. We ALSO got to learn about the multiple avenues that exist when looking to buy used, beyond your typical thrift store. There is resource after resource in today's episode, so check down below for links to everything Ashley mentioned in the show today, and make sure you're following her journey to keep up on all things sustainable fashion.
Follow Ashley on Instagram - @guaranteed_blonde
Follow Ashely's fitness and personal training page - @ashtagsfitnesss
A couple other Sustainable Fashion accounts recommended by Ashley:
@pickedbypickles @secondhand.sustainability
Recycled Fashion Apps and Resources
Trashie - @trashie on instagram
Good on You - Ethical Shopping and Sustainable Brands https://goodonyou.eco/
Thread Up - Online Thrifting and Consignment - https://www.thredup.com/
Depop - Online Secondhand Shopping https://www.depop.com/
Poshmark - Online Secondhand Shopping - https://poshmark.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:00
Speaker
Okay, everyone, we are so excited for today's episode because we have to bring another guest on the show. We are so honored to have the sweet and passionate Ashley Harrison on the show today. Ashley is a longtime friend of Beth and I's she's also a personal trainer.
00:00:15
Speaker
And we talked about something that Beth and I actually love that Ashley's passionate about, but we haven't covered it on the show yet, which is the art of thrifting. Oh, yes. So over the years, Ashley has delved into pursuing resourcefulness and sustainability with her clothing and home items through thrifting.
00:00:32
Speaker
We got to chat with her today about her story, her love of recycling clothing, and even got some insider tips and tricks that you can use the next time you want to buy used clothing or goods. Believe me, she shared a ton of good information. We loved getting to chat with Ashley today, and we hope that you do too. So go ahead and keep listening. Welcome to the Art of Intention podcast with Beth and Ayla. Two best friends turned creative entrepreneurs.
00:00:55
Speaker
This is a place for us to discuss everything business, friendships, and faith, and occasionally more. We're so excited for today's episode. We think you're gonna love it. Stay tuned.
00:01:09
Speaker
Today we are talking with our sweet friend Ashley. We are going to be talking about all things thrifting. We're going to talk about a few things probably, but we're really excited to talk about thrifting and her passion for responsible shopping and eco-friendly fashion. We really enjoyed watching your thrifting journey over the years and just your journey in general, Ashley. And we want to hear all about your story, who you are, your passion for recycled fashion,
00:01:34
Speaker
And we want to leave our audience with some tangible advice and some fun things
Passion for Thrifting and Sustainability
00:01:39
Speaker
to learn. So we would also love to pick your brain about thrifting tips and tricks and just how to be a good thrifter in general. So we know this can apply to many things. It can apply to home goods, again, apply to like.
00:01:49
Speaker
fashion and just kind of whatever you want to share so we would love to just kick it off with some questions for you if that's okay yeah we always start it off with this is a time you can just tell us a bit about yourself and what you do so personal work related whatever as much or as little as you want to share who's Ashley hi I'm Ashley and
00:02:12
Speaker
I am a slow fashion advocate, community enthusiast, animal lover, runner, fitness professional, and a part-time D influencer. Like Beth and Ayla, I grew up in a similar tiny mountain town about 25 minutes outside of Yosemite National Park. I work as a fitness and aquatics coordinator running a diabetes and dementia prevention program.
00:02:37
Speaker
I try to spend my weekends getting outside as much as possible, whether that's farmer's markets, craft fairs, or hikes. That is so much. We always say we love doing multiple things all the time, so super fun. Yeah, and can relate to a lot of that for sure. Yeah, I really had to concisify it because that's not even worth it, but I didn't know what to put in there.
00:03:05
Speaker
Should I put fitness enthusiasts and also fitness instructor? Like, I don't know. We love it. All the things. Perfect. Yeah. I think it's good to know the more, like the more we know the better. We want everybody to know who we're talking with and we relate to you on so much of that. So it's nice to be able to talk with someone who's like minded in a lot of ways.
00:03:22
Speaker
Okay, so just to hop right into it, why not? We know one of your many passions is thrifting. Also, I think maybe it would be safe to say recycled fashion. So we're big thrifters as well. And we wanted to hear more about that from you. First off, what makes you so passionate about longer lasting fashion? And what inspires you to encourage others? Because you do that a lot. You really spend a lot of time encouraging other people and teaching and educating people about this. So what encourages you to do that?
00:03:51
Speaker
So when we talk about recycled fashion, we're talking about any avenue that gives more use to the products. So we're talking about getting involved with the community, whether it's stuff parties, clothing swaps, costume swaps. That means getting clothes or items free from a buy nothing group, selling gently used clothes online in any capacity, or just choosing to shop secondhand as a first option always.
00:04:20
Speaker
So the inspiration really comes from an entry to learn more about fashion and interior design and doing more on the right side of the climate and human rights crisis. I pride myself in sharing the gratitude that goes into mindful consumption and promoting single purchase instead of the single use that most people do.
00:04:45
Speaker
That's good single purchase instead of single use. That's awesome. That's a good way to think of that I don't know if I've really heard that phrase much before like put together. Yeah, that's good Yeah, I don't think I have either but I was just thinking about kind of
00:04:59
Speaker
the connection between the two and I was like well that's someone should make that a saying yeah it could be me it is now we'll make t-shirts right here right now you heard it here first there we go iron that on some on some tees I like what you said about how community focused it is too because I think when people hear thrifting you think of you know
00:05:19
Speaker
your trips to the thrift store, which I'm sure is a big part of it. But everything else you said about
Challenges and Community in Thrifting
00:05:24
Speaker
like exchange parties, swap parties, whatever, I guess I never really thought about that how it can be a community effort. And I'm sure a lot of people would really love that. Yeah, absolutely. They have like, they have these free stuff, it's almost like a thrift store for like your neighbor's stuff.
00:05:40
Speaker
in other states and I just wish that they had stuff like that here like that would be so cool to just go in the thrift store but it's not a thrift store everything's free and like you leave something and then your neighbors bring things like that's so cool yeah yeah that's really cool super unique I actually haven't heard much about those something that I feel like you could totally spearhead and I feel like you kind of maybe even
00:06:02
Speaker
You could get that going, I'm just saying, or I believe in you. But also, I love that you mentioned already, it's like two great tips you just gave about the swap parties with friends, which do you, so do you ever host those and get those going, or do you mostly join them when your friends are doing those?
00:06:19
Speaker
I mostly join them when my friends or like kind of like a friend of a friend in the community, I joined like Facebook groups. And then you're able to see those events for, you know, Facebook groups for thrifters. I mean, that's obviously a good thing to mention here. Right. Yes. But essentially, I actually move a lot. And therefore, I can't get my friends all in like one space. Right.
00:06:44
Speaker
Fair. So it has been hard for me to actually host one of my own, but I love to attend them and, you know, help plan and everything. So that's perfect. I love that. And yeah, it's nice for people who are listening to know, like there's so many different levels to it. Like if you don't, like don't get overwhelmed, if you can't host it, you can attend them. And also Facebook, Facebook groups are kind of like the untapped gold for some people. Like some people just don't know that that's a great resource to join and you have so many options. So love that.
00:07:11
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, I love the idea of like the free one that you said where you take something and leave something and just I don't know, because we have in our city, we have like the little libraries that are like take a book, leave a book, I've never participated in it. But they're all over our city. And something about that is so cute. I don't know. Yeah, it just seems cute. Like, it's free. It's people deciding to do it. And it just seems so. Yeah, that's probably how people lived at one point. No, absolutely. It's like time traveling.
00:07:41
Speaker
the format of libraries can really be like replicated in so many different ways like how you're talking about the leave a book uh take a book like they have those for like dog toys in some neighborhoods too like it's just so cool that is yeah yeah i love that i'm so curious about getting that rolling in neighborhoods and stuff i just be curious on how that yeah starts and how that like sustains itself i guess but
00:08:04
Speaker
I think that honestly, I think Facebook groups are a great place to start because then you can meet the like-minded people. And then I always feel like with someone else, you can do anything. Some people can do things by themselves. They're just like super good at doing things by themselves. But I don't know. I always like to have a partner to do it with or like a group. And so if you get your group settled and you find some people who have the same kind of idea, you guys can just do it together. And any of those things you want to do, it's possible.
00:08:31
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Having a friend, like just a little partner to do things with is so much fun. Like, you know, you can go to the thrift and you can make it fun by yourself having self time, but it really does like add that extra element to have another person there. Totally.
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah, well, let's shift a little bit real quick. Let's, let's talk about fast fashion, because I think we've said that word a few times. I'm sure everyone knows what we're talking about here. But Ashley, in your own words, would we say fast
Impact of Fast Fashion and Thrifting Benefits
00:08:59
Speaker
fashion? Like, how would you describe it? How would you say drifting kind of counter accent, and basically just any passion or drive you feel towards this topic?
00:09:09
Speaker
Tell us all about it and how you felt about it. Oh, fast fashion. What a fun topic. So a little a little history lesson, which I really didn't even know the capacity of the fashion industry before kind of going into this and learning all about it. The
00:09:28
Speaker
Brands used to only produce a certain amount of clothing lines per year, and in the past at least 10 years, it's maybe doubled, if not even tripled, the amount of clothing lines produced per year. It used to be the seasons, spring, fall, summer. I skipped a season anyways.
00:09:50
Speaker
uh winter winter we gotta we gotta get the winter but and then they would have micro lines like in between but now all these companies produce like something like 10 to 15 lines per year wow and it's just
00:10:07
Speaker
completely amplified compared to how it was 10 years ago. So fast fashion takes that those perspectives of the amount of lines produced and they essentially break the scale and they manipulate the consumer climate and they say okay let's just produce
00:10:28
Speaker
clothes all the time. So there's a constant production of cheap clothing and because it's priced for pennies on the dollar and produced so fast, other brands and especially small businesses simply cannot compete with that. For example, we have producers like Amazon doing dupes for viral clothing items.
00:10:49
Speaker
Yeah, quality clothing, it takes time. And it's really sad to see because there's no intention behind the pieces. I mean, think for example, like the three of us together, we consume and produce a lot of content like on social media, right?
00:11:07
Speaker
We see so much content just being put out there just for the heck of it. There's no intention behind it. It just gets put out into the stream just to put it out there. And it's just really sad because it takes all the amazing things about running a brand out of the equation completely.
00:11:25
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. So true. That's so crazy to think about. I actually I guess I kind of knew that about fashion lines, like you always hear about like their seasonal collection. But hearing you say that it's changed that much in the past 10 years, because I think I vividly remember, like, oh, the summer line and that those were the clothes.
00:11:43
Speaker
you had. And now it's like, I feel like for the longest time, I mean, like I'm not a big clothes shopper. Anyway, Beth and I are chatting about this. I'm like pretty, I don't know, I shop for other stuff, not the biggest clothes shopper. But I can't remember the last time I actually kept track of when stuff was released. It was like every time you go to the store, there's different stuff in there.
00:12:01
Speaker
Yeah, it's constant. Yeah, like you were saying, and then we've kind of been conditioned to expect always something new. And so it's kind of like we have a lot of societal deprogramming to fix and kind of like heal and kind of backwards again. Yeah, crazy. So going into the next part of the question, then when it comes to thrifting, like, how would you say thrifting kind of counteracts that culture of fast fashion that we've built for ourselves in terms of counteracting? Um,
00:12:31
Speaker
to thrift instead of buying fast fashion or buying firsthand of brands that you don't know full research on. By not telling the company to produce more of these items, you're making that statement. I do not support the exploitation of the human rights issue. And furthermore, we do not need more production in this manner. As consumers, we just have so much power and we just underestimate it a lot of the time.
00:13:00
Speaker
So you're saying when you go and buy used instead of new, you're basically saying like, we don't need the volume in which you're putting this out. We don't need exactly this much. Yeah, and we don't need to support whatever unethical practices they may or may not support either. But I'm curious, because I think when a lot of people think fast fashion, they also think of wish
00:13:20
Speaker
and TeamU and what's the other one I just had in mind? Like all of... Sheen? Sheen. Sheen. Sheen, the ones like that. And that's always what I think. So it's just kind of interesting that you mentioned that fashion in general just applies to like your general retail stores and then also without like the big monster of sites like that. Like, do you think those are just as harmful or not as big of a deal? Like what's your opinion on those outlets? Because I know there's definitely ethical problems with them, but I was wondering kind of what you know about them.
00:13:50
Speaker
I mean those are publicized to be like the worst ones in essence but we're not like deep in the research like how are we to really know that that's any any worse than the next one you know they all are monsters in themselves I would say and so it's just it's not really this is better this is a little bit less terrible
00:14:18
Speaker
Essentially, that's kind of what we're looking at because it's not to say that... Sorry, I lost my train of thought. No, sorry, that's okay. I did throw a surprise at you. I totally forgot that wish existed. So I was thinking about that. I didn't even know that was still around. But essentially, anyone who's producing that insane capacity of products
00:14:46
Speaker
at the rate that they are would be considered fast fashion. I think that answers your question. 100%. Yeah, that was perfect. And I like what you said too. I think I agree that they are publicized as like fast fashion, terrible, like unethical, whatever, which is all true, but it's interesting that doesn't mean that the big box stores aren't also guilty of that. I think that's probably unpack that for a while, but I'll move along.
00:15:11
Speaker
Yeah, I'll give you probably multiple things to put in the show notes over the course of the episode but there's this app called Good On You and you can actually look and see in terms of the fashion footprint that you're getting from the brand and it'll kind of rate it from
00:15:33
Speaker
not good um all the way up to this is great so that would be something to look at it's interesting totally yeah yeah and that way you can kind of answer the question on your own personal level of like which stores are quote unquote better than than the others um just yeah as you go not to like change the subject at all i think this kind of goes in with it
00:15:57
Speaker
When you're shopping for new clothing, like you personally, Ashley, how often would you say you thrift for it versus buying new? And I'm sure that when you buy new, you're buying from companies that you are seeing as more responsible. But if you can kind of give an idea of how often you're thrifting or buying secondhand, I would also throw thrifting in with any
Thrifting Habits and Creative Reuse
00:16:17
Speaker
secondhand versus buying new.
00:16:20
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, you know, kind of as you answered your question a little bit there, thrifting is obviously going to be my first course of action whenever I'm looking to get something new.
00:16:33
Speaker
you know, new to me, essentially. Yeah. So like if it's a household item, I'm probably going to ask my neighbors, like on the buy nothing group and see, like, Hey, do you have a knife sharpener? I'm just going to use that as an example, because I actually did get a knife sharpener recently.
00:16:51
Speaker
But you're just kind of thinking about the long-lasting effect of the product that you're going to get, and then it'll be more beneficial in turn for that. So I would, depending on the product, if I'm looking for maybe more formal wear, I'm going to look on thredUP. There's different apps for different
00:17:16
Speaker
occasions, essentially. So like, thredUP, I would look for more like formal clothes if I was looking for an interview or like a wedding, just in general, for maybe workout leggings. I'd go for Depop or Poshmark for more like
00:17:32
Speaker
specific things like maybe a Patagonia jacket. I'm going to go eBay and then Mercari is probably the best place to find home decor items if you're not getting them just like for the thrift. Like for example if you're looking for a certain item and you don't have any in your area like maybe you searched around and you just couldn't find it then I would go to Mercari and there's a lot of like home decor there as well. Awesome.
00:18:00
Speaker
That was fascinating as heck because I was going to actually ask Beth the same question, like we could all answer it about how often you thrift versus buy new. So I was thinking about it in my head and I was like, well, for clothing, I will usually try thrifting first. But other things that you mentioned, like home goods, like a nice sharpener, I would go to like the dollar store.
00:18:19
Speaker
or whatever. So it's just kind of interesting when you actually think about every single item in your life, and where you actually go, because it might be easy to be like, Oh, yeah, like I usually buy used, but actually, if I need it kind of right then and there, I don't. So thanks for those resources, too. We'll definitely be listing those.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think a lot of people would be happy to buy more things secondhand if they knew where to get them. Because I know for me, like when I was growing up, I was taught that thrifting is for like, you can thrift for whatever, but thrifting for decorations and thrifting for clothes is really where you find those things. But if you need something different in a different category, I wouldn't really have always known where to go for that.
00:18:53
Speaker
Yeah, when I was thinking about this question, I kind of thought about how like, the three of us all collectively do graphics at some point or other for like our business. And we're always gonna, you know, take some of the same steps to get
00:19:08
Speaker
to our our final like design but we're gonna have these different ideas of how we actually get to the final outcome and so really it's just about about like thinking about the inherent value of what you're getting and
00:19:27
Speaker
taking a different perspective on the way you're going to actually get to the purchase. Like say, you know, someone walks in a store and gets it, you did something similar as me going on an app and purchasing it, but it's just a different way of thinking.
00:19:44
Speaker
Right. Like it's not because that's an amazing point. Like some people might think that these more sustainable options are more effort. But it's just like you said, a different way of thinking it might be the exact same effort, but just a different avenue with a different outcome.
00:20:00
Speaker
Yeah, that's fascinating. That's super cool. Yeah, and I try to think of it as like building a habit. If it's something that you want to do to have a smaller carbon footprint, then building that habit might be one of your goals in terms of long term climate awareness, right?
00:20:20
Speaker
Yeah, like for any reason that you want to be pursuing this avenue, there's a lot of benefits to it. And I think it doesn't come naturally to a lot of people anymore. So it is going to be effort just in the habit at first. I think that overall, like Ayla you were saying, some people might think it's more effort to shop this way. It's not more effort to shop this way.
00:20:40
Speaker
It's more effort to maybe build that habit and unlearn the habits of like, oh, automatically I go on Amazon or automatically I go straight to Walmart or straight to Target or something. But yeah, at the end of it, once it's a habit, it'll be great. And you end up finding so many unique treasures and you have more options open too, I think by the end of it. Yeah, absolutely.
00:21:00
Speaker
Yeah like what you said about buying like possibly formal clothes like I whenever I need something new just like a t-shirt or jeans always thrift store first for sure but then I think I used to think for formal events I needed to buy that new but Chris and I actually challenged ourselves we went to a wedding last year and we were like we're gonna fully thrift our outfits like just for fun and it was just kind of like a fun date too and like try to put together and I think I ended up buying like three
00:21:26
Speaker
more formal outfits that I can use for multiple things and it was just like it was a challenge it was fun but then it also showed me that that's a completely possible and doable thing to do and it was fun too so just like little stuff like that I like doing that's awesome people don't realize how how much how much is actually out there
00:21:47
Speaker
If you want like a certain brand, like you can search, you know, maybe two or three of the app options and you're probably going to find exactly what you're looking for. And then you don't have to go out like searching in, in maybe like traditional stores or keywords are a amazing thing to be used for many different reasons.
00:22:08
Speaker
Exactly. Sometimes someone just needs to tell you it's an available option. Then you can figure that out. Okay. So I wanted to ask, cause this is something I love doing all the time and I wanted to ask Ashley, how often do you clean out your closet and like donate to thrift stores or maybe you collect things for like a swap? Do you have a process with that or is it just kind of random? Anything like that. Oh goodness. Collecting.
00:22:32
Speaker
I've done the whole having my own Depop and Poshmark and selling all the clothes. I really feel like I've lived so many lives when it comes to like thrifting and fashion.
00:22:47
Speaker
when you when I initially saw this question I was like when do I clean out my closet well it seems to be every time I move lately because I've just moved so many times in the past couple of years but I did do it at the beginning of this year so I think you know your reset is pretty good
00:23:03
Speaker
Um, I would say relatively like when seasons are changing. I like to do that. Like I have a whole like fall and winter outfit catalog that I kind of make for myself, which would be a cool content idea one of these days. But, um, I'm sure you would expect nothing less of that. Um, but I feel like.
00:23:25
Speaker
I've gotten better about trying to get things out of my drawers or find them in my closet when I'm like, I don't want this here anymore. Why do I keep putting it back? And for some things, it really is that I just haven't gotten a replacement for it. And so that goes into the whole
00:23:46
Speaker
trying to shop more sustainably and certain things just aren't the best to get from thrifts and we'll talk about that later. But it's really just like being open-minded when you look at your closet. I have something that will work great in a different way but like I just have to kind of
00:24:05
Speaker
kind of pull some outfits together and kind of see how it's gonna work differently than it did before like this is a really good trick from one of my friends sometimes you can turn like sweaters around and it completely changes the clothing item so
00:24:22
Speaker
That's pretty cool. Or like, you know, scarves, you can turn into scarves tops for going out. Like, you know, just like little things like that. Yep. That's super cool. Yeah. Like instead of ditching or just completely clearing out stuff that you don't use very often, see if you can kind of recycle it in your own closet and turn it into something else. If the material is still good and you may use it for something else, that might be a better first step than just going to ditching. And then, because then of course you have to replace. So not always, but sometimes.
00:24:51
Speaker
Yeah, and you did talk about donation. So I actually used something called a take back bag, which I don't know if you guys have if it's like hit your feet at all. It's by this company called trashy, which used to be four days. So I'm not really sure if they like change names or what's up with that. And we'll put that information about that as well. But they basically turn your old clothing into kind of like industrial things like car mats. What are they called?
00:25:22
Speaker
right the car mats in the car yeah and just you know simple little like fabric things like those so i i know that my clothes aren't destined for the landfill if they're getting to have a new life like that um it is 20 dollars like per bag so it really just depends how
00:25:45
Speaker
heavily you thrift or how heavily you clean out your closet and you're like getting rid of tons of things because obviously that would add up eventually. But for me, it works out because like you said, I'm taking these clothes to
00:25:59
Speaker
to swap sometimes to get rid of them. So I'm not necessarily getting rid of like tons and tons of clothes at one time. Right. That makes sense. That's cool. I hadn't heard of that before. No, that's super fascinating, actually. And it's just like another another good use to just like change it up from
00:26:17
Speaker
from constantly thrifting or like trying to donate and stuff just like another another way I feel like that you can help out and just participate in completing the cycle and and all of that no I have no clue that existed I'll have to look into that which especially because I I was gonna say that I probably do a closet purge
00:26:34
Speaker
Similar to you, like with seasons, I'd probably say every six months, usually the beginning of the year is a good time. And then usually sometimes halfway through the year, and it's with all our stuff, like we kind of just go closet by closet, and figure out like what's getting shoved the back of the closet, what's getting you know, shoved to the back of my drawers and then donate that. So I imagine if you did twice a year, 20 bucks, you know, probably doesn't
00:26:57
Speaker
doesn't hurt you too much. So it's like probably worth looking into. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, that's that's something that reminded me of something that I've seen. I've never done it myself. But I've seen people do it where they put if it's something in the back of their closet.
Thrifting Tips and Mindset
00:27:13
Speaker
They're not sure if they've worn it in a while.
00:27:16
Speaker
they put like a little sticky note like around the hanger with the date that they kind of put put it back up there on the hanger and so if you go back like six months from now and you're like okay why haven't I worn this can I wear this
00:27:31
Speaker
Like that type of thing. Interesting. I love that. Oh, that's great. Cause I feel like whenever I do my like purges or my clean outs, um, there are those items where my, when I can't decide, I'm like, Oh, I don't know. I feel like I never wear it, but I don't really think I'm ready to get rid of it yet. And then like the next time I go to clean out again, I can't remember how long I've had that and how many times I've said that. So that's a great, a great option. Yeah. Great idea. I should say.
00:27:55
Speaker
Yeah, it definitely is. I haven't I've yet to use it. But maybe maybe maybe now's the time. Yeah. Yeah. Well, for me, I just I don't know if you ever got way into the Marie Kondo lady and her like organizing series that was on Netflix. I totally watched that whole thing. And I got really into her file folding. And that's exactly how I file file how I fold my clothes to this day. And something I realized that kind of happens naturally with that is like so I have my shirts.
00:28:23
Speaker
all in a drawer and they're all like file folded. So I pick one out. When I put my laundry back, like when I wash it, fold it, put it all back, I put the stuff I've just worn in the front. So naturally, over time, there's back layer creates because like I rotate it through. So then this back section appears of stuff I haven't touched. And then usually during my purge, I'm like, I just grabbed that whole back section and toss it because it's
00:28:47
Speaker
unless it's something like dressy that would just be something dressy then you know usually I'll keep that around just in case for dressy so naturally and I do the same with my closet with hanging stuff the stuff I've worn goes towards the front and then whatever is switched to the back if it's not like for you know a funeral wedding something like that if it's just normal clothes that I haven't worn in six months to a year then just like I try to not overthink it and just like throw it in a bag and go so that's also something I've found helpful
00:29:13
Speaker
I like that. Really interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of a nice, easy way to do that automatically. Well, cool. Since we're sharing our tips, let's go into the next question. If you have any thrifting tips, Ashley, I kind of wrote this question imagining just thrift stores, but we can also talk about, you know, the swaps and everything. Like when you're out
00:29:35
Speaker
Shopping secondhand when you walk into a store or go to a swap or whatever Generally, what are you looking for and how can you tell that a certain items a good pick? Like what makes you look at something and go? Yes, I can take that home. So We're kind of looking at the big picture of when you walk into a thrift store you know most of the population is impatient and
00:29:59
Speaker
It's not our fault. We have gotten to this place where we just have a very short attention span. So when you walk into a thrift store, it's not set up like a general department store. We want to crash the perception of
00:30:18
Speaker
how a regular clothing store is supposed to look when we walk into a thrift store. So you're not going to have the trends like right there in front of you. It's not designed to market the trends to you. So we're used to using that mental energy to decide on the choices that are laid out for us, not to kind of search and uncover the trends or search and uncover what we're looking for.
00:30:46
Speaker
Yeah, right. So one of my big biggest tips is just to be open to possibilities. As you're looking at things, kind of, you know, don't, don't write things off immediately, kind of just be open, open minded with the whole experience. Because our society is so
00:31:09
Speaker
centered around convenience that going in there and actually taking the time to sort through things can sound like this big like monster. Another tip would be to avoid wish styling, which would be if you have like a general idea of your personal or home style to kind of stick to that to not
00:31:34
Speaker
Just imagine that you're this different person with this different style. Like, oh, I would love to have that when in reality you go back home and you're like, this does not match like my vibe at all. I don't know why I bought this. Oh my gosh. Wow. Yeah, no, keep going. That's cool. Another thing. Um, big, big thing for the thrift store is chaos is King. So like if you're looking around.
00:31:59
Speaker
And you see like some places where things are like out of place. That probably means that someone was interested in it and then they just ended up leaving it there. So it might just be a hidden gem that's like just weaseled in there. So I always kind of do a sweep of those things first where I'm like, why did they put this back? Like, do I want this? Like, does it match my vibe? Um, another thing.
00:32:24
Speaker
which I kind of already said would be like the patience. You're really gonna be the best experience and have access to the most amount of things. If you're actually willing to sit, look through your sizes and look through the bulk of what you're actually there to look for. Another thing is gauging quality of clothes. So you probably know and understand the feeling of
00:32:54
Speaker
like the recent recycled polyester that's gets used that's that's pretty made pretty cheaply. And obviously, like we had said, if you go in there and you see like a sheen piece of clothing, you're going to know that you don't really want to take that home because it's not going to be long lasting. Right, right. And there are I was going to say that there's this, I think, Instagram influencer
00:33:19
Speaker
that kind of goes and talks about not just vintage, but like when you're thrifting, like things to look for that would mean that the clothes are made in a better fashion. So I definitely will give that information to you as well so you can kind of link that maybe.
00:33:40
Speaker
Another thing is gravitating towards same things is something that I have a major issue with. And like, I want to avoid like duplicates of things because I will sometimes come home and realize that I've bought the same piece of clothing in a different color from the same brand. And I'm like, how did I let this happen? Like, I already have this in black.
00:34:07
Speaker
I didn't realize. That's me. I do the same thing. I'll buy clothes or items sometimes and Chad's like, don't you already have that? I'm like, no, it's different. And then I'm like, no. And I think to myself later, I'm like, you know what? That's way too similar. I don't need three versions of this. It's wasteful. Literally last week, Chris and I, we were on a thrift run and I picked out a short sleeve.
00:34:29
Speaker
black t-shirt with white stripes and I was like perfect and he was like you have two of those and I said I was like this is different though it's cut different I went home washed it put it on and it was it was the same thing and I was like oh because I I have such a limited color palette so I'm like playing black shirt excellent and it's like not too bad to have those basics around but that's a really excellent point is if you're just gravitating and having the same thing kind of defeats the purpose of
00:34:53
Speaker
long-lasting, multiple-use stuff. So keep going.
00:35:00
Speaker
I mean, maybe it'll work for you. Maybe, maybe you actually have another color to like add to your outfits. But I feel like a lot of the time, it's just like, well, I feel like I already have this. So like if I was gonna wear that with an outfit, I would have just worn the one that I already have. Oh my gosh. True. That's a good point. True. Another thing and probably one of the biggest things I would say is to have a plan.
00:35:26
Speaker
um are you going in there to search for treasure or is it like a regular store trip for you where you have like items that you're expecting to find um obviously you guys are aware that i write lists for everything um but this is this is a very important one like if you have too much of something already and you know you're going into the thrift store and you might be inclined to buy that
00:35:51
Speaker
Just kind of give yourself a mental like speech beforehand like no, we're not buying this today We're here for something else or even if we're going in there to just like search for whatever You still need to give yourself some parameters to not like for me ever since I started getting into plants I go in the thrift store and I see these things and I'm like, oh my god, this would make such a cute pot and
00:36:14
Speaker
And then my boyfriend's like, you need to put it back. You have so many pots already, but don't have plants in them. And I'm just like, but it's so cute. That's so funny. It's so hard, especially I think when you're thrifting.
00:36:29
Speaker
You kind of, because the common societal mindset is like going towards things that are more expensive, when you're thrifting, you feel good already that you're saving money, even so you feel like you can kind of buy more. That's just me. Yeah, so I'm definitely I have to be careful about keeping myself away from that habit. My family recently put a ban on me from buying more chairs.
00:36:51
Speaker
And I know that's so random, you guys, but I have a thing with chairs. I kind of love them. I don't know why. Like, I just I see a cute chair and I'm like, have to have it. Yes, is useful. Got it done. Take my money.
00:37:08
Speaker
Like right now in my living room, I have my couch and then I have two chairs. I don't use them. No one uses them. They're pretty. But so anyways, I had at one point, well, I shouldn't say this is terrible. I had like 60 chairs at one point and that's not an exaggeration. Here's the thing. Here's the thing, folks. They were in storage. They had a use. Ashley's laughing.
00:37:28
Speaker
They had a use. I actually was going to, like they were for an event, but sometimes, you know, when you're gathering something for a purpose, you get out of hand and it goes a little over and then you keep buying even after the event is over. So yes, I liked what you said, Ashley, about making sure you go in with a list and give yourself a pep talk and say, look, you don't, you don't get to buy more of this item right now. So hardcore relate.
00:37:54
Speaker
When Ashley was talking about buying new pots, I feel that because I'm a mug girl. I will buy a new mug. It cracked me up because I was going to say like, mugs are the things I always find. And then Beth, you were like, oh, mine. And I thought it was also going to be something small. But no, it was cheer.
00:38:10
Speaker
I'm sorry, I know it's so weird, but you ask anybody in my family, they're like, what is Beth not allowed to buy more of? They'll be like, chairs. And because all of them, every single person that has at one point or another had to help me drag 50, 60 chairs in and out of a basement, up and down a hill, in and out of cars, and they're sick of it. And I'm like, well, you know what though, if anybody ever needs chairs, guess who they're going to come running to? Me.
00:38:32
Speaker
Me. You're welcome. Oh my gosh. That's why they're also useless. They're also useless. They're not even all here. So it's a- Are they hidden somewhere? Are they hidden? They're all over the place. Everyone thinks they're like, oh Beth, she just has like 12 chairs. I'm like, no, I have 12 chairs at your house. Okay. I also have 12 chairs at other people's houses. All right. No, I'm just kidding. I'm being, I'm being silly now. We all, it's, I'm working on, it's fine. I haven't bought a new chair in like a year and a half. It's fine. Oh, that's gross.
00:39:03
Speaker
I'm doing great. Listen, chair is anonymous over here. We'll move on. We'll move on. No, I was gonna say, yeah, I was gonna say mugs is my thing. And I'll usually ask Chris, I'll pick one out and I'll be like, can I have this? Because nothing else he'll tell me like he won't say like no or yes or whatever.
00:39:23
Speaker
I beeline it for the mug section every time we head to a thrift store. I know where they are in all of them. And there's not always one I like, so I don't always pick it out. But if I see one, I'll ask him and then I try to skip like exactly like you Bethan growing, because I'll try to not go there every few visits and just not pick one out. But Chris has also said he's like, you don't collect a lot of things. That's your one like collection. So it's kind of okay. At our old apartments, we didn't have the space for it. And it started to become
00:39:51
Speaker
Like the mug cabinet was starting to become dicey, like when you opened it, but now we just moved recently and I have a whole cabinet for mugs. So room to grow. But yeah, it just sets me up. And back to Ashley's amazing point. That's a good one. If you know, there's things that you might just be like, Oh, I can just take this. Oh, I can just take this going in with some kind of plan. I'm sure is good idea. Yeah. On the, um, just, you know, finishing out that point, but leading into what you guys are talking about, it leads into my next point perfectly.
00:40:20
Speaker
Um, I, I do like to have like kind of caps for myself for like decor items. Yeah. Like maybe like three decor items per holiday. Like, you know, Valentine's day I have three, um, you know, sometimes Christmas can get out of hand, you know, obviously like the holidays, but for, for general, like holidays throughout, like.
00:40:42
Speaker
I don't have anything for St. Patrick's Day, but I have a couple little cute things for Easter, even though I don't even celebrate Easter, but I have them. Perfect. We love the little chickies, right? Yeah. But to my next point, have an actual place
00:41:03
Speaker
and the space to bring this item home, because a lot of times more stuff can equal more stress. And if it's just an imagined space, it's not actually an actual space that you have in your house. And so the likelihood it's going to actually go back to the thrift is probably pretty high. Oh, that's really good.
Favorite Thrift Finds
00:41:28
Speaker
Go back. That's crazy. That's really good. In terms of that as well,
00:41:32
Speaker
only hold positive space if something is useful or meaningful. And obviously there's going to be some exceptions to that, but that's kind of a good rule of thumb, especially if you gravitate towards getting a new mug maybe or a new decor item. I was just thinking about mugs because Alyssa said that.
00:41:55
Speaker
but that can really help you to really give it a place in your space the best way possible. Yeah. That's like a good minimalism discussion too. Is it going to have a purpose in your home or do you just think you need to have it? Yeah. Kind of those deeper questions before you just throw your money at something, ask yourself why you want it, if you need it, if you have a place for it, if you're going to use it, all of those are good. Good things to remember that it's easy to forget. Yeah. Because we're big minimalism.
00:42:24
Speaker
girls too. And like, it might not always look like that because I love decorating my house with like artwork and things and stuff. But minimalism in the sense of like, does it have a purpose in your home? Are you going to use it even if the purpose is to sit there and look nice? But is it still doing that? Well,
00:42:39
Speaker
Absolutely. I have, I have two more tips and I will not make them too crazy. I promise. I love it. So not falling for the deal effect would be my next trick up the sleeve. Because a lot of times you'll go into a thrift store and they have like a deal like maybe 40% off.
00:43:02
Speaker
50% off. And so you're searching around for like those sale items and you almost just will yourself to buy something just because it's like that sale item, right? And I have to remind myself like this isn't a gas station on a road trip where you have to buy something to use the bathroom. You probably don't need it. And so you could probably leave it, but you're like essentially over imagining or over hyping this item in your head just because it was a sale item.
00:43:32
Speaker
And so it has more like appeal to you. Wow. That was true. That was crazy. You really have to remind yourself or really have to ask yourself, would you still buy it if it was full price? Wow. And a great example of this is the Target $3 section, right? You go in there, it gets you every time. Well, it gets me every time. I don't know about you guys. Right. I love the whole section.
00:44:01
Speaker
immediately. I'm like, I don't know why I ever needed this, but like one time, and this isn't something I needed, but it was just a ridiculous thing I saw there, was a beauty blender cleaner. It was like a tiny little machine for your beauty bender to get clean, like a little washing machine. Like how crazy? Who needs that?
00:44:29
Speaker
But it's going to get you because you're like, well, if I ever do need it in the future, I'm probably not going to find it for this sheep. That's what happens to me. Well, and that seems like one of the internet sensation things too. Like if somebody does buy that and post about it, then even if you don't need it, everyone's going to be like, I want a beauty blender washer, the weird, like niche, but cute things. I feel like, yeah. And that just goes into the consumerism of like having more things that don't
00:44:58
Speaker
actually serve a purpose and you're like, why is this here? Yeah, well, exactly. Yeah, it was maybe an impulse. But my last my last point is knowing what brands to look for. I feel like this is a really good one. So I personally, I love anything made well. I think that, for the most part, Old Navy is a pretty good brand. But it's really going to be completely tailored to you. You can't
00:45:24
Speaker
This isn't like this isn't like a meal plan where I can give you exactly what I use and it's going to work perfectly for you. So my brands are going to be different than the brands you like. But just if you had like these brands previously.
00:45:41
Speaker
And these are brands that you stand by and they have a great fit for jeans, for example, or they have a great fit for tops for you. Like you can still purchase those brands and it doesn't even have to be at specifically a thrift store.
00:45:57
Speaker
you can take this for thrift tips like all across the internet and you can still shop for those brands so you can still use that mentality of knowledge that you've kind of created from your average like retail experience and then bring it into your thrift
00:46:17
Speaker
Yeah, I like that. Like if there's brands, you know, and stand behind. Like I'm a big Levi's person. If I see that anywhere, I'll usually be likely to get it and stuff. And that's kind of nice because I feel like sometimes when talking about thrifting, they can make name brands out to be a bad thing. Not all the time, but it's just like, Oh, no, if you still like it, and you find it, somebody else didn't like it as much, but you find it and know you can give it a good home and like a good
00:46:42
Speaker
lifespan, then completely okay to look for. Chris just got a Carhartt jacket at a thrift store the other day for like a really good price. We were so excited because he knows that's gonna last a long time, you know, he's going to use it. And yeah, saved money, like it's nice on our end. But then yeah, just like, that's one less in the production line, whatever, like it's, I guess it's like, yeah,
00:47:02
Speaker
you can still look for quality stuff like you don't just have to buy like the very overused maybe won't serve you as well just to feel better about yourself like newer nicer looking brands even when thrifting are a good sign and exactly
00:47:16
Speaker
Well, for too long, I know I even heard people kind of poo pooing on thrifting because they're like, oh, like they thought that everything there was like bad. I'm like, you do understand that it's just things that people give away. And if people are buying name brand stuff, then there's going to be name brand stuff in thrift stores. Or if people are, you know, buying from brands that you love and you're doing a swapping with them, you're going to be getting stuff that you love.
00:47:38
Speaker
So, I don't know how thrifting got such a bad rap for so many years. I feel like in my childhood growing up, people thought that thrifting was like, you're not going to get high quality stuff. And I was like, I'm more likely to find high quality stuff when I thrift than nowadays if I go to a random store. That's very true. Yeah, absolutely.
00:47:56
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like for Beth and I growing up and Ashley, maybe you can relate like our families were big thrifters. And sometimes that was like the end of a joke or some bullying of like all poor or whatever. And then it became so trendy. And we were like, thank you for that. But it's okay.
00:48:12
Speaker
if the more people are into it, that's fine. Because I think a lot of families did it out of necessity. And that was like, Oh, those are the poor kids. And then it became it became cool, but for good reason, like more people were just aware of everything you stated so far in this call, actually about about sustainability, finding quality items. Like it's good. Everyone knows that it's just I feel like that's new. Because when we were growing up, I don't think the mentality behind thrifting was like that.
00:48:36
Speaker
Oh, definitely not. Yeah. And I actually have kind of a fun question to kind of get people all excited about thrifting. Ashley, do you have any all-time favorite thrift or marketplace or swap finds? It can be fashion home items, really anything. But yeah, do you have any items from your years doing this that you just love and you feel like this was the deal of the century? So happy I found this. Anything like that?
00:49:02
Speaker
when i initially saw this question i had to look around and like be like confuzzled like where did i actually get any of this from because when you have this one man's trash another man's treasure mentality you just get gifted things or you get things from estate sales or like free off the marketplace
00:49:22
Speaker
So I had to kind of like do a scope of like what I actually thrifted and wasn't from those other categories. But I have some great things. And this is technically thrifting like, you know, as a broad statement, because a few of these are from Facebook Marketplace. So I have a color changing salt lamp.
00:49:44
Speaker
Oh my gosh, that is amazing. It just happened to be like down the street from me. And I was like, I have to have that. This is not an impulse purchase. I need this right now. And I still love it. I've had it for like two years now. Wow. I got an air fryer. So like appliances. And if you are searching for appliances, I would I wouldn't necessarily get them from the thrift store. I would go to maybe Facebook marketplace because a lot of times people just get a new air fryer and they get rid of their other one or
00:50:13
Speaker
any appliance and they're probably completely fine. They just wanted a new one, like kind of like the phones a lot of the time, not all the time. Plants I've gotten.
00:50:25
Speaker
I have this camouflage plant that I'm actually obsessed with and I got it off a cutting from Facebook Marketplace. Oh my gosh. I love that. From the actual thrift store, this is from the actual thrift store, I got this faux leather jacket that has a little rose, really cool rose on the back of it and I absolutely love that. I wear it going out so often.
00:50:50
Speaker
And then my last find I tried to not too many was my overalls that I found that were not in my size, unfortunately, but I still had to get them because I did have the shop at the time the depop shop. And so they have like these spongebob
00:51:10
Speaker
Um, flowers and you were painted by someone and they were just so amazing. And I was so sad that they did not fit me, but, but I, um, I, you know, I,
00:51:22
Speaker
hope that whoever got them, you know, really enjoyed them because they were just a gem. They really were. That's so sad when it's perfect, but it doesn't quite fit. But you're like, okay, whoever else gets in his spine, I guess. Yeah, that's the only downside of like thrifting again, saying thrifting in a broad sense.
00:51:40
Speaker
is that, of course, if you were to go to a department store where they have it in every size, you know you're going to get what you want. That's the only downside of this whole topic. But even then, you survive. And you know what? This has taught me to learn to sew a little bit more. So I will now, I'm open to finding, if I fall in love with something, it's a little bit too big for me. I just kind of look at it and I'm like, can I hem it? Can I make it a little smaller? And I've done that with some items. And it's worked out great.
00:52:08
Speaker
that is a really good skill to have it's definitely on my list of like things to learn next like the sock mending i just learned how to do that so that's very cool but beth can sew i mean that what a gem yeah so i i will all the lessons where they taught us that like in the church in the kid groups that we had at church there was a sewing portion and i was not having it i was like i would rather do anything else so there's no clue but chris somewhat knows how to sew so
00:52:35
Speaker
I'm not going to lie. Yeah, there you go. I'm not going to lie. You guys know how much I hate reading directions and instructions and I despise all of that stuff. Like I don't want to sit and learn. I wish I could just snap my fingers and know these things I want to know. So I don't.
00:52:50
Speaker
claim to know how to properly sew. I know how to put a needle through fabric with thread on it and try to make it look like it was not done at home. And I don't think I know any of the proper sewing techniques. I just know a couple of tricks I've seen or heard from people and I do it. So I know you're supposed to sew anything on the inside. So if I'm having something, I turn it inside out. So when you turn it right side out, you can't tell. So you would just laugh if you saw the actual sewing job on some of them.
00:53:18
Speaker
But look, it worked. I actually recently sewed a pair of pants to be a little bit smaller, and I'm so proud, because on the outside, you're like, whoa, what professional did this? If you look on the inside, this thing's coming apart in the washer sometime. I'm going to tell you that right now. But I'm proud. Oh my God. I love it. Okay, Ashley, one of my last questions for you then, that was all your finds, right?
00:53:43
Speaker
Okay, sweet. Cool, sweet. The last, I technically have two more questions, but my second to last one, I guess. Are there, you kind of mentioned, you kind of hinted that we were going to get to this point. Are there any items that you wouldn't buy from a thrift store and instead maybe recommend that people buy either new or like you said, marketplace? Yeah. What are those and why?
00:54:06
Speaker
Alright, so I feel like I'm always finding new things as I keep that mentality to just always thrift first before I do anything else. I do find certain things you just can't do secondhand because it just doesn't work. So I actually do need some new slippers because I've been wearing them aggressively and so they're
00:54:29
Speaker
they almost hit the ground at this point. So it's time for those, but that's not necessarily something that you can get from the thrift store. You can potentially search Facebook Marketplace, but that is something I probably would just buy new and stay tuned for the research because I have not
00:54:49
Speaker
I'll keep you updated, I promise. I'm not yet found where I'm going to get some slippers. Another thing would be bras or sports bras, but bras in general. That's not really something that
00:55:04
Speaker
you're going to want to get secondhand just because it's like right so close to your body. And then with the sports bras, there's the idea of like sweat for that. Just as a woman, we can all relate to this, but they do have like higher end thrift stores where you're going to get those new bras with still having the tags on them, which would be something you could look out for if they have that in your area or you could
00:55:33
Speaker
you could do it on Facebook Marketplace or one of the thrifting apps and you can find them still with the tags on. So that would be something that I would look for in the case that I'm not going to go out and buy a sports bra secondhand just because we don't necessarily know the life that it's lived or the bra secondhand either because there can be so many things.
00:56:00
Speaker
people, I would say when people don't take care of their things. Yeah, this this one absolutely pains me to say things that tend to stretch. So if you're looking at those leggings at the thrift store, yeah, they may not be the size that they say they are just because of the washes of the wares. That's not something that
00:56:29
Speaker
But I tend to buy secondhand just because of that aspect. Personally, I do a lot of running, and so I'll kind of teeter between two sizes most of the time. But when I'm in one size, I'm in one size fully, and so I need it to be the size that it says it is.
00:56:51
Speaker
oftentimes that is just not the case. And you heard it here first folks, first little trainer. I do have to have leggings pretty much every day for work. And so they do need to be the right size and comfortable. So what I do instead is I'll usually go on either Facebook Marketplace, you know, any of the thrifting apps.
00:57:14
Speaker
get Gymshark personally because it fits really well. Like I had mentioned already, Old Navy. And then I also really like Athleta. I think they just fit really true to size. And so I'll try and get a lot of times I'll be able to find like new with tags and you know there's there it's not directly from the store so they knock off about like 10-15 dollars. And that's another thing with thrifting like a lot of people don't understand
00:57:42
Speaker
You're not always going to get the hugest discount, but the quality is going to be immensely higher. So it really does make that a substantial choice. But I think a lot of people can see the price tag.
00:57:59
Speaker
Oh, that's pretty much the same price as I would buy it new. Well, true. It's just a different way of viewing things. Right. Yeah, and you're getting other benefits. You're not supporting buying it new and all that consumerism too. Absolutely. Another thing would be appliances and like hair tools. Those can be definitely hit or miss at the thrift store. And they don't have, depending on the thrift store, they don't have
00:58:27
Speaker
extensive ways of cleaning or rituals to clean everything. Especially with hair tools, it's kind of the same with the sports bras. You don't really know the processes that that has been through and the life it actually has left in it.
00:58:44
Speaker
So that's kind of something that I look for as well. But yeah, that's pretty much what I have on that specifically. I figured this could be kind of interactive. Did you have any things that you are curious about? Oh, I do actually. Thanks for asking. That's perfect. What I'm curious about, because I would love to be able to buy this stuff more, but I get a little nervous about buying
00:59:13
Speaker
general things with fabric, not clothes because those are easily cleaned, but like pillows.
00:59:20
Speaker
rugs, sometimes certain couches. We do have a couch we thrifted because we could tell the condition was good. But sometimes like I see really nice throw pillows and stuff, but not being able to clean that to the same extent as clothes, sometimes I get nervous about just anything with fabric. So like curtains, rugs, pillows are things I'll tend to stay away from. But I know they're probably fine. So I don't know if that's like something you have tidbits on or something you also practice.
00:59:46
Speaker
You know those videos where people deep clean their clothes in the bathtub? That's kind of what you have to do with those items. I'm kind of similar to you where I don't necessarily gravitate towards those because I don't want to spend all the work to
01:00:04
Speaker
give it like a double bath in the bathtub. But if it is something like extremely cool that I feel like is one of a kind that I don't want to walk away from, I will go through the process of that. I'm actually sitting on, me and my friend went to one of those Goodwill bins, which is they have just like bins and bins. I think you guys have probably heard of it.
01:00:29
Speaker
And we found matching sunflower blankets. And we were just so excited that there were two of them and they were so dirty. And we did, we learned this whole process. And, um, she actually used it recently again to get a pillow that she really liked. So, you know, it worked out, but I kind of stick with you where it is, it is a lot of work to get those types of things. If I was someone to turn a blanket into like a sweatshirt.
01:00:56
Speaker
then I would totally go out and get like a whole machine. That would be cool. That would be cool. I actually admire it. I'm sorry, I just had to do a lot of work. Oh, yeah.
01:01:05
Speaker
Yeah, it is. But if you love it, if you enjoy it too, I actually follow a couple of accounts on Instagram of a girl. There's a girl here on the island who actually goes and gets old towels from their stores and turns them into clothes. And they are the cutest outfits ever. She takes old beach towels and turns them into like shirts, shorts, hats, like matching sets. And they're actually really high quality and they're comfortable and they're great for like the beach and like post water, like getting out of the water. It's nice to have those to put on because you're basically putting on a towel.
01:01:34
Speaker
It's amazing. So I, yeah, I don't have the time or the skills to do that, but I also, that's the kind of business I want to support them too. Yeah. Chris's sister actually, just for his mom, for my brother-in-law for Christmas, got her a bag from a lady who makes, get this, she makes persons out of seat belts.
01:01:52
Speaker
Oh my gosh. I don't know how she sources as a seatbelt. It's like super random, but I would have to show you a picture to kind of describe it. There's other material obviously involved in making it a full bag with zippers and stuff, but the main outer material is seatbelts that she cleans, dies, and then she makes them into woven patterns and stuff. Oh my gosh. That's so crazy. I feel like it was a big thing in the early 2000s when kids were making
01:02:17
Speaker
wallets out of like tinfoil or gum wrappers or whatever and then it just seems like the growing up version of that like taking something that might be in a junkyard or trash or like towels like you said and then turning it into stuff with a ton of skill behind it there's there's no way that could ever be me but i appreciate it from afar and yeah and i think supporting those businesses is another really big underrated thing like you don't have to be the biggest hero of redoing and
01:02:42
Speaker
remaking stuff, but just knowing who is out there doing that and then supporting that I think is another thing that everyone can do. Absolutely. Well, cool. My very last, I think, I don't know, Beth, did you have anything else? No, that was perfect. I loved your question.
01:02:58
Speaker
My last question was Ashley. Again, sorry, this one's kind of a surprise, but hopefully it's an easy one. We always love to give space of where people can find you and follow your journey. So if there's any socials that you want to throw out there, your Instagram, if you're on TikTok, I know you have a fitness account, and then you're also big talking about sustainability and thrifting on your main account. Basically, just where can people find you and keep up with you and follow along with your journey?
01:03:23
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. I would love to have you there over on my pages. My main account as Ayla said is at guaranteed underscore blonde. And I'm actually doing a low buy year this year. So if that's something that interests you to have more information about, I will be posting content about that throughout the year.
01:03:45
Speaker
My TikTok, I believe, is at Guaranteed Blonde. I'm not sure if there's an underscore. Really, I'm not a TikToker, so sorry about that. Guaranteed Blonde. Here, let me look up. I could be totally wrong. The only reason that I care is because I'm going to do...
01:04:10
Speaker
more long form content over on TikTok. All right, you guys, the wait is up. So my TikTok is guaranteed underscore blonde as well. And you can find all this stuff attached to my main account. So if if I am saying anything too confusing, my fitness account, which I do for work, which is my personal training account, is at Ashtag's Fitness with three S's.
01:04:38
Speaker
And like I said, it's attached to my main account. So if you are at all interested in that, just go head over to my main account and you will have the links to everything. Perfect. Yeah. And we'll throw your Instagram in the show notes too. So everyone can just hop right over to there and check it out. Awesome. I just have like, I just have like two like closing thoughts, if that's okay. Oh, yes. Please. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So just, just some little reminders that overconsumption
01:05:07
Speaker
has reached the thrifted space as well. So having a home for, you want everything you buy to have a home in your wardrobe for a little while. If you cannot put at least three outfits together with this clothing item or outfit that you're buying, it would be best to put it back. And a reminder that
01:05:33
Speaker
Love is not found, it is built in the same way that you can't find your dream thrifted wardrobe in one day. It's gonna take some time. Oh, I love it. That was so good. We're getting fired to finish off with. Yay. Thank you so much, Ashley. This was so fun. So fun to hang out with you. Just so fun to hear about something you're so passionate about. And it was such a joy to have you here. Thank you so much.
01:05:56
Speaker
we really appreciate your wisdom and we appreciate that you're willing to share it with us and anybody listening so hopefully we'll be talking with you again soon but thank you for taking time today to be with us thank you so much for having me you guys