Not long ago, I stumbled across an amazing little video here, and it got me to thinking. It's called The Story of Stuff and it explains, in very simple terms with cartoon illustrations, how the world got broken, and how we might begin to fix it. This film, in combination with all the simple-green-frugal blogs I have been visiting lately, has me really questioning our tendency to buy brand new stuff hot off the assembly line.
There was a time when most everything I bought came from garage sales, flea markets, auctions, etc., and I made all of my own clothes to boot. And you know what? It made me really happy! I have never been a person who took any pride in buying something with a designer label from a hoity-toity store, but I love being able to reply to inquiries with "This dress? Oh, I just whipped it up from that Indian bedspread my husband had in college." And, I got oodles more satisfaction from spending an entire weekend refinishing the $50 draw-leaf oak table we nabbed at our first ever auction, than I later got from plopping down $1,000 to purchase one hot off the showroom floor. In fact, I wish I still had the original. It would be perfect for our porch. I love the old Bakelite flatware that I scavenged piece by piece way more than I like my fancy wedding silverware, and the day we stumbled across the perfect Jessica McClintock formal for Alexis at a resale shop - purple-black taffeta skirt with lace-up corset - when we happened to be dropping off an armload of unmemorable ones we had purchased at the department store, stands out as one of the highlights of her teen years. So why did I drift away from all that, and begin buying into the "new is better" agenda? I have no idea. All I know is, I sure am glad I'm beginning to wake up again. In fact, I'm thinking I may wander down to the thrift store later, to take a browse around.
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2 comments:
I prefer used treasures too! Go out and find all the good thrift, antique and junk stores so you can fill me when I move there!
Consider me a woman on a mission, Teri! Actually, I have a friend who has lived in Oatmeal (near Bertram) and taught in Burnet for years. Isn't that the area you are looking in? If so, you are in luck my friend, for Ann Price is the QUEEN of the antique/second hand universe! But you can still come over to my neck of the woods for Market Days - 500 vendors together in one location!
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