All Used Up

In all fairness, the second tape is always the first to wear out.

On our first trip to the Goodwill, to just buy jeans, we stumbled on to something interesting about our society and its view of entertainment.  The idea that you have to “have it now” and you be one of the first.  Although I see this mind-set as being rather important when it comes to an OUTBREAK-like vaccination shot, I wonder just how important it is when it comes to mass-produced items whose soul purpose is for entertainment.

"What? There's a movie. Well I guess I won't be needing this anymore."

Perusing the books, DVDs, and music sections of our local Goodwill, I found multiple copies of single titles.  Something that could only be explained by the mad rush to be the first one to purchase an item that factories can pump out more than enough copies of.  I know that there is a fanaticism to it and also the need to read or watch an item of fiction before that surprise twist makes its way on to the internet.  Amazon  and eBay seem perfect for this sort of shopping, and the turn around is incredibly rapid, some items can be picked up used for a fraction of the price in little more than a week.

My reading selection could be seriously hindered by this experiment.

Looking over the selection I saw just how much popular media seems to always find it’s way back to the shelves.

A first edition book club printing of a classic, 99 cents.

Using  patience and restraint seems to yield the same results.  Of course, this can’t work for everyone, I mean someone has to buy it new, get bored with it, and then get rid of it.

Dave finds a movie he's been searching for.

We had made it a few days without making any new purchases when our first misfortune struck. While doing laundry, I accidentally split bleach on my jeans. Usually I would say “eh, I’ll wear them with the bleach stain”. But these had been the nice jeans I wear to work. While my professional job doesn’t really have a dress code, I would be a bit embarrassed to show up in stained jeans. I guess I should get a new pair.

Our haul (Before trying everything on)

Jeans are a tricky thing. Most females I know have spent years finding a set brand/style of jeans that they feel is the best fit for them. Since years ago in grad school when I concluded I could no longer wear the low cut jeans that show off my no-longer as firm belly, I have been wearing Banana Republic Classic fit jeans. For some reason, this cut fits me well and is loose and tight in all the right places. I was tempted just to hop on eBay and immediately look for Banana Republic Classic Fit jeans there were used, but, as per our rules of this experiment, I decided to hit some of our local thrift shops first. My husband and I headed to the local Salvation Army. I warned him ahead of time this one could take a while. I knew my size and cut so well with Banana Republic, and I had no idea where to begin with other brands.

All the jeans were just thrown onto several very large racks, with no division by size. Groan! It took forever to look through them all. I was pretty amused by the large variety of brands though. I found everything from Wal-Mart brand and Old Navy all the way to a pair of True Religion jeans (not in my size unfortunately). So I started trying on. I headed to the dressing room with a cart filled to the brim with jeans. I had no idea where to begin. I soon learned that sizes mean nothing. While I had long been a 6 in Banana Republic, I discovered I was an 8 in Ann Taylor and a 10 in Lee. What the hell? I also discovered that though I look at jeans as a permanent staple of fashion, the style of jeans have changed a great deal throughout the decades, and all decades were shoved onto these racks. I tried on plenty of 80′s jeans with harsh acid washes and zippers at the base. I tried some totally 90′s jeans that had extreme boot cut and rhinestones adorning the pockets.

Two bags for under $100

My last big discovery of used jean shopping was regarding the time frame. I shopped for used jeans in mid November. Over 50% of what I found on the racks were cropped style jeans obviously donated just after summer ended. But I did find a lot of cropped (Capri) jeans that fit well. So this winter I’m allowing the used jean shopping trip to dictate my fashion sense. I think I can wear a pair of cropped jeans with boots and still have it look cute; a nice fashion statement that reflects the limited stock of full-length used jeans.

Now for the upside of the trip, usually I would pay around $90 a pair for Banana Republic jeans. Plus I would usually get two pairs at a time in different color shades. So regularly I could spend about $200 just to get two pairs of jeans. I saved a bundle by getting them at the Goodwill, but it did take me over an hour to find a few pairs, as opposed to just walking in a Banana Republic and being done in five minutes.

So, in conclusion-

Need: a pair of jeans for work

Purchase: 1 pair of Ann Taylor loft jeans, 1 pair of Levi 505 cropped jeans, 1 pair of GAP cropped jeans

Went for jeans came back with a few extra items

Total cost- $4.99 a pair, roughly $15 total

My husband and I came up with this idea several months ago but were not really sure just how difficult it would be.  I mean it sounds simple when you think about it. There are plenty of options out there if you’re just looking to purchase reused items.  We both wondered if this would really be a challenge at all

We spent the next several months tallying up how many things we purchase that are new “off the rack” items.  We were both surprised at just how many times we would find ourselves running out for a quick shopping fix.  For instance, my hair dryer broke, I immediately ran down to the corner drug store (with still wet hair) and purchased a new one.  This would be far more challenging if this convenience were to be eliminated, and I was forced to find a used hairdryer.  What would the process be then?  Go next door and borrow one for now until the day I’m lucky enough to find a working one at the Goodwill?  Make walking down to the restaurant on the corner with the automatic hand dryer part of my daily routine? Just learned to let me hair air dry? But it seems that the majority of our new purchases are done for the convenience factor. Our ironing board breaks, the coffee maker dies, or I just really want the latest style of shoes. To save time and hassle, we immediately run out and buy these items new. But what happens when we are forced to find them used. Do we save money? Do we lose huge chunks of time?

There are so many things we take for granted in our disposable society.  That is why my husband and I are going to see just how easy it is to spend one full year not giving in  to our quick-fix buy-it-now and new urges.