It’s been raining nonstop since my graduation. Is the weather trying to tell me something? Maybe, but I’ve been too busy to notice. Although I have spent the last four years reading, writing, Facebook stalking, attending classes in my pajamas, and dancing on dirty frat house floors (all taxing activities in their own ways), I have to say – this past week has been incredibly busy and I’ve only been doing one thing: packing!

First, there was the great dorm room move-out adventure. After four years, I certainly compiled quite a handful of college collectibles such as princess tiaras, hot pink feather boas, and an unlimited number of Post-its in all shapes, sizes, and colors. This move-out consisted of me scrutinizing every little thing: “Am I really going to crack open this Literature Criticism and Theory book again?” and “Will this orange American Apparel dress look good outside of a strobe lighted dance floor?” Even though it was incredibly annoying and time-consuming to go through everything, I managed to clean up my entourage of trinkets and memorabilia (and I even managed to donate a lot to Goodwill!).

You know what happens after moving out though…You have to move in somewhere. So, I made the seven hour drive from Virginia to Georgia and moved into my mother’s new house. Did I mention she moved to a mountain in the middle of nowhere and lives off a dirt road now, instead of living just a short car ride away from metropolitan Atlanta? Oh yeah, but that’s a story for another day. Since my arrival, I have done nothing more than move my stuff in and, well, unpack those boxes I just spent hours taping up and carrying out. Read More »

We live in a world of disposable everything.  Cups, plastic bags, razors, boyfriends; you name it, you can find it in a disposable form.  And although this makes our lives terribly easy, it also makes our landfills terribly full.

By just being a tad more conscious of your recycling options, you can make a huge difference with relatively minimal effort.  Here are some common products that you can recycle right in your home town!

Batteries – These babies are full of heavy metals and toxins that are of special concern to soil and water contamination, so be sure to recycle them!  Keep a box in your room so once those batteries from your remote control (or any other battery powered “appliances”…) burn out you can send them in to be recycled.  Batteryrecycling.com has a good program where you can send in pretty much any commercial battery for recycling, or you can check out any local recycling centers in your area to see if they offer this service.

Laptops – I don’t know about you, but I have definitely made my way through computers.  My most recent, Doris, has a cracked screen and a dead battery.  Who in their right mind would want to take her off my hands?  Gazelle.com, that’s who.  They offer laptop recycling services and even offer payment for some laptop models!  If poor little Doris can have a $30 value, just imagine what your old laptop can fetch!

Clothes – As college girls, I’m sure we’ve all become familiar with the beauty that is Goodwill.  There is no better excuse for buying new clothes than donating the old ones to a good cause.  But what about those that are just too threadbare to donate?  Surprisingly, you can donate them anyways!   Goodwill and the Salvation Army send out these clothes to “rag sorters” which recycle the fabrics themselves.  Another good option for running shoes in particular is Recycled Runners, a company specializing in recycling and donation of running shoes.  Hit up their website for donation info and sights in your area. Read More »

I adore vintage stuff. Nothing makes me squeal quite like walking into a vintage boutique and running my hands along the delicate lace dresses and feather trimmed hats. The fact that all vintage shops have such adorably cleaver names just endear them to me more (Hello, Again Boutique? Another Man’s Treasure? *squeal!).

Sigh. Too bad they’re all too damn expensive to shop from. Ever since vintage became fashionable, the prices have skyrocketed. Eighty bucks for a blouse? That’s like, eighty times what it sold for in the seventies! When it comes down to it, I’m not willing to pay that much for a brand new shirt, let alone an old, used one. And don’t get me started on Goodwill – trust me, you don’t want to set foot into the one by me. Not only do they lack anything remotely cute, but the place is pretty gross, smells funny and houses some sketchy people. Ever get hit on by creepy homeless men while digging through a barrel of old nighties? No? Well you can take my word for it – it’s not fun.

Anyway, back to my point. In an act of sheer desperation born from an utter lack of cash, I went rifling through the only other place I knew that could possibly cater to my vintage needs: my 78 year old grandmother’s closet. Oh yeah, I went there… and to my surprise, I actually snagged some great finds! Read More »

As a girl on a budget, shopping (or more accurately: window shopping) can be painful. When even chain stores are too pricey (really Urban Outfitters? $110 for a shirt?), what’s a girl to do? Well, I always head straight to the sale racks for some of my best finds, like the $10 leather bag I got this weekend, but sometimes the most heavily discounted stuff is out of season, ill-fitting or just plain ugly.

The thrifty girl’s best friend is, well, the thrift store. While I can’t afford to drop hundreds of dollars on clothes each month, plenty of people can and do. And when these people get tired of their outfits, they sell them or give them away. That’s where we come in.

The first step to good thrifting is knowing your stores. Scope out your town or city and figure out where the good shops are. Most cities have a Salvation Army or Goodwill, as well as various consignment shops. Bigger cities and most college towns will have thrift or vintage stores (but keep in mind–vintage is often code word for EXPENSIVE!) If you find a shop you like, go there a lot, even if you don’t buy anything when you go. You’ll get a sense for when new clothes come in, so you can get to the good stuff first. Read More »

When I was younger, I ended up being friends with one of those perfect girls. Well, perfect in most senses….(she was a party girl, after all)….but she got the best grades. She was gorgeous. She excelled at every sport. Every guy wanted her. Every girl wanted to be her. And her clothes..GOD. I wanted her wardrobe. But my mom wasn’t about to take me to the mall for a shopping spree. No way.

So when this girl revealed to me once that she ACTUALLY got all of her clothes at The Goodwill; I was in total shock.

“Are you F*%king kidding me?!”

All of that time, I had been envious over clothes that I could most definitely afford, but wasn’t grabbing because I thought the only thing worse than buying my clothes at Wal-Mart would be to buy them at a thrift store.

How wrong I was.

She and I started going on adventures together to The Goodwill and everything in the universe started to harmonize all of the sudden. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t THAT life changing, but I certainly started to learn a thing or two about fashion.) Read More »