Thrifty Girl Goes Shopping

Ugh, you know this year has been a doozy. Being an extrovert, this created anxiety for me that was next level. Now I've had anxiety all my life. ( Like the ripe old age of 8) Never understood what it was and how to fully control it for many years. So when Covid popped it's ugly head into our world, so did my anxiety. I had to figure out how to bring it down to a minimum, but I didn't know how.

So let me give you a little backstory, 14 years ago, we purchased a house and throughout all of these years, we painted walls, ripped up flooring, you know basic stuff. But I would decorate with things I would purchase and not create or make. There was something missing. Our home was a home, but for me it wasn't a warm comforting home.

So fast forward to March 2020. We all will always remember that month and year. I had to start working from home(which I am so grateful that I have a Church that took care of all of it's staff during this season) I had an idea on how to plan my day at home, but of course I never looked or put it into force. I would spend HOURS at my desk, plugging away and working. Never taking a break. And it started to affect me. I needed to create healthy boundaries again. And since I was stuck at home, I started to walk around my house and thinking of all the things I wanted to re-do. So I came up with a plan.

When I was a young girl, I would remember getting up early on a Saturday and hitting all the Garage Sales with my Mom. It was fun and I always found something to buy. I've always liked Thrift Shopping because it reminded me of the days of Garage Sales, but I never had time to do so. This time around I made my Friday Day's off the day I would take just a couple hours of my morning and go to all my local thrift stores(as soon as they opened). This made my mind get off either a crazy work week or a crazy big project that I knew was coming up. As the months went on, I found myself loving this new tradition more and more. Now when I go, I have a pattern of what part of the store I hit first. And I always have a "Thrift Wish List". I don't know about you, but when I'm in a store, my mind goes blank as to what I need for the house. So I started a list.

As you can see, I love a good thrift day.

As I starting to do this more and more, I started to realize that I have some knack to this. And the most important part is that I saw my Anxiety slowly diminish and at the same time my home came into it's own style. A unique style that I love.

So it goes to show you, shopping is good for you! Just keep telling your husband that, or better yet, take him along. My husband loves to go with me. :)

Til next time..

Mary Ellen