I know that this question has been posed a thousand times. But I everyone has different and very cool reasons. I come from a long line of DIY-ers :) Do it yourself is sort of stamped in my genes. I have 2 sisters who are amazing DIY-ers. We all like to explore new ways of doing things. We dream in DIY LOL :) In this case I want to focus a bit on charities like the Goodwill, Salvation Army, Saint Vincent de paul, and other stores that collect goods for the purpose of funding other good work in the community. I am a big supporter of agencies like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross (though the Red Cross does not have a thrift store). Even when I was young we'd always try to donate to the campaigns of the charity organizations in our community. My parents taught us that it truly was better to give than to receive. When my husband began working with inmates from our local jail we found that these community based agencies were our partners. They supported lovingly and freely the work my husband was trying to accomplish. That is how I first got introduced to the full scope of the work of our Salvation Army store in particular. We learned that we could buy from the Salvation Army and every single penny went right back to the work that the SA was doing in our area. So we began to buy clothes, books, DVD's, even craft supplies. The best part of it all was that when we had collected all of our great purchases of craft items we could make the items and then donate the finished project back to the thrift stores where we bought the items in the first place! As people purchased our handmades or repurposed items the cycle of giving would keep going. My favorite thing to do is to look for crocheting/knitting/craft books. Like the book in the picture below. I've used this book many times and it cost $1.29! :) So how can YOU keep this cycle of giving going? First you can start at this site: http://www.thethriftshopper.com/ Its great for finding just the right place to spend your money so that you support causes that are close to your heart.
Second decide what you want to give. I do enjoy perfecting the art of knitting and crocheting but I also enjoy other crafts. I learned counted cross stitch before I learned to knit or crochet. Try these sites for some amazing ideas. You're sure to find something you can do to give back to the thrift shops that give so much back to our communities: http://www.diysmartly.com/, http://thewhoot.com.au/whoot-news/diy, http://www.diyncrafts.com/, http://www.diyinspired.com/, http://craft-chic.com/ and don't forget to mine https://archive.org for great craft instructions. Just because your favorite craft site went dark doesn't mean it's gone. Archive is a treasure trove of great books, and websites. This notion of giving back through thrift stores has become such an important part of who we are as a family. I hope you'll take advantage of the great prices and wonderful items you can repurpose. They are generally staffed by dedicated volunteers. So don't forget to say thank you to them while you are shopping. Most of all HAVE FUN!
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