Remember that episode from Arrested Development?
Tobias: Okay, Lindsay, are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over— an analyst and a therapist. The world’s first analrapist. (uh-NAHL-ruh-pist)
Lindsay: Yes, and you were almost arrested for those business cards.
Tobias: Yes. No, it did not look good on paper but I didn’t stop because of the police inquiries, I stopped to raise our little daughter.
Seeing that I’m from Washington state and descend from a long line of past and present loggers–Valentine Logging etc.–I am by no means an environmentalist. I love trees and I love them even more when they’ve been made into something delightful like a super lovely armoire (arm-WAHR according to the internet).
However, after spending a few years in a place where new furniture is expensive and old European pieces are frequently cheaper and cooler, I’ve mostly stopped buying things new.
I’m also impressively cheap.
But this morning I realized that the reason I chase all over town sifting through Goodwills for all my bedskirt/lamp/organizational needs isn’t really because I’m cheap. It’s something much deeper, a depth that I didn’t actually know I possessed. I have dug into a personal level of earthy appreciation that has bloomed into a desire to save the planet one repurposed lunch box at a time.
I’m a repurpose environmentalist–a repurmentalist. I can’t stand to buy new stuff anymore.
Maybe I’m just preparing myself for the Zombie takeover when Walmart will be nothing but a pillaged husk and locked filing cabinets will be used to hoard chocolate chips, not insurance statements. Whatever the reason it is working well for me.
In the past two weeks I have purchased:
6 beautiful mustard panels of Pottery Barn curtains in perfect condition…$4.99 a panel plus 25% off for Military Monday.
6 yards of fabric for the girl’s curtains…$3.99 for the whole ream, enough for 2 long curtains and part of a quilt top for Georgia.
Curtains for Rex’s room, bedskirts in perfect shape $2 a piece, a shower curtain that has never been used $1.99 (kid’s bath, don’t freak out) plus drawer and cupboard organizers for 99 cents a piece, etc.
And the best part? I actually feel like a good citizen, a good repurmentalist. Today I picked up an old dresser for Harry’s room for $50 and I plan to Chalk Paint it (homemade chalk paint, under $15) and end up with a super chic dresser for under $100.
To all my fellow repurmentalists out there, you’re not just cheap. You’re saving the planet and our land fills one gently used piece of previously loved junk at a time. Good on ya.