Thrifting 101: Not Being Afraid of Germs/Stains/Used things

I get it.

A lot of people worry about where something came from and who owned it last. If the item came from a pet free/smoke free home. These are valid concerns, but I also think that some people get hung up on this idea. They cant get past the fact that an item isn’t new and therefore isn’t clean.

Here’s something that might disgust you: stop and think about how may hands touched a NEW piece of clothing. There are the fabric manufacturers, the people who packed the fabric, the people who unpacked the fabric, the people who made the garment, the people who packed the garment, the people who unpacked the garment, the people who put the garment out on the rack, all the people who browsed the rack, all the people who tried on the garment, and then you. Not to mention, it’s not likely that anyone along the way washed the garment, so theres a good chance there are still residual chemicals and dyes on the fabric from manufacturing.

So in reality, buying something second hand, isn’t any more gross than buying something new. Wether you buy something new or used, you should probably wash it first. This is just good practice.

Sometimes when buying used, there are stains on an item. I think you can get almost any stain out of something using various stain remover products on the market or more eco friendly options like baking soda and vinegar. Its happened to me that I’ve gotten something home and realized it had a stain, but I’ve never met a stain I couldn’t get out. I once got blood out of a wedding dress, I’m just sayin.

Now, of course, this only applies to clothing. There are legitimate concerns of insects/germs/stains on things like rugs and furniture. Next week I’ll talk about what you shouldn’t buy at thrift stores, and also what you can do about insects and stains if you find yourself in a situation where you love the item, but aren’t sure about its history.