My Six-Week "Shopping Fast"

Because Mr FS and I limit ourselves to a single bag, we buy very little when we travel. This last trip, we bought NOTHING. Part of our mission was to arrive in Serbia with our single bag (which could be a carry-on) and each leave with a big suitcase full of Miss Em's stuff, mostly books and sketchbooks. Mission Accomplished.

Even though I only took a small carry-on, I STILL brought too much. Since we were on the road a lot, I looked at my single bag with horror. That made it easy not to shop: I wasn't even tempted.

Here's the thing though. I thought I would get home full of pent-up desire. 'Tis the season of sales and fall previews and catalogs. I also thought that Miss Em, in her early 20s and heretofore something of an over-accumulator of clothing, would be raring at the bit to shop. She went 9 months with almost no shopping (except for a few Eileen-Fisheresque linen tops she had made for her by a Muslim seamstress who usually only sews for women who wear the veil).  Oh yeah--she bought a few things at a thrift store in Novi Pazar, which is stocked with items sent from Germany and Switzerland and ordered a couple of items from American stores which were in her room when she got back.

When we got home last week, we were horrified by what was in our (smallish) closets. Miss Em promptly took charge, filling a big suitcase with donations, snapping a few pics and listing items on Tradesy, making a huge bag of goodies for the Buffalo Exchange, and giving me much of the stuff she had worn in Serbia, since she was totally sick of it.

We even took a trip to Goodwill (when we donated). After a few hugs for me from the employees, we looked around in a rather diffident fashion--and fled.

I don't know how long this lack of shopping desire will last, but I'm really enjoying it. In my younger days, whenever I tried to "diet," I thought of nothing but food and probably ate more. I thought that the same would result from my "shopping fast." We shall see.

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

In case anyone is wondering

I am back from a most amazing journey. Beginning in Brussels and Paris, then on to the Balkans: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia. I can hardly begin to process what I experienced there.

And--while overcoming the jet lag from a 30 hour return trip--I finished the final volume of Proust. That too has been a journey--more than a year of reading, more than 4000 pages.

Thanks for commenting on the posts that appeared in my absence. Much appreciated, though I could only respond in my head.

One of the places we visited...

Wisdom from Iceland

While I was cleaning up (sort of) in preparation for our trip, I came upon a postcard I picked up in the airport in Iceland. It was free (though food--except for children--was not included in the ticket cost. UGH).

There were a lot of different cards, but I picked the one with the frugal sentiment:

Everything is hay in hard times.


For more wisdom from Iceland, I recommend a wonderful book, which I would never had heard of had I not picked it up for a pittance at a book sale. Interestingly, in the introduction to the book, Brad Leithauser talks about how this is a masterpiece that most people have never heard of.

It IS a masterpiece. It is sometimes slow going, but the very end makes the journey worth it.

What's Goodwill Not Good For?

Any particular thing that you need pretty soon.

--A particular book you want (unless it's by John Grisham)
--Something your kid needs for school
--men's pants (good luck finding the right waist and inseam....plus style)
--jeans (plentiful but there are probably 300 pairs to go through)
--really high quality cookware (yet I've found Le Creuset and even 2 pieces of Allclad)
--outerwear when it's cold (easy in summer)
--Christmas sweaters around Christmas (easy in summer)
--valuable stuff (yet every now and then...I've never found anything valuable)
--travel gear, especially for men
--good shoes that one can wear (lots of high heels donated, however)

ETCETERA

Yet you will find the hard-to-find stuff  (not when you are looking) when you are there at the thrift anyway, looking for the things that are easy to find.

And even if you don't see an AllClad pan, the money you save on potholders will enable you to afford the desired object.

A Recipe to Use Your Cheese Rinds: Minestra di Pasta e Cicoria

That sounds better than pasta and greens, doesn't it? I was leafing (Freud1an slip--oops) through a favorite cookbook that has been languishing unused. There I came upon a recipe that is both simple, frugal, uses both my garden greens and the parmesan rinds I brought back from Chicago.

The book is Verdura, by Viana La Place. It features very simple recipes.  Like this one. I am too lazy to do the recipe exactly, but I'm sure Viana would agree, since this kind of cooking does not require precision.

--Wash and coarsely chop some greens (recipe calls for 1 large head endive or escarole. I call for kale and chard.)
--Saute 3 cloves garlic and pinch red pepper flakes in 3 TBS olive oil. Do this in soup pot.
--Add 4 cups of water and a little salt and bring to boil.
--Add greens. Stir. Cover.
--A bit later, throw in 1 cup tubetti pasta. (I use whatever I have.)
--Add 2 ounces pecorino romano ends, cut into small chunks. (Needless to say, I'm using my parmesan rinds).

Cook till pasta is done. Serve with grated romano.

Thrift Store Gods Send Me A Message

This is a companion piece to my as yet unwritten post: What's Goodwill NOT good for? The answer is anything very specific and/or anything you need right this second.  Also: men's pants.

We are about to go for a trip to Serbia, among other spots. There we will meet our dear daughter whom we haven't seen since September. When we started to pack, I realized once again that Mr FS has awful travel pants. Each year, I say "Let's get you nice pants. From a real store."

Then, Miss Em requested that Frugal Son, who will meet up with her earlier than we will, bring a set of Game of Thrones for the brother of someone who showed her incredible hospitality. Miss Em thinks I have magic powers. She said, "It's ok if they're used." I called all the used bookshops and checked Paperbackswap. Nada. Miss Em finally said to buy them new.

The rule of thrift shopping for needs is to WAIT. Time ran out and last week I ordered Game of Thrones. Poor Frugal Son will be shlepping 5 heavy books to Europe. What a guy.

Finally I--controller of the shopping--broke down and bought Mr FS two pairs of travel pants. Ex Officio from Sierra Trading Post (a good site to know about). They just arrived. Very nice!

Here we are a day before we leave. We have been cooped up for 5 days in heavy rain. I went to Goodwill. What do I find? A pair of Patagonia travel pants in Mr FS's size. Then, I went to the Food Bank thrift. There I find the complete paperback set of Game of Thrones.

The thrift store gods are sending me a message. What is the message?

What else is Goodwill good for? Clothing

With the money you save on the stuff that's easy to find (the things I discussed in my last post on the topic: things that few people want because they have them), you can buy clothing, which in many cases is the easiest to find.


Clothing for babies and children! So easy!

Before I continue with this rumination, I should mention that, while my current Goodwill is just excellent, it was not always so. When I moved here, I would go with hope to the Goodwill downtown and emerge with...nothing.  I couldn't even find anything for my children. Then the population in the next town grew, bringing with it lots of upper-middle class people and strip malls. Before strip-malls-in-next-town, I went (when I could) to "Bloomingdeals," where I could find the all-cotton clothing I craved for my little ones. Post-Katrina, Bloomingdeals (run by Junior League) has become rather pitiful in selection. And my Goodwill has too much good stuff. Moral: thrifters must be flexible.

Back to baby clothes. Easy! Many people give clothing as gifts and much is outgrown before the receipt of the gift. Seriously. I had big babies.

Kids: less easy, especially boys, but it can be done. The key is to anticipate your needs. You WILL find a nice winter jacket in the summer. You will NOT find a nice winter jacket in the fall or winter. Amy D of Tightwad Gazette fame had clothing stored by size in her attic. And she had 6 kids. She was extremely neat. I can't imagine how I would store such bounty.

Adult Clothing: Other than shirts, men's is close to impossible. So I don't try very hard for my two guys.

Women's clothing: an embarrassment of riches. Miss Em and I used to be excited to find Ann Taylor Loft and Banana Republic. No more. Miss Em used to be thrilled to find Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Now even Anthropologie is rejected at times. Forget Urban O.

Now we hunt for Eileen Fisher. That's been a challenge, but we find about 10 pieces a year. Miss Em and I discovered that  we can wear pretty much any size, which makes things easier. We also like the rich-lady chic of Carlisle. We have good luck with these brands because EF doesn't have much hanger appeal (and we often find items with tags cut out, but which can nonetheless be identified by the tiny RN# inside). Carlisle isn't very well-known (outside of the rich ladies that buy it at home parties held by other rich people), so there's not much competition for it. Oh, and, of course, cashmere. We've become very picky about quality because there's so much.

Is it worth going to thrifts to find 10 pieces of EF a year? No. But you're getting them while you are at the thrift anyway, getting the easy-to-find stuff for you and your loved ones. That's really what Goodwill** is good for.

**By Goodwill, I mean any thrift store. Mine just happens to be Goodwill.

Pic below from past Carlisle Collection. I have a similar jacket. I love it!