Your Home is Not With Me

Picture this... It's 2am and you've had a few drinks. You're wandering back home under the streetlights, when you hear a menacing sound in the distance... "Byyyyyyyaaaaahhhh!" someone wails, jumping out at you wearing this bird face hood. "Give me your cash, and no one gets hurt!"



I'd be straight spooked. Luckily, I encountered this funny sweater with my best friend instead. She threw it over her head and made this fantastic face, screeching at me like a pissed off pigeon.

Charlie 3x is my favorite person to thrift shop with. I've been trying to onboard her to Hive for months, but she is highly resistant to the idea. "Come on brotherrrrr... I made a thrifting community!!" I plead, but her heart is stone. BYAHummer.

Last time we shopped together, we found a lot of things that made us giggle, including this pretentious sweater. Or maybe we just make each other laugh, it's hard to say. Does the strange assertion of being the "original penguin" make anyone else cackle?!

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We ended up not finding anything we wanted that day, but that's really not the point to us anyhow. The thrill is all in the chuckles and trying on bizarre outfits.

 Today I went back to the same shop to pick my daughter up "new" shoes. I found some items whose home was absolutely not with me, but also some that did make the cut.

As soon as we got to the shoe isle, these bad boys caught my eye.

Now these are the kind of shoes you buy when mowing your lawn is a lifestyle. When everyone in the neighborhood knows you make a killer burger. These scream "I have a 401k and your opinion of me is useless!" sheer swag. I lack the gumption, but these are someone's treasure.

I knew it was going to be an amusing trip as soon as we walked in, because of this couch.

No Excessive Sitting 😂

It took a moment for me to recover from the idea of someone struggling to find professional words for "You can't just sit here." and landing on this.

A Seinfeld like skit unfolded in my mind, planting a stubborn shopper firmly on the tan pillows. "How am I supposed to know if I want it, if I can't lay down on it for awhile?!" Some George-esque character yells out in my head.

Suddenly I'm laughing too loud as I walk away, and a woman gives me a concerned side-eye. Insanity and happiness are mighty identical, I don't think too much on which I am.


While there, I also wanted to find some new leggings. As a stay-at-home mom, there are few days that call for me to put on real pants in the winter and early spring. I live in Northern Ohio, so our winters aren't terrible. It will still easily be two months before the weather is nice though.

As I looked through the rack, my daughter Thea climbed into it. I remember how cool that was as a small kid, being in the garment rack world... It's the rare but much coveted fort of bored kids, a refuge in the monotony of shopping.

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It was nice to remember some of my own adventures in clothing racks as I browsed, Thea popping out randomly at me as I went.

When she saw these horse leggings, she insisted that I buy them. I think they were too big, but I humored her by putting them on the cart handle. Luckily, she promptly forgot about them, and had no gripes when I put them back later on.

I did find 4 pairs of basically new leggings for roughly 8$, which is a great price here.


Although I don't own a single record, or even a CD anymore for that matter, this sleek sucker caught my eye next.

I've always enjoyed items that combined the modern with the retro... As I looked at this and thought of how it was one such item, life smacked me in the forehead. I was forced to admit to myself that this is now just a retro item.

Still, what a fun combo to have housed in such a classic piece! At 58$, I have a feeling that someone will be really excited when they find this.

It just wasn't this gal.

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I went on and picked out some baskets for easter this year. I always try to find really nice ones in thrift stores, then I have them on hand for gifts later on.

This is a prime example of how my spending habits fall in line with my minimalist mindset. When buying secondhand goods that are multipurposed, I achieve a trifecta. Saving money while reducing waste is great, and all the better when it simplifies things!

Not to mention, who doesn't like a gift basket of useful/ edible items?



No trip to the thrift store would be complete without letting the kids explore the toy section!

My son Emory is fairly tall for a 2-year-old, standing at just under 3 feet. Considering how massive this dollhouse is, and its wicked cool lever operated elevator, it was a tempting buy for 20$.

I have this totally unrealistic fantasy that I will start refurbishing items to resell. Whenever I see someone monetizing upcycling, I'm always mystified by what a cool side hustle meets hobby it is. In my mind, I see a few hours of work making this dollhouse worth 50-60$. Do I have a few hours to fix up a dollhouse though? I sure do not.

Thea's blurred face in the background expresses my average energy level on any given day lately. Perhaps I will take up refurbishing furniture when my son sleeps through the night, heh. After the kids had their fill of investigating the toys, we gathered our items and headed out.

We got three full bags of clothing and shoes for 44$, which is a fraction of what we'd have spent otherwise. Another successful trip in the books! 😎

^{All photos are my own}
Are you a fan of secondhand finds? From thrift shopping, to garage sales and beyond, all types of finds are welcome in our new community! We're running a contest for the next month with a prize pool of 80 Hive! You can check out all the details here. Hope to see you there!