Every Second Hand Item I Bought in 2020!

If you read my recent blog post about How to Thrift Responsibly, then you would know that a huge focus of living a sustainable lifestyle is buying as many items as possible secondhand. Purchasing items used means you are giving it a second life and preventing it from ending up in a landfill. After swearing off fast fashion in 2019, I decided in 2020 I would start trying to find secondhand items before buying anything new, including furniture (with some exceptions). This slideshow below features all of the items I found secondhand this year and where I found them!

Second hand furniture

This year was the year I discovered Facebook Marketplace! It's an online selling feature as part of Facebook, similar to Craigslist. After we made the shift to working from home and moved into an apartment with more space, I needed a desk for myself. I was able to find one for free on Facebook Marketplace! It was originally white with lots of pen stains on it, so I bought some contact paper to give it a more fun and updated look!

Another great Facebook Marketplace find was our TV stand. They were giving this away for free as well. It was a little old so to liven it up we gave it a fresh coat of white paint and it works perfectly in our living room. 

The last piece I got from Facebook Marketplace was the white dresser, and yes it was also free. We got this because our bathroom didn't have any storage for towels and toilet paper, etc. We had to store everything in our basement or small bedroom closets. This fits perfectly in our office space, which is right off of the bathroom. We store our towels, bedding, and all bathroom supplies in here now. 

The wooden dresser we bought we got at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $30. These stores sell secondhand furniture.

We also bought our rug here for around $30 too, although it was brand new still in the plastic. I am still including the rug in this because the rugs were given to the store from Target because they didn't sell, so we were still buying something and saving it from a landfill.

Second Hand Clothing

I also bought tons of clothing this year secondhand! I went to Goodwill and found a great turtleneck, pair of jeans and a staple black belt when shopping for new clothes to wear to work.

At Plato's Closet I found a flannel by Madewell, some cute tan sneakers, jeans, and two turtlenecks. 

On Poshmark I found a retro style sweater and I got a pair of jeans from a secondhand boutique in Philly. 

I'm not sure if "stealing winter boots from your mom because she lives in Florida now" totally counts as secondhand but regardless I included them in the list because otherwise I would have had to buy new boots for the winter!

And lastly is my winter coat from the REI garage sale. This is a sale where REI resells any items that were returned to them and have been worn. They're sold very discounted but you must be an REI member to buy! 

I hope this post shows you that you can find what you are looking for and cute items secondhand, it may just take a little bit more effort than buying brand new. 

My goal for 2021 is to continue to buy as many things as possible secondhand that I can, and to not buy any more shoes this year. What are your goals for 2021 towards sustainability?