I fancy myself a socially conscious citizen of the world. I don’t take a straw at restaurants, I recycle and compost, and I avoid overly packaged food and bottled water. Most of my clothes come from consignment or thrift stores – a fact I am very proud of.

Truth is, I love thrifting. It hits all of my pleasure centers. I see people from all kinds of cultures and walks of life at my thrift stores, and I believe I am helping those less fortunate.

The Thrill

I love the thrill of the hunt and feel super clever (dare I say “smug”?) when I find incredible deals on high-quality items, some with the tags still on. Yes, it takes effort, but we all know how intermittent reinforcement is the strongest kind.

It’s probably how some people feel about gambling. You know you are not going to find a great piece every time, but when you do, you get a big dopamine hit.

It also feels like a way of beating the system and finding a work-around to throw-away fashion and consumerism which is the source of a lot of our planet’s problems. It’s a win-win; I love the hunt, and it feels good to contribute.

From Trash to Treasure

Just remember, one lady’s trash is another lady’s treasure. Thrift stores, charity, vintage or op shops, flea markets and yard sales are great places to go accessory hunting. In many cases, you’ll also be supporting a good cause

My Sister Recyclers

Professionally, I’ve sought out Podcast guests who are passionate about addressing waste and excess. Pat Smith, a.k.a., “Action Nan,” is the grandmother I interviewed from Cornwall, England, who has devoted her life to cleaning up the plastic waste from her country’s beaches.

Jo Moseley, another British guest, traveled across the UK channel system on her paddleboard – picking up trash. I loved speaking with these women and hearing their passion and conviction. I feel a sisterhood with them and their noble causes.

Bad News

But I have come across some “inconvenient truths” that are challenging my belief that I am treading lightly on the earth. The initial blow was an article on Salon, entitled, “Humanity can’t recycle its way out of consumption problems.”

The article talked about our attitude in the US and how our consumption habits are choking our planet with trash. We want what we want. We feel unconsciously entitled to accumulate more stuff. Our planet is our trash can.

At this point, we’re really not prepared to significantly shift our habits, at least in our country, in order to make the necessary changes to decrease the steady flow of waste. Dunkin Donuts’ new campaign of decreasing one-time use plastic straws is charming, but nowhere near enough.

Would they be willing to give a significant discount if you brought your own cup? How much inconvenience are we up for? It’s hard to get really honest about this.

It Got Worse

As I pondered the information that my recycling wasn’t going to help the trash problem significantly, the news got even worse. Adam Minter’s book Secondhand was a real blow to my identity as a thrifting champ.

Minter followed the lifespan of donations to the Goodwill all the way to the developing countries where much of the items were set on fire. That’s right. They burned the clothes sent over from our thrift stores. Turns out, nobody needs that many t-shirts.

Listen to my interview with Adam Minter. I was honored that he agreed to be on the Zestful Aging Podcast.

He Ruined It for Me

Minter’s exposé of the thrift industry is hard for me to ignore, although I wish I could. It’s tainted my view of myself as a do-gooder, and it’s mostly ruined one of my favorite hobbies.

No longer can I work my way through the aisles of the Salvation Army with gleeful anticipation, searching for that Eileen Fisher top made from organic materials at a mere fraction of the retail price. I can’t unknow what I know now.

Apparently, the best kind of shopping is no shopping at all. As I’ve been pondering this new reality, I’ve started exploring what thrifting does for me. I certainly don’t need more clothes. Ironically, I have “hangers” on my list of things to buy next time I’m out shopping.

Tough Questions for Myself

How would my life be different if thrifting wasn’t a recreational activity? What would I do instead? This leads to questions like: What do I value? How do I want to spend my time? What emptiness am I trying to fill? What am I distracting myself from?

These are not easy questions to answer, but I’m inviting you to think about them with me.

I’m inviting you to join me in a no-buying challenge. I’m starting small – a week of not buying extras. That includes random things like dog toys, hair ties, candles, or any other extraneous goodies.

Some people have done this for a year. I’m not ready for that yet, but if you are, that’s great. Let me know in the comments below how it’s going. I’d love to hear about it.

How often do you find yourself shopping for things you don’t need? What do you do with them? Is thrifting a hobby? If you do follow the no- buying challenge, please share the results with our community.

Amanda Batula’s Asymmetrical Jeans on Summer House

Summer House Season 5 Episode 3 Fashion

Tbh it was not easy for me to identify Amanda Batula’s asymmetrical jeans on tonight’s episode of Summer House based on what I could see of them in the previews. However after a little zoom-in action and confirmation on her Instagram highlights, lucky enough I totally managed to strike agolde.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Agolde Jeans at Revolve

Click Here to Shop Them at Nordstrom

Photos #2&3: @AmandaBatula

Originally posted at: Amanda Batula’s Asymmetrical Jeans

As a veteran of more than one career change – and on the verge of another – I’ve come to think of myself as a bit of an expert in this area.

What’s lovely about dipping in and out of the job market is that you always learn something new each time. In my current process of professional reinvention, I’ve picked up some new tips that have really served me well, so I thought I’d share.

Think of Career Change as a Creative Project

I stole the idea of thinking about career change as a creative project from Barnet Bain in his masterful book called The Book of Doing and Being. I initially picked this book up because I was doing a lot of writing, and I thought it might be useful in unlocking my voice. It was.

Then, at one point in the book, Bain explains that your creative project doesn’t necessarily have to be a film or a novel. It can be a business you’re hoping to build or a professional shift you wish to undertake.

This was completely liberating for me. As time wore on, I found that I was applying his myriad creativity exercises to explore my professional journey, not just my artistic one.

Take Your Time

I was really taken by an interview in Forbes with Shawn Askinosie, author of Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Work, Find Your Calling and Feed Your Soul. In the interview, Askinosie notes that it took him five years to bring about his transition from criminal defence lawyer to chocolatier.

He advises: “If you don’t discover the internal space where you can ponder your next steps with clarity, you will never find what you’re looking for.” As someone who has been living in a self-imposed chrysalis for the past six months, boy did that phrase resonate for me.

Keep Learning

It’s always useful to read relevant self-help books when you’re in the throes of a transition. But this time, I’ve taken that to a whole new level.

Spurred on by the likes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates who spend at least five hours a week learning new things, I decided that I would read more widely, branching off from some of the books mentioned here to books describing what it’s like to be middle aged from a variety of different angles.

Of course, learning doesn’t have to take the form of reading. One of the best things about my acting class – which I mostly do because it’s fun – is that it’s also got me thinking about how to incorporate improvisation into my next job.

Decide What Makes You Distinctive

I’ve always counselled people who are contemplating a career change to think about the overlap between what they like and what they are good at.

One of the key takeaway’s from Dorie Clark’s fabulous book Reinventing You is that in order to re-brand yourself you also need to think about what makes you distinctive and leverage those points of difference.

Clark tells the story of a lawyer who used her deductive reasoning powers to launch a successful wine business. Turns out, what she thought of as a weak point – having gone to law school – turned out to be a huge strength in the wine field. Now, that’s a core part of this woman’s brand.

This was an incredibly useful piece of advice for me. I sometimes hide certain aspects of my professional past because they don’t gel with what I think others expect to hear about me. Now I’m championing them they make me (uniquely) who I am.

Shadow Someone for a Day

If you’re trying out something new, shadow someone for a day. It’s a no-brainer, right? But I’d never thought about it as an option for myself until I had lunch with a former colleague who was also in the throes of a career change.

An expert in health communication, she’d thought about setting up a social enterprise to teach young mothers about healthy cooking, eating and nutrition.

The idea was that they could bring along their children to a local café, and the kids would play while the mothers learned. After the first meet-up, she realized two things: a. she didn’t like cooking very much and b. she didn’t really want to spend half a day around other people’s kids. So she moved on.

Once you’ve narrowed down your possible career options, rather than staying in the realm of fantasy – “Gee, I think I’d love owning a bookstore!” – go work at one for a day and see what the manager actually does. A really efficient use of your time.

How about you? I’d love to hear other things you’ve done to reinvent yourself professionally. Have you started a new business in retirement? Are you looking to make a career change in your 60s? Please feel free to share your tips and experiences below

Jackie Goldschneider’s Hair Cream

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 11 Episode 1 Fashion

Jackie Goldschneider’s hair cream—which promises to smooth and add shine—is the second product by Khiels that we’ve seen housewives adjacent as of late (If you want to know the first, check out the products mentioned on a recent Closet Confessions with a Real Housewives of Dallas cast member). And as someone who think Jackie pulls off a straight blonde hairstyle quite well, you know I’ll be scooping it up to test out and review. Because rumor has it that it’s a great product. But don’t ask me who told me that, I can’t remember.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her Khiel’s Cream

Click Here to See the Foundation we also Spotted on her Counter

Originally posted at: Jackie Goldschneider’s Hair Cream

Jackie Goldschneider’s Cropped Jeans

Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 11 Episode 1 Fashion

On last night’s Real Housewives of New Jersey Jackie Goldschneider and her cropped jeans headed into Margaret Josephs’ house for what ended up being a major Jersey-style showdown with Teresa Giudice. And admittedly I have always liked how Jackie stands up to Teresa, though I don’t agree with bringing children into the convo. It was definitely a fight for the ages, just like the one that may ensure between those of you who want the remaining sizes of her cropped jeans.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Click Here to Shop her J Brand Natasha Cropped Jeans

Click Here to Shop 3 Other Colors

Click Here for Details on the Rest of Her Look

Originally posted at: Jackie Goldschneider’s Cropped Jeans