Our guest Kaitlin Stewart is a New York transplant residing in the Windy City for the past 8 years. She is an avid thrifter and eco-stylist who helps her clients build a more sustainable and budget friendly wardrobe by styling them with secondhand pieces. She believes in being a conscious consumer and an unapologetic thrifter!

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy

Join The Spark Joy Club today!

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• How generations of inherited vintage pieces influenced Kaitlin's passion for thrift
• The benefits of choosing thrift/consignment/resale over fast fashion, including the environmental impact
• The difference between thrift, consignment, vintage and resale
• Stories behind our favorite thrift store finds
• What's in high demand at thrift stores
• How to decide what to take to a consignment store vs. a donation drop off based on current trends, seasons, and date of purchase
• Kaitlin's go-to shopping strategies
• How to set boundaries while shopping consciously

Featured stores:

• Goodwill
• Buffalo Exchange
• Crossroads Trading Company
• Brown Elephant
• Mount Sinai Resale Shop

Featured stores (online):

• The Edit
• The Velvet Home Collective
• Moonacre Cottage
• ThreadUp
• Poshmark

Kaitlin's favorite thrift shopping tip:
"Try everything on." Wear leggings and a tank to make things easy.

What sparks joy for Kaitlin:
Planning her sustainable wedding and sourcing thrift decor

Connect with Kaitlin on Instagram or Facebook or book an eco-styling session with her at windycitythrfter@gmail.com.

Gems:
"I've always thought of thrifting as treasure hunting."
"Fast fashion is the largest form of pollution."
"Fashion is cyclical, so it's all coming back."
"If it looks cool, but isn't going to work with what you already own, it's not going to serve you."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Kaitlin Stewart.

Guest Adam Minter is a columnist and author based in Malaysia. For nearly two decades, his journalism has focused on waste, recycling, stuff - and the hidden global world that it inhabits. His first book, 'Junkyard Planet,' was a best-selling dive into the recycling bin. His new book, 'Secondhand' is a global journey into what happens to our stuff after we no longer want it.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

While you’re there, sign-up to join our Spark Joy podcast community and get notified when each episode airs. You can also join the Spark Joy podcast community on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at the handle @sparkjoypodcast.

Book a custom Virtual Tidying Experience with For the Love of Tidy

Join The Spark Joy Club today!

In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

• The personal experience that sparked Adam's interest in figuring out what happens to the things when they go through the donation door that spanned 12 countries

• The number of items that on average thrift store sells off the shelves

• The items that are highest and lowest demand and most exported for second use

• Why used clothing traders prefer Canadian clothing

• What to do with antiquated media formats and electronics

• How Goodwill employees sort and price items based on the quality of the goods

• What happens to undergarments and socks

• Three unexpected items that Goodwill turns away

• The storage locker industry and the true cost of rentals

• The impact of Adam's research on his family

Adam's favorite productivity tip:
"Buy better. Buy more durable."

What sparks joy for Adam:
"My son."

Gems:
"If you're a thrift store the last thing you want to do is toss something into a landfill or an incinerator"
"Some of us are spending more money to store our stuff than to store ourselves."
"There is more storage locker space in the U.S. alone than the square footage of Palm Springs, California. "
"Buy better. Buy more durable."

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Adam Minter.