Pregnancy and breastfeeding do weird things to your body. I've lost all of the "baby weight". I'm actually lighter than I was pre-pregnancy, but I'm also a completely different shape. My shirts are too small and I have to wear a belt with the only pair of jeans that fit well enough to wear out of the house. So, my rib cage expanded and my butt got smaller? Whatever happened, I've been telling Noah for months that I need some new clothes. I finally found a good amount of new (to me) clothes to get rid of my wonky, worn out pieces that I should have eliminated a long time ago. Didn't find any pants, but I've always had a hard time finding pants at thrift stores.
The majority of my clothing comes from thrift stores, and usually just one in particular. Africa's Child Thrift Store is my favorite thrift store. When I moved to Michigan I checked out all of the thrift stores in Holland (where we were living right after we got married) and settled on Africa's Child as my favorite. (They also have a location in Grand Rapids!) Their store is very clean, they put out good quality items, and their prices are very reasonable. One of my favorite things about this store is that they help support ministries in Africa, hence the name. Here is their mission statement from their website.
The mission of Africa’s Child, a faith based, Christ centered ministry, is twofold:
- To transform lives with financial support by giving 100% of store profits to African ministries.
- To empower and employ African ministries who share our faith to bring physical, emotional and spiritual healing to the orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers.
We're always looking for ways to save money, but it's great to know that even in my thriftiness the little money I spend can go towards a good cause. I do purchase mostly clothing from Africa's Child, but I have also bought yarn, fabric, sheets and curtains (which turned into other things during sewing projects), and an end table for our living room. I'm always scoping out their ever changing furniture selection hoping that a perfect little armchair might pop up someday. A girl can dream.
Here's a look at what I found during my most recent trip to Africa's Child. Adeline came with me and was such a good little shopper. I even found a few clothes for her! Hover above or click on each image to see the brand and price.
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| Active USA Jacket - $3 |
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| American Rag CIE dress - $5 |
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| Her Majesty slip - $3 |
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| Mossimo dress - $3 |
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| Old Navy orange skirt - $3 |
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| Pure Jill cardigan - $3 |
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| Express soft t-shirt - $3 |
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| Orvis green blouse - $3 |
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| Mossimo green and blue t-shirt - $3 |
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| Circo 18 month onesie - $ |
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| Old Navy 18-24 month pants - $1 |
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| Baby Gap 2T pants - $3 |
Shopping at a thrift store can make such a difference in how much money you spend. You don't have to sacrifice quality to get a good price, and sometimes your money can even support a good cause!
