One of my biggest barriers to ever becoming a true minimalist is my love for hoarding physical media. I’m incurably obsessed with secondhand shopping for CDs and DVDs. Holding a tangible CD or DVD case in my hands makes me feel like an archivist of a waning culture. (And when I’m collecting cassette tapes, a … Read more
I’m in a season of my life where I take immense pleasure in — perhaps even love — cooking. Just last week, I scoured my local Indian supermarkets for spices and whipped together a hearty potato chickpea spinach curry and chicken tikka masala. (Thank you, Food with Chetna!) Similar to gardening, preparing ingredients helps me … Read more
I know I’ve become a small-town mouse because a trip to Modesto is a big city excursion for me. As much as I love shopping around the thrift stores near me, I also like to venture out of my tiny nook in the Central Valley to explore secondhand shops. I typically visit Mad Monk Vintage … Read more
It’s been a minute since my last Bay Area thrifting trip — about a year, to be exact. Since I have fantastic thrift stores near me, I haven’t felt particularly inclined to make the drive up to the South Bay. Still, it’s always a fun time thrifting in the Bay Area since there are simply … Read more
In the early days of the pandemic, I found a knockoff Prada(?) faux leather bag at Goodwill for $4. After a few solid years of use (and many compliments, I might add), a handle ripped off, and I was forced to search for a new neutral-colored leather bag. Cute as it may be, my giant … Read more
Once I fall in love with something, I fall in love with it hard — attribute this tendency to my Venus in Libra, if you will. I absolutely went bonkers with all things dogs once I became a pup parent. If you sift through my belongings, you’ll find wallets, purses, totes, and miscellaneous tchotchkes with … Read more
I’ve been an avid secondhand shopper since, well, forever. I grew up piggyback riding my dad at the West Wind Capitol Flea Market every weekend and later discovered the magic of thrift stores and consignment shops in college. On my first day of college, I wandered downtown Berkeley on a breezy June afternoon and discovered … Read more
