Decorate Your Home Ethically
In today’s blog, we are going to talk about how to sustainably decorate your home. I don’t know about you but sometimes I get tired with my current set up and I get a desire to change some decorations in my house. I used to just go shopping at Target or a mall for new decor but now I think about the environment before I change up a decoration. I ask myself a couple questions before I go shopping:
- Why do I want to change this decoration?
- How long have I had the decoration that I want to get rid of?
- Can I reuse this decoration or is it time to donate it?
A lot of times, I realize I don’t really need a change. I take time to appreciate what I have and I get over my desire for new decor. If once I ask these questions I still feel as though it is time for a change, I consider a few options first before I make a trip to Target.
- Stop by a few thrift stores. Thrift stores can be really old and can be kind of gross sometimes but there are also a lot of trendy, well-kept thrift stores that have lots of great finds. I recommend stopping in some thrift stores in your area to see if any of them are a good place to find decor (or other items such as clothes, shoes, etc.)
- Go to a larger second hand store. I have found a few good pieces at Goodwill. Again it’s kind of hit or miss but overall, it is a good place to at least look at when searching for something.
- Consider buying what you need second hand online through Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, etc. This is a good option if you have a very specific item in mind to purchase and want to see if you can get it used.
All of the above are options that are reusing products instead of adding more waste. Going this route first is a good idea so that items are used well and fully before being either recycled or thrown away.
I hope that this gave you some fun ideas for how to decorate your home ethically. If you have any other ideas, leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading this week! Next week, we will talk about sustainable skincare.
I really like the idea for the blog this week! I never thought about being sustainable when it came to decorations in my house! I guess it is so normal for people to go out and buy decorations from their house instead of going to Goodwill of Facebook Marketplace. However, I have seen a trend of college students buying old furniture on marketplace for cheaper, I even am doing this myself, and I think that is a good step to being more sustainable as well. Nice blog!
This was such an interesting read. My partner and I are about to be moving into a new apartment after graduation and we will definitely be decorating with greener items!
I am so interested in this because I am moving home and I really want to redo my childhood room. I have. alot of decor in my college house that I could definityly reuse instead of buying all new stuff. I am not a huge Goodwill shopper cause like you said sometimes it is gross and it freaks me out but maybe if I do some digging I will find some great staple pieces. Awesome advice I will have to try it out!
I love going to second hand or thrift stores instead of going to bigger retail chains when looking for stuff to buy. I always feel a lot better whenever I can take something and refurbish it, instead of spending hundreds of dollars for something at a larger store. Great recommendations!
Thrift stores are always a highlight for getting decorations or clothes. A helpful piece of advice I was given is to try to get the more basic things like jeans or jackets or chairs online or from second hand programs from direct manufacturers rather than get them from thrift or Goodwill type stores so that people who might need them more have access to them!