By Pamela Price

This jar is a garage sale find. It's not exactly Limoges, but it held ample lemonade to satisfy thirsty neighbor kids at a couple of block parties last summer.

Garage sales, thrifts shops and consignment stores are popular again. No surprise given the economic downturn, I guess. Much as our forebears opted to reduce waste through salvage and what we now call "adaptive reuse," my friends are recycling more than just cans and newspapers these days.

 Truth be told, for many folks in my demographic, this approach to acquiring "new" items is more lifestyle choice than economic necessity. A lot of us come from working class roots, where savvy shopping was--remains--a way of life. A few of us recall the lean days of the '70s, the last decade in which frugal living and an emphasis on eco-friendly choices were in lockstep within the Zeitgeist. I fall into both of those categories. One of my earliest memories is of shopping a "fire sale" near Conroe circa 1973. But even as my working class parents acquired greater financial wealth, we still visited the Salvation Army, estate sales and such. 

Why?

I guess because my mother loved the thrill of the hunt; of taking something old and giving it new life. Yes, she was a "junker" before it was trendy, before lifestyle magazines featured glossy spreads on how to convert old, broken shutters into objets d'art.

She passed on the gene, I guess. As an adult, I am as comfortable at thrift shops as I am at Nordstrom's. And, yes, I've been known to dumpster dive. During my college years in the early '90s, my apartment was filled with items rescued from my parent's garage and Goodwill, each one repainted a bright apple green or slip-covered. Yep, I was a pioneer of shabby chic.

Last summer when I pulled over to buy the $12 jar pictured above, I swear that I saw a gleam of excitement in my toddler's eyes. Will he inherit my taste for thrifty finds? We'll see. If genetics have anything to do with it, I suspect he'll cart off my old green desk (fashioned from a damaged dressing table) and dresser (a remnant of my childhood nursery)--both still bright green and in good repair from my college apartment--when he sets up his first household, however humble it may be.

Readers: Tells us about your favorite thrifty finds!

Explore More Online:

• Secondhand Goods Now Hot Sellers (San Antonio Express-News, 9 November 2008)

• Victory Garden of Tomorrow - Portland-based contemporary artist Joe Wirtheim riffs beautifully on vintage posters promoting recycling, among other things.

Image credit: author's private collection.

Editorial coordinator Pamela Price blogs regularly at Red, White & Grew. You can follow her weekdays on Twitter.com (@CLifeMag), where she shares lifestyle tips and random observations.