Thrift Day. Cleaning the Loot.

I can't believe I am writing this post... it's not a secret that the biggest fear people have about thrifting is the risk of bedbugs. Ugh, I just said it... bedbugs. I am impressed that I can even write the words. I went to university in Toronto and for three years lived in some...um... not particularly awesome buildings. I have experienced bedbugs and I will say that through some proactive measures, I got off pretty easy. But for years they haunted my sleep. It's only been about a year that I haven't randomly woken up during the night, ripped off the covers and started crying at Matt that I could feel the bedbugs (no, we never had them but the paranoia is insane). For a long time I never really thought about bedbugs while I was thrifting but it's hard to ignore when it is in the media constantly. Now, I want to be aware and do what I can do because the thought of bringing bedbugs into our home would kill me with guilt. I put in my iron stomach this morning and did lots of additional Internet research (you know, the kind of research that helps you graduate college) and I am now even more aware that the issue is beyond complicated and I am no by no means an expert.
But these are the steps I do to make me feel comfortable with thrifting. I have never heard of a bedbug infestation in any of the local thrift haunts I visit... and in today's day and age of instant information, I find some comfort in that. I don't think that bedbugs are a guarantee in thrift stores, but it is best to be aware and have a plan. This is what I do...


The minute I walk out of a thrift store with some loot, I give myself a high five, put on my lip gloss and tie the top of the bag nice and tight. When I get home I pop that sucker in the freezer. This is where it get complicated... there is so much research out there about the effectiveness of freezing vs. bedbugs. People have asked me if I have a special thrift freezer and yes, for the time being I do. Not because I'm spoiled like that but because Matt's Dad gave us an extra freezer and until I learn the art of becoming a Costco fiend and buying 100 lbs of frozen spinach at a time, I use that freezer to squirrel away my thrift finds. Because it is an extra freezer I don't open and close it all the time, which can cause a fluctuating temp, and I put that bag away for a good two weeks. Many of you have commented before that you run things through a hot wash cycle or through the dryer for 20 minutes... both of these are effective. I just put everything in the freezer because a)there are things I don't want to ruin with the heat (yes, I buy crazy stuff at the thrift store, you know that) and b) I am just not the person who goes home and cleans something immediately. I used to just let my thrift bags accumulate around the room until I got my sh*t together and washed and repaired it... this way at least, they are safely in one area until I wash or dryclean; an area that keeps bedbugs dormant and even kills them if the exposure is long and cold enough. Remember, I am not treating an infestation with the freezer treatment, I am just controlling what I can in case I bring a bug home.

From my freezer, I sort my goods into three groups...

Dry cleaning- I hate this part of thrifting. Nothing ruins the high of an $8 thrifted silk dress faster than a $20 dollar dry cleaning bill. Dry cleaning is expensive and often uses a potentially harmful chemical in its cleaning process... boo to both of those! In the past, however, I have taken chances on some dry clean garments and hand washed them with less than stellar results (this story still makes me a cry), so lately I have given in to dry cleaning a bit more. We did buy 10 coupons to get $25 worth of dry cleaning for $10 from WagJag (I think it's the Canadian version of Groupon, as Winners is the Canadian version of T.J. Maxx and Celine Dion is the Canadian version of Jay Z) and we have been using those very wisely. I dry clean silk blouses (because my pressing skills are weak), any blazers and dresses that are silk or overly structured. I dry cleaned this dress above because it's handmade and thus has no labelling. I don't think it's silk or anything but I realllllllly love the colours of this dress and don't want to be responsible for hurting it. If I love it, I err on the cautious side but I will take chances and gently hand wash knits... even if it says dry clean only.

Washing/Hand washing- I wash as much as I can. Jeans, sweaters, skirts... I do hand wash a lot because I hate ruining things and I need the workout of washing things in the tub (I don't have a laundry sink anymore:(...). Speaking of workouts... this alpaca sweater weighed about 20lbs when it was wet. I did some bicep curls with it before I threw it in the spin cycle. If we are still talking about bedbugs (still?), then throwing a dry item into the dryer is both easy on the garment and effective against those things that come out at night to bite you.

No washing- Yeah, I am gross. Sometimes I don't wash thrifted stuff... or dry clean it either. If this is the case, I leave it in the freezer for extra long. This especially applies to thrifted sequins... I don't trust myself to hand wash it and any good dry cleaner will warn you that the chemical process can alter the look of the sequins. I take great comfort in the fact that before myself and J. Crew came on the scene (look at me, exaggerating my sequin importance!!!), sequins were not worn as day time looks and often not worn at all. Most of my thrifted sequins have no signs of wear in them... they were either worn out for an Italian wedding in the 80's or left hanging in the closet waiting for a special day that never arrived.

I hope this post doesn't make you flee thrifting. If you read my blog regularly, you know that this is the opposite of what I would want to happen. It is because I thrift so much that I have pretty strict rules for myself... Back in the day I, along with every other Canadian teen, worked at Tim Hortons.... the words 'it is better to be proactive than to be reactive' were burned into my brain at work. I took that lesson and applied it to thrifting. I also learned to banter with customers while making coffee but I shall save that great skill for another post...

Next week back to the happier side of thrifting!