“When you’re ready, I’ll take that mirror off your hands.”

That’s what I would tell my Aunt nearly every visit.

My Aunt was both a saver and collector of goods.
Link here for her reuse wrapping paper technique.

AND I had my eye on her white mirror with scrolling detail that hung over a red velvet couch. So beautiful.

Then at an Easter gathering, she walked in and simply stated, “Melanie, the mirror’s waiting for you in the trunk.”

It was MINE! Finally.

This moment had literally been 10 years in the asking.

Cut to me “mirror-spreading” across multiple seats on the MTA.
A train, to a train, and 3 blocks to my apartment.

And it’s been with me ever since.

I was looking at the mirror the other day and it had me thinking of the next “generation” of use. The story of the products in our lives. The reuse of the 3 Rs, if you will.

April 22nd is Earth Day and it’s a great time to reflect on our environmental impact.

Are we simply trying to recycle? Whatever that might look like locally. A topic I could talk about at length (don’t event get me started).

Or can we find a meaningful next step for our goods and pass them along with intention?

For example:
Can you wash and donate your glass jars to the local refillery?
Can you compost to better the community?
Can you let go of those under utilized clothes?

And perhaps that’s at the upcoming clothing swap?

Capital Vintage Clothing Swap, May 1st, 11-6pm at Senate Garage.
bring what you can – take what you need

Adult clothes in all sizes. You can just drop-off or just “shop” if you don’t have anything to swap.

Early drop-offs are welcome (encouraged) at Capital Vintage prior to the event. Follow shopcapitalvintage for details.

And you can DM Kathleen Sargent, Owner of Capital Vintage , with any clothing swap related questions.

The swap is a free event, created with love, and made possible by Kathleen + volunteers and community contributions.

Get to know Kathleen and the origin story.

We can’t all have a VERY stylish niece with “early aughts” HomeGoods tastes in which to pass along goods.

But we can all make an effort to find a better end use for most items we accumulate. If you need recycling resources + recommendations, feel free to send me a note. I’ve got a list going.

Hope to see you at the swap.

You’re mirror toting friend + Community Manager,
Melanie