My experience shopping ThredUP

Ok, I’ve purchased a couple of things from ThredUP. I was nervous about it at first, because a few years ago I had a really bad experience shopping there. This time around I avoided the purse department and just shopped clothes. I found a few things and enjoyed the shopping experience. ThredUP offers you deals if you add items to your wishlist, and that was all great. I enjoyed the diversity of items from all different stores, and they seem to have a lot of great pieces to choose from.

Now for the negative! The sizing is WAY off. It is like they just guess a size at random. I got two things that were both way too small, like one was for kids. The other had tags cut off, even though they state that they don’t sell items that don’t have tags. Also, nothing is washed, which i guess is just part of the normal thrifting experience. So that could be said about most any charity shop.

I’m mixed on shopping there, because I wasted money on items that didn’t wind up fitting. I feel like things should have been measured properly. Oh well! I did wind up with a couple things I am excited to wear. They won’t take the other items back, so it feels pretty rotten to be contributing to the waste cycle.

My Story My Stuff: Beauty Products

I’m back with another round of My Story My Stuff! This project has me rethinking the things I own, as a decluttering project. It is making me realize I already have an abundance, more than I could ever use. I’m rethinking my weekly budget because I no longer want to bring more junk into my home. I have been pausing my Amazon Prime, unless I actually need something. I’m saving money and breathing a little easier as I go through my things and get rid of stuff I no longer want or need.

I use this ball when I have food cravings. It is fun to play with!

Wig and hair products by Kat Sturges

Makeup by Kat Sturges

One thing I’ve been noticing, is sometimes it helps to keep the item in question. When you throw everything of a collection away, there is often an impulse to run out and replace those items with something new. I’ve decided to keep certain items instead of continuing on the cycle of buy, throw away, replace. I’m taking stock of what I have and using it up before buying new.

As a consumer, and especially with beauty products, I’ve been known to buy products and use them for a short while. Then they don’t meet my expectations in some way, so I throw them out and replace them with something new. Or something will be working just fine, but I will replace said item with something new just to try a new product!

It is so harmful to the environment to live this way. The chemicals in products are bad for the environment, and so is the waste from packaging materials and shipping everything. If you think about the life cycle of a tube of lipstick, for example, a whole lot goes into getting that lipstick into your hands.

So instead of rushing to throw things away, I’m trying to use up what I have or at least keep the beauty products for two years before I throw them away. Some items go bad faster than others, so it is good to check and keep track of when you buy things.

Selling on ThredUP

I’m so ready to see what I can do as far as selling on ThredUP! I’ve told myself I will allow myself to put the money back into my wardrobe. If you want to experience a happy scenario, let ThredUP send UBER to pick up your donation bags for you. One thing I’m learning with ThredUP so far, is you cannot send anything that you are even remotely thinking of keeping. One time some years ago I donated things and decided to buy back one of my items, because I was so bummed it was selling. Be super sure what you send in. Also, you don’t make all that much off each item. But it is a fun way to donate anyway!

I’ve requested some more donation bags. I’m having a blast with ThredUP! I highly recommend selling on the site.

Another Episode of My Story My Stuff: Plushies!

I LOVE plushies!! I started buying care bears and cabbage patch about ten years ago or so, to help me remember my childhood. It didn’t help all that much, but I loved collecting them. I stopped buying them a few years back, but my husband gets them for me as gifts now! I had purchased some cabbage patch used off Etsy, one of them looked exactly like the one I had when I was young. But the used ones were bothering me. I donated them to the Goodwill! The rest mostly stay in my collection.

It is so hard to part with gifts! I do it sometimes, but plushies are the kind of thing that I use to decorate my shelves with! I tend to keep them, unless they get super dusty and nasty.

STATUS: Adorable fluffy gifts to love! Keep!

Tips for Thrifting Like the PROS!

Hi! I’m Kat Sturges, the scrappy second cousin of upcycling and eco art. And I want to ask you a question! When was the last time you thrifted something or otherwise shopped, dumpster dove or searched curbs for second hand goods? If it has been a while <like circa those college days when you were completely broke>, or to your party days…<Mom…I’m not speaking from experience here!>…It may have been a time or two since you shopped second hand. I started perusing ThredUP and bought a few things. Most of them were completely wrong for my overall look and body type. So I did what any good maven would do…I turned to Facebook seeking advice! Here are the tips some of my friends on there said.

1. Look for great items to thrift and repurpose. Don’t buy everything you are drawn to, make sure it will work! Otherwise you will just wind up rethrifting or reselling the item later.

2. Make a Pinterest board, or even a vision board, and pull together some images to base your search on. If you are doing preppy or boho, find a few things you love in a magazine or online in a photo search on Google. Pinterest itself also has loads of pics to chose from. Pull some together into a board, then have it handy when you shop! Base your purchases around the overall aesthetic you are going for.

3. Avoid buying random pieces just because you are drawn to them. Instead, try to go for an overall look. And stop and think about how that item will fit in with your typical wardrobe.

4. Shop material style, fabric, aesthetic, and clothing type. Choose different fabrics to pair together. If you are going boho, you want breezy fabrics that float away from the body. If you are thinking grunge, you might like oversized clothes.

5. Let sizing lead the way too. You just know certain things look better baggy and others look better tight. Remember that when you are shopping. If you cannot try things on at least have a vague idea what the brand’s sizing is like. If you are shopping online, do some research before you buy.

I hope this helps the next time you go to thrift! Do some research, create a vision board, or at the very least start off with a slight plan. Then go wild at the thrift shop! Worst case, you can donate things you don’t like straight back to the store. <Which I may or may not have done and plan on doing again soon!>

The Many Kathryns of Climate Change!

I was reading Substack posts recently, and I came across a post that was joking about the Kathryn’s of Climate Change, because so many women named Kathryn support the movement to revitalize the Earth and tend to the planet. There is the Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste; there is Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, a well reowned author, teacher and activist; Katharine Kayhoe of the “Talking Climate Newsletter” and more.

I’m their scrappy second cousin, Kathryn the eco fashion and storytelling maven, blazing new trails for eco artists everywhere! Most of my books are about eco fashion, eco sewing, and tending to the planet. Nowadays I’m donating, decluttering, and getting personal with my life choices. I’ve preached a big pulpit up till now about the benefits of making your own clothes and thrifting! And I’m ready to make my personal choices align with my overall goals and mission. It’s not just a blog and a few books…it is my life! I’m glad you are here joining in too!

The Wait Begins....

I finally had Uber come and pick up my two ThredUP bags! I got up at noon, all ready. I had packed the bags previously, and I had my husband haul them to my front steps. Now the true wait begins as I wait for ThredUP to onload my clothes, and let me know what is going to happen to them.

I’ve heard women on Reddit cringing at the fact that sometimes ThredUP turns down perfectly good styles. I did donate a pair of jeans with holes from the factory, and I bet those will be turned down for regular jeans. I had checked that I wanted money for my old clothes on there. It would be nice to have some cash for some new digs! I don’t even mind if they just straight up recycle everything I sent. At least those clothes won’t just get thrown away.

So I’m waiting to see what happens to my old clothes! My man also threw away two big bags of trash from the sewing room, so my decluttering had some major wins this week! I still have too many clothes, but at least I made a dent in what I have.

Let's Talk Shoes

No woman I ever met only owned two pairs of shoes. Well, except for those years when I only had one pair! Years ago, I had a pair of Birkenstock clogs. They were brown. I had scrimped and saved to get them. It was the first time I had really held down a job in my youth, after going to college. And once I got those birks, I wore them for years. I felt like they went with everything! Yes, I only had ONE Pair of shoes, and I didn’t mind at all. They were my cool hippie shoes and I hated taking them off.

Fast forward a few years, and I now have more shoes. I have some in storage that my husband didn’t want me to throw away. What is it about shoes? They are hard to part with because you know you might want to wear them again some day down the road. I have some packed away, then I have three pairs of Crocs clogs and 2 pairs of sneakers, and 1 pair of Crocs flip flops. That assortment has gotten me through the last couple of years alright!

I do go through Crocs, and for a time Crocs were all I was wearing. I decided to branch out and get some sneakers too, just in case I wanted to look a little more “put together”. I’m in my late forties now, and all hell has broken loose! I no longer care all that much about how I look! Gone are the days of collecting shoes.

How many shoes is too many? If you want to be eco friendly, aim for a handful of pairs and that is it. If you already have abundance of shoes, definitely don’t buy any more. I feel blessed to have the good fortune of some shoes I love. Does that mean I need more pairs? No, no it doesn’t!

Free at Last!

For the last few days, I’ve had something on my mind. Nope, not whether or not I will wear white this Spring…thoughts like that have long since gone the way of my thirties. I’m pondering whether old clothes should be offered for sale or given away for free?

If we all decided to give away our old clothes for free, what a difference it would make. I would bet that there are enough clothes already in existence to put the fashion industry on pause for a good few years time. But more than that, where is the “good will” in selling everything? As a Christian I will tell you that it is admirable to be generous. Generosity doesn’t only have to be for the needy. It can be between sisters and friends, and run in families.

There used to be charities where you could donate clothes to help people. Whatever happened to non profits like Dress for Success? I tried to donate to them a year or so after COVID, and my local chapter was no longer accepting donations. Some cities have thrift shops that are tied to a local homeless shelter. There is one in my city. Nowadays, you can donate to your local thrift store, or an online thrift shop like ThredUP.

We all know where we can sell clothes, but when do you think it is justified to sell vs. flat out donate? Do you sell items if they are worth more money? Where do you draw the line at donating vs. selling? Selling your clothes isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you need money, you can sell them on Poshmark or Mercari, or even EBay or Etsy if the clothes are vintage. If you need money, don’t hesitate to sell your old clothes. You might not make much money off of them, but maybe sell what you can and donate what doesn’t sell. That way the clothes benefit yourself and others too.

Do you sell your old clothes? Or do you give them away for free? Neither path is actually wrong. Whichever path makes you feel good, do that thing. Bonus points if you help somebody else at the same time!

Why I still believe in making clothes by hand...

You might wonder, what’s the big idea! Why alter and sew clothes by hand, or remake stained and unfitting clothes to make them wearable again? What’s the big deal anyway? Well, I can only answer that with a photo.

This is just my overabundance! LOL, just one woman’s attempt to store clothing, art and home goods gone awry. Maybe I don’t make that much of a difference. I have three baskets in the hallway full of clean clothes, a big heap of dirty clothes on the floor in the bedroom, a clothing rack that I recently picked over to donate to ThredUP and three huge bins of clothes to donate or sell. Plus I have a closet full of clothes.

The reality is, most houses have a room like this. And most people have way too many clothes! I think women are usually more guilty of hoarding clothes than men are. But we buy things because we think we need them, until we have way too much. Why is it that people feel like it is so much easier to dress well when they have fewer pieces of clothes? Capsule wardrobes are becoming a huge trend. And so many women are talking about downsizing their wardrobe.

It is so easy to buy clothes, but what happens if you don’t like something or if it stops fitting. Heaven forbid you spill on a shirt.

When you sew your own clothes, you slow down and take your time. You make something that fits how you want. You make something you want to wear for a long time. And if you outgrow the clothing, you can remake it to fit your new body shape! Win win! Patching and mending are wonderful skills too, that keep clothes out of the landfill. When you sew your own clothes, you no longer pay for corporate greed. You no longer pay for people who are sewing clothes for pennies a day.

This is just a gentle nudge, my book is a pretty quick read. “The Portals of Locke Meade” introduces teens to the concept of sewing their own clothes, and teaches them why it matters. The book might not be available for very long! It’s a cozy weekend read, perfect for a quiet evening. Also, check out my website! It has tons of posts on sewing your own clothing, altering and upcycling to make things like new!

Earth Day is HERE!!!!!

It is Earth Day today, and I’m taking a moment to recommit my life and art journey to doing the right things to take care of the planet. Every little bit does make a difference! This year I am donating three bags of clothes to ThredUp. What is your Earth Day thing going to be?

This year I’m also reading two books. One is on reducing toxins in the home. It is called “A Healthier Home”. The book focuses chapters on different things you do in the home. With ideas for personal care, cooking, cleaning and more…I’m bound to get some ideas from this book on products to avoid and more Earth and people friendly habits to swap in.

The second book I’m reading is “Simply Living Well”. It features ways to go low waste and helps you get closer to zero waste. There are recipes for health, hearth and home. Plus the photos in the books are just gorgeous! It’s inspirational just flipping through the books. I cannot do natural medicine very much because I am on a lot of prescriptions, but it is encouraging to think there might be a few things I might be able to try.

I hope your Earth Day is fabulous! Extra points if you do something to make it matter to you!

Is Shopping Secondhand Becoming Mainstream?

When I was growing up, a lot of my sister’s unwanted clothes got passed down to me. Then in high school, when I discovered thrifting, it didn’t seem so strange to wear secondhand clothes. It actually felt exciting to see what wacky fashions I could find, and for me, nothing was off limits! I remember getting a couple of pairs of “old man pants” on the cheap, and rocking those to science class to the chagrin of my class mates. Something about wearing other people’s used clothes felt exciting. I even bought my wedding dress second hand! It was a tan and sky blue dress with sea shells on the skirt. I still remember how I felt getting married at the courthouse, with pride.

Today it seems normal to buy and sell used clothes. And I’m not alone in finding those habits to be fun! If you go on Reddit and search Poshmark, ThredUp and Mercari….women are highly interested in selling their old clothes for cash. Whether they take the time to upcycle them or not…it is now trendy to shop second hand! My mom and sister both shop second hand sometimes. I never would have imagined my own Mom getting into thrifting…but here she is talking about her thrifted clothes and home goods.

It used to seem like something only poor kids did, to wear hand me downs and second hand. But the reality is a lot of the parents who had their kids wear hand me downs were just frugal and trying to be smart with their money. Everybody here in the states, and most likely abroad as well, are feeling the crunch in their wallet from modern times. Selling your old clothes and doing clothing swaps is a great idea! You can leave with a sense of pride at selling your clothes, and benefit the planet at the same time. Every time you swap or sell, or shop second hand, you are doing the climate a favor by shifting the supply chain in favor of the Earth.

People need money, and selling clothes is a great way to make some quick cash. Even I am getting back into selling clothes on ThredUp! It might be a sign of the times, but it is equally a sign to cash in! More people are interested in buying secondhand than ever before! List your items on ThredUp, Poshmark, EBay or Mercari and start making an income while doing something good for the planet!

If you want to learn more about selling upcycled clothes, check out my book on the topic! This book is kind of cheeky and fun, but it dives into selling clothes both in person and online. Maybe it will be just the thing to get you into upcycling and selling clothes!

Why I wrote "The Portals of Locke Meade"

There’s something really grounding about making your own clothes.
Just sitting with the fabric, taking your time, figuring things out as you go. It’s not fast, and it’s definitely not perfect—but that’s kind of the point. I think that’s why I’ve always loved it. It feels like stepping outside of everything else for a while. The pace is slower. You actually pay attention. And you end up with something that means a little more because you made it yourself.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about how different that is from the world we live in now. Clothing is made so quickly, in such huge quantities, and most of us never really see how or where it happens. It just shows up… and then disappears. And I started wondering—what would it look like if people pushed back against that in a bigger way? Not just quietly choosing to sew at home, but actually resisting it.

That question stuck with me more than I expected. I kept coming back to it—what would real resistance even look like in a world like this? And at some point, it stopped being just a question and started turning into a story.

I began imagining a group of people who didn’t just step outside the system, but decided to confront it. People who saw the environmental cost of mass production and couldn’t ignore it anymore. People who were willing to take risks to protect something they believed in.

That’s where this book came from.

It’s a mix of history, science fiction, and environmental themes—but at its core, it’s really about that same feeling so many of us have in quieter ways. Wanting to slow down. Wanting to live differently. Wanting to care about how things are made and what they cost beyond just money.

If you’ve ever felt that, even a little bit, I think this story might resonate with you.

The book is available on Amazon if you’d like to explore the story. And truly, thank you for being here and sharing this space with me.

#1 Teen European History New Release!!

We did it!! If you have been following me on Facebook the last couple of weeks, I asked people to help make my book #1 in Teen Historical Fiction. It did so today!! I’m beyond thrilled! What a way to spend the Easter holiday, basking in the glow of a book well done! I’m doing my happy dance over in my corner of the world. Get your copy of “The Portals of Locke Meade” today! Thank you beyond measure for helping making this book a success!

The Reluctant Farmer by Cathryn Wellner

I want to give a shout out to my friend from Australia! She is the author of many books, the one I love the most is “The Reluctant Farmer”! Cathryn Wellner and I met some years ago, because we both love to encourage other creatives online. She is a true storyteller! If you get a chance, check out her memoir and her Small Scale Stories! I am loving her memoir, “The Reluctant Farmer” so much. You can get a copy on Amazon.

It is raining out today, and I am just settling in for a quiet night of art and reading at my desk. I hope you all are doing well, and that you are having fun, no matter what continent you live on!

My Story, My Stuff: A Decluttering Adventure

What do your belongings say about you? For those of you who don’t know me, here’s an introduction! I’m Kat Sturges, an eco artist who loves stuff. I love creating stuff, and I love shopping for stuff. The problem is I have too much stuff, and the weight of it is making it hard to function and difficult to sleep at night. My stuff is weighing on my mind and hurting my pocket book. It is hard to clean my home, because there is stuff everywhere.

That’s where a gentle decluttering steps in. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t need so much stuff! Maybe I can do without some of this stuff.

This is the first post in a series called “My Story, My Stuff”! Give me follow on Instagram to comment and follow along. Let us declutter together, we can do it! http://www.instagram.com/art.kat.sews

A Quiet Kind of Together by Kathryn Sturges

This work explores the paradox of human connection: the coexistence of presence and isolation.

The fairy, initially alone, became part of a relational space through the addition of a second figure. This shift was not meant to resolve her solitude, but to complicate it—to reflect the lived experience of being both connected and internally distant at the same time.

Rather than offering closure, the piece invites contemplation. What does it mean to be seen? When does proximity become connection? And how do we hold the quiet spaces within ourselves, even in the company of others?

Sew Felt Junk Journals!

I FINALLY cleared way to get back to my sewing machine. My old sewing studio has become a room to store things, because my health was not good enough to sew. Now my health is slowly improving, so I cleared off my sewing table and made a path between the storage bins to get to my machine. I had switched to a new Brother Sewing Machine right before I got sick, so the machine still feels pretty new and I’m not used to it. My old machine quit right before my body did, lol! I know that is not funny, but the correlation is uncanny. I used that old Singer Sewing Machine for like fifteen years or so before it had enough of my patchwork and upcycling mayhem.

I started getting into book making after I got sick. I’ve tried a few different types of books. The thing is, upcycled materials get my creative inspiration going so much that I go off on all these tangents. So it took a long time for me to come up with the concept for these felt journals. I have made two so far, one for myself and one for a gift. It is nice to have finished projects done on hand to gift for birthdays, and other festive celebrations. Make a few of these junk journals to give. They will be well received!

Felt junk journal number two by Kat Sturges

Felt Junk Journal Number One by Kat Sturges

Fairy pages in felt junk journal by Kat Sturges

Back cover pocket of felt junk journal by Kat Sturges

I don’t think that there is any need for step by step explanation. The journals are basically a cover, elastic to hold the pages together. I created a back pocket to hold pens and markers. I was going to make a bunch, but oops! I closed my Etsy shop. LOL! I hope that you get inspired to make some journals of your own, to use for junk journaling and for gifting.

Here is an excerpt from my new book!

I wrote this book as a dedication to my friends. When I started the book, I had two friends who made a huge impact on me! Unfortunately, I had a falling out with one of them. But I remain friends with the other! Here is a small excerpt from the book, “The Portals of Locke Meade”! If you enjoy this excerpt, you might enjoy the book. 📕 📖 🤩💝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She drifted to the grand hallway, and sure enough, the jesters were there.  They did a slight bow when they saw her and then set down their props.

            “Patrick, Aston…I am so happy to have discovered you here!  I am beside myself with sorrow.  The chateau is being sold, and I am to move to town tomorrow!”

            Aston shrugged, “Yes, we already know!  The entire staff has been expecting this news for some time.  Patrick and I will be nearly neighbors though, isn’t that something worth celebrating?”

            “Well, yes.  It will be delightful if you both would help me get acquainted with town life and keep the riff raff away.  You know I have always delighted in both of your company!  I’m fearful though, because I have never actually lived alone before.  I don’t know what to expect!  What does a young lady do who finally has freedom after living under her mother’s thumb her entire life?”

            Patrick did his cool laugh; the one where he only slightly opened his mouth and tilted his head.  “Well, there is fun to be had in town!  You have not yet had the privilege of the pub, nor have you spent much time by the river there.  Aston and I will call on you each day and see how you are faring, and we can all hang out!  We will help you set up your cottage too!”

            Amber smiled and did a little curtsey.  “Oh, that sounds grand!  Maybe it will be fun for a change!  It will be nice to be finished with studying.  And perhaps I will find a path of freedom and whimsy there!  Is there any chance of me finding a first job to pass the long hours of the day?  I have always wondered what it was like to earn a wage…you know…to be a part of the bigger picture.”

Some paintings inspired by "The Portals of Locke Meade"...

Here are a few paintings I did along the way as I was writing the book. They will give you something of an idea of what the book is about. I chose to keep the book as just text, because young YA are just getting into full length chapter books. So I wanted the book text to stand on it's own.

I worked for over three years off and on writing this book! It is my finest book to date, although I’m still really partial to my art book, “The Faeries of Octo Bay”. “The Portals of Locke Meade” is a full length book of YA sci fi fiction! Be a part of the adventure today!