"My grandpa used to take me to thrift stores when I was a kid," Jenna Issacson Pfueller tells me, "because he got the senior discount." These trips with Grandpa Jack sparked lifelong fascination with thrift and secondhand shops, a universe where there's always new potential for a wonderful or weird surprise, and a window into lives that would otherwise be invisible.

Now a Washington, D.C.-based freelance photo journalist, Pfueller is translating her passion for used goods into "All Thrifty States," a photo series that aims to document shopping trips to thrift stores in each of the 50 states.

Pfueller believes that the contents of a thrift shop tell a community's stories. Designs on used T-shirts document vacations or favorite hobbies, while big lots of identical goods suggest that somewhere nearby, a business failed to prosper. "In Florida, I saw shops filled with vintage furniture, housewares, and canes," says Pfueller -- one-time possessions that bore witness to the lives and deaths of the region's numerous elderly residents.

Pfueller hopes that for those who find thift shops "scary or daunting," her photographs will demystify the clutter and chaos of the average secondhand shop. Being an old and enthusiastic thrifter myself, I was surprised to hear that anyone could be frightened of entering a secondhand shop. But "I definitely run into people who wouldn't shop in thrift stores," she says. "My own husband won't go with me because he can't get past it being on a hanger in the thrift store, he can't see the potential."

Pfueller also brings an an environmental angle to "All Thrifty States." She sees thrift as the healthy end of the consumer products cycle, because buying used goods saves resources and energy as well as money, and keeps material out of America's sizable waste stream. Pfueller calls it "preaching the gospel of secondhand," and says that the charitable thrift chain Goodwill Industries has expressed interest in sponsoring an "educational element" to the project, perhaps by taking the photos on exhibit at festivals, farmers markets, and fairs along the route, demonstrating "how much we save from the landfill if it's donated instead of throwing it out."

To raise $7,000 for a summer thrifting-and-photodocumentary jaunt (including the purchase of a used RV or VW bus, naturally), Pfueller has listed "All Thrifty States" on Kickstarter, a web site where writers, artists and others can seek sponsors for specific projects. At this writing, 89 people have pledged $2,820 ($5 is the minimum), and Pfueller is hopeful she'll reach the full amount in time to plan the trip.

Full disclosure: I've sponsored two Kickstarter projects, Adonit Writer and Bright Bike DIY Kits.