I just love a good deal. Who doesn't? Do you know what's even better than a good deal? Telling someone about your good deal.
I spent the morning with a friend and we decided to head out to the local thrift shop. Prior to E being in kindergarten I hadn't paid much attention to the good ol local thrift shop. It's not that we had so much money, it's just that 3 were such a pain to take out by myself. So now E is in kindergarten and J is in preschool 2 mornings a week so that just leaves O and me.
So this morning we went, as I said before, to the local thrift store. I hadn't planned on spending anything, I was going more to hang out with my friend than anything. However, point me towards a clothes rack and I can just seem to smell out that good deal. The nice thing about thrift stores is that so many items are in really good quality and not only are you putting money back into charity, but you are also recycling.
So I spent 16.75 today and here's what I got,
Two t-shirts - 1 dora, 1 disney princess: $1.50
One Thomas the Train t-shirt - 99cents, half off .49
One Lightning McQueen Shirt - 50 cents, half off .25
One Fleece pullover top for E - $.99
One Jacket for O: $1.99
One Fancy dress J: $3.99
One top Mommy: $2.99
One corduroy dress E: $1.99
one sweater top O: $.99
one cool sweat suit Jacket O: .99 half off $.49
I took some pictures. Of course, O had to wear his shirt and jacket right away and ended up going down for a nap. So these are just a few of the pictures.
J's dress is satin with puff sleeves, it has a lining underneath with a little bit of tulle to make the dress stand out. Hers was by far the most expensive but for $3.99 this could easily be a dress up dress. 
E was delighted with hers because she has lots of fancy dresses but no real "play" dresses. So I think I managed to do well this morning. The only drawback to shopping the thrift store is it's much like garage saling, you can often end up spending too much money and buy more than you really need just because it's a good deal.
There also can be a certain stigma shopping at thrift shops. My one SIL does not buy second hand at all and only would consider taking cast offs if she knows the people personally. This from someone who had a tight budget for a long period of time.
I disagree. What with the cost of raising three growing kids these days, I need to save money wherever I can and besides, if my daughter wears a 99 cent t-shirt and spills paint all over it or plays in the mud in her new jeans that cost $1.99, who really cares. That all joins in with my letting kids be kids and get dirty theory. All that and helping the environment too! What could be better than that?
A dirty kid is a happy kid and a thrifty momma has loonies in her pocket.
Perfect! I think thrift finds are fabulous, personally. Just like you said... if they spill paint on the cheap ones, who cares! Good job mommy!
ReplyDeleteWow, those are ALL great deals. I can't believe that fancy dress was 3.99! I always get the bear 3-piece suits for special occasions from the thrift store and they set me back a cool $10. I could not make it without second hand shops. Not to mention the low carbon footprint.
ReplyDeleteI am not ashamed to thrift shop, either. My older kids (17 and 15) now go on their own and come home triumphant, showing me the awesome stuff they scored. In fact, by 15yos is in the spring play, and he put his own costume together through thrift-shopping.
ReplyDeleteIn the U.S. they just passed a law last week that all clothing and toys for children has to be tested for lead and phthlates or else it can't be sold. Smaller secondhand stores can't afford to have every item tested, so they're going out of the children's clothing business. Sad day for many, many moms here.