Trendy Tuesday!!!

I know it's been a while.  Life got a little crazy in our houses lol.
Well my latest thrift store finds were a pair of miss me pants and 2 pairs of la idol pants!  I was so excited!!! You really never know what you're going to find.  Then Carole found a Hermes scarf for .50 at a yard sale!! The past month has been really good for us.  I hope your finds are amazing as well!!
Amanda

Misc Monday, I Love Spring & Pricing Pet Peeves

Happy Monday!

With the arrival of some amazing spring weather, we've been spending alot of time outside.  Several days last week & most of Saturday were spent doing yardwork & property clean up - a neverending project, for certain.  'tis the season for checking the property for dead or otherwise dangerous trees.  Garden time is fast approaching.  The lakes and beaches are calling.   It's time to shrug off the winter doldrums & soak up some real Vitamin D.  It's time to REFRESH!

No matter what the season, it's always THRIFTING time, though! We've found a couple things for the Big 3 Tool Party (June is fast approaching!).  We're on the lookout for all things TOOL.  The little mister thinks he's getting a CHAIN SAW party...ha. NO.

Recently, I've been irritated by some thrift store pricing methods...not how they determine their prices, but how the label their items.  One of our thrift stores uses STAPLES to attach their tags.  Sometimes the staple is in a tag, but not always.  Often, the item will be damaged upon removal of the staple.  Other places use stickers.  Not a horrible way to label something, right? UNLESS the sticker is on paint that comes off with the label...or leaves residue that is difficult to remove.  I think they should put the stickers on the BOTTOM of the item! My last example is the practice of writing a price directly on an item...and not on the bottom.  WHY!??

Somewhere along this trail of my life, I was taught that if you have a problem with something, you should keep quiet about it unless you have a possible solution.  Well...what is my solution to the issue of how to price items without causing damage? Place your sticker or your write your price on the bottom of an item.  If it is clothing, use the tag to write the price or attach the label.  If there is no tag, perhaps a price tag attached to a string could be used through a button hole or zipper pull.  If they feel the need to use a stapler, at least use an inconspicuous location on the garment, please.

In the big scheme of things, these are little "problems" -- and I am fully aware of how blessed & lucky I am.  BUT, this is Miscellaneous Monday on our little thrift store blog, so I thought I'd mention it :)

Now, I'm going to get off the computer & be productive - more spring cleaning & decluttering!

Happy Thrifting!

Misc. Monday: What We RARELY, if Ever, Buy at a Thrift Store

     We recently shared our list of things we prefer to buy thrifted, rather than new. 

     Today, we'll share our list of things we'd rather not buy thrifted, for one reason or another.  While we love a good bargain, it's just worth it to us to buy some things new.
    
     On top of our list of items to NOT buy thrifted, with noted exceptions:
          - under garments: underwear, bras, socks. Even though I know that a good, hot washing would most likely render these items quite safe, I cannot persuade myself to thrift these items.
          - electrical items or appliances: UNLESS the store offers a decent return policy if the item does not work to your satisfaction.
          - jigsaw puzzles: UNLESS it's unopened.  It's just not worth the frustration of getting to the end & discovering you're missing a piece! I've been very fortunate & have found many unopened puzzles over the years.

     As you can see, there aren't many things we won't buy thrifted! There's always an "exception to the rule" and nothing is totally off limits.  We try to keep an open mind & make purchasing decisions on an item by item basis!

     OK, let's go...Happy Thrifting!
         
     (oops had this ready, but forgot to post it)

Funny Friday: (or Frustrating)/My Kid Broke Something OR Something Broke My Kid!?

     Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week! Mine was pretty good! Easter dinner, birthday party, supplies purchased for projects to make for the new grandbaby, and some thrifting time!! As I contemplated my thrifty history, I had to go "way back" for something "funny."  (At the time, it was not funny at all.  In fact, it took years for me to not get angry whenever I thought about it.  It still may not be truly funny, but I'll share it anyway...
     I'll start with a disclaimer, of sorts.  I am fully aware that we (my children & I) are not, and have never been, perfect.  I was always fully willing to take an unruly child outside rather than subject everyone to it! They've been naughty, as all children will be from time to time.  They've also been complimented on their manners & good behavior.  We all have good & bad days, right? I believe it is important to show our kidlets that we have their backs & will stand up for them!  Here's my story...

Thrifty Thursday: Regular Sale Days & Discount Programs ~ Added THRIFTY Savings!

     I'll start out by saying I had a GREAT day yesterday! I went shopping (real stores, RETAIL shopping!?, about an hour from home) and STILL found some great deals - it's all about the savings! I used the 15% off entire purchase coupon at Joann's, which luckily included sale & clearance items this time - and almost everything I bought WAS on sale or clearance :)  We did manage to stop at a thrift store - I found a light-up night sky constellation "thingee" for my 5 year old nephew...He loves it!  While we were out & about, we also noticed that a NEW thrift store is opening this weekend! We'll have to make sure to check it out next time we're over there.

     My thrifty tip for today is that you should learn the schedule & discount programs of your local thrift stores...

The Big 5 Pirate Party ~ Arrrr!

We did it!

Justin is happy being 5, so far.  He did wake up the day AFTER his party and told Mommy "yay, my pirate party is today!"  Um, sorry, buddy.  Mommy told him that he only gets one party for each birthday...I guess it was a successful party in his eyes, too, if he wants another one!

Here are some of the things we did or used, that were thrifted...

Above, the plastic (little tikes, or similar) pirate ship was thrifted.  The kids loved it - we used some thrifted styrofoam balls, about 1-1/2" diameter, for cannonballs. They were a perfect fit for the "cannon" on this ship.  Oh, and the picture of the ship on the lid of the big treasure chest was thrifted...now we need to find a thrifty frame for it & hang it in the boys' room!

We found this one day, paid $1 for it, "just in case" we could use it...Justin saw it when we got home & said it looked like an Atlantis map, so we used it!

Several of the gift bags were thrifted, for cheap! We LOVE to reuse those gift bags... Also, we found a pirate themed book (see the stack on the table) for each child that came to the party, and included it as part of their "party favor" goody bag.  We made sure to find books at different reading levels - everyone found one that the liked! (we didn't pay over fifty cents for any of them)

(I need to figure out how to rotate the pics in here...)  This is the lunch box (I think I mentioned it earlier) that we found for $2 & Amanda painted it to look like a treasure chest...It looked great! Unfortunately, I didn't get a better picture of it...and the little guy in the pic with our birthday boy LOVED that little treasure chest so much - he carried it around the rest of the party.  Justin was very sweet & let his friend keep it!  :)  awwww.

We got these 2 bottles for $1 each.  We thought they looked cool, but kinda smelled "funky" so we just used them for decoration.

THIS is the amazing treasure chest we found, $3, and we found it last week, just in the nick of time for the party! Needless to say, it was a big hit, too. 

This is a star chart globe - at first we thought it was a "regular" globe with the continents, but we liked it, so we got it for $1 & hung if from the ceiling.

The aquarium decoration was a big hit, too.  We just put it on the table by the treasure chest.  It was only $1, I think.

Well, I was on photog duty & apparently, I missed some stuff... Not included in pictures are several serving bowls & trays, thrifted for cheap. 

Most of the items thrifted for this birthday bash will be reused in the boys' bedroom when it shifts from a Spiderman theme to the Pirate theme.  Originally, we planned to do this at Christmastime, like we did Spidey for Christmas last year, but both boys are liking Pirates right now, so it might be changed early.  We'll just keep looking for thrifty pirate items for the bedroom re-do!

Whew.  Party done.  Next party, the little one turns 3...he says he wants a pirate party, too.  We'll see.  The next one will be more low-key.  We like to do the "bigger" parties for milestone years (turning 5, ready for school, etc.).  In the meantime...

Happy Thrifting!

Thrifted Treasure of the Month: March 2013

We actually braved town & a few thrift stores on a Saturday! My son wanted to pick up some job applications and Amanda & I had several other errands to tend to -- PLUS it was a dry, sunny, spring day and there were yard sales to visit!

It was extremely handy having my son (almost 18) along for the ride, because we were able to pop in & out of the stores while he stayed in the car & entertained his little cousins! We found an awesome treasure chest for the Big 5 Pirate Party, complete with skull accents.  On our list of treasures for the outing: the treasure chest, a couple books, a few VHS movies, a couple hats for the kids, a pirate-y themed aquarium decoration, and THE treasure of the day, AND month...A pair of Men's size 13, Foot Joy golf shoes, that sell for $180 new.  I paid...$4.50.  Amanda brought them to my attention because my husband loves golf & they looked brand new, but she could find the size...I hunted 'til I found they were 13s, we talked about the apparent quality (leather, good spikes, etcyou.) and figured they must be expensive...I paid the $4.50 & put the shoes in my gift stash, thinking I'll save them for Father's Day or birthday (both in June). 
     As I was relaxing the next morning, I decided to research those golf shoes on the internet...and discovered their value! THEN, I had to give them to my husband instead of waiting.  He was excited to receive them & he told me how much they cost new -- an even more excited when I told him how much I paid!

     I wonder what wonderful treasures we'll uncover during April's thrifting adventures!

     Happy Thrifting!