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Best buys
Last summer I did a fair amount of garage sale-ing, looking for bargains. One of the best sales I hit had tables of boys clothes, plenty of them in Max's size (now and future). I spent $25 there and got probably a year's worth of stuff for him. That was a most satisfactory experience.
Some of the stuff at garage sales, though, you buy thinking it might be useful and it might not, but it's so cheap, why not? It's only later you find out what really is useful. For instance, this summer I found the cutest little Asian lunch set, complete with chopsticks, mug, and box. Snapped it right up.
It's still under my bed. I love it, but have no idea what to do with it. I also bought a number of baby things that I may never use, including a little portable baby chair that attaches to a table. I may wind up giving that away. We'll see.
However, at the same sale I bought those cute little lunch things, I bought a brand new 8 oz. tube of Pinnacle Hydrating Massage Creme for twenty five cents. I've basically used it up this last month since it's that dry skin time of the year. I'm getting to the bottom of the tube now, and thought last night that I should price it online and figure out where to pick up some more. Turns out this type of creme sells for $11.50 a tube. Hmmmm. Now I have a conundrum. This is great cream. I love it. $11.50, though. That's a bit of a splurge for a tightwad like me.
Another great buy was a $.25 magnadoodle for Max. He drew on that thing hour after hour, month after month until it broke. A sad day that was. After that we moved on to a white board and markers, which he quickly let dry out until they were useless, then to crayons and paper; messy. Fortunately, he got another one (or actually two - one large, one small, for the car) for Christmas.
Lastly, and most usefully, I found a pair of black waterproof Merrell boots for $1 at a sale in the neighborhood I grew up in. I've worn those every day for a month and a half, and they are the best boots I've had in years. Not actually waterproof, since suede will absorb melting snow and takes awhile to dry, they are nonetheless quite dry and very comfortable. It's strange to think that today I bought a taco that cost me more money than those fantastic boots.
I can't wait for garage sale season to start again.