One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

WELLLLL, let's just say, I have no talents and no hobbies. That is why saving money and finding deals has become my thing. When you are young and married with small children and living off of one income, finances can be really tight. So stretching our dollar and purchasing things at extremely low prices (that we may otherwise never have been able to buy) gives me great satisfaction! It is rare that I pay full price for anything. This way of thinking has brought me to find a new love-- garage sales!

I will admit, I used to stick my nose up to garage sales. I mean, why on earth would I want to buy some stranger's used crap?!? Well, my friend, because there is a lot of "used crap" out there that really isn't used or crappy at all. For instance, it only takes 1 time to hit a garage sale given by a shopaholic who is selling massive amounts of amazing clothes (some with tags still on) for $1 each to get hooked. Now, I am picky about the areas I go garage selling (because I don't want to waste my valuable time looking at actual crap) and what I buy. It's got to be something I need or really could use, in excellent condition, and really well priced. It is so pointless and a waste of money if those criteria are not met.

Whenever I go out to garage sales, upon arriving home, Cade always runs to the door and asks, "Mommy, you find any treasures?!". Because usually I have found a little something for him. Last time I went he said, "Mommy, you find any treasures?! Thomas?!". One of these days I will hit the Thomas jackpot, just haven't found it yet.

Here are some of the treasures I've found at garage sales in the past month:

Eddie Bauer car seat in pristine condition. It really looks like it has never been used. Retail- $200; price paid- $20! Your welcome Reece:)

Closet Organizer brand new still in packaging- $5.

Cade has gotten into the show Little Einsteins lately so he was more than thrilled when I brought home this submarine for the bathtub and the plush characters below. Apparently, they don't sell Little Einstein stuff in stores anymore and it's all going for a fortune on eBay. I did see the plush rocket for $16 on Amazon. Price paid for these toys- 25 cents each.

He sleeps with them. Now, I'm trying to find the other 2 plush girl characters for Christmas, but not sure if that's going to work out.

Fake Gucci purse- $1.

I have been wanting a food processor for awhile now so I was excited to find this. The lady said she bought it but only used it a few times because she still preferred to do things the old fashioned way. $5.

I kept my eye on this shirt a couple years ago at Target, but even on clearance it didn't go low enough for me to buy it. Happy day when I found it at a garage sale. 50 cents!

This picture makes it look frumpy, but its actually a really nice Gap sweater. $2.

Really nice lined black skirt- $2.

$3

$3

$1

Been looking for brown boots for church- $3.

This Express dress actually looks very nice and maybe worn once- minus the stain at the bottom that I need to get out. Just add a cute white cardigan and wallah!- my Easter dress. 50 cents.

Yes, I know pretty much my entire wardrobe is sweatshirts and t-shirts, but when you're getting spit up on 50 times a day, this is just what's practical. When my kids are all grown up, I'll dress nice again. Or not. Who knows. Anyways, representing the University- $1.

My sister and I found a killer garage sale a few weeks ago. The whole neighborhood pooled all of their stuff together and had 3 ladies in charge of selling all of it. That was the best for 2 reasons- 1.) 99% of it wasn't their stuff so they had no emotional attachment to it. Meaning- they didn't think things were worth way more than they really were. So, whenever we would ask how much something was, they would say, "I don't know. Like 50 cents?" or "Like 25 cents?". I got some great Christmas presents for Reece and Cade so check back later for those. (That is where I got the Little Einsteins, closet organizer, pink ruffly shirt, and dress from above). 2.) All the money they made was being donated to a charity so they really didn't care how much things went for. A big win for me!

I don't know about you, but all this talk is making me want to go search for more treasures!