Thursday, May 20, 2010

Thrifty Thursday......The bag sale.....score one for the bag lady

I have experienced a tighwad thrill. The excitement of paying way less than the average person for some genuine needs. The reason I say genuine is, because, at times, I buy things on impulse that are a screaming deal but not really needed. Now this can be o.k. but when it adds to the clutter, my stress and simplicity, it is no bargain. It is just one more thing I spend time moving, cleaning or maintaining. That sounds more like work to me. 


I'll never forget a James Dobson film series we watched in Sunday School years ago. I don't even remember the series topic or title. I just remember his example of money = you in spendable form. He told of how he spent hours putting together this swing set for his children and how it represented a day or so of his life and what great frustration it brought him.  I don't think his kids really even used it much. He was cautioning parents to set their priorities strait when choosing to acquire things. It causes me to ponder who owns what and what owns who? I own these things, but they own my time and joy, too often.


But back to my score. My joyous score. I was on my eternal search for a love seat for my living room. It has to be the right color, size, and price. Of course, I had no success that day. But I did participate in a great bag sale. It was one of my favorite large thrift shops. You are given a grocery sized paper bag. It costs $5.00 to fill this bag. Now depending on your ability to fold, you can really fit an amazing amount of things in this bag. Since that day, I have learned from the master of bag sales, a.k.a. contest winner, Shirley. She has showed me the way. She rolls her things and fits even more items in.


Here are the contents of my bag from that day. Blessings for 5 different people:
  • 3 pairs of Polo jeans for Paperboy
  • 1 pair of dress pants for same boy
  • 2 pairs of sweat pants for Little guy
  • 1 pair of new water shoes
  • 1 boys old navy swim suit for Random
  • 3 turtlenecks for Little guy
  • 1 pair of fabulous red capris for me
  • 2 Land's End uniforms for my friend's daughter
Now this is where I count my blessings that we are a homeschool family. My kids take no thought of brand names or trends They are pleased easily. When I present the items to them, they hug and thank me. They ooh and aahh over the clothes and have never commented on where they came from. This is one area of savings that helps our family immensely. 


If you have any reservations about buying used clothes and can't get over it, don't feel bad. Our country needs you. If everyone shopped like us, the malls would close. Then I wouldn't have casts off from the mall shoppers to fill my bags. My $5.00 bag.


Happy Thursday!



 
I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.
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2 comments:

Linds said...

I buy probably 98% of my son's clothes at consignment and garage sales. People think I dress him SO nice... if they only knew I only spent about $1 a piece!

May 20, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Heidi said...

We mostly shop used too. I always get a big thrill when I get a bargain like this! :) Feels good, doesn't it?

May 20, 2010 at 1:24 PM

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