A Thrifty Tradition

A new tradition has started for me. Every year around my birthday (which happens to be tomorrow) there is a neighborhood that has a garage sale. It's big...I mean really big. To put things in perspective last year Demand wet her pants three times after I came home with tons of goods. I'm talking new clothes for $0.50 or less, name brand, mint condition toys for about the same. I waited all year for this sale and I was not disappointed. Since the sale is around my birthday Mr. Sloth has no choice but to let me go. This year I was up at 6am. I showered, dressed, and ran to an ATM for cash and at 6:36am I stopped into our beloved coffee shop. (six minutes after it opened) One of my friends came by at 7am to start our adventure.

Cash, coffee, snacks, tennis shoes and a list in my head and we were off. We arrived a half an hour early but still things were jumping. It happened to be the same house I bought all my stuff from last year. Before the sale technically opened at 8am, and our other friends arrived we had already filled the van. No joke. It was out of control. I do have to confess that at this particular sale I tend to buy toys but this year I was going to be smart. I wouldn't show Demand anything but stash the new toys for a rainy (miserable) day. First things first a Cinderella bike with bell and basket $10 it was the one thing on my list. Next Happy got a fantastic, cute, perfect condition snow suit and boots for $3. $3!!!! That combination alone would have cost me near $40 next winter. I scored a few clothes and delightful but unnecessary toys before finally deciding I better leave. At the next house I found a baby/toddler swing that we can hang in the garage for only $1. Santa was supposed to buy this $20 toy for Christmas but couldn't find them in December. The third place I went I found the third piece to animal train. Ironically I had bought the first two pieces at the first garage sale just accepting it wasn't the full set, how awesome is that? I just look up this train and it's going for $103 on Amazon and I got it for $4. The kids are going to love that thing!

Enough about toys, Lazywife, you went for clothes remember!! Ah yes, it wasn't quite as easy to find clothes as I had hoped but we did find some and near the end I found a home that had a ton of clothes in Demands size and then we found a sale with clothes marked $0.50 but then it was half off at check out. Demand got, I don't know 20 outfits total and Happy maybe 15 including his snowsuit. Most of them are for next winter too which is awesome. Near the very end I found a pair of rain boots for Demand for only $1 ($18 at Target)

I parked our van at Sidekicks house when I got home just in case Demand was lurking around. She knew where I was going today and remembers each and every toy that came from that garage sale so she told me to bring something special home. The family asleep I brought everything but toys inside. When Demand and Mr. Sloth woke up showed Mr. Sloth what I had bought and we picked out one toy for each of them for today. He picked the Abacus. Yep the math counting toy because that's fun for him. Don't get me wrong I bought it with Mr. Sloth and Demand in mind because he's been teaching her math (thank goodness). So I picked a memory game. While I was stashing the rest of the goods at Sidekicks house Demand wandered over and came a half second away from seeing her bike. Whew! That was close. Mr. Sloth wants to wait until around her birthday to give her that gift.

I haven't decided about any of the books yet. Most of them are stashed with the toys but I pulled the ones about George Washington and Mozart out. We're heading to D.C. next month so we've been prepping Demand on what she'll get to see. Plus she's really into Mozart these days. She requests we ONLY listen to Mozart in the car and often comments on how beautiful his music is. (Yep, she's 3) I'm sure it's only because she's been to his birth home in Austria. Either way she loves the books.

Between Mother's Day, my birthday and this garage sale it has been an expensive week. No spending for a while now that's for sure. I'll let you know how my birthday goes. I told Demand that I want coffee in bed tomorrow, but she said "No" so it doesn't look promising.