Goodwill Hunting

Get it? Good Will Hunting? Man...I'm terrible.

Updating this blog is something that I really want to do often. I have so many ideas to share with everyone, but finding the time is the trouble. I'm hoping to write on more topics soon (re-learning the value of a $ and why we choose to cloth diaper are two in the forefront of my mind) and share my pattern/process for making a Kindle cover. But for today, during naptime, I want to share my recent findings at Goodwill.

Here in Middle TN, the first Saturday of every month is 1/2 off day at Goodwill. For years, I had a standing date with my Gma to be at her house at 7 am to leave for Franklin. On these special days, Goodwill opens an hour early, at 8 am. If you want a decent place in line, you need to be there no later than 7:45. She and I would get our carts (a lesson my sis learned the hard way this past Saturday...always put your hand on a cart, because they WILL run out of them), and stand in the line that forms quickly down the side of the building. We would chat with familiar faces...the same people tend to turn out, and you get to "know" the crowd and wait for the doors to open. During the summer of 2007, when she was in the midst of her battle, she would sit in the car and I would hold two spots in line for us. At around 7:55, she would feebly walk up to stand in line with me. Even now, I can clearly see the weakness in her body being overthrown by the life in her eyes...the excitement of finding "something neat" as she would say.

Flash forward to this past Saturday, and I somehow convinced my little sister to drag out of bed and go with me. She is not a morning person, so I was thrilled to have her along, because it's really not her "thing". We were late, we got to the store at about 8:10, which was fine because the weather was wet and cold and I would not have gotten Zane out of the car to stand in line anyway. We had to make a quick run of it (I have been known to stay in the same Goodwill from 8 am until well past lunchtime) since we had other errands to run in Franklin and still make it home at a decent time. Before Kevin was born, I followed this system on 1/2 off days: Furniture - Shoes - Tops - Pants - Dresses - Men's clothing - Linens - Household - Books. NOW...it's pretty much the same, only with Infants/Childrens in the forefront. I decided to skip over the women's section this time around for two reasons A) I'm still losing weight, so I'm not buying clothes that fit the "current" me unless I need to and B) Zane was wrapped and strapped and snoozing and I was not about to disturb him to try on clothes. I did need to find a dress to wear to a friend's wedding and also at least 1 pair of jeans...the maternity ones are starting to sag really bad and I am not that cool...or that gangsta.

So, in the spirit of tradition, I came home, unloaded all my stuff and took stock. Gma and I used to guesstimate retail cost of our goodies and be thrilled at how much $$ we had saved. I spent $47 at Goodwill and bought several things for all my boys and a few things for me. I've picked the best bargains to highlight, and I did a quick internet search to determine retail price comparisons.

Clothes for Zanie:

Small Wonders "Happy Camper" onesie - $3.50 retail, $.99 Goodwill

Mighty Politey "Stud Muffin" baby tee - $19.95 retail, $.99 Goodwill

Gymboree "Lil' Bully" onesie - $16.95 retail, $.99 Goodwill

Clothes for Kevin:

I Still Live With My Parents tee - $5.99 retail, $.99 Goodwill

Old Navy "vintage" Hotwheels tee - $12.50 retail, $1.25 Goodwill

Ann Taylor Dress for Naomi's Wedding - $88 - $110 retail, $3.99 Goodwill

Various Linens for sewing projects:

Purple - approx 5.5 yards...retail @ 7.99/yd = $44 Goodwill = $1.99 (loved the pattern, see below for project)

Blue - approx 5.5 yards...retail @ 5.99/yd = $33 Goodwill = $1.99 (going to use some of this on a shopping cart cover for Zane)

Dots - approx 2 yards...retail @ 5.99/yd = $12 Goodwill = $.99 (thinking of making reusable shopping totes out of this)

Yellow - approx 1 yard...retail @ 4.99/yd = $5 Goodwill = $.50 (will make an adorable pillowcase dress for a little girl)

I already used some of the purple to make this neat-o sling for Zanie.

And here are my biggest thrills from Saturday:

A pair of Ahnu trail shoes, brand spanking new! $90 retail, $1.99 Goodwill

A pair of North Face hiking shoes, worn but still in good condition. $110 retail, $1.99 Goodwill

I'll save you the trouble of the math, because I already did it! These items have a new retail value of approx $436. I paid $19 for all of it! I did buy some other things, a pair of jeans from the Gap for me...trail pants for Mark...more clothes for both kiddos, and that made up the rest of my $47. One of the best things is that all the clothes are tax-free at Goodwill, so that makes it even better. Had a great time this trip, can't wait for next month!