Cheap Junk

I have a serious problem. I call it a sickness.

For the most part I am really good at being frugal. I buy my clothes used from Garage sales and Thrift stores, I am a master at buying cheap food, and I'm pretty good about making do with what we have on hand. I don't "go shopping" for fun and I pride myself on my ability to save money. But I have one glaringly obvious weakness. Cheap Junk. It is my Kryptonite. For some reason I just can't seem to walk away from something I perceive as a great deal, even if I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is junk.

Take yesterday for example. I needed tissue paper for wrapping up my felt cupcakes. That's all I needed. Now, I know the dollar store is a dangerous place for me because of my sickness so I try my best to avoid it, but it is the best deal in town when it comes to tissue paper. I gave myself a little pep talk before going in, mentally writing a thousand times on the chalkboard, "I will only buy what I need. I will only buy what I need. I will only buy what I NEED." I bought tissue paper, some needed school supplies for the kids, a couple Mother's Day cards, and...

and....

and....

a sombrero

a 3D Hansel and Gretel book

and some cute drinking straws with little drink umbrellas on them

So, here I sit, wearing my sombrero, drinking my morning V-8 through an umbrella straw, trying my best to mentally justify these purchases.

I need help.

Pins And Needles

Come on in, have a seat.I hope you don't mind. We are all just sitting on pins and needles over here waiting to hear from Mr. Hotness about his job.

Follow The Neon Signs

I have been doing my Bunz O' Steel exercises all winter long preparing for Summer time. Not because I want to look good in a swimsuit (for that I would have to do Body O' Steel) but because I want to look good while assuming the rummage-and-find position: Yes folks, it is summer, and summer means YARD SALES or GARAGE SALES. Oh how I loves me a good yard sale. I like to think that when I shop at yard sales I am contributing to the recycling process and keeping our landfills clean (ok, not really, I just love cheap junk). The best is when I find stuff new, or things I have been wanting to buy but couldn't afford. I'll never forget finding the leapfrog toy. As a new, and rather poor, mom I had been browsing a children's toy catalogue wishing I had the money to buy from it. Then I saw it. A Leap Frog Phonics Writing Desk. At the time it cost $30 and that was an impossible amount for me. I wanted Cookie to have it, though, and decided to save up for it. I clipped its picture from the catalogue and stuck it to my fridge as a reminder to count my pennies. It sat on that fridge for 3 months. One sunny Saturday I was out running errands and happened on a yard sale. I stopped to look around and while rummaging through a big box of toys I saw it. It looked brand new! The amazing toy that was going to make my daughter a child prodigy was just sitting there in someone's front yard. There was no price tag. I cringed. They would probably want more than I could afford. I calmed myself down and tried to remember all the yard saling tactics my mother had taught me as a child. I lifted it up and lazily called to the lady sitting in a lawn chair, "Hi, this one doesn't have a price tag. How much do you want for it?"

"Oh, how 'bout a buck?" I almost choked. Stay calm, stay calm.

"Ok, I think I'll take it then."

That $1 toy lasted through 3 children. And that, dear friends, is why I like to yard sale.

Tips for yard saling:

1. In the summer time plan all your errands for early mornings on Fri and Sat. That way you are already out and about and can get the most for your gas. Do grocery shopping at the very end.

2. Keep your eyes alert and slow down at all intersections. You never know when you'll see some neon or an arrow. Make sure the signs you follow look fresh and new. You don't want to drive around looking for last week's sale.

3. You can yard sale with kids. Mine are always willing to sit in the car because they know when I come back I will usually have a new little toy for them. (most yard sales have a little 10 cent toy bucket)

4. If you see something you really like but the price is too high just ask yourself, "At what price would I be willing to buy this?" Then offer them just a little bit less than that. That way you have a little wiggle room to go up. If they don't meet your price then just say, "hmmm, I'd love to buy it, but I just can't at that price. Thanks anyway" They will understand.

5. If there is an item that you REALLY want but they wouldn't come down on the price then get their phone number or give them yours and say "If you don't happen to sell it and you are willing to go down to my price later, please call and let me know"

6. When buying kids clothes I usually go through the stack and find what I want. Then I wait till there is no one else near and I quietly approach the salesperson and say, "Hi, I know that you want $1.00 a piece but I usually only pay 50 cents each for kids clothes. Would you be willing to sell to me at that price?" I am very fair about the prices I offer. And I set my offering prices based on what I see at other yard sales. If they say no I know I can wait and find things at that price elsewhere. I will pay more depending on the quality and newness.

7. Don't hesitate to rummage and dig. Often times people just toss a bunch of small stuff in a box (like my Leap Frog toy) and you never know when you will find a treasure underneath a bunch of junk.

8. Before you start yard saling think about the things you need or want. If you truly have a need say a prayer before you go. I know this may sound hokey but I have too often found things that I really needed in answer to prayers. I'll never forget my sister in law's lamps. She was pregnant, newly married, and very poor at the time and was trying to furnish a new apartment. We went out and at one sale she found a lovely green lamp for $3. 2 yard sales later she found its exact match for $2. They would have cost her at least $50 if she had bought them at Wal Mart and they would not have been as nice. She was so happy she almost cried. When I was expecting Cookie I was able to get everything I needed for her (crib, highchair, clothes, books, walker, strollers, etc) for $100 and all in one weekend.

9. When in doubt walk away. We can all use less junk in our lives, so if you are sitting there thinking, "I don't know.... should I buy it?" then the answer is probably, "NO".

Now get out there and find yourself some neon signs and follow those arrows till all your cheap junk dreams come true!

Frugal Firewood Fiasco

Not 2 hours after writing yesterday's post my neighbor calls and says, "Uh, hey Liz, would you be interested in some free firewood? I got a whole truck load of 2x4s that I can drop off at your place if you want". I had just finished posting about my desire to be more frugal and help our family save money, I thought back to our very very painful heating bills this last winter and I replied, "Sure, bring it on over". He says, "Great, I'll be there in 20-30 minutes". 20-30 minutes later I look out my window and see a truck. Not a Ford F150 kind of truck. I'm talking about a big diesel truck with a big metal box on it's back. So he is backing it up and I'm thinking "SCORE". Then he opens the back and it starts to tilt and wood starts to fall out of this big box. This is a lot of wood. No, I'm serious, this is a LOT of wood. Before I can finish my thought of, "This is awesome, DSSH will be so proud of me", I start thinking, "Oh no, DSSH is going to KILL me". By the time my neighbor is done dumping there is enough scrap lumber in my driveway to build another house! Where am I going to store all of this? How am I ever going to get it stacked in time (before my neighbors turn me in for lowering their property values)? Oh stop your whining, Liz. I put on some scrubby clothes and dig in. I am so glad I spent most of my teen years playing Tetris on the Nintendo because I am now putting those skills to use in sorting, stacking, arranging, and cramming wood into every corner of my shed and backyard fence. I worked for 5 hours before DSSH came home. After 5 hours I had only managed to whittle it down by 1/4, so you can imagine my DSSH face as he rounds the corner to find this MASSIVE MOUND of scrap wood in his driveway (I hadn't told him about it, why ruin his day any earlier than I had to?). His jaw dropped just like mine did, but I just reminded him of our heating bills and, bless his awesome heart, he pulled off his nice work clothes and donned some sexy work clothes (I gotta say, I love my man in jeans, long sleeve Ts, and work gloves). He gets home at 7:30 pm and is always tired so I was surprised he was so willing to help me with this. With hubby helping, we were able to tear through that pile in no time. There is still about 1/4 pile left out there but we have big, nice piles of wood in the back, a nice cozy fire going on this morning, and a good feeling in our hearts because we feel more prepared for next winter.

Anybody need some free firewood? Come an get it!