Garage Sale Finds

I think I have shared a little bit before about my love for anything and everything garage sales.  It wasn't until I had children that I realized how you can greatly benefit from someone else buying something new and barely using it.  One of the main things that I love to find on garage sales is toys.  I have found a lot of great deals on the smaller toys, but I think it's the larger toys that excite me the most.  A little disinfecting leaves the toys looking like new.  Just to give you an idea...here are a few of my finds.



Even though I can't take sole credit for this find (my aunt found it for me),
I got this Little Tikes Kenmore Kitchen for $40...retail price $149.99!



Step 2 table and chairs $10...retail price $54.99!

Imaginarium train table with battery powered train $50...retail price $229.99!

These are just a few of the many amazing deals I have been able to find on toys.  I can honestly say that I have only bought a couple of toys for the kids brand new and I usually get a deal on them when I do.  Kids go through stages of playing with toys just like they outgrow their clothes, so keep your eye out for some great savings at garage sales!

Travel Sized Treasures

This week I am in organizing mode at our house.  Closets, dressers, toy boxes...you name it, they are being gone through and items are being discarded left and right.  I'm thinking a garage sale is going to be in my near future.  As I was organizing our bathroom closet, I realized the surplus of travel sized items we have.

This is one of the perks of couponing.  If a coupon doesn't specify a size or exclude travel sizes, you can use it on the travel size items to get them free or sometimes even make a little money.  I counted up 11 bottles of contact solution...each one will last about a month.  I haven't seen a printable coupon for these in awhile, but at the time I was able to make about $1.00 on each one of these. (I'll let you know if that deal ever comes up again.) 

You will also notice about 20 tubes of travel toothpaste.  This has become a running joke around our house because I refuse to buy regular tubes of toothpaste until I can get a coupon deal and get them free.  A couple of months ago we were out of large tubes and I made Brandon use a travel sized tube until I found a good deal.  A week later I was able to score 4 large tubes of toothpaste free!  You know you have become addicted to couponing when it irritates you to pay $1.00 for a tube of toothpaste when you know the next week you will probably be able to get it free. 

One travel sized item that I failed to get a picture of is Tide laundry detergent.  There are almost always $1 coupons for Tide in the newspaper and most of these do not state a size restriction.  You can find the travel-size Tide packages along with all the other travel sized items in the toiletry aisle.  Sure it's just one load, but these would be very handy to take on vacation or just use at home.  I have accumulated about 20 packages...that's 20 loads of laundry free! 

You are better off to use your coupons for the regular sized items, but if you don't need the regular sized you might as well use the coupons for the travel sized items.  There's no need to let them go to waste!  Besides, they are perfect for the travel-sized item restrictions when you carry on your luggage.  You never knew coupons could be so versatile huh?

I will leave you with a picture of my little drummer boy and my little jumparoo!  Have a great week everyone.

Toys, Toys Everywhere...

I consider myself to be a very organized person and somewhat of a neat freak.  My kids have tamed me down a bit, possibly due to the fact that my house seems to be shrinking because of all the stuff that comes with them.  I have found a few favorite items that help keep the toys at least somewhat organized.  One thing that I love are these cube organizers.

I found two of these on a garage sale for $5 each with the canvas baskets included (they run around $40 at Target plus the cost of the baskets).  I gave them a fresh coat of black spray paint and placed one in each of the kids closets.  They are perfect for storing toys and books.  I have one basket designated for balls, one for cars/tractors...this makes it easy for Landry when he is picking up his toys.  He is the first to correct you if you put a ball in the car basket.

I have also grown to love these under the bed storage containers for Landry's toys.  They are perfect because they are easy to get in and out and save the closet space. 

I have found that these two items have helped keep the toys organized and easily accessible.  We also have a toy box like the one picture below, but I have found that whatever we place in it doesn't get played with as often. 

It seems to be a bottomless abyss.  There will always be a toy at the bottom that is forever lost or every toy will be taken out of it in order to find that lost toy at the bottom.  Even though to me it seems to be an organizational nightmare, I still think a toy box of some sort is nice to throw those random toys in to keep them off the floor!

Texas Wishes

We just spent a week in Ft. Worth, Texas for Brandon's work conferences and I was reminded of a few things that I love down there...and a few things I could do without!  I thought I would share them with you and see if any of you have the same wishes for these stores to be near you.

First and foremost, one of my favorite places is Sam Moon.  For those of you who have never been there, it is a purse and jewelery lover's paradise.  I could spend hours in there looking, but this year I was toting Landry and Brynley so I had to make a quick run through.  Everything is so organized and it is a great place to do Christmas shopping.  One of the greatest things about it is that there is a great price range and almost everything is very reasonably priced.  This year I found some really cute bows for Brynley and I was able to get a few Christmas presents.

Another one of my favorite places to go is Ross.  It is kind of like a TJ Maxx or Marshals, but I have always had a lot more luck there.  It is not always one of the most organized places, but if you are willing to dig a little you can usually come out with some good deals on designer brands.

The next couple of places I love are all over the place, but for some reason we don't have one near us.  Super Target...need I say more?  Not only is it a coupon lover's dream, but I realized just how much more of a selection they have of everything.  I love Target!   

And last but not least, a Sonic on the mall food court.  Of all the fast food places that come and go on our mall's food courts, why not Sonic?  I always seem to get thirsty when I go shopping and if only I could get a Vanilla Dr. Pepper without having to leave the mall. 

I will continue to wish for these things and will be grateful for no traffic jams and no Texas heat!  Does anyone else share my likes?

The Barber is In

Today was hair cutting day at our house.  You guessed it...I am the barber around here for my two boys.  One bad $15 hair cut for Brandon officially gave me the role of full time barber!  After coming home scalped, Brandon requested that I start cutting his hair.  I reluctantly agreed and went to Walmart and bought a set of Conair clippers and scissors for $29.99 similar to the one below.  Brandon had me convinced that I would have the clippers paid for after just two cuts and he wouldn't have to hassle with making an appointment anymore. 

Four years later not only am I cutting Brandon's hair, but I am also cutting Landry's.  I really don't mind it at all, especially when you total up the savings.  I figure a hair cut cost around $15 every month.  This totals up to be $180 a year per person.  That means I am saving around $360 a year just by cutting my boy's hair!  I'd say that I have more than paid for my cheap clippers! 

Fair Fun and Zoo Visit

There has been a buzz of fun activities for Landry over the past week around here.  Last weekend, we went to a local fair and Landry enjoyed riding rides and watching the parade.  Let me rephrase this...he enjoyed riding only if we could ride with him (especially the Ferris Wheel and Carousel) and he loved the abundance of candy that was thrown to him at the parade.  Brynley loved watching the parade and was in awe of all the lights at the fair.

We also visited the zoo this week.  Landry was amazed by the monkeys, elephants, and giraffes.  He really enjoyed feeding the cow and goats at the petting zoo.  Brynley thought the goats were funny until one of them sneezed and scared her.  She has such a tender heart! 

Who knows what fun this weekend will have in store for us.  I'm hoping to have time to post a few money saving tips this weekend.  Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!