Tips From a Goodwill Mommy

Check out the Yard Sale Mommy as this woman is one of the best yard salers I have ever seen. I have learned ohh SOOOO much from her!

So I have been going to goodwill since I was a little girl. My parents are/were both teachers (my daddy is retired) and though we had plenty they were always very frugal so I learned from an early age the difference between wants and needs. We shopped at goodwill quite a bit but I am here to say that I will shop at goodwill and yard sales much more than even my parents did.

As I have said in earlier posts, I am the mother of a wonderful almost 2 month old and step mother to a handsome 10 year old. Clothing these two boys is expensive so goodwill and yard sales are like heaven to me but there are some things you need to keep in mind when shopping at these places.

GOODWILL TIP NUMBER ONE: Its all in the numbers

To be a successful goodwill shopper you need to go there a lot! Now I know this may sound like it would take a lot of your time but it really doesn't I am a middle school teacher and my step son is involved in sports and other activities but I still have time for goodwill hunting. (no pun intended) On my way back into town from work, which is an hour away, I stop by goodwill most days. Sometimes I am only there for about 10 minutes, enough time to look through the clothes for anything major and glance over the toys to see if there is anything I can sell on eBay or that my kids will enjoy. Sometime I stay longer and look through the clothes really well but most days its a quick trip. It is on these quick, frequent trips that I have found a baby bumpo seat that I showed in an earlier post, winter coats for the kids, and much much more! Goodwill is getting new inventory everyday so you will always find new stuff!

GOODWILL TIP NUMBER TWO: Pay attention to the check out process

When I shop for David, my stepson, I am buying clothes that look like they could fit me. He is almost my height and though the clothes would not actually fit me (I did just have a baby two months ago! lol), it isn't completely unreasonable to think that I may be buying them for myself. Adult clothes cost more at goodwill than kids clothes so if I was charged the adult price for every piece of clothing that I bought David, then I would be losing a lot of money. Do not be shy about telling the cashier that these are kids clothes. If they look at the sizing they would realize that they are kids sizes but when it comes to saving money, I do not leave it in the hands of someone else. I am in control of my pocket book!

GOODWILL SHOPPING TIP NUMBER THREE: Always have a plan and know what you need and DON'T need.

It is not a good deal if you buy something that you have no use for, so always have in mind the things that you need. Now that does not mean that you only buy things that your family needs because you could find things that you could sell but if you have a ton of boy size 6-9 month clothes at home for your baby boy then you really do not need to buy more of that size clothing unless it is really unique or you just love it. I mean a kid only needs so many onesies so why buy something else to clutter his drawer. Also keep in mind what you need. Since winter is coming up I am always on the lookout for winter coats for the kids and sweat shirts/hoodies.

Hope you have enjoyed this! More tips later, so please come back and check out the next post!

Ok day I guess...

Look at my yard sale finds! It wasn't a great day but I did ok. I got all this for 4.00. The rice cereal alone costs about that much! I got Steven 2 fleece jackets, one of which has fleece pants to go with it. I also got him two pair of shoes, a few onesies and a box of rice cereal. It was a decent trip. I hope the yard sales get better as the weather gets cooler. Today was a bust when it comes to toys and such.

My goodwill finds for today.

So this is a picture of today's finds at goodwill!

Piece by Piece here it is....
Swim suit for my little boy size 6-12 months. We are going to a resort in December and he needs a swim suit...he will be just over six months then, so I hope this fits then. .50 cents

 This is a swim suit that is 24 months, but it was really cute so I got it. We go to the Y and swim a lot so he can wear it sometime. .50 cents

 This is a size 3-6 months hoodie that is so cute! We got so many clothes for Steven before he was born that we have plenty to take us through one year old but he needs some stuff to keep him warm as it get colder so this is a start. This was .50 cents also!

 I don't know if I mentioned this but I have a 10 year old stepson named David. This is for him. Its a long sleeve South Pole Shirt. It was 1.00.

And last but not least, this wooden Sort and Stave Circo puzzle. It has never been opened. Its really cook looking and I think Steven will LOVE it when he gets older. It was 2.00! Love it!


So over all this was a pretty good day! :)

My Goodwill Treasure!

A Baby Bumbo Seat! It was only $4! So I have a question....do you think it makes me a bad person that I'm going to return the bumpo that I was given as a baby shower gift and use this one? We could use the money for other things.

Baby In Tow Goodwill Trip Again

So I'm at goodwill now looking for treasures. It was kind of a bust today...oh well. I'm looking forward to yard sales next weekend!