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!