ID Mommy Bargains: Garage Sale Finds of the Week

My friends and family know that I am a big bargain hunter.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spending the big bucks on quality items that will last you a while, like a really solid pair of shoes, pretty jewelry, and of course power tools.  (yes, I am that rare breed they call a "female industrial designer," and I love both pretty jewelry and power tools.)  But, I've never ever been one to pay for a brand name for the brand name's sake...only if the brand truly is synonymous with quality...like Craftsman, All-Clad, and Birkenstock.  I find it much more thrilling to let someone else blow their money on a big name, then sell it to me later for pocket change.

Garage sales are the best place to get deals on kids stuff.  One minute your kid fits on the length of your forearm, the next their shoes are as long as your forearm.  What I'm trying to say is that kids grow so fast, that especially for babies, it's hard to actually wear anything out before they grow out of it.  This is why I so often find things that look just like new, and often times even ARE brand new with the tags still on.  I got pregnant with my first baby in the summer, and found just about everything I could need at sales, from the bedroom furniture to a complete year's wardrobe. Each summer I look for clothes that will fit my kids through until the next garage sale season hits.  And the best thing about it...I can later hold my own garage sale and get all of my money back, if not more on many of the items I found that they've grown out of!

It's garage sale time of year, so you may find me bragging about my great finds this summer.  I am merely posting these things to solidify my viewpoint that garage sales are awesome. ;-)

This morning I came across a block sale with 6 sales within walking distance, which I like now that I have two kids to get in and out of the car.  It was a great chance to take a little walk and bargain hunt.  I didn't pick up as many things as I would have liked, being that we're hoping to move soon and I don't want to accumulate any more big stuff.  But, I did spend a whopping $2.00 on these great finds:

On the left: Trumpette baby socks.  As I've mentioned in a previous post of baby registry must-have's, these are my favorite baby socks.  They seem to stay on better than any other brand I've tried.  They run about $20-$25 or so for a set of 6 new...I got these for 10 cents a pair.  They look so new, there's not even a pill on them and the white grips on the bottom are as white as ever.  No surprise really...babies' feet grow fast, and they don't walk, so you'd be hard pressed to find baby socks with holes in the heels.

On the right: a brand new Kipiis bib clip, still in the package.  You may remember these from one of my previous posts.  Here's where holding out to buy something new and cool paid off for me, because I picked it up for a buck.  The price tag on the back says $12.00. 

So, while I only found a couple small things (not to leave out the cool blow-up airplane Sammy got from a free box), they were great finds...about $50 worth of stuff if I had bought it in the store, for $2.  All this money saving is exhausting...think I'll go take a nap now.