Off and Running

Okay, so the "once-a-week writing" part of my resolve has been impeded a little, but I still have my determination and rest assured, I have been on the hunt. Right now, part of the problem is I really want to post pics of my finds to add to the fun, but I am not sure either camera is compatible with my computer.

Since the crash and burn virus episode last fall, I’m a little paranoid about my laptop, and could use some technical assistance. (Where is that boy when I need him? College. That’s where.)

So anyway, I will work on this issue, but in the meantime here’s a photoless update:

For the first week or so, the pickings were slim. I spent several days locating oft-rumored but never-witnessed treasure troves and walked out disappointed on several fronts: the pricing, the quality of the merchandise, and the organization of the stores. My tried and trues left me empty handed as well. For a brief, flickering moment I questioned my sanity and the mileage I was putting in on a fruitless endeavor- when I walked into the Hospice store on a half-price Saturday and TA-DAAAH! a brand-new, never opened set of Food Network international beer glasses which my home-brewer brother-in-law will certainly put to good use.

Retail price: $39.99. My price: $5. Savings: $34.99.

I was off and running.

A subsequent trip to my nearest Goodwill yielded a Sigrid Olsen linen/ramie/cotton cardigan, TAGS ON, in gorgeous shades of periwinkle, beige, and sage, that will make my sister’s big blue eyes pop. Online research says a low estimate would be about $109.00 new, so the $7.99 I forked out seems like it was a good deal. Savings: $101.01.

(Disclaimer: I love my sister. But the fact is, if I hadn’t found this sweater at Goodwill, I would not have gone to Dillard’s and spent that kind of money on her. ((Would if I could. Can’t so I wouldn’t.)) That means calling it a savings is a little facetious, so I need consensus. Are we down with that anyway? She gets a gorgeous garment; I get to feel smug. Everybody wins.)

Smaller items that have made their way home with me in the last week or so include:

• A happy-face fleece throw-still in its bundle-wrap: estimated Walgreen’s price $5.99, Goodwill half-price day price: $1.99 = $4 saved. This will probably be my youngest nephew’s small gift.

• A ridiculously cute baby chick-shaped cereal bowl by Hallmark that stood there on its big orange feet and hypnotized me with its wide eyes until I surrendered and put it in my basket without a clue to my own motivation. Except it was ridiculously cute. My daughter has informed me that she MUST have this bowl; she MUST take it to college with her in a few years; but in the meantime it MUST be her Valentine next week so she can eat cereal and soup for the rest of her life in the company of a ridiculously cute chick. Hallmark sticker price: $12.99. My price: $1.99. Savings: $11.00, but it won’t make it to Christmas.

• A cute Hallmark photo album with additional pages- also all new and still in its plastic, retail price: $35.99, Goodwill ½ = $1.99. $34 saved. Sister Kathy loves to scrapbook, and her photo organization puts me to shame. A recent job change leaves her with less time to work on her books though and this should help.

TOTALS:
Retail values: $203.96

Money spent: $18.96

Savings to my sanity in November: $185.00

Further Incentive

When I first began to think about this project, I saw two clear advantages. Saving money, of course,was important, but tied closely was the opportunity to further reduce our environmental impact. Ever since the seventies, with the advent of Earth Day, the mantra "Reduce,Reuse, Recycle" has been pounded into our collective subconscious. But do we think about it between April twenty-seconds? Recycling is easy in communities that have procedures in place for collection and sorting. It makes us feel we do our part. Unfortunately, we have no such system in place here, so I combat garbage in other ways: I ALWAYS use my reusable bags when I shop- including at thrift stores- to help end the insanity of plastic bags. I compost all vegetable food and garden waste, and donate my aluminum to Habitat for Humanity where the recycling profits build a home a year for local families. I also spend part of Christmas morning re-rolling large sheets of wrapping paper and the wired ribbon from our presents for re-use. My daughter, especially, has a fondness for certain papers and ribbon patterns, and looks forward to their reappearance beneath the tree each year as much as she looks forward to any of our other Christmas traditions.

When my kids were small, the packaging left on the living room floor when all the gifts were open created a heap equal to or larger than the mountain the gifts themselves had formed around the tree. And sadly, the majority of that was hauled out to the dumpster and now lies still intact in a deep unmarked grave somewhere in the desert. All because some marketer somewhere thought that Barbie had to be positioned in just this way to appeal to my little consumer. Three layers of clear plastic, sixteen zip ties and four hundred wire twists later, Barbie would never assume that position again.

Or wear both of those shoes.

Today as I consider my local options for shopping, I recognize a third distinct advantage to my plan. Not only is "thrifting" thrifty and green, but money spent at many of the stores here in town will support very worthy causes. Besides our two Goodwill stores, we have two Salvation Army stores, a homeless mission resale store, a Hospice Thrift Shop, a Humane Society Resale, and a Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

I'd sooner give my money to any of them than pay for packaging!

Project Proposal

I am not a Scrooge.
Or a Grinch.
Or a Bumble.

What I am is a public schoolteacher/writer with a husband, two kids, and family on both sides for whom Christmas has historically involved major year-end expense.

My 2009 Christmas trees are still standing as I write this- the plural (there are 5) being further proof of my Grinchlessness. While they are still up, I am here to publically proclaim my Christmas 2010 intent:

GOODWILL TO ALL.

We are antique collectors from way back, and to that end I have always been a thrifter. I love the thrill of the chase, and the rush I get from finding an amazing bargain. The past few Christmases have landed a few of my finds under the tree to various family members, and it never fails to amaze me that those things are received with enthusiasm equal to or greater than anything I spend retail on. This year my son the loved the disco ball ("Awesome" was his descriptor) I found for $14.99, my daughter was thrilled with her 95 cents-a-skein yarn, and my sister hasn't stopped raving about the Victorian porcelain hand I sent as a counterpoint addition to her collection.

I got it at a church yard sale for a dollar and a half.

So the plan is this: At least half of what I give to EVERYONE on my list will originate at second-hand stores or yard sales. I will post my purchases (with pictures if I can figure that part out) on this site on at least a weekly basis. All shopping will be completed, wrapped and mailed by December 1, 2010, and I will be recycling-- "greener" than ever while not feeling the stress of last-minute shopping or the Christmas Wallet Crunch.

Anybody want to join me?
Happy hunting!