Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Feeling Used

Holy cow - it's been more than a month since my last blog post! I can't believe how fast the time goes. I realized this over the weekend as I went through the boxes (yes, boxes) of clothes that baby girl has already grown out of. Holding up the tiny newborn onesie made me realize how much she's grown. She'll be 9 months old in two weeks, and you can bet that I'm very, very sad about that. People think I'm nuts when I say that I miss the nighttime feedings (now that I no longer have to do them!). She's sitting on her own, inches from crawling, trying to stand, trying to talk, and just trying to grow up too fast.

Speaking of growing out of clothes... I've really learned to value used baby clothes. As much as I love to be able to pick out outfits for her (which has rarely happened to this point with all of the clothes that were bought for her as shower gifts and whatnot), I also appreciate a good value. I bought eight sleepers and a dress last week that were used for a total of $16.



Above - my used clothes bargains! Or, if you prefer, my pile of conquest clothes!!

Buying used is a great way to save money. There are many things I save on by getting used - cars, books, music, games... the list goes on. Of course, there are things that I will not buy used - underwear, swimsuits, and shoes are on the list for sure (however I will accept used baby shoes from good friends). And there are things that I wish I would remember to buy used - take movies, for example. I often find myself buying a new dvd or blu ray, only to wish later on that I had thought to buy it used.

Another great perk of the used item market is being able to sell items! After taking our house off the market and going through our storage unit to try and minimize the items we'd have to store and hopefully move next year, I was able to weed out a lot of items that I no longer want to keep. Some of them are listed on Craigslist, some of them already sold to stores that specialize in used electronics, and others are waiting in the garage to be taken to the Goodwill. I've had some success with Craigslist items in the past with exercise equipment and Coach purses. No bites so far on the items I have out there currently. There is always the old tried and true garage sale as well. They are a great way to make some throwing around money and clear out the junk at the same time. I find them to be a lot of work, however, and would much rather not make the $20 and just take the stuff straight to Goodwill!

Whatever the case, used can be the way to be!

(Although nothing beats the feel of a brand new pair of shoes!!) (After they are broken in - not while breaking them in.)