Consignment Sale

There is a consignment sale at the Methodist church where I live- well 20 minutes from where I live- and those of you who haven't heard me talk about it, count yourselves as fortunate. I become a little obsessive. Probably because I LOVE a good deal and probably because I am very limited in my income and there is NO WAY I could outfit my kids if I bought retail and this is the BEST thing I have found to help me find a way to do it. So those who HAVE heard me talk about it, I will now prove to you just how awesome this thing is and now that I am back from the hunt, I claim bragging rights.

I decided to volunteer this year and because of that I was able to go to the pre-sale reserved for only the volunteers Thursday night. Wow was that fun and tiring! Women from all over the state and from all different walks of life waited in line with baskets and buckets. When the doors open- chaos! But everyone is really nice and courteous. My sister-in-law Lori joked that men would never understand the madness of women + sales. The real sale was this Friday morning promptly at 9:00 a.m. and if you aren't there when the doors open, you miss half the stuff. Half of my finds were from the pre-sale and the other half was from the next morning at the actual sale.




Emily's shirts and sweaters, 15 total. All were $4 and under, some were $1. Like that purple one- $1 and the striped one with the buttons on the side- $1. Many were brand names, like Gap, Gymboree and a Nordstrom sweater for $3.


She now has 6 pairs of pants. VERY cute and all under $5- a couple were yes, only $1.


Two more under $3 shirts and a Gap coat for $6.


This one was my favorite find. When you volunteer, if you work the clothing floor you get to pretty much shop while you help. You go through the racks and put clothes back that don't belong and you find gems and stick them in your own pile. This one was missing the top and it goes together. Well, we found it. It is Gymboree and was only $3!


Lindsey got a few things too. All of these were also under $3.


The picture doesn't do justice to how beautiful this coat is and the price was $4. The outfit next to it was a Gymboree $4 find also.


Beautiful jeans under $5 and a blouse for $1 and a red jumper for $3.


This sale is every Spring and Fall for both the winter and the summer seasons. Most of the time there are a million dresses and this time, not so many. Last fall I came home with 10 dresses for Emily. As you can see, I didn't have that luck, though there are a few that will work. I was kind of surprised by that. But Emily did get a red and black polka-dot jumper for $4 and a $1 blouse to go underneath. But Lindsey scored with this $6 Christmas dress.


I have to mention, this sale is not just for clothes, but shoes, toys- big and small- books, movies, baby items, furniture, etc. There are women who come JUST for the pre-sale of the toys which is apparently ceiling to floor full of stuff and they have to be in good working order. This year one person sold 700 items altogether of clothes and toys. The seller gets 70% and the church gets %30 and what doesn't sell is donated to charity. I have never gone for the toys, though I still find great ones. I bought my Basset crib and dresser set from them in perfect condition for $350 the first year I ever went. This year, no furniture for us. I bought a diaper bag though since ours was falling apart, this almost brand new black diaper bag was $3, Lindsey's boots were $3, Emily's white dress shoes were $2 and Lindsey's ballet flats were $4- they were too cute to pass up.


This twin bed set for Emily- someday she will have room to be in a real big girl bed- was $10, the books were $1.50 for 3 Usborne game books and .75 cents for the phonics book and $2.50 for the indoor children's tent. Perfect for Christmas and the cold winter months when the kids are inside.


And the last item I got was a little kitchen for the girls for Christmas. It will fit nice in whatever small space we end up in and Lindsey and Emily LOVE to pretend cook. This one was $20 which is a little more than I wanted to spend for a used kitchen, but it is perfect and has all the food with it and the electronic stuff still works. It is being stored in Grandma's basement until Christmas. ;) SHhhhh... I think this was a successful sale, don't you? I spent $150 total and came out with more than I ever could have buying it new.