My kids seem to love bargain hunting as much as I do. I took Rain into the local op. shop today so she could find a dress with some nice material that she could recycle into a skirt. I think she's got the sewing bug. When all the women working there said hello to me and all the kids by name I thought I guess I do come here often. And the children were walking around spotting things that were 'ours'. I had a big clean up and donated a whole load of stuff last week and now it's all on the shelves. I had to keep Mr T away from the toys in case he saw anything I had donated!
On the weekend Zan kept asking if we could go to the dump shop. It's funny in a way for a 14 year old's favourite shop to be the dump! I asked him what he wanted to buy and he said he was just going to browse, but maybe get an exercise bike or a treadmill for the moving parts. It amazes me the things he can make out of old junk. Last year he made a really cool billy cart. Peace finally decided that he had a few things lying around that he had no use for so got Zan to help load up the trailer and off they went! Now I didn't expect them to be back for awhile because Peace has been known to come home with more than he took to get rid of!
When they arrived their bargains included a hammock which is now hanging outside Zan's room (a great place to lie and read a book), a new mallet, some hard wood that will be good for framing an awning over the door and a new bathroom sink. It all cost the princely sum of $6.
The new hammock
And last week on his way home from work Peace bought a new hot water system. Ours is about twenty-five years old and has been leaking for awhile now. So it is wasting alot of water and water is so precious around here. It probably is not very energy efficient either. The new one was sitting on the pavement outside a Pub that is being renovated. Peace made an offer and got it alot cheaper than we'd have payed anywhere else. It's only five years old so should be more efficient.
Ideally we'd like to put in a solar heating system but it's just not in the budget right now. We are going to try to rig up a home made solar back up. I have an idea how to do it that might work...have to wait and see. It might be awhile before we get it done. The 'to-do' list is getting longer and longer all the time.
Happy day to you all.
4 comments:
you and your family are so amazingly handy and resourceful...I can only dream!
It's taken awhile though. I used to be so scared of asking for a bargain. I'd get so ripped off if I went to a country where they expect you to bargain. I think alot of it is born of necessity. We're pretty low on the income scale but then some times we're so rich in zuchinis or pumpkins that I'm giving them away as fast as they grow and then I feel very genourous and I make up for the generosity the universe gives me.
I love op shopping too. My boys don't though! Its all shopping to them!
We love this kind of shopping too! My boys used to beg me not to go in until i found them a number of items that we'd never've been able to buy otherwise. I think the thrill of the purchase is even better when you've not had to pay an arm or leg for it! xXx
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