Frugal Me - Mother's Exchanges

I've written a bit about this in the past, but I must say again that I LOVE Mother's Exchanges. Seriously, I count down the days until the sales. I am a bargain junkie and I don't mind hand-me-downs. For those of you unaware of what a Mother's Exchange is...it's basically a HUGE garage sale. About 100 moms sign up to sell their gently used stuff - anything from kids clothes to furniture to baby equipment, etc. The sales are held at our 2 local high schools. However, unlike some sales, you don't "rent" a booth for these if you are a seller. All the moms bring in their items pre-tagged and everything is sorted by size, item type, etc. So for example, there's a table of all 2T clothing and a room full of bouncy seats and exersaucers. It makes it much easier to shop for what you want.

For most of these sales, you can be a seller, a buyer or both! I have a few friends that have sold items, but for now, I'm just a buyer. And as a buyer, you have to arrive EARLY. The sale starts at 8AM and women are lining up at the door by 7AM with laundry baskets in tow (to use as shopping carts). It's crazy. Admission is $1 and all sales are cash only and FINAL. The sales I have been to are extremely organized and the items are in great condition. It might help that they are located in West Chester/Liberty Township where I've discovered a lot of moms spend crazy money on kid clothes based upon the brands.

Some people hate the idea of hand-me-downs and not knowing who owned the items beforehand. My thought is that as long as I can either throw it directly into the washer or dishwasher or I can take a Lysol wipe to it...it's mine. And I particularly look for stuff that will be ruined at daycare anyway. I'd much rather spend $3 on Gymboree/Children's Place pants than full price!! One of my best finds was a Fisher Price farm set (barn and all animals included) for $5 which is currently retailing for $35.

So I'm making my list for this Saturday morning. Stella needs 24 month and 2T items for fall and winter. Poor thing is just now outgrowing 12-18 month pants. And actually the waist still fits on some, but they are quickly becoming capris!! She also needs jammies. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when she (very soon) outgrows her Dora pjs (thanks again Julie S) because she will be heartbroken. (Although Julie the new favorites are her "silky jammies" - the ones that Madison has on in the picture on your blog homepage) And sadly, I've discovered Charlotte needs clothes as well. Stella's 9-12 month hand-me-downs are all SUMMER, not fall/winter. I will also look for some cute Halloween/fall decor shirts (found great ones last year) and maybe a Halloween costume for Stella depending on if I can clean it. I think we are set on coats, toys and baby equipment this time around!

If anyone else is heading to the sale...see you there!