My favorite websites. 06/21/2010
This post took some time to prepare. I have many, many favorite web sites dedicated to saving money. I think I follow about 25 of them on google feeder. Yes, I think I'm a little obsessed with saving money. :) So, I tried to get y'all a top 5. But just couldn't narrow it down that much. So, you get my top 10. These are the ones I refer to most often with the most reliable, timely, and current information.  By the way, each of these are also links. Feel free to click on them and check them out!!! Local favorites: 1. www.savvychicsavings.com 2. Grand Rapids Tight Wad 3. www.givemeneither.com  And here's some others. I'm not sure if they are local or not, but I've seen many great deals on them. 4. hip2save.com (really, this is my most used one, thus far) 5. Spend Less and Save More 6. Free Sample Frenzy (another really good one!) 7. Sarah's Deals 8. Bargains for WAHM's 9. Smart Cents Mom 10. 'Deal'lightfully Frugal  There you have it! My top 10. There's something a little different about every site. Some are easier to read than others. As I said (or wrote!) before, these are my top 10. Some of them promote free giveaways, some match manufacturer ads to store sales, some just have great ideas. Many of these sites also have twitter feed and facebook feeds. I, personally, subscribe to many of them on my google reader, but the local ones I keep on my facebook feed. I know that these aren't all of them, but these are the ones I hear of and read most often. I'm always open to perusing more sites. Which leads me to the question: So, what are some of your favorite money saving sites? Ode to Dough! 06/18/2010
I have a confession. I haven't always been a fan of Play Doh. (gasp! I know....) I didn't like the smell. I didn't like the cost. I especially didn't like the mess. But I've been reformed. Not only have I found a way to control the smell, but I've also realized that I can make it for half the cost. The mess? Well, I've just learned to live with it. Why? Well, basically I've learned that Play Doh can be a great "learning" toy. It cultivates imaginary play. (which aids in problem solving skills later in life) It builds intergal hand muscles- specifically those necessary for a strong pincher grasp (which leads to great writing skills). You can give them a safety scissors, and they can practice cutting the dough with it. (Let's face it, safety scissors don't really cut paper very effectively, so it was nice to have something they DO cut). And, if used properly, can lead to at least an hour of quiet play time. :) So, the other day, we had some friends over and decided to keep the kiddos busy on a rainy day. I'd like to introduce my Sandy's Spot friends to Annelise. Annelise, meet Sandy's Spot friends.  Isn't she the cutest thing? Ok, the recipe! I used one that required no cooking or boiling water. I separated it out into three bowls so the kids could mix it themselves. Messy, yes...but SO much fun!  Play Dough 2 1/4 cup flour 1 cup salt 2 T koolaid (or one packet works just as well) 1 cup luke warm water 1/4 cup oil  Each child took turns taking scoops or spoons of the ingredients, and stirred them into their bowls. If the mix is too wet, we added more flour. If it was too dry, we added more water. When it was too hard to stir with a spoon, we pulled it out of the bowl and kneaded it like bread dough.  Then, we just had tons of fun playing with our "concoctions." The kids made cookies, a birdie, a nest, a snake, ribbons, and rocks. Annelise chose grape flavored kool aid for her play dough. Not only did it end up a cute lavender color, but totally smelled grapey. (yes, very technical term) Kind of reminded me of Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum. Mmmmmm.  When you're done playing, store in air tight container or zip-lock baggie. Word of warning: The tropical punch flavor, while very fruity...does NOT smell very fruity after its been played with. If you have a sensitive stomach, or for pregnant mommies, you may want to encourage them to choose a different flavor. :) Smart Selling- Hosting a garage sale 06/11/2010
 Planning a garage sale? Ever wonder if ALL that time you put into it will really pay off? What is the difference between a successful garage sale and a not-so-successful sale anyway? Smart selling. That's the difference. Whether your goal is to get rid of unwanted stuff or to make some money to pay off debt, fund the vacation fund, or clear out before a move...the end goal is the same- to sell as much stuff as possible. Right? Here's a few tips from the pros to help us reach, and exceed, or goals:  1. Thinking ahead- the stuff. Have a separate area in your home (or garage) designated for "sale stuff." As you do your spring cleaning, add to your pile. Have stickers next to your pile and price stuff as you bring it in. Trust me...you will thank yourself later!!! 2. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Many times I've been to a garage sale, picked up a toy I've been on the look out for, and put it right back down- only to walk away and resume my hunt. Why? Grimy, dirty stains and embedded pet hair. Yep, gross. If your stuff isn't at least presentible, it will not sell. Your customers will think you don't know how to take care of your stuff. 3. An informed shopper is a successful shopper. Big ticket items? Antiques? Well, they deserve bigger price signs. Trying to find a super-dot sticker on a new couch is kind of like finding a needle in a haystack. If you have a valuable piece or an antique, do a little research. Put a write up near the product. For example, my aunt sold tons of antiques before their move. She photocopied antique write-ups on the products she had, CLEARLY marked their market value, and ALSO CLEARLY market her asking price (which was about 40% of market value). Your customers will appreciate being informed and not playing guessing games.  4. Be a light unto their path. Your signage should be simple, brightly colored, bold, and within 4 turns of your place-of-sale. Any more turns and they will loose interest and decide its too far off the beaten path. Forget all the butterflies and dotting i's with hearts. Keep it Simple. And legible. 5. Out of sight/ out of mind. Seal off or cover up items not for sale. Garage walls are always a challenge- especially when tools and sporting equipment resides there. Bed sheets are great and easy to hang with some clothes pins. Bikes and ATV's are just easier removed from the entire garage area. Not only are they hard to completely cover, but also offer a liability issue for unsupervised kids. 6. Be reasonable. We all want to make some money on our sale, right? But if you're priced too high, you'll make nothing. Notta. If the item is in GREAT condition (no stains, no wear marks, etc.), keep it at approximately 30% of new retail value. 7. I'm a sucker for a sale. Try pricing things in groups. For example: "All clothing pieces $1.00 unless otherwise marked." "All hard cover books: 50 cents, soft cover books 25 cents." (note: Why do we NOT have a "cent sign" on our keyboards?!?!") Or, have some plastic bags handy and let your customers know that they can fill a bag for $4. They perceive a bargain, and you get rid of stuff! Also, let people know that the last 4 hours of your sale (or the last entire day if you have a few-day-long sale) is all half price. They will come back if they were on the fence about something.  8. A lifetime's not too long to live as friends. Enlist help!!! Many hands make light work. Variety is the spice of life. I could go on and on with this one...but you get the hint. :) Ask friends if they have things they'd like to sell. More stuff = more customers. More people participating in your sale= more helpers. Win/win. Do you live in a neighborhood? See if your neighbors are open to having a sale. If there's a few houses in a row having sales, I'm more apt to stop my car and get out to look. 9. Advertise. Craigslist is totally free! Use it! When advertising, be very clear. Do you allow early sales? What are the hours of your sale? Write down key words so searches can pick them up! If you live in a rural area, you may want to think about getting ahold of the Advance or the GR Press. If you plan on making it an annual event, you could start an email list at the check out. This way, you can even alert people via email that you have a sale that weekend.  10. Location, location, location. And I'm not talking about the house this time. I'm talking about the stuff. The more things that are visible, the more things will sell. Hauling bookcases into the garage to display books and toys may be a pain, but I can guarantee you'll sell tons more just by easy visual access. Also, bring larger items out and set them up. My friend was trying to sell her foldable lawn chairs. At first, she had them stacked in the garage thinking that it would be easier for a customer to grab and go. The first to days...nothing. Then, the morning of the third day she pulled them out, unfolded them and placed them in the lawn (on display). They sold within 10 minutes. 11. It's all about the money, honey. Be prepared. You'll need plenty of $1 and $5. If you price everything at .25, you will only need quarters. Have your money on you at all times. I know that fanny packs went out in the 80's, but they do have their purpose. You may want to consider taking yours out of the closet. :) 12. This is your business. At least, for the weekend. Make a goal for yourself and do what you need to do to obtain it! Actively sell your stuff, say positive things about what people are looking at, have extension cords handy so you can demonstrate how things work (or THAT they work.) Be friendly and be present. What are some tips you can add to make it a successful garage sale? Learning Boxes 06/09/2010
For most of you, summer is here! Hooray! For some of you, summer is ALMOST here! That deserves a Hooray too! Time to have some fun with our kiddos, right? I'm excited to spend some extra time with Adam this summer. In addition to the fun I have planned, I'm also hoping to help enrich his learning as well. Many educators will tell you that kids can loose up to half-a-school-year of knowledge over the summer if they are not reminded of the things they've learned. But, if they are worked with, they can actually GAIN up to half-a-school-year's worth of knowledge. I know which side of that equation I want my boys to come out on. So, I'm going to do some enriching. And I'm going to have fun with it. My boys are going to have fun with it. And this craftista turned it into a few hours worth of craft fun as well. :) I decided to make Learning Boxes There's actually a little recycling mixed in here as well...double bonus, right? For this craft, I recycled some boxes with a built in lid. You could do it with any old box if you want. However, I chose these.  Slight bunny trail here....have you ever had these Fruit Naturals???? Oh my, they are delicious! Nice little sweet treat. No high fructose corn syrup. I found these on sale at Costco last month. I loved the boxes, so I kept them. And I'm so glad I did!!! I found some old contact paper that was laying around, so I decided to use that. However, there are many different styles available at any major store, craft store or home improvement store. The larger rolls run around $5.84. I'm not sure about the smaller rolls. Anyone out there know? I unfolded the box and covered the outside with the contact paper. I trimmed the corners as well so it looked a little more "polished."   They look good, don't they? We could stop here. But this lady was just itching to get out the Cricut cutting machine. I had some left over vinyl from an old project, so I'll use that. Now, if you don't have a cricut, you could use some of the self stick foam letters we used on earlier crafts, or you could get out a permanent marker and draw names on the box (just make sure its totally dry before you touch them). Either way, I thought it would be fun to personalize the boxes.  We purchased a summer cirriculum for Adam from his elementary school. It will help us with language arts and math. In addition to that, I'll stop by the library and check out 2-3 early reader books each week to put in his learning box. I also found a LOT of things for summer enrichment at The Dollar Tree in May. There were story starters, lined sight words, and many others. I'd really encourage you to check those out as well. For Colin, I went to Walmart and found a few workbooks that work on colors, numbers and letter recognition. These were all less than $3 each. I also have a flip book that works on all three of those subjects that I'll put in there from time to time.  We're planning on doing about 30-45 minutes of this three times a week. So far, we've done two sessions of summer enrichment. The boys were really excited see their "learning presents" each time they opened the box. It's fun to see them so excited about learning! And we're still having so much fun! This is, by far, one of my more favorite craft projects. It's also a gift for Adam's Kindergarten teacher...and it recycles. And its not expensive. This is quite possibly the tri-fecta of gift giving. :)  For this crafty gift, you will need: - a recycled aluminum can - a styrofoam cup -2 rubberbands - flowers -ribbon - approximately 4 packages of pencils. (I found mine at Meijer for .79 for 8)  Step 1- Thouroughly clean out your aluminum can. Place your styrofoam cup inside it and fill 2/3 with water. Step 2- Wrap your rubberbands around the can, and start lining your can with the pencils. You will see here that there's only one rubberband. When we got about 2/3 of the way through, the pencils started to move about. That's when we added a second rubberband to keep it steady. I'd just recommend using 2 rubberbands from the start.  Here's our "vase" completely covered with pencils. We were actually short a few pencils, so we decided to tilt them, and they filled the space in splendidly. I also got a little bored with the pencils all facing the same direction, so I alternated them. Step 3: Find a ribbon, cut to length and tie it around the vase to cover the rubber bands. Step 4: Cut flowers to length and arrange. (Note: if you want to cut the cost even more, you could go walking and cut some wildflowers. However, we just didn't have time for that, so the daisys were purchased for $3.00.)  I love this gift! It's very "teachery" and its pretty too. Adam was very excited to give it to his teacher yesterday. Not only does she have a pretty display, but she also has a great head start on pencils for her classroom next year as well! Total cost for this gift: $6.16 Negotiation 06/02/2010
Just so you know, I've been working on this blog post for a week and a half. What started as another installment in the Garage Sale series has morphed into a few bunny trails in my head. And where do we end up? Negotiation I'm a big negotiator. But only on certain things. Garage sales, furniture, automobiles, wedding dresses, and pretty much anything sold private party... You betcha I'm going to ask for a discount. How do I do it? Glad you asked. :) It's all about timing, circumstances and how you ask.  If I'm at a garage sale, I have a few different strategies. 1. Bring change. Lots of quarters and $1 bills. No $10's or $20's. It's hard to talk someone down to $12 for a $17 item if you're handing them a $20 expecting more change. That extra cash leaving their hand actually will make them think twice about negotiating as a whole. Have exact change ready to hand them. It's harder to turn down someone holding $12 cash pointed in their direction. 2. Grouping. If I'm looking at clothing, I'll bring my own bag, fill it up (while keeping track of my purchases) and ask if I can pay $x amount for the whole bag. For example, the other day I had a bag full of clothing for me and the boys. Their sticker value was $12.75. I asked if she would accept $10 for the whole bag. Which she gladly accepted to unhand a pile of clothing. We were both happy. 3. Be reasonable. On larger ticket items, like couches or exercise equipment, I'll offer them between 10 and 15% less than their asking price. (That is, IF they have it priced reasonably). Making a respectful offer will make the whole process go much smoother. If they feel disrespected right off the bat, they could stop all negotiations all together. 4. Never under estimate the power of walking away. A few years ago, my husband offered someone about 40% less than sticker price on a tool. (He wanted way too much for it to begin with). The guy himmed and hawed about it. Dave said, "I can come back at 5 when you close and see if its still here, but then my offer goes down another 10%." While at first I couldn't believe that he said that, it totally saved us $100! We went back at 5pm and picked up the tool for 50% off. 5. Timing. If you're going for specific items listed in their advertisements, go early for best selection. But, if you're looking for the best deals, go after lunch. People are more willing to deal just for the simple thought of NOT having to box it up and bring it back into their house. Rainy day garage sales are also great negotiators. Not many people are out and about on rainy days. People are more willing to negotiate just to get rid of some stuff.  I've actually used these techniques in a number of different places. Here's a few examples: 1. Car shopping. My dad actually taught me never to pay sticker price for a car. I was 21 years old looking for my first real car (read: not a junker). I had my eye on the Ford Taurus. The used car lot had a sticker price on the car of $12,600. Which didn't include tax, title and plate expense. I went in to talk to a salesman and offered him $10,200 out the door (which includes the extra charges). He started playing with numbers and added fees and tried to add the tax, title and plates, etc. I got up, shook his hand, thanked him for his time and left. This was on a Friday afternoon. The next Tuesday, his manager called me and asked what had happened. I told the guy, this is my final offer- take it or leave it. He called me back 20 minutes later and asked when I could pick up my car for $10,200- out.the.door. Yeah! I saved $2,400 (plus fees) just by walking away. 2. Wedding dress. I'm a pretty simple girl. So, I went for the plain dresses, but realized that the less sequins you have on the dress, the better fabric and manufacturing you'd need in order to pull off a classy look. I found a nicer boutique and found my dress. Loved it. But it had a stain on the back. So, we left to think about it. This was a Saturday. I called the boutique on the following Tuesday and asked about the dress. It was no longer in production, so only the floor model was for sale (which happened to fit me perfectly- squeel!). I asked about the stain, and they tried to remove it as best they could without compromising the fabric. Since it was a floor model, I asked for a discount. Since it had a stain (which was no longer visible to the naked eye) I asked for an additional discount. We purchased a $1280 dress for $825. And needed minimal alterations since it fit so well. 3. Private Party Sales. In my opinion, almost everything listed on Craigslist is open for negotiation. Unless the price says "FIRM" after it, I'll make an offer. Sometimes I'll offer less in an introductory email- just to see how much they're willing to negotiate. Other times, I'll wait until I'm there with limited cash in my hand. Either way, I've had an awesome amount of success.  I always go into it with the mentality, "What's the worst that can happen? They say No?" Yep, that's the worst. I've heard "No" a few times and I've lived to tell the tales. :) Good luck saving money! Have you ever had success in negotiating anything with someone? What are some of your strategies? Plans for the upcoming holiday weekend 05/27/2010
Did you know we have a holiday coming up? Until last Thursday, I wasn't aware that it was so quickly approaching. But now that I'm in-the-know, its time to get my game face on and come up with a plan so we stay within our monthly budget while still enjoying the holiday. First of all, I want to make sure you all know about the calendar option here on grkids. There's tons of ideas and links to area goings-on. I'd really encourage you to check it out. Since Memorial Day falls at the end of the month, our envelopes are pretty thin (remember, we're Dave Ramsey fans). So, I'm looking for low- to no- cost ideas for our celebration. What is my little Sandy's Spot family going to do? First of all- watch a parade! I love parades. My kids love parades. They're free, and the boys will sit** for at least 2 hours watching all the floats and emergency vehicles pass by. **or dance or run in circles or run after candy being thrown, you know We usually pack a picnic lunch and either eat it at the parade site, or just find any old grassy spot outside to set up camp. Anything out of the ordinary is going to seem like something special to the kids. I'm always under the impression that it doesn't have to cost a ton of money in order to be special. Just to add a little touch of fun, I'll throw a special dessert in the lunch box. Then its time for us to get our craft groove on. The boys are usually worn out after the parade and appreciate some low energy time out of the sun. We're going to take red, white and blue construction paper (or recycle the paper in the recycling bin) and have the kids make a flag out of them. I'd use red or white as a background and tear bits of the other color for the stripes and stars. Later, we'll take it one step further and sandwich their flag between two sheets of clear contact paper- instant placemat!  I've noticed that while my boys are busy doing a craft, it's easier to talk to them about what things mean. So, during craft time on Monday, I'll find a way to talk to them about what Memorial Day means and why we celebrate it. If the weather cooperates, we'll hit up a local sprinkler park! Some sprinklers and fountain parks are turned on over the holiday weekend, and my boys love them! Last summer, Melody did an awesome blog post on some parks in our area. You can go straight to that post by clicking here. If you want a comprehensive list of all the parks in the area, check out the Play (drop down menu- Parks) portion of the grkids site. Or, you can just click here. I have heard (from a very reliable source- wink, wink) that Lesley Tassell fountains are already on. For others, you may want to check first. If you know that some are on, please leave us a comment!  Another idea for our Memorial Day is to take the kids to the local Veteran's Cemetary to actually be able to see what Memorial Day is really all about. I've wanted to do this with Adam for some time now. Actually, perhaps you guys can help me out with this one. Adam is 6. Do you think that bringing him to a cemetary for Memorial Day is too much yet? I'm not quite sure, and I'd love to hear what you think!  Then, dinner...yes...mmmmm, dinner! Regardless of whether you host some friends for dinner or you're just enjoying some family time, you want dinner on a holiday weekend to be fast, easy and budget friendly. We'll be enjoying a build-your-own burger bar here at the Sandy's Spot abode. The boys love picking and choosing what goes on their burgers, and eat great because they are in control of the food on their plate (which usually includes all the condiments, but excludes the bun). Plus being able to eat dinner on top of new flag placemats will be extra special!  And after the hamburgers have been devoured, I'm going to offer up a little recipe for dessert. It's fun, quick, low fat, and just tons of yum. - One box of angel food cake mix. -One can of pineapple bits in real juice. Mix them together and bake as directed on package. When its done baking, cool entirely and frost with Cool Whip. Take strawberries and blueberries and create an American Flag.  Whatever your plans are for the holiday weekend, we hope you take a minute to thank the men and women in our services who risked their lives to protect our liberties. Have a safe and fun holiday! Sandy Sets Off- Number 2 05/26/2010
 Last Saturday, the boys and I set off on a day full of adventure and topped it off with a family date night. Here's our journey: We have a John Ball Zoo membership, so we attended the members only event called "Wake up with the Animals." It started at 8:30 (oye), but we got to see most of the animals being fed their morning meal.   I also purchased a sack breakfast for the boys, so they could "eat with the animals." (Which just translated into eating at the zoo- at the same time as the animals, but they thought it was fun, nonetheless). Each sack was $2.00. Total spent at the zoo= $4.00  Then, we headed off to Lowe's. Like Home Depot, they have a clinic just for kids.  The boys spent the next hour and a half constructing catapults out of wood, nails and a rubber band. Totally free.  We had a little time to kill before our next venture, so we went over to Frog Hollow park (near Metro Hospital) and enjoyed some play time while we had a snack. Again, totally free. If you haven't visited this park yet, I really encourage you to. It's a barrier free playground too.  Adam had a trial swimming lesson with his kindergarten teacher to see where his swimming skills were. (She'll teach him lessons this summer). While he was in his lesson, Colin and I traveled to Meijer to purchase two plants: eggplant and zucchini. While we were there, we also found some organic top soil with fertilizer. Total spent: $12.31  We returned to find the teacher and Adam sitting outside on the lawn having a picnic. She also fed Colin lunch! Free lunch for my kiddos! Awesome. We came home to a family project: planting our vegetable garden. Yep, it's that time of year again! Aside from our Meijer purchases, the rest of the garden was free. We had some seeds left over from last year, some tomato seedlings given to us, and the grass on the top was given to us from our neighbor. Just think -- Free veggies for the summer!   After some sprinkler running and some tub soaking to clean off all the dirt, we headed off to the Cascade Library for some reading "down time." Did you also know that movie rentals are FREE at this library?!?!? We picked up a copy of Monsters and Aliens and headed across the street.  To our favorite pizza place! Papa John's has a carry out special- 1 large one topping for $5.55 (plus tax). So, I ordered the pizza via cell before leaving the library, and it was ready by the time we got there. Total spent: $5.88. Total spent for the entire day: $20.19 That includes eating out all three meals!!! This was a full day of fun for the boys and I. We were literally going and moving from the moment we woke up to the moment we (all) fell asleep watching our movie. Granted, I wasn't "Sandy Sets Off" all day since some of the day was spent at home...but the boys felt that each adventure was full of fun and purpose. And that's what its all about, right? What are some things you do at home with your kids on days off? The end of the school year is nearing. I just realized that my son's school adjourns in less than 2 weeks! What do I give to a teacher who spent countless hours giving my son a great education? While I could go with the generic candle or lotion gift, I prefer to give her something to remember us by. Something thought out. Something home made. Yep, we're getting our craft groove on again. This is what we're making.   It's a flower pot pen holder! For this craft, you will need: -a 4" terra cotta pot (I found these cheapest in the garden dept. of any super store. Mine was .84 on sale at Meijer) -rice (1/2 to 3/4 cup will do. Any old rice...doesn't matter) - floral tape (this can get pricey depending on where you purchase it, but mine was $1.18 after coupon at Michaels...but this was last fall, I'm not sure if prices have fluctuated since) - pens (any stick pen will do. I got a box of them for $1.19 at Office Max in Feb.) - One bunch of silk flowers. This is what you want to focus your energy on. There are tons of silk flowers out there. Some look cheap and chincy, and some look so real. I spent most of my money on- and time looking for -these. For this one, I chose some antique looking roses. I thought they looked sweet. I spent $3.23 on this bunch- on sale. It was 50% off at Michaels. Optional: - ribbon - glue gun - paint You'll see why these are optional as we progress.   By the way, that's not the cap to my pen in the picture. The boys were playing with the pens, trying to "help." Just so you know... :) The trick to successful floral taping is keeping it stretched. Think saran wrap. The tighter you keep it, the better it sticks. I'm going to stop taping at 1/4 of the way down and bring my leaf bunch into the picture. This one I didn't glue. It's easy enough to stick on with the tape.  By the way, that's not the cap to my pen in the picture. The boys were playing with the pens, trying to "help." Just so you know... :) The trick to successful floral taping is keeping it stretched. Think saran wrap. The tighter you keep it, the better it sticks. I'm going to stop taping at 1/4 of the way down and bring my leaf bunch into the picture. This one I didn't glue. It's easy enough to stick on with the tape.  Once the leaf bunch is on, tape all the way down to 3/4. When I first did this craft, I made a rookie mistake of taping all the way down. When I went to use it, I had to clean the rice off the pen every time. Big pain.  Here is my first completed pen. Repeat the steps for as many pens as you want to make. I chose to make 6 pens so I could use the other 6 in my box for another flower pot.  For this pot, I chose to forego the paint and use the ribbon. I found a cute ribbon in the dollar section at Michaels. I just wrapped it around for sizing, cut the ribbon and tied a bow. Make sure the hole in the bottom of the pot is blocked (I used the UPC sticker for that), and fill with your 1/2 cup rice. Then, place your pens in the pot! The rice helps hold the pens for arranging. Finished product:  I wanted to show you another one I made last fall too. This one used different flowers, no ribbon, and bronze sponge - painted pot.  See how different these look? Total spent on this gift: $6.42 Totally cute and completely functional! Have fun and enjoy! I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "It's just so hard to shop garage sales with the kids in tow." Ain't that the truth! I must say that this is also an anxiety of mine. I can just see one of the boys picking up some heirloom vase that someone's Aunt Edna gave them, and then the boys will smash it to smitherines... ...and I end up paying for it. No, really...we need to work on not touching everything. But a few strategies have helped me get to some awesome sales, and snag some awesome finds. I'm hoping these will help you too.  1. Have a game plan. Don't go out shopping all willy-nilly. Find the sales with items you're looking for and hit those first. If there's left over attention span and good will (on the kids parts), hit a few that may look good later. 2. Give them a list of things you are looking for. This gives them a job and makes the garage sale shopping experience feel more like a treasure hunt than a chore. 3. Divide and conquer. I have a friend on the SW side of Grand Rapids, and I live on the SE side. We each have a list of things that we are looking for. If she sees something I could use, she'll either call or text me and I can pay her back later. She's snagged some great GAP jeans for Adam!  4. Team up with a friend. I have a few friends who are GSB's. (Garage Sale Buddies). Twice a month they team up, and pile all five kids into one van. They have a DVD player for the kids to watch movies, and they pack snacks and travel games. Each lady takes turns getting out of the van while the other quickly looks through a sale. 5. Find neighborhood sales. Have you noticed that the calendar portion of www.grkids.com has neighborhood garage sales? Yeah, these are pretty awesome. You can park the car once, pull out the stroller and walk the neighborhood. This eliminates all the in-and-out of carseats, and the fresh air could do us all some good. *Don't forget to bring some snacks! Keep those pudgy little fingers busy and their tummies full. Nothing screams, "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME!" like a kid with low blood sugar. 6. Give the kids money. Oh yes....I am soooo not above bribery. While I do believe in the power and awesome-ness that goes with letting my sons earn their own money, I'm also willing to do a little *bonus* pay for mommy's sanity. I usually give each boy $1 to do with what they choose. If they choose to bring more of their own money along, that's fine too. At the end of the day, if they haven't spent the dollar, I allow them to put the entire thing into the spending jar for later (instead of splitting it up like normal).  And last, but not least...when all else fails? 7. Leave them home with daddy or a sitter. :) What are some of your successful strategies for garage sales shopping with kids? | About Sandy's Spot
 I am a work-from-home thirty-something mom of two boys, Adam (6) and Colin (2). I love to meet new people, try new things, and have fun with my family and friends. Are you inspired?Do you have a craft or budget conscious idea you'd like to see on Sandy's Spot?
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