This weekend I made my first purchase of baby stuff. We went to a big consignment sale put on by an organization called Just Between Friends. I can’t recommend this enough, check out their site, they have sales all over the country.
The sale was Thurs – Sat., with Sat. being the half price day. I thought it would be crowded and overwhelming and make me dizzy, but it couldn’t have been better. Everything was as organized as it could possibly be, with little signs that said “If you find something with a stain, please let us know so we can make this sale the best possible”. So it’s not like we had to dig through piles of ratty clothes. It didn’t seem picked over even though it was the 3rd day, I guess this could vary by city though…
Here’s our baby room so far, in its entirety:
On the left is a little swing/rocker I bought at the sale for $7.25. One lady told me her daughter could swing herself by kicking her legs at 4 months.
Above the changing table is one of our first baby gifts, a canvas print my sister got me that I loooove. If you’re not familiar with the origin of the slogan, read about it here.
On the changing table are a few gifts we got at the reveal party along with the rest of the stuff I bought at the sale – for $7 I got (all in great condition): 5 short sleeved cotton onesies, 4 long sleeved cotton sleepers with feet, and 2 heavier weight fleece sleepers with feet.
The changing table was a gift from Nathan’s parents, they found it at a thrift store and his mom bought the baskets at a craft store, painted them white, and sewed the liners herself. She is so creative and crafty (unlike me!) I’m always amazed by her handiwork:
My mom and grandma have also bought a ton of clothes, toys, and other stuff at various sales and thrift stores, they’re like my personal shoppers and I don’t know what I’d do without them since I really don’t like to shop much. My grandma gave us money to buy a crib for a shower present and my mom is already deep into researching which carseat/stroller combo she’s getting us, so after all that I don’t think we’ll be buying much for awhile!
Total we’ve spent so far on baby stuff: $15.25 =)
K
Oh man! They don;t have sales in Chicago- or Illinois for that matter! Rats!
Awww shitty! Maybe an excuse for a road trip to Minneapolis next spring!
Aww! That changing table and baskets is the cutest thing ever! I hadn’t even thought about getting a changing table, but my cousin said the bins are a lifesaver for all the tiny baby clothes that seem to get lost in dresser drawers.
Yeah I’ve heard it’s just as easy to change the baby on the floor, but this was a nice gift and has the storage space, so a keeper for now =)
When I got pregnant with my first both my husband and I were unemployed (just bad luck at that time) and, already being frugal and/or really cheap, I decided that we weren’t going to buy anything new for the baby because really there is no need to buy anything new for a baby. Especially in my city where people seem to be obsessed with new things and will throw out anything. I will say though that the stroller we used that first winter (that had already been through two nephews) was not great and I had to be helped through the snow a number of times – a good stroller with big wheels is crucial if you live in a place that gets lots of snow and you still want to get out of the house (and you will). One of my friends went a little nuts buying everything new for her baby and is still paying off her credit card. Yikes!
Congrats on having a girl! Of course, you would have been just as happy to have a boy but as a person with two girls I can say it is a lot of fun.
Thanks!! =) I am pretty excited about the girl… there’s no rational reason why, but everyone seemed to be hoping for this baby to be a girl, so it feels like it was meant to be. I would really like a boy at some point too though!
What city are you in? I’ve only ever lived in Minneapolis and feel like there’s not a whole lot of pretentious-ness here as far as having new things, but maybe it’s just my friends/neighborhood, or maybe I’m oblivious.
And yes, yikes, the idea of ever carrying a balance on my card is just out of the question so don’t think I’m in any danger there…