Thrifty baby: take 1

It is no secret that I am quite the thrifty shopper.  I rarely buy anything unless it is on sale, clearance, or a fantastic deal.  I get far more excited than I should from scoring an inexpensive new treasure while yard sale-ing.  In fact, most of my favorite things in our house are thrifted items.  Well-loved (and well-made) vintage pieces are so much cooler to me than the stuff you can buy in stores today.  That being said, we did just spend a ridiculous amount on new custom-made living room furniture, because there are some things I just won't buy used (and we wanted to put our tax return to good use - ha!)  Rule #1 when buying secondhand - must be washable.  Couches, mattresses, rugs are excluded from my thrift shopping since I can't thoroughly sanitize the items.  Anything made from hard materials (such as wood or metal) or that can be put in a washing machine are fair game.

So it will probably no come as a surprise to anyone when I say that I want 95% of our baby stuff to come to us secondhand.  Yes this will save money of course, but even more important are the environmental benefits.  Think of how many babies are born each year, and all of the "stuff" each of these tiny little humans will go through in their first year alone.  If every one of these babies had all new stuff, think of all the CRAP that would go to a landfill after the baby used it for a couple months then outgrew it.  We already have a major trash storage problem in this country, the last thing I want to do is contribute more than I absolutely need to.  So sorry to disappoint you, we will not be creating that mile-long registry list at babies-r-us.  Can I register at local yard sales?  ;)

Since it is now mid-April, "yard sale season" is now really getting into full swing.  Even months and months ago before we even started trying for a baby, I knew we would be sometime in the next year, and this "season" would be the time to be shopping for baby stuff (and boy am I happy that time is finally here!)  There are some crazy good deals out there to be had... People with little ones seem fully ready to part with their no-longer-needed items, and will practically give the stuff away to avoid having to bring in back in their houses.  I will say that I am quite picky with what I will actually buy for baby.  It has to be in very good to like-new condition, and be fully washable.  I will save those more "well-loved" items at the sale for someone not as picky as me!

So after reading all that, aren't you excited to see what I have found already?  :D

 Books:

Pregnancy books: two were free, $0.25 - $0.50 each for others.  Skinny Bitch book was only bought because it was written by those two vegan girls, and it has already been passed on to someone else as I didn't care much for it...  A couple of these are a little dated (which explains their price tag of free) but still have some useful information.

  

Clothes:

 Every clothing item is in like-new condition and was only $0.50 each.
 

Ducks... So in love with these!!

Super soft blanket - only $1!  And two more outfits...

Cloth Diapers:

Some of you might find it strange to buy cloth diapers at a yard sale.  Trust me, when I thought about this I knew I was going to have to set my standards even higher than usual.  I actually planned on buying these new if I didn't find any that matched my expectations.  Fortunately I did - and at one of the first sales of the season!  These are in nearly-new condition with no stains and hardly any signs of wear.  I have always known that we would cloth diaper our babies, and I also know how expensive they are...  This brand Kushies is normally $12-$15 per diaper depending on where you buy them.  Are you ready for this?  I bought all 13 of them... For a whopping $10!!  Score.  Even if we don't love this brand (I plan on picking up several different brands to see which we like best) they can function as back-ups.
 

There are 6 diapers that fit babies 4-10lbs and 7 diapers that fit babies 10-22lbs.  If our baby is anything like Erik was at birth (over 10lbs!) we won't be using the smaller ones at all.  Seriously though, I hope we will!  :o

The first thing I do when I bring home new (used) baby stuff is wash it in hot water and dry thoroughly.

These are "all in one" diapers meaning there is no removable liner.  I don't know really the pros or cons of these but from the reviews I read people really seem to like them.  And see - clean and perfect condition inside!!

Bottles:

I came across these bottles (brand new in box) this past weekend at a church sale that had TONS of baby stuff.  I do plan to breast feed, but these will be good for the times that I am away and someone else will be feeding the baby my pumped milk.  I knew when I saw them that they were kinda fancy and not your typical cheap-o bottle.  Price check on Amazon: $13.49 currently with a list price of $25.  I bought these (never used) for only $3.

Blocks:

When I saw these at a sale yesterday they immediately reminded me of the old-school blocks I had as a young child.  Solid wood with a vintagy-feel, even though they actually came from Pottery Barn.  When I brought them home I used a magic-eraser to remove some crayon marks from a couple of the blocks (came off super easy) and then washed them all in a sink of hot soapy water.  Then once dry I proceeded to play with them on the kitchen table for a little bit, haha...  These will be super cute nursery decorations plus a really neat toy when the baby is older!  Pottery Barn sells them new for $54 (unbelievable I know,) I paid $3 for the whole set.  Niiiiice.
 

Savings breakdown:

Estimated cost to buy all items new:  (Average $12 per book, $10 per clothing item, $13 for blanket, $13 per diaper, $14 for bottles, $54 for blocks) = $360

I paid = $20.50

That is like buying everything for 94% off.

Good deal?  I think so.  Can't wait to do it all again next weekend!