A Perfect Thrifting Example.....

Little Man got a PetSmart gift certificate for Christmas from Memaw, so that he can buy a lizard.

Little Man

My niece asked me for a pink pig for Christmas, but my sister axed that idea.  Actually, we have a regular zoo around here, so if the pig had come to live at my house, I could put a billboard out front, and charge admission to get in the front door. (Unfortunately, we have a neighborhood association, and they frown upon billboards. Boo, hiss!)
See what my mind does all day?  It is quite distracting.



Anyhoo....
He needed a tank with a mesh lid, and some rocks/dishes. We already have an extra heat lamp.  Now, on to my thrifting adventures, I often see things that other people need. Including, but not limited to:
70's wedding dresses,
Sewing patterns w/ missing instructions
Stained bed pillows (really?! you thought it was a good idea to donate those?)
Underwear, including thongs (another really great idea)
Shoes with broken heels (huh?  who is really going to pay for shoes they have to repair?)
Animal/pet supplies

See? There really was a point to all that.

So I knew I could find little man the tank he needed, if I just looked hard enough.  So I looked, and looked, and looked- and then I looked some more.  Now normally, I see these everywhere, but every kid under 12 must have gotten a lizard-in-a-thrift-store-tank for Christmas, b/c they were all gone....

Jay and I even took him to Wal-Mart Friday night. (Gasp!  I KNOW! ME, in Wal-Mart?  It is a sign of the end times.  It is also the ONLY place I can find Little Man's shampoo- I am nuts over Baby Magic.  So I bought 6 bottles.  He will be using it until he leaves for college, but I won't have to go back to Wal-Mart.)
The tanks were expensive, and not exactly what he needed either.  We found this, but he still needed a lid, and rocks and food dishes.  We decided we would take him to Animal Jungle either Saturday or Sunday, but we knew it would be expensive there.  So I decided to check one last thrift store we hadn't had time to hit.
JACKPOT!  It was perfect! Had a mesh lid, rocks and food dish.  Little man was SO excited!
Here it is:


Large tank, two rocks, food dish, and lid. $9.98!

 Patience paid off, and it was a great lesson for my kids, since they had been on the hunt with us, and knew it was silly to spend too much on the tank.  One of them even suggested killing the turtle (Phineas) to take his tank.  I quickly put the brakes on that idea.