Perks of being a penny pincher

Now that we're living in Seattle (okay, we're still in Burbank but with this crazy June Gloom weather, it feels like Seattle), the nights and early mornings have been a little chilly.  Which poses a problem -- what should Nate wear to bed?  I anticipated a hot summer -- and I know I'll eventually get it -- that would have Nate sleeping in a shorts outfit or a onesie.  But we're on week #3 of mild daytime temperatures and chilly nights.  Nate's warmer pjs are getting smaller by the day as he gets bigger by the day.  I know you're probably thinking, "just buy the kid some new pjs and be done with it" but, hey, I'm a thrifty/practical gal and I cringe at spending 10 dollars on flannel pajamas he'll only wear for the next week or two.  Plus you know that the day I breakdown and buy him some larger pajamas, we'll have a heat spell (it's kinda like when you wash your car and then it starts to rain...)

Anyway, squeezing my 11-month old into 9-month pajamas was getting ridiculous so after looking at Targets pjs, I had a thought -- I should go to some thrift stores!  So last weekend, Lee stayed with Nate for an hour while I hit 3 Burbank thrift stores.  Boy, did I score.  I got 3 pairs of pajamas and several other items for Nate for under $17.  If I had bought new ones at Target, a single set would have cost me $9.  It was so much fun!  All of the clothes were in very good condition and were well-known labels.  

I've certainly shopped at thrift stores many times before but never for children's clothes.  The first 2 I went to were very clean and the merchandise was nicely displayed.  The cashiers were friendly and excited to see what people were purchasing.  The last store was a little on the scary side.  The store itself was pretty dirty and made me want to take a shower when I got home.  The cashiers there have an "I can't believe I work at a stupid thrift store" attitude.  But this was the most organized store I've ever seen!  Kids clothes were separated by gender, then by type of clothing (shorts, then shirts, then sweaters, etc.), then by color.  Wow.  I'll definitely be going back to that place -- of course, with a giant bottle of hand sanatizer and a face mask.  Just kidding...or am I???

My stash of 3 pjs, 2 pairs of shorts, 

1 pair of overalls, and 3 shirts.

Okay, so this shirt is WAY too big for Nate.  He'll wear it on his first day of Kindergarten in 5 years.  I just couldn't pass it up because I loved the camping motif.  It reminds me of Yosemite.

I actually bought these items a month ago but had to show them off.  

Look at the cute Letterman's jacket - love the white leather sleeves.  It was 4 dollars.