My Newest addiction...

I have a coffee addiction, it's no big secret.  I have two kids under the age of five, it's a MUST in my case.  I can barely keep up with them.  I also can't keep up with the rate that these rug rats are growing out of clothing. 

One week the jeans fit the next week it's as if they are expecting a GIANT flood. It is very hard on a single mom's budget to keep up with these growing children.  Not only is it hard on the budget, but on the mountains and mountains of clothes Thing One and Thing Two can go through in a year just piles.  I have given plenty of clothes away to close friends who's children are close behind my two.  Somehow I can't around to getting rid of the clothes fast enough.  I've done consignment shops, particularly Children's Orchard. 

Consignment shops are a great idea, you take in your gently used clothes into the shop to sell and you get either store credit or cash back.  They normally give you more in store credit and I've had some great finds.  I got a great Children's Place denim jacket for Thing One for a lot less and in great condition.  The only problem I have with this consignments shop is that for clothing you are limited to making appointments with a buyer and it can be months out before I get the clothes sold. By then I have a whole new batch of clothes that have been grown out of.  Not only that but they have the oddest hours and the closest one to me is only opened during my work hours.  I work about an hour away, so there goes that idea.  I do however like the fact that I can take a lot of my large items, like high chairs, strollers, larger toys and not have an appointment for those.

So that still leaves me with children's clothes in the garage and I'm beginning to resemble a hoarder (YIKES).  Donating is a great tax deduction, but to be honest I need money for larger clothes quickly and this can't wait until the end of the year. I recently received a great invitation via email from my friend "C".  She has three growing kids and loves clothes just about as much as I do.  So what to do with this obsession?  Easy, that's when a virtual online swamping of boxes of clothes and other things that have been outgrown.  It's a consignment shop online and it's the easiest thing I've ever done.  I signed up to ThredUp in December and to date four boxes full of gently used clothes are making some other children happy and some mom or dad is grateful they didn't have to spend a fortune on clothes.

I received two great boxes full of clothing that my children loved.  You can also post request for items you are in search of.  I am currently ISO (In Search Of) some gently used soccer cleats for my Things.  At 30 dollars a pop for new ones times 2, well that's just too much. 

If you are interested in learning more and want to save a whole lot of MULA, get uncluttered, and save the planet (ok you knew I was going to throw that in there) please click on the link below to learn more.  It's so simple that a busy working single mom of two under two can do it!  So go on...click:
ThredUp and save. Click HERE! :)

The Tale of Princess Heiress

I've heard that the current recession we are currently in began on or around June 2007.  That is one month before having Thing One.  I don't think I ever felt the pinch during that time at all.  Thing One had the latest baby gear, large amounts of new clothes.  Before he even came to this world, Mami threw me the biggest baby shower ever!  I had every gadget, gizmo, new trend you could possibly think for a new baby.  I have always been a careful shopper and consumer, frugal if you will, but I never imagined what the next year would bring me.  YES! BABY #2.  A mere 8 months after giving birth to what I thought would be possibly my only child I was pregnant again.

I always wanted more than one baby, but didn't know if it would even be possible for me. I had saved some of Thing One's baby clothes, gear, etc.  Let's face it I really had no time to get rid of some stuff since Thing One had barely outgrown many of the things. I was going to need these items for Thing Two on it's way.  I really wanted another boy, not just because I always related to little boys better, but I had SOOOOOOOOOO many boy clothes.  So 4 months into my pregnancy I go to the doctor, he says "BOY", I am happy.  I figure nothing will really need to be purchased except maybe extra diapers.  So two weeks after the news I go to a specialist for another sonogram.  "Do you want to know the sex?"  I was like, well I know it's going to be another boy.  I still said "SURE, WHY NOT?!" SURPRISE...a GIRL!  Oh my word, I was thinking NO WAY!  I had them check every time I got a sonogram to make sure the technician was correct. 

A Girl.  What was I going to do with a girl!?!  Ok, so then I wrapped my mind around having a sweet little girl, and I was ok.  That is until I thought of all the spending I was going to have to do on PINK...yes PINK.  EEEK!  I've never been a lover of the color pink.  So I figured, if strangers always asked about Thing One by starting  "How cute she is!".  That always perplexed me since he was in head to two in powder blue. So if they thought he was a girl, nothing wrong in sharing a little blue with my baby girl. 

I felt more of the economy taking a hold of me then.  I didn't lose my job, but people all around me were losing a job, a house.  Income that was spent frivolously was now being watched like a hawk. During this time Mami was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I had to take some time off of work to help take care of her after her mastectomy and treatment afterwards. That was really tight on my budget and I was thinking, my goodness my baby is due in 8 weeks!

There was no real time to have Mami do a huge baby shower like we had for Thing One.  Not only was money tight, but it would require that I help because Mami was having difficulty physically.  I felt the same, I was large and tired.  Not only because of the pregnancy but the sheer exhaustion from raising a toddler.  So it looked more and more that Thing Two was going to be wearing powder blue for a majority of her infancy. My co-workers did have a baby shower for me at work, and I did get a few things that were girlie and pink.  It was quite nice and I was getting use to the whole girl thing.

Fast forward to our current situation.  I am still working, thank goodness but raising two children is not cheap.  Often times Thing Two will be wearing last years blue footsie pajamas that Thing One grew out of.  Mami calls Thing Two "Princessa Heredera" (Princess Heiress).  I still purchase a few cute girlie outfits, because it's fun.  I just won't break the bank doing so.  Yes, she wears boy clothes, with a girl flair.  Mami often feels bad that she inherits all of Thing One's jeans, shirts, etc.  I'm sure I wouldn't be as cautious with the money if it were a better time, for now she will wear a Spider Man shirt and jeans with cute red bows in her hair.  She is my budget baby, Princess Heiress. :)  Nothing wrong with that, just some way in dealing with the new economic situation.  I just explained to Mami, this has been done generation after generation.  She is not getting hand-me-downs, she is getting well loved, comfortable clothes. :) 

So what have you had to change given the new economic circumstances of this country?  Have you put a positive spin on it?