The Thrill of a Bargain

I really enjoy bargain hunting and am very excited when I find a great deal!! Since Ethan outgrows his clothes and toys so quickly, I check out garage and consignment sales for great deals on gently used clothing and toys. Today a friend and I left our houses very early (6:30am) to drive to a gigantic community sale in a local suburb. The sale did not start until 8am, but we had been warned that the lines to get in were incredible, but that the prices and selection were worth it. It was held at a middle school, and when we arrived, the parking lot had caution tape all around it blocking access from the lot to the grassy areas. We thought, surely there aren't enough people who come to this sale that they would try to park on the grass? But yes, there certainly were. There were 3 lines set up in front of the huge rooms containing the sale items, and there were easily 200-300 people waiting before the 8am opening. It was kind of fun to make a mad dash for the tables piled high with clothes and to "dig in" to find some great bargains. Many of the items were new with tags or did not show any wear at all. I was a little weirded out though by the "hard core" sales attenders (those who brought large upright luggage with wheels or huge wheeled carts to stuff items into as they shopped). We waited in line for a half hour to get to the checkout. As we left the building, we saw that the parking lot was completely full, and people were lugging huge bags of items across a field to the elementary school parking lot which was equally as packed! Guess the caution tape was justified! Then we headed to another sale that was coordinated by an organization for families with multiples and had more success finding great bargains on very nice brand name clothing. It was a very fun morning, and I am very pleased with the super deals that I found!