The why's, why not's and the forget-me-not's

My boy needed shorts.  I cringe when I see him wearing shorts that outline his shape.  He of course is clueless.  If they fit around his waist he's good...who cares if they creep up because they can always be pulled out...continuously. all. day. long.

So I went to Once Upon a Child...they are a little more expensive than the average thrift store, but its typically clean (the shoe area is always a disaster) and the clothes are in size order so it makes things easy.  When I go thrifting...I overfill the cart.  Then I go to a quiet area of the store and debate.  So I leave with less than 1/2 of what I originally find.

First go around the clothes are cute, second go around I find holes, stains and realize not as cute as originally thought.  Final go around...can I buy this new at similar cost?  Is this pricing the best bargain for this particular brand?  And no matter how much I like it...will my child wear it?  If the item passes those questions...then its a keeper.

I love kid shoes. Specifically girl shoes.  My daughter has a better shoe collection than anyone I know.  Mainly because she has worn the same size shoe for 2 years, and I keep buying.  But this past year, she has added some inches to her height and a few centimeters to her feet...so we can now get new shoes!

Finally, after two fun filled summers...her little red sandals are history, so time for some new ones.

I go to the shoes first... I start off adding shoes to my cart.  I keep going and going...till my basket looks like this.

I then take each one out and contemplate the why...and the why not's. 

Rainboots are a must for Moo Girl...we love our puddles!  Found a cute pair of Tom's at a steal of a deal.  Those blue slip ons...new Land's End...size 11 may fit in the fall/winter.  Toe covered gym sandals...a must for the girl who refuses socks and must run continually throughout the day.  The other ones, may be cute...but unnecessary.

Red Shoes!  Satin fancy dress shoes, cute little sandals, and your basic red gym shoes....so how do you decide?  Maddie has a lot of red in her closet, but she does not need 3 pairs of red shoes.   I am thinking specifically of this cute red dress she has...would look nice with fancy shoes...problem....maddie likes to look fancy, but does not play fancy.  Satin shoes would last one wearing so they are a no.  The cute little red sandals...I debated between them and the gym shoes.  Once Upon wanted $5.50 for those things...I can get Old Navy brand easy, and I can find red sandals similar cheaper...so its a no.  

Why even buy of the generic red gym shoes?  Bottom line they were $1.75 and I have a crafting idea for them, so if it becomes another the good, the bad and the ugly post...I'm out a little under $2 and if it works...they will be super cute!

I also looked at these cute little gymboree sandals...I held onto them for a bit...I liked them, the quality was good, no wear or tear on them.  But decided no.  Why Not?  Because cost was more than I wanted to spend, she didn't have clothes to match these beauties...and I figured the white flower would get dirty and start to look nasty in a few uses.  So no.  

On to the boy sections...Matthew and shoes...gotta buy new.  He has crazy feet that I can never find the correct size, plus at this age and size the shoe selection can be pretty iffy.

But I hit the motherload on shorts and shirts for my son.  My cart was overflowing...10+ prs of shorts with 10+ shirts in the cart...so I had to go find my quiet place and contemplate.  Lots of Gymboree and Nike.  It was hard to narrow it down...but again, it maybe cheaper, but it still all adds up.  I narrowed it down to 5 prs of shorts and 4 tops.  I again used my reduction technique...I'd show you pictures, but my phone battery died...which was a real bummer, because I really wanted to show you my loot. But I was able to re-charge the phone and got a quick picture of my son going to school this morning...how do you resist Einstein?

and lets remember the forget-me-not's...those lime green gymboree shoes that I passed on...

later on in the day I found this dress with blue and lime green stripes would have been a perfect match for those shoes... I kicked myself for not buying those cute sandals!.

So why don't I go back? Well, these sandals will look just as good!

What have you found thrifting lately?  Anything you regret not buying?