In the midst of my violent tumble from The Compact wagon last week, I did manage to do some right things. We needed to replace our lost-in-Hawaii toiletries bag (plus the other four I carried within it to organize all of my assorted maintenance products), and we had a list of things to make camping better. Which is to say, for me, slightly more tolerable. If there is anything that makes camping something I truly look forward to (besides the quality family time, yeah yeah), it's the purchasing and organizing of supplies. So I headed to Salvation Army & Goodwill, lists in hand, song in my heart.
Filed under Seems Too Good to be True: A toiletry bag for $3.99 that is roomy enough to hold all of our necessities and it has a Hawaiian print. That is poetic something...
More amazing finds:
Small pouch in the exact pattern of one in the lost bag; a dozen divided plates for $2.99; a whisk and two serving spoons in good condition (read: not previously melted in a campfire), .99 each; and one of those trendy new scuba suit-like wine bottle carriers for $1.99 (holds two bottles! Which, yes, we would drink while camping, don't judge).
I also took the opportunity to add to my Oscar party flatware stash. I decided to purchase extra secondhand cutlery to use at my party because I was always running out of my regular stuff, plus there are great retro patterns at the thrift store, and it's only .29 per piece. I decided to add some fun spoons to my funky forks. Well. Let's just say the Goodwill on NE Broadway gets an interesting assortment of spoons donated. The kind that have perfect circles burned onto the bowl. Some that are still bent to an awkward (for eating) angle. You get the picture. (Unless you are my strangely naive best friend, who, though she grew up in LA, is always shocked at the meaning of words and phrases even my children probably know). I left those behind, even though one had a really cool pattern (on the handle).
Who knew shopping at thrift stores could be so adventuresome? And educational...
