Favorite Websites

Ok, I'm a sad, sad person. I've spent way too much time online-shopping lately (and shopping deals in brick-and-mortar stores too). When you're at home all day with 4 kids... it's my release in the evening! But can I just show off some of my amazing scores?

1. A $100 Anolon saucier pan for $12.50 shipped (and it's WONDERFUL... I love it... I now want more Anolon!)
2. 8-9 gifts apiece for Tommy and Gracelynn at $90 apiece total! Mind you, $60 of that was for a Leapfrog TAG reader device and books. So, I'm nearly done with Christmas shopping for those two!
3. A cool Zathura shadowbook for $1.00... we recently watched the movie and although Mike and I thought it was a little lame, Ben loved it. It's a hardback book that you shine a flashlight at to show shadows of the film on the wall. (Also got Tomie dePaola books...my favorite children's author... and chapter books for $1 apiece too... even some with a Christian basis.)
4. Thrillville for the Wii for $10; Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii for $25; Luxor for the Wii for $15... guess how busy the Wii will be after Christmas.
5. TONS of goodie-bag things for Gracelynn's birthday party. Granted she isn't having a party till December, but I bought so many things at Target, I'm set. Love Target's 75% off sales... especially in the dollar spot!
6. Hannah Montana and High School Musical dolls (barbie-style) for less than $5 each... future gift ideas.
7. Dinosaur documentary-style DVD's for $5 each.
8. Some church-shoes for me (I'm usually in flip-flops or sneakers) for $20 apiece at Marshalls.
9. TWELVE pairs of summery shoes for Reagan, Grace and Ben for $27 total at Target! I bought the next size up, so we're good for next year (hopefully). Most were for Reagan, so if she grows too quickly this year (not normal for her), I can pass along to Grace later. Again, love those 75% off sales!
10. In the spring, I bought Reagan 11 Limited Too sweaters for $77 shipped... and got some "Too Bucks" for later purchases. We later bought a dress, pajamas, 2 shirts, a High School Musical DVD, 2 HM stationary sets, a set of "bling" headphones for her iPod and some candy... we used the Too Bucks and a $25 giftcard leftover from her birthday and STILL had money left on the card. Woo-hoo! I would never shop at that ridiculously priced store if it weren't for the amazing clearance deals you can find in the back of the store and online.
    
11. An eBay lot of 39 "bottoms" for girls for $95 shipped. Only 2 pair fit Reagan now, but she is set once she grows to a size 8 and up... even brand-names, mostly jeans.
    
12. ... and that's not to mention the amazing things I've picked up along the way from Freecycle, when I am *chosen*.

How do I find these things? A few places. For one, I check out amazon.com from time to time in the toy section. I click on "Toy Outlet" and then on the left click on 70% off or more. The listing is not always accurate to be 70% off, but that's how I found a bunch of nice things (like from Learning Resources, my favorite catalog for preschoolers). You can also check out the 50-70% off. Like I said, not all listings seem to be accurate, but you never know. I became a prime member, so on Amazon-shipped items, I can usually get free 2-day shipping on any order.

Another site? I hate to squeal this one away in case people jump on the goodies listed before I get to it. LOL But, maybe you'll also POST some good deals too? It's http://forums.gottadeal.com . This link takes you to the online forums, but you can also check out the offline deals at B&M stores (Brick-and-mortar). This is where I found all of the Wii games, the Anolon pan, and much more. Be patient... something cool will come up.

I also joined Freecycle in my community. If you go to Yahoo Groups, you can search to find a local Freecycle community for you as well. It's a group where you can post WANTEDS or OFFERS on things you'd like or things you have to give away... ALWAYS for free. I usually do a yard sale a year, but it suffered greatly this year. I had given away TONS of stuff as I came across stuff in the house throughout the year. Much better than piling it up in a spare room for 12 months. It felt good. That way I won't feel guilty snagging something nice for us, too. We've gotten clothes, shoes, toys, food, candlesticks, and much more over the last 10 months or so since I joined. I've also found takers of our things: some cute unused things of the kids, our crib and changing table, shelves, toys... even unopened pantry items that I know I'd never use. I LOVE FREECYCLE! When I was in PA, my mom handed me bags of boys' clothes. Much of it was too big for Ben and Tommy now, but it'll be great for next year. She got them all from a lady on Freecycle. Do you know how hard it is to find nice clean boys' clothes used? These were all big-name shirts and in impeccable condition. I gave some to a friend to use with her son till mine grow into them. I sent the lady an amazingly gushy thank you note. People on Freecycle are usually so awesome. In the last 2 weeks though, I was chosen to get two things from two different ladies (shoes for the girls). Both had to write to apologize because someone else stole them off their porches. What? Who would do that? Granted, it's usually on the honor system with stuff being placed on porches with no one watching. Ugh... so not EVERYONE is awesome. But most are! If you are a fellow Freecycler, thanks so much for making our county Freecycle group awesome!!! I'm off this afternoon to pick up a hose reel from a sweet lady down the street. Two days ago, Gracelynn finally got a soccer/camping-style fold-up chair of her own from another lady down the street... great way to meet neighbors, eh? Freecycle rocks!

Pfaltzgraff.com has a neat clearance section to find little dishes or pots or such. They make great gifts for teachers and coaches to stuff with candy or cookies at Christmas. I've done this in the past. Right now, I'm not sure I need to do it... I may have enough gifts for teachers already from other deals I've found.

Good magazine/book sites:
www.lowpricesubs.com I got Rachael Ray, Shape, Parent and Child, and Family Fun magazines for $2/subscription! Granted, they haven't arrived yet (still in the middle of the 8-12 week wait period), but others on gottadeal said they were good.
www.sortfloorbooks.com Great cheap deals. A little annoying to navigate, but search for authors or titles.
www.bookcloseouts.com Found lots of $1 books here. Check out August Promotions to find the link to the $1.00 summer sale.

Good photo-product site, similar to Shutterfly or Snapfish:
www.artscow.com The location of this printer is in Hong Kong, so shipping is a little high and delayed, but if you sign in, you get lots of coupons for FREE products. We got a nice little hardbound book of the kids' summer photos for $11 shipped. Also got 200 free prints... just paid shipping. They were nice photos too. Guess who developed our China trip photos!?

www.disneyshopping.com If you come at the right time and shop in clearance and sale sections and have a coupon code at the ready, you can get great deals. I got a CARS floor coloring pad for $6, an R/C Cars car for $4, PJs for $3.99 each, and more.

www.childrensplace.com Again, if you come at the time of their big clearance sales, as I did, you can get unbelievable prices. I bought tons of sunglasses for $.99 each, matching clothes for Reagan and Grace, slip-on Vans-style shoes for $5, boys' khaki pants for $5, jeans for $5 and much more. They had similar deals in store, too. I just glanced online... they still have summer clearance with $.99 tanks and $3.99 tees if you are ready to stock up for next summer. With two boys and two girls, I love that I can match their clothes... occasionally!

www.silverjewelryclub.com Everything listed on this site is free. All sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious gems. The catch? Only 4 things are offered at any given time... and only for 15 minutes apiece. You cannot double up things in one shipping... everything is shipped separately. And shipping is $6.99. So basically every item is $6.99 shipped. If you are looking for some cute earrings or a nice gift pendant for Christmas, it's a good spot. I got one pair of dangling earrings. They are smoky quartz (brown) ovals on a silver chain with posts. Cute! But I won't be shopping here as much as I originally thought. I can get silver earrings at Kohls when it's 50-70% off for less. No gems, but I prefer simple anyway.

A new favorite store is Five Below. One went into the next town over. I found lots of Cranium books and games (normally $12-$20) for $4-$5 apiece! Cool!

Well, that's enough for now. If anyone knows of great forums pages to find great deals, please let me know. Can't beat $12 Anolon pans and $10 Wii games when they pop up, y'know?