This blog entry was written by The Mrs. and is reproduced here with her permission (thank you!).
Check out The Mrs.'s blogs for yourself at: http://www.themrs.ca
ReStore Score
I don't like shopping second hand. I really, really don't.
It has nothing to do with image or pride or the ick factor of rummaging through someone else's things. No, what turns me off is the all-or-nothing feeling I get when I survey what looks like an airplane hangar full of mostly uncategorized stuff.
You know, that feeling. The one that tells your one functioning eyeball (or in your case, possibly two) "You have to look at every. single. thing. in here before you'll find anything useful to you."
So imagine my surprise when - as one of the cold, rainy day activities we came up with to do with Mr's parents, in the absence of anything remotely resembling nice weather - we walked into our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and immediately saw these babies:
Five matching chairs. Five oak chairs, in great repair, with leather seats (that we'll re-cover some fine day). Five heavy chairs. Did I mention there were five of them? For $30 each? Down from a price of $45 each?
To understand my bone-deep excitement, let's step back a moment and think about what kind of seating we had chez Mrs before this angels-singing-down-from-the-sky event:
Pause. Okay, that seats me, Mr, Miss in her booster and one guest in reasonable comfort. Jr's still in a highchair but isn't too many months away from being another demanding chair hog.
Let's imagine for a moment we persuade more than one guest to dine with us (unlikely, I know). We also have:
That's it. Four real chairs, two flimsy chairs and a death chair. And heaven forbid we have anyone over with kids, because let's face it: they're safer eating off the floor.
So while $150 on furniture was a completely unbudgeted for item this month, we snatched those babies up faster than you can say "personal injury lawsuit".
Because it's not like I'd ever shell out the money for new ones anyway.
It has nothing to do with image or pride or the ick factor of rummaging through someone else's things. No, what turns me off is the all-or-nothing feeling I get when I survey what looks like an airplane hangar full of mostly uncategorized stuff.
You know, that feeling. The one that tells your one functioning eyeball (or in your case, possibly two) "You have to look at every. single. thing. in here before you'll find anything useful to you."
So imagine my surprise when - as one of the cold, rainy day activities we came up with to do with Mr's parents, in the absence of anything remotely resembling nice weather - we walked into our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and immediately saw these babies:
Five matching chairs. Five oak chairs, in great repair, with leather seats (that we'll re-cover some fine day). Five heavy chairs. Did I mention there were five of them? For $30 each? Down from a price of $45 each?
To understand my bone-deep excitement, let's step back a moment and think about what kind of seating we had chez Mrs before this angels-singing-down-from-the-sky event:
- Two (pine?) chairs, lovingly found, stained and re-covered by my dear mother when Mr and I first got married ten years ago.
- One sort of similar oak chair restored to match the first two, also by my dear mother.
- One cherry chair with arms, found at a neighbour's yard sale and recovered to match the other ones.
Pause. Okay, that seats me, Mr, Miss in her booster and one guest in reasonable comfort. Jr's still in a highchair but isn't too many months away from being another demanding chair hog.
Let's imagine for a moment we persuade more than one guest to dine with us (unlikely, I know). We also have:
- Two black plastic folding chairs
- One chrome and red vinyl folding chair that - while utterly awesome - also poses a very real threat of dismemberment to anyone brave enough to sit on it.
- I have nothing to put in this spot. I just wanted a third bullet point.
That's it. Four real chairs, two flimsy chairs and a death chair. And heaven forbid we have anyone over with kids, because let's face it: they're safer eating off the floor.
So while $150 on furniture was a completely unbudgeted for item this month, we snatched those babies up faster than you can say "personal injury lawsuit".
Because it's not like I'd ever shell out the money for new ones anyway.
