I realize that there’s a trend amongst retailers to start selling things for the next season as early as possible, but it’s a bit unsettling to walk through Target and see back to school items already out. The children’s departments are full of uniforms, and the patio sets have been cleared out to make way for displays of lunchboxes and Trapper Keepers. I’m planning on buying the kids only what they need to go back to school next month, because I know it’s only a matter of time before those uniforms go on clearance! In fact, a few weeks after school started last year that I snagged white polo shirts for my son for less than a buck each. At that price, I didn’t care if they came home dirty!

I went to the mall on Sunday to return a few things (which is another blog post!) and found a HUGE clearance at JC Penney’s. And I mean BIG. Tons of racks of items for less than $10. I found a pair of denim shorts for $9.97, and got myself a few new shirts for $6 each. Most of the racks were 60% off, but there were also racks of items for 75% off - including clothing for $1.97! The clearance was spread out across the store, so I plan on going back with Catherine to do a little early back to school shopping for her. (The other kids wear uniforms to school.)

I hit a Gap outlet on Sunday at the outlet mall also. Unlike the Gap Outlet in Ellenton, they didn’t have a kids section, but the ladies section had plenty of good deals to keep me busy. I got two new tank tops with buttons halfway down the chest, and a pair of brown linen capri pants. I wish they had more colors - they only had brown, blue, and green. I would have bought more if they had black or a khaki color. The capris are the style with the drawstring at the calf that scrunches them up, and I wore them yesterday. Comfy AND cute. I think they’ll be coming on vacation with me.

A new Marshalls opened up in town this week, so I took my middle child there on Saturday to find her some new shorts for the summer. She’s a hard child to fit, because she’s a little skinny minnie. A lot of the size 7 shorts are too short for her, and most of the size 8 shorts fit in the butt and hips, but not the waist.

Anyway, we did end up finding some things for her there, and I found about 6 new shirts for myself too. I’m not a huge Marshalls / TJMaxx / Ross person, simply because most of the stores I’ve visited have already been crowded, cluttered, not well organized, and poorly staffed. Long lines, a mess on every aisle - you get the picture. This Marshalls was not like that at all, obviously, because it just opened, but I hope it stays that way.

One thing they did that I absolutely love is having one line for all cashiers. You stand in one main line and as each cashier is ready for a new customer, she takes one - everyone waits a LOT less when it’s done this way, and you don’t need to jockey for position in a line and try to figure out which one is the shortest…

Hmm…that line has 3 customers, and this line has one…but she’s buying 57 pairs of underwear….

We stopped at the Ross across the street after our trip to Marshalls, and what a difference! Aisles were a mess, racks of clothing with clothes falling of hangers, clothing all over the floor, items without prices. I peeked in the home section at bedding, pillows, and throw rugs, and things were just randomly tossed on the shelves, haphazardly. A real mess. I’m going to be upset if the Marshalls gets to be the same way in a few months.

We ordered bedroom furniture for my oldest back in January. At the time, the chair for the desk was out of stock. We were told it would arrive in March.

March came and went. We called, and were told it would be in sometime during April.

Well, it’s April now. No chair. I’ve called a few times, and we keep getting told one more week, one more week! I’m irritated now. I need the chair to match the set, and RTG has had my cash for 3 months! We’ve been told Monday now. We’ll see. If it doesn’t happen, I may end up bitching so loud that I get the chair for free!

(How do you sell a bedroom set, and have every piece in stock except the chair?)

Every time a new Kohl’s opens up, all of the stores have a big grand opening sale. I’ve never been to one, but I’ve seen the ads on TV all week, and one is being held this weekend I think. I can’t think of anything I NEED to get, but I’m always up for a good sale. I’d love to find some more Skechers on sale, or maybe some clothes for the boy - he desperate needs some shorts for the summer. And I love the selection of frames at Kohl’s, and I do have a few more pictures that could go into those!

I’m so excited! A new shopping center is being built a few miles from my house, and it’s almost done! The sign on the Marshall’s was up the last time I drove by. The plaza will also have Old Navy, Linens N’ Things, and a Panera Bread. Up til now, the only places to shop were Belk, Bealls, Target (20 minutes away) or WalMart (too many!), so having a new selection of stores is big news for our little town.

I had to run to an appointment this morning and stopped at Target on my way home. The Super Target was absolutely dead at 11am and I had my choice of parking spots. I didn’t buy anything exciting…a few things for the house, but I did enjoy browsing in peace. Oh - I noticed they have a lot of curtains on clearance again. I tried to buy a cheese danish at the Starbucks on the way out of the store…but they were OUT of cheese danish. Blasphemy.

You’d better shop around.

I got a new catalog in the mail this week, from a company called Seventh Avenue. I sat down to flip through it and noticed that several of the items weren’t exclusive to their catalog - in fact, I had just seen them in the ABC Distributing catalog. Some items were exactly the same, some where very close…so I decided to compare prices…and found that ABC came out cheaper on nearly every item I recognized. Here’s what I found:

• This candle and photo wall display was in both catalogs - not exactly the same, but very, very close. Seventh Avenue sells theirs for $59.95, ABC has it for $14.95
• Microfiber slipcovers for a loveseat, sofa, or chair - Seventh Avenue charges $69.95, while ABC offers the same thing for $39.95 to $49.95.
• How about this bedding for a kids room? It’s furry, it’s fuzzy, and it’s sold by both catalogs. You can pay Seventh Avenue $69.95 for a full sized comforter, or you can visit ABC Distributing and get the same thing for $32.95.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I’m not saving Seventh Avenue isn’t worth a look. They have a big section in the catalog for furniture, clothing, electronics, and jewelry, that ABC Distributing doesn’t offer. I’m just saying - shop around before you buy, you may save up to 50%! (And for the record, I’m not in cahoots with ABC Distributing, or being paid to promote their site. I’m just trying to save people some cash )

Technorati Tags: Seventh Avenue, ABC Distributing, catalog, catalog shopping, comparision shopping

My husband phoned me from work yesterday, and said I’d either be upset, or thrilled with what he’d done. Turns out, he needed some things from Sam’s Club, so he bought a membership for us. Upset? UPSET? Who could possibly be upset after you’ve just given them a pass for warehouse shopping? I can now buy 1 gallon jugs of ketchup and a family sized box of Advil!

Seriously, I wasn’t upset. I’ve been after him for years to renew our membership. We let it lapse when we moved away from the store, and now that we live near one again, I’m going to enjoy shopping there. It’s not the kind of place I can shop at every week, but they do have bargains from time to time. We have a family of 5, so we’re “big”, but not that big - I don’t need a gallon of ketchup. But I do stock up on the macaroni and cheese and Cheerios. Gas at the Sam’s Club was also 10 cents cheaper than the cheapest station in town. They usually have great cuts of meat at terrific prices. Ours even has a liquor store attached!

What are you favorite things to buy from a warehouse store?

Technorati Tags: Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, warehouse store, warehouse shopping