Shopping at Goodwill

  Came back from shopping at Goodwill today. I hoped to buy a crock pot, microwave, iron, electric kettle, oven toaster, plates and utensils. I wasn't expecting to buy all of them (since I can't lug them all on the bus anyway), but was very much hoping for the crock pot and microwave to be available. I knew Goodwill always has plates and utensils for sale, so that wasn't an issue.

  I did find crock pots at Goodwill, three in fact, and bought the cheapest one for $5. I'm satisfied with it, but I was thinking of not buying it at all for two reasons: it's really tiny, I would call it "personal size;" and it doesn't have settings. You just plug it in. The two other slow cookers were bigger and had high/low settings but their crocks weren't removable, which is really important to me for cleaning purposes. I was already there and didn't want to waste the trip so I did what was instinctual to me: buy the cheapest option.

 I also found an iron for $6. I have to scrape the iron's bottom plate and figure out how to pour water into the iron but those should be easy. 

  I also found an electric kettle but decided that I didn't really need one, that I should just save the $4 that I'd spend on one for the microwave. Ha. That $4 was spent on something else, very very quickly.

  Regretfully, I didn't find a microwave at all (though strangely there were lots of hair dryers and vegetable steamer contraptions). If I'd found a microwave, I probably had to lugged it, the crock pot, plates, utensils and iron directly to  my Cozy Little Hovel, but because my hands were free, I went shopping a bit more. Big Mistake.

 I spent an extra $14 on a large woven basket and a blouse. It's a really nice basket! It's large, but not rigid, the material is almost like a straw hat but thicker, and it was able to hold the plates, utensils, crock pot, iron and electric kettle with room to spare. And the handle is nicely covered in leather. I think Whole Food sells these baskets and they're from somewhere in Africa. 

  And the other half of the $14, I spent it on an ivory-colored blouse. I'm ambivalent about the soundness of this decision. On one hand, it was "too good to pass up." It was silk and Brooks Brothers. But then again, you can always say something is "too good to pass up," and because it's 100% silk, dry cleaning is mandatory, so in the long run, this shirt will probably be worth hundreds of dollars in maintenance. Also, I've been so good in not buying clothes at all for the past 6 months that breaking my record for a happenstance purchase feels like a defeat. But it's so silkyyyy. And it has covered buttons. And puff but not-too-puffy sleeves. And a mandarin collar. Sigh...

  

  I have two days to return the blouse, the basket or both. I'll probably return at least one of them.

  So the lesson in shopping at Goodwill is that you will end up buying a lot of lovely inexpensive crap if you're not careful. Write down a list. Leave no room for "oh, I really need X and I see they have it and for a good price." And eat before you shop! I was hungry while I was shopping. Not only does it make you impulsive but your mental functions will be cloudy and slow.

  PS. I would take pictures of my purchases esp the basket and the blouse but my camera's dead and I can't find my spare batteries.