Salvage Grocery Shopping...take 2

Yesterday we went to our favorite salvage grocery store since we were in town (It's 1.5 hrs away, but only 10 minutes from my family). We stocked up on a lot to make winter grocery bills more manageable, especially since we aren't sure how often we'll be able to make the trip once the roads are nasty.

 As usual, we found some fantastic deals, some things that we would never buy and others that were more costly than the regular grocery store. You have to know your prices; keeping a cost book can be extremely helpful when shopping at salvage groceries. Sometimes you'll find a hundred of a good deal and can get enough to last months. Sometimes you only find one. It's always an adventure!

One thing with salvage shopping...it's all packaged foods. There aren't produce bins, there's no local-bakery-outlet, there's no bulk meat counter. This is all packaged. There are certainly some GM ingredients in some of the items. And yes, I know that in a perfect world, I would eat no packaged foods and make everything from scratch. I would buy everything direct from the farmer and would only eat perfectly balanced meals. But this is the real world. We both work full time and have projects we work on from home. We try to spend quality time together and with family and friends. Sometimes packaged foods are eaten. Sometimes we cave to cravings. Sometimes we eat convenience foods. However, we eat as much from foraging and the garden as possible and dehydrate a few hundred pounds each year. We cook as much from scratch as we can. We make our own convenience foods in the form of cooking a giant batch of chili and freezing meal-sized portions, or cooking 5 lbs of ground beef and freezing in 1/2 lb portions for quick and easy tacos. We also are on a lower income (as are many readers) and just don't have the money to buy organic/free range/ecologically produced/chemical free/package free everything direct from the farmer. We produce as much healthy and ethical food as possible and buy as much of the same from local farmers, but we're not in a place where we can do it 100%. Shopping at salvage groceries allows a little cushion to buy bacon from our favorite farmer for $2 more a pound instead of getting the cheapest store brand on sale with no thought to how it was produced or by whom. It allows a bit extra to buy tomatoes at the market when ours don't produce well. At the end of the day, all we are ever trying to do is live the highest quality life possible given our circumstances. There is no need to feel like a failure if you cannot do everything exactly as you'd like to. Just do your best and look for creative options to give you flexibility, like shopping at salvage groceries.

This salvage grocer is our favorite for one main reason: They get the outlets from natural food stores as well as regular grocery stores. That means that sometimes we score organics for less than grocery store brand on sale. The usual shoppers tend to go for the familiar brands, meaning that the "weird hippie" brand foods are often priced lower.

So...on to the scores! I'm including the price we'd pay at the regular store with smart shopping using sales and sometimes coupons. I'm also including commentary on why we purchased certain items or whether they are a "luxury" we wouldn't have otherwise.





Honey Bunches of Oats 14.5 oz box (1).....$1.79 (We aim to never spend more than $2/box for cereal, which is an occasional sale price at the regular grocery store, but not common anymore. Trucker eats oatmeal most mornings, but does still eat some cereal)
Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Yogurt 12.5 oz box (2).....$1.49 each
Honey Kix 12 oz (2).....$1.49 each
Special K 12 oz (1).....$1.49
Cinnamon Toasters 10 oz (8).....$.33 each (whenever we find cereal priced below $.50/box we buy extra and distribute to other families)

Pace Garlic and Lime Salsa Verde 16 (2).....$.49 each (Cheapest we ever see salsa around here is $1/jar)
Roasted Green Chili Peppers 16 oz (2).....$.99 each (I adore pickled peppers, but only get them on the rare occasions when they are $1/jar or less)
Los Palmos green enchilada sauce 10 oz (1).....$.49 each (usually over $1/can at regular stores)
Herdez salsa verde 7 oz (2).....$.39 each
Rotel tomatoes and chiles 10 oz (2).....$.59 each (usually $1+/can; we use this occasionally in chili. This year we will have to buy more tomato products than usual because we were only able to put up about 20 lbs of dehydrated tomatoes this year. It was a bad tomato year here)

Bumblebee Clam Chowder 15 oz (1).....$.69 (this is a convenience food for days when I'm working all day and Trucker needs a quick meal when working on a project)
Marie Callender's Vegetable Soup 15 oz (1).....$.69


Mueller's Ridged Jumbo elbows pasta 16 oz (3).....$.69 each ($1/lb is the cheapest we ever find here)
Mueller's Ridged Ziti pasta 16 oz (1).....$.69
Barilla Multigrain spaghetti 14.5 oz (3).....$.79 each
Skinner spaghetti 16 oz (1).....$.59
Mahatma extra long grain enriched rice 3 lb (1).....$1.49
Hunt's meat pasta sauce 24 oz (1).....$.99 (like I said, we'll run out of garden tomatoes really early this year)
Barilla Pasta sauce 24 oz (1).....$.99

Peppadew Mustard 9.5 oz (2).....$.59 each (this is my favorite mustard ever)
Grey Poupon Dijon mustard 8 oz (1).....$.79
Spectrum Organic Mayo 16 oz (1).....$.49 (cheaper than store brand conventional on sale)
Heinz Hot and Spicy Ketchup 14 oz (2).....$.69 each (this is about the same price as regular on sale, but maybe will taste better, we'll see)
Del Monte canned carrots or mixed vegetables 8.25 oz cans (2)......$.39 each (we dehydrate a lot of produce, but we do tend to run low by spring)

Tazo Chocolate Chai Latte concentrate 1 qt (6).....$.79 each (I love chai, and yes I could make my own concentrate, but I haven't found the time lately...this works and keeps me from ever splurging on a chai when we go out)
Tazo Chocolate Chai Latte concentrate 1 qt (1).....$.39 (This was the only one priced this low, but I looked for more and would have put the others back if I'd found any cheaper)
Oregon Chai concentrate 1 qt (1).....$.39
Twinings Orange and Cinnamon Spice tea 20 bags (1).....$1.49 (At 7.5 cents per tea bag that is used twice, tea is one of our most frugal drinks. We especially enjoy turning on the tea kettle every evening in autumn and winter)
Bigelow Orange and Spice tea 20 bags (2).....$1.49 each
Bigelow Plantation Mint tea 20 bags (1).....$1.49
French Market Coffee+Chicory Blend 12 oz (1)....$2.49 (this is a favorite indulgence and lowers our caffeine consumption. I forage a lot of dandelion coffee to cut with our regular coffee, but it is very labor intensive and I could never produce enough for an entire year)
LavAzza Italian Coffee 8.8 oz (2).....$2.49 (this is a little higher than we usually pay for Maxwell House coffee when it goes on a fantastic sale every 4 months. We like good coffee, but cannot justify paying full price for good stuff considering how much we consume)
Life is Good coffee 11 oz (2).....$2.49 (We were visiting my grandpa and didn't want to drink all of his coffee. We talked about stopping at a gas station for nasty coffee at $1.25/mug when we used our travel mugs, but then we'd want to stop again for more before heading back home later that night. We decided to bring in one of the packages of coffee and brewed a pot while we were there. He loved it so we left the rest of the bag for him to enjoy for the next week or so. It still cost us half the cost of buying it at the gas station, it was tastier and we got to give my grandpa an indulgence he would rarely get)
Koolaid packets (11).....$.10 each (This is a rare thing....mainly as a mixer for vodka when we're feeling trashy...or if friends with kids come over....but then there's no vodka. Also, every now and then in summer I start craving a slurpee type drink, but I'm scared to death of the mold in the machine and the high fructose corn syrup and the cost. So I make a super concentrated koolaid with a bit of regular sugar and blend with ice. Costs me around $.15 for 2 servings)


Tone's Cinnamon Sticks, approximately 82 sticks per container (2).....$2.49 (I have never purchased whole cinnamon sticks because they are cost prohibitive. I'm beyond thrilled. Trucker had to talk me out of buying 20 containers....because I totally would have)

Hidden Valley Ranch dressing 12 oz (6).....$.20 (Yes, I could and sometimes do make my own salad dressing. However, I really stick to basic non-cream-based dressings, and sometimes I just want something quick and easy. Plus at this cost, I could not make it cheaper until I start making my own vinegar)
Naturally Delicious Peppercorn Parmesan dressing 16 oz (1).....$.20
Ken's Poppyseed dressing 16 oz (1).....$.20 (My parent's favorite dressing, so I like to have it when they come over)
Kraft Zesty Italian dressing 16 oz (3).....$.20 (This stuff makes an awesome marinade for chicken before grilling-my mum's trick)
Kraft Thousand Island dressing 16 oz (2).....$.20
Kraft Catalina dressing 16 oz (1).....$.20
Kraft Zesty Lime dressing 8 oz (1).....$.10

Sour Patch kids (1).....$.49 (Generally, I try to provide Trucker with lots of yummy and healthy snacks like dried apples and other fruit. At the end of the day, he's a grown man and if he wants a bit of nasty-sweet candy, I'm not going to tell him he can't. If I make it forbidden fruit, he's going to fiend it more)

Bag full of energy bars.....$3.99 (this included 30 bars, so it was 13.3 cents each. These are used mainly for hiking, but also on road trips. We keep a few in each vehicle in case of emergency or if we forget to bring lunch, we have a little something without resorting to eating out. We got 15 Go Organic! double chocolate bars, 1 Promax double fudge brownie bar, 2 Power Protein bars, and 12 Clif Shot Blocks for running)

Smart Sense Dishwasher detergent 75 oz (1).....$2.99 (we usually hand wash dishes, but I use the dishwasher when I have marathon cooking days. Frankly, I hate washing dishes and would not do big cooking days if at the end when I was already exhausted I had to wash dishes for 45 minutes. We still have a box at home, but since I rarely find it on sale, I started shopping when I opened the last box)
Arm & Hammer laundry detergent 60 loads (3).....$2.99 each (this is half the price we usually pay on sale with double coupon. I do plan to eventually start making my own, but with so much going on lately, have not had a chance to give it a go)
Grout sealer (1).....$.99 (One of the projects I am going to do this winter while I'm trapped indoors is redo all of the grout in the bathroom-showers and floor. I stockpiled materials for different projects all summer while thrifting and yard saling so that I don't have to spend the money or go out in bad weather to the store to buy supplies)
Cologne (2).....$1.99 (Trucker likes this stuff better than the dollar store brand)
Temptations cat treats 7 oz (1).....$.99 (every now and then Ray cat gets a treat...however, it is rare and she is still lean and athletic)

So, total we spent $86.30 on all of this. We shop here every 3-4 months, so this comes out to $20-25 a month and significantly lowers the costs of general shopping in between.

World's Longest Yard Sale Adventure, and tips

Late last night Trucker and I got in from our annual adventure to the World's Longest Yard sale. This yard sale runs from Addison, MI to Gadsden, AL for a total of 690 miles. Some regions there are only a few sales per mile, and some regions go all out and have festivals, city-wide yard sales and church rummage sales. At some point over the years we've gone, we've covered 150 miles of it.

Bottles were $.50 apiece. Bottle cappers/stoppers were $.10-.50 each

I worked a short morning shift on Saturday, and Trucker met me at my job so as soon as I got off work, we headed out. I'd packed a lunch for us and we ate before heading out. We arrived at 127 at 1 PM and had about 5 hours of shopping before most of the vendors were closed for the evening. We visited several yard sales, a few barn sales (always my favorites), and many church rummage sales and flea market style sales. The latter two are wonderful because you park once and hit a dozen yard sales at once. It's time efficient and saves on gasoline.

Half apron for $1.

Around 6, most of the vendors were covering their tables with tarps, so we just drove to the hotel. I knew that generally we cover 30-760 miles in a day, so I made reservations at a hotel that was 55 miles from our starting point. We were about 8 miles from the hotel when most of the sales had closed for the day, so we didn't miss much. There was a pool at the hotel so we took a short swim. Since I'd packed all of our food and drink for the trip, we went out for dinner (When travelling we do one meal out per day and eat from the cooler for the other meals). I'd found BOGO coupons for a Mexican restaurant that was located a half mile from the hotel. The next morning, we got a free continental breakfast at the hotel which, while not the healthiest, was good enough to start the day.

Before we headed out in the morning, we took everything out of the car and rearranged it. We packed small items in multiple bags into fewer bags, and played tetris with the wine cabinet, barbell set and garden tools we'd purchased the previous day. The car had seemed to be almost full since everything was tossed in haphazardly the previous day. By rearranging, we freed up over twice the space. We filled our travel mugs with coffee from the hotel room (terrible though it was) and we were off!

We were a little early getting started at 8 AM, so we drove past several sales that were still covered up. We hit a lot of community sales on Sunday and most places were ready to haggle. We would both wander around and pick up everything we wanted from a particular sale, then go together to pay so we could offer a slightly smaller amount for the lot. We were rarely turned down. The only time I had a bad experience was when a woman snapped at me for not wanting to pay the price she stated for a wooden crochet hook. I hadn't needed one, but thought if the price was low, I'd buy it to put in my gift stash. Oh well. Otherwise, I didn't have any bad experiences.

$5 for 6 lbs of Kentucky Wonder beans and $1 for 3 lbs of squash

Most of the people were lovely. I talked with one person on dehydrating. One woman's grandmother had recently passed and they were selling the contents of her house. She told me a couple of endearing stories about her grandma. A little boy had set up a stand to sell his garden produce, but he was off petting a puppy someone else was trying to sell, so I talked with his dad and grandpa as I loaded up on chemical free, homegrown squash and green beans (I paid $5 for 6 lbs of green beans and $1 for 3 lbs of squash)



Driving through the back roads of Kentucky, I fell in love with the hills. It seems every half mile we were hitting a spot with a view. At one point, Trucker pulled over to hit a yard sale and when I got out of the car, I gasped and called him over. We stood at the top of a hill overlooking a meadow with a pond tucked away off to the side and a view of rolling, wooded hills. I told him, "Now THIS is what I'm talking about when I say I want to move away to the country."

I bought this dehydrator for $5. It's
older and cheap, but it will help as I
preserve the harvest this year.

Socket set for $15 and was on Trucker's list.

All told, we spent $50 on the hotel (hotel.com deal, along with swagbucks points earned, along with credit card cash back), $40 on gas (And how I love the gas mileage our new car gets compared to the truck!), and $150 in cash for all food purchased out, yard saling, and incidentals. We had budgeted $300 in cash, but were picky in what we purchased. Some of the purchases were to resell or to use in crafts to sell online this winter. Other items were on our list to purchase at some point within the next few months. We spent some money on books and CDs and a couple oddities, but the non-essentials totaled around $40.

Two of my sisters work for a nursing home.
I found these scrubs for $1 each.

I like to keep an eye out for things that friends and family members need. This year, I was looking out for yarn for one friend, a giant stock pot for a coworker, an industrial mixer for my boss (I knew it was a long shot, but I was sure hoping) and scrubs for my sisters. I found some yarn and scrubs, and loved being able to find a good deal for the people I care about.

Bench Scraper for $1.

Tips:

$1 for a book by my favorite author? Yes please!

* Make a list, but don't stick to it. I always make a very detailed list to carry with me. On it I list everything I need for the house or projects I'm working on with measurements and other items needed such as seasonal clothing, items for hobbies, or the last few Ray Bradbury books I don't have yet (he's my favorite author). I have a missing drawer pull on my desk, so I wrote down that I needed 7 drawer pulls (so they'd match) and the measurements needed. However, I didn't find any drawer pulls or the fluted pastry wheel I was looking for. I did find Bradbury's Zen In the Art of Writing, so the list was useful. Generally, make the list, and read over it in the morning before heading out and perhaps again in the afternoon. This will remind you to look through the boxes of kitchen utensils or tools for items that you might forget to look for otherwise. However, don't be a slave to the list (this is one of the few times I will ever say this). Sometimes you'll find something perfect that you just wouldn't think to add to the list. Case in point, I found reusable bottle caps. I never would have thought to put that on the list, but now that I ferment water kefir and am going to start home brewing beer, these will save me a lot of money.

This small cast iron skillet cost me $3.

* Clean out the car before you go and pack light. Take out an items that you absolutely don't need and don't pack extra stuff if you are planning on making a multiple day trip of it. Every item you bring takes up space that you might need for a big purchase. You don't want to have to pass on the bargain wood burning stove that you need for the house you're building because you packed a second bag for the overnight trip and now have no room in the trunk. Packing light will also save you on gas, at least for the first half of the trip.

Cloth napkins for $.25 each.

* Budget. Figure out how much you are okay with spending and pull that much out in cash. Lock your credit/debit cards in the glove box. Spend only the cash you have (exception, if there is an item that you need to purchase that you find at a fantastic bargain, you could always hit an ATM). If you are going for multiple days, divide your cash into an envelope for each day so you practice self control the first days and don't blow the entire trip's cash right away.

$1 for the tea ball; $.25 each for the jacks and thimble.

* Bring small bills and coin. It's easier to haggle when you have small bills than to ask someone to come down from $20 to $15 for an item, then hand them a $20 bill and ask for change. I like to have a roll or two of quarters to avoid having to fuss with change.

Outlet covers for $.50 each for the bathroom redo.

* Bring all of your tote bags. A lot of folks come prepared with a year's supply of plastic bags for their yard sale, but some people don't have bags on hand for you. Plus, you may not want to bring any more plastic into your house than you have to. Sometimes you'll park the car and walk around a town-wide sale, or a flea market style sale. At these times, it's really helpful to have a tote bag to slide small purchases into so you don't have to walk around with armfuls of stuff while trying to shop. When it's full, you can just toss it into the trunk and grab another. It's also helpful to have some larger totes so you can place medium-sized items in them to keep items from rolling around.

* Bring your own food and drink. It will save you money over going to a restaurant or buying from one of the stands set up. It will also allow you to stay on the road and not have to stop and wait for your food to be prepared. Since these sales only last a few days, you don't want to miss a moment! We bring travel mugs and a thermos with coffee for the morning and a small cooler of iced drinks for the afternoon. Don't bring too large a cooler or you'll waste valuable space that could allow you to purchase that bulky item. Bring a lunch that won't go bad like pasta salad with a non-dairy salad dressing. Bring some dried fruit, trail mix, granola bars or easy-to-eat fruit like bananas or apples.

Lavender scented candle, free the last few hours
of the sale.

* Be prepared to haggle. Sometimes people are weird about their items and think that because they paid $20 a decade ago, you should be willing to pay $15 for it. Most people will consider reasonable offers, so it can't hurt to ask. The best times to haggle are Saturday evening right before closing because some people aren't going to set up on Sunday and all day Sunday is fair game. The last couple hours of the sale, some people are willing to take pretty much anything. Last year I was at a sale at closing bell where a woman wouldn't consider even budging on her $15 cookbooks, but this year there were many sales where people were saying "All items on the tarp are 4 for $1" or "Everything except the furniture is free."

* The first day of the sale is the best for selection. The last day of the sale is best for bargains. Plan accordingly.

I found this leather purse in a $.50 bin.

* Make it fun. In other years, we'd go for one day then come home in the evening. This year we made a trip of it. There was a pool at the hotel, we went out for dinner (using a BOGO coupon I found online) and enjoyed relaxing in a new city for the evening. The next morning we headed back out, refreshed and ready to go. If you start to get burned out, take a break. Just drive for a bit, or stop at a park for an hour to just relax. Stop at a coffee shop.

$5 for three medium sized woven rugs.

50 lb scale, $10.

* Control your spending for the first few sales. At first, you may get excited and think you're finding some great deals and spend a lot right away. However, I've found that a lot of items pop up at many yard sales at various prices. By not buying right away, you leave yourself open to finding the same item in better condition or at a lower price. For example, I have been passively looking for a vintage scale for awhile. I wanted to be able to weigh my garden produce to see what varieties are powerhouses and which ones aren't pulling their weight. I saw a couple for $50 and that was too much for me. I was at another yard sale when I saw another, right before a woman picked it up. I heard her haggle with the vendor and she bought it for $30. I was disappointed, but two yard sales later, I found one for $10. I knew that it was a great price since I'd been comparison shopping all day long and didn't hesitate to scoop it up. Another time, I was looking at some woven rugs, but didn't buy them because they were a higher dollar amount and would take up the rest of the cash I had for the day. At the very next sale, I bought 3 smaller woven rugs that were equally beautiful for 1/4 the price of one larger one.

Knives were 2 for $5; wrench was $.50

* Be careful when going off route, especially later in the sale. While you drive the route, you'll see signs for yard sales off the beaten path. These can be fantastic. Since most people don't go off-route, you may find a better selection, and since they haven't gotten as many customers, they may be more willing to haggle with you. On the other hand, sometimes you'll follow signs for 8 miles before hitting the sale only to find a few odd items. When deciding whether to go off-route, opt for "Huge sales", "Barn sales" and "Multi-Family sales" as these are more likely to be worth the time and effort. If you are going on the last day, don't go off road for any sale that doesn't list that day as many people don't have sales on Sundays, but don't take down their signs.

Cast Iron pan, $3.

Here are some of the weird things we found that didn't come home with us.

To find a long yard sale near you, check out the list at Frugal Living.

Have you ever gone to a long yard sale? Any tips you have that I missed? Any fun stories or fantastic finds?

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Antique Jewelry

I love jewelry. Not fancy, expensive jewelry (Years ago, I actually told Trucker that if he bought me a diamond I'd say "no"), but fun stuff. What I don't like is paying high prices for something that is boring and everyone else has. I don't like going to discount stores at the mall for jewelry that was cheaply made. My solution? Go antiquing!

I like to browse antique stores with Trucker, but I never thought they would be a good source for my cheap jewelry fix.  Then one day I saw it: a bin of costume jewelry, $3 apiece. I dug through the bin and found a few pieces I loved. Now, every time I go to an antique store, I look for a bin of cheap jewelry. Often, it is $2-4 apiece. Sometimes it's only $1 per piece.

If you go to the mall or department store for cheap jewelry, you can expect to pay $4-20 per piece. The costume jewelry bins are at least competitive, and often much lower than similar pieces bought new.

You do have to sort through some broken, ugly, outdated or just plain weird jewelry. Don't let that dissuade you. There is likely some really good stuff buried beneath it.  

The jewelry I find is interesting. It has personality. It is different than the stuff I would find at a mall. I have never seen anyone wearing a piece I own. I am able to find jewelry that fits my style and my personality. Many of the pieces I find are very fun and quirky.

Each of the pieces in this post were purchased for $1-5, most of them $1-2. Except for the cactus earrings and the insulting pin. Those stayed at the store.

Thanks to the Bookworm in Wanatah, IN, for letting me take photos and for talking with us! If you are ever in the area, check them out!