This past week, we saw an ad for a dishwasher for $75 and decided to look into it. We had originally planned to buy a new dishwasher, because of past experience with used ones, and buy all the other appliances used. However, this one was for sale because the family was remodeling and they were still using it, waiting to install their new one after selling this one. It seems to be in good shape and it’s clean, so we bought it and loaded it into the back of the van.

We also saw an ad for a “warehouse cleanup” sale scheduled for Saturday. A contractor was cleaning out his warehouse of years of accumulated odds and ends, and since it was raining and we couldn’t work on the house, we decided to check it out. It turned out to be what our Japanese aunt calls a “BONANZA!”. We were able to find quite a lot of items we needed for the house, as well as a couple of things that we would have liked, but couldn’t justify buying.

We got 7 light fixtures for $3 each, 6 lamp shade for $1 each, a large septic safe garbage disposal for $30, a ceiling fan, a Schlage thumb latch door set for the front door, a Delta bathroom sink faucet, a water heater for $25 (larger than we would have gotten!), bathroom fixtures…towel bar, toilet paper holder, and hand towel ring…for $2 each (and it’s what I would have picked out, too!), a medicine cabinet with mirror, a large box of assorted light bulbs, 2 large fluorescent lights for the shop (as well as a box of bulbs for them), 5 smoke detectors for $3 each, 3 large sheets of plywood, 7 sheets of mahogany paneling (maybe for the stairway or a ceiling), a big box of big bolts for $3, a heavy duty vent/light for the shower room for $5, a recessed can fixture for the heat lamp in the shower room for $5, and two great porch lights for the front and back door for $5 each!

We spend over three times less than we would have spent INCLUDING the extras we wouldn’t have bought. A van and a truck load…truly a blessing!