I paid $2 for everything in the two pictures above.
I found it all in a thrift store. The thrift stores with the best prices will be the small, local charity stores. They will not be as organized as the larger charities, like Goodwill, but there are bargains to be found if you don't mind taking a little more time looking. Sometimes, you can haggle on the prices. Because I know their resources are very limited, I try to straighten their shelves or racks as I go. They really appreciate that and give me additional discounts from time to time. Being considerate pays off!
You can repurpose fabric from used clothing, sheets, pillow cases, curtains, tablecloths, etc. Large stuffed animals can be cut up to use the fur for smaller stuffed animals. The polyfill can be reused. You can take out zippers and elastic from worn clothing and reuse them. I have purchased a dress just to get the decorative trim off of it because it was cheaper than buying the "by the yard" trim. I have been cutting the buttons off of every garment we wear out for over two decades, so I have many jars full of them. Several years ago, I cut off the unworn sections of an old couch to make some very durable throw pillows.
homeschool lesson for five
We teach our girls how to work on cars too.
A skill is a skill. Since the boys wear clothes and use linens, it is useful for them to know how to make a repair.
I learned to sew as a child and have always had a machine. When I sew, my four daughters want to sew too. I wasn't able to get much accomplished sharing one machine with all of them. So, I asked God to provide sewing machines. The next day, I found an old Brother in a case at a local charity's thrift store for $15. I spent another $15 getting the part it needed and had a quality made working machine. Two days later, Clint found three more, two came with cases, for $7 each. They all run just fine and only took $21 out of our pocket! We invested in a $10 bottle of machine oil since they had probably not been run in a long time. God provides!
They just needed some dusting off and oiling, and they were good to go!
If I haven't bored you yet, go see the sewing machine that makes me smile.
I John 3:18-22 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
