Have I mentioned how much I heart Craigslist?  CL & I have a good history.  We’re like this (crossing fingers).  I found my college roommate through CL – and we lived together for 3 years!  I found my job thru a CL ad – going on 4 years with them.  Oh and when we had some items to get rid of (an old couch and hutch) on our move into our new home, we used CL and they were gone in hours.  To say I like CL, is an understatement.

Well, as if things couldn’t get better between us, CL was the source of some awesome baby finds this past month.  I was looking into getting a push walker for Avery.  He’s cruising on furniture and climbing up walls like spiderman.  BUT have you seen the price of some of these things?  I saw one in BuyBuyBaby for $60!!!  I don’t dare spend that much, knowing he’ll outgrow it in a few months (like he has with his walker and bouncer recently… yah he hates those now… he’d rather be free and crawl around and get into things he’s not supposed to).  So, what to do?  Find something second-hand!

After some surfing on CL and shooting out a few emails, I found a woman literally 2 streets away.  She’s moving and was looking for a home for her son’s old toys and clothes.  Score!  After many emails and pictures back and forth, I made a trip to pick up this beauty:

When I brought it home to Avery you should have seen his face.  He was thrilled!  The toy was is awesome condition – it had all its parts, and the batteries were still working, which sang songs, ABC’s, and make all sorts of sounds!  He was smiling and slamming his hands on it (that’s what he does when he’s excited).  It was near bedtime and we had to pry him away from it (crying!) because he wanted to play with it more!

Fast forward two weeks and I’ve made several trips to pick up a pack and play for my cousin (expecting in October), more toys for Avery and a TON of lightly used clothes, pictured here taking over our dining room floor…

Vinay looked at me like I was crazy paying for all this stuff, but lets do the math:

Laugh & Learn Stride to Ride and Walker($5), Fisher Price Bandstand ($15), Wooden Activity Center ($10),18-month Clothes & Shoes for Avery ($40), Gifts for Expecting Cousins: 0-6 mo. clothes, bibs, towels, blankets ($60)

Total Paid: $130.  In store prices?  At least $60 for the walker, $40 for bandstand, and some of the clothes still had tags on them… an outfit from Gap was $30… those 3 items would be $130!!!  Good deal?…I think so!  And Avery is thrilled with the new goodies so everyone made out pretty well!

Do you use second-hand clothes & toys?  Are you an avid Craigslist user?