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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Things that should cost less

My sister and her family just moved into their first house (NEXT DOOR to one of my other sisters; I am SO JEALOUS) and was talking yesterday about how her father-in-law is going to buy them a new mailbox.

“Oh, yeah, mailboxes,” I said, remembering my attempt to buy a new mailbox when we first moved in. “That’s one of those things that you go out to buy, but then you don’t buy because they cost about eight times as much as you think.”

“Exactly!” she said.

“Yeah, you think, ‘What’s it going to cost, twenty bucks?’” I said.

Then my mom chimed in, “But they’re eighty.”

“The CHEAP ones are eighty,” said my sister.

So here is a list of things that you do not buy the first time you try to. I’m going to start with things I started to buy way back when I first became responsible for most of my own purchases, so it’s not all mailboxes and curtains. But, oh yes, curtains are ON THE LIST.

1. Socks
2. Sweatpants (I actually have never purchased sweatpants because they are insanely expensive)
3. Sweatshirts
4. Bras
5. Curtains
6. Mailboxes
7. Copper wiring (single most expensive item of the Bathroom Remodel)
8. Sheets
9. Pillows
10. Lamps
11. Rugs
12. Seriously, curtains cost way too much. They’re basically a hemmed sheet of fabric. What is the deal?

So what have I forgotten? What haven’t YOU bought?

15 comments:

Becca said...

Oh my gosh that list is so perfect! I can't think of a single thing to add, but I have gone bra shopping and come home empty handed on a number of occasions because I was disgusted by the price.

Painless Mama said...

Good quality toddler shoes. Yeah, I buy them, but Stride Rites cost $50??? Puleeze.

Emily said...

Underwear. Night cream. Exercise clothes. Trash cans (the big outdoor kind - OVER $100). Certain spices.

This post is GENIUS, Mo.

Christy said...

You are spot on with most of those! I am SHOCKED at the price of rugs and curtains. We have gone to stores specifically to buy these things, KNOWING that they are expensive and then still leave empty handed. We have been in the new house for 2 years and have 2 rugs - one bought on sale and one given to us by family - and NO curtains, just blinds.

nicole said...

The price of bras makes me crazy.

Sunscreen! Oh my word. If I used the actual one ounce per application on each kid, I would use a tube each time we went swimming. Hate it.

Swistle said...

OMG a pill-cutter!! I put off buying one for, like, six years, because they cost SEVEN DOLLARS when they should cost two or three. I finally bought one.

And Mucinex! The doctor recommended it, and it was, like, TEN DOLLARS. For an over-the-counter medication.

Also, nuts always cost more than I'm prepared for. $5 for a relatively skimpy bag of pecans!

Pregnancy tests cost more than they should, too.

Sleen said...

I am often shocked at my grocery total. By my calculations, every item should cost about fifty cents, but almost none of them do!

Kristin said...

Bras. Bras. And did I mention bras? This is why I have old bras.

Serious toddler shoes (I go Stride Rite as well, usually, but it hurts every time).

The sunscreen that doesn't irritate my rosacea.

Toddler socks.

Toddler clothes in general.

Oh, and my personal pet peeve: jeans.

Mama Bub said...

Yes, what's with the mailboxes? Ours blew out of the ground during a serious windstorm earlier this year. We thought about replacing it since it was kind of run down and then found out that the only ones approved by our association are $250! So it went right back into the ground, thank you very much.

And the bras. It KILLS me to spend $50 on a new, good bra, even though I know I'll wear it to death.

Maaaarian said...

I'm with everyone else on bras (although I always get them on sale to ease the pain).

My current pet peeve, though, is patio furniture. Not the "family BBQ in the back yard" heavy duty variety, although I think those are overpriced too. No, I mean the weatherproof equivalent of a folding table and 2 chairs. Why does this have to cost more than $200??? I'm certain they're called "bistro sets" just to make them more expensive. Needless to say, I've decided to continue admiring the morning sunshine from inside my apartment.

Hannah said...

This is a great list! Although, some of these things become easier to stomach when you think of the cost per use. That was your strategy, right Maureen?

Kristin said...

Marian? Is that you? (Which is to say, are you the Marian I think you are?)

-Krizzzzz, which will make sense if you're the Marian I'm looking for. =)

Maaaarian said...

Yep, 'tis I. How did you guess, the 4 a's? =)

Kristin said...

T'was the a's, indeed. Lovely to see you here!

Leah LaR said...

Curtains!!! And throw pillows. And also chairs. Chairs are ridiculous.