Cooking at home is cheaper than eating out. This is a given. But I’ve recently realized there’s a high first-time cost to home cooking.
- Need 1: Forks that don’t melt when you stir a boiling pot of spaghetti
- Need 2: Travel coffee mugs without plastic interiors
- Need 3: The correct size baking pan so that brownies don’t become thin crackers of crunchy burnt-ness
- Need 4: TWO pots for cooking broccoli at the same time as mashed potatoes to prevent Yucky Lukewarm Side-Dish Syndrome
Trips to Bed Bath & Beyond and even Target/ Wal-Mart started to add up. Suddenly the start-up costs of home cooking made me want to walk down the street for some sushi, or at least a pizza. You don’t need a fork that no longer exists in fork-shape to eat either of those choices.
But there are alternatives to buying new kitchen goods that are just as high quality as new items!
- Goodwill: I bought a fabulous red electric wok from Goodwill for $5. Wal-Mart’s price: $50. This wok’s deep sides make cooking vegetables, stir fry, or ANYTHING much easier, especially when it comes to stirring. Goodwill has many other home goods as well, so stop in periodically to catch new deals.
- Dollar Store: I bought lovely glass cups here for, yes, $1 each. They even have a stem and the glass curves, which makes them fancy enough for dinner parties. They also have spatulas, bowls, peelers, and the list goes on.
- Tag Sales: Check out Craigslist or posters on street corners for local sales. I purchased a classic picnic basket (complete with red checkered cloth lining) with a full set of picnic-ware for $2. I also picked up a curtain rod for 25 cents, whereas curtain rods cost $6 at Jo-Ann Fabric.
Where have you found low cost, but good quality home goods items?
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