Money DOES grow on trees!!

Well, not exactly, but I discovered a place that saves me a HECK of a lot of money. Actually, my Mother discovered it this weekend, so I had to drop what I was doing and zip over to take a look. Before I get there, can you guess what I paid $1 for in this picture? Actually, the ENTIRE room was designed (including furniture) for less than $300! OK, I'm getting carried away here. So, I hopped into THE DOLLAR TREE store (have seen them, but quite honestly, they scared me...like bed bugs kinda fear...call me a snob). The pillows, vases, light bulbs and other accessories you can't see were all purchased for $1/each at the Dollar Tree. When my Mom called me from the aisles of the store in her neighborhood in Southern California, I jumped online to www.dollartree.com to search locations and was shocked to find hundreds within fifty miles of us. Like dating, the first few were pretty awful. Dirty, stinky, mildly annoying. Then, the third one was just right. For kicks and giggles I popped into the Target store next door (the holy grail of retail shopping, in my book) and checked the prices for the same items I was purchasing at Dollar Tree: windex, soap for an upcoming camping trip, paper products, candles, etc. At the end of the day, window cleaner is window cleaner in my book. Pledge is pledge. Laundry detergent I hate to skimp on because, after all, my snoring face is on it for the better part of the day, so I like it to smell good. Other products, though, don't need to be expensive. For my every day cleaning/etc. items I saved $68 compared to what I would have spent at Target. That's a night out! In staging a home I hate to spend $30+ on throw pillows, so at $1/each WHO CARES!! So, while money doesn't grow on trees, if you shop at Dollar Tree from time to time you'll have enough extra to buy, say, a apple or pear tree! Not bad in my book!
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Well, I roamed the aisles for about an hour
COST: Just in daily home products alone, I saved $68 in one shopping (the room in the photo was designed by using a sofa from the "as is' section at Ikea, rug from overstock.com, coffee table from a roadside flea market and pillows and accessories from the Dollar Tree.)
STRESS LEVEL: Taking the pain in the pump away slightly by spending less on paper products and soap: LOW