Hands-down, my least favorite thing to do with kids in tow is try to get shopping done. We have it down to an art at Costco and Trader Joe's (thank you samples, you are the best form of bribery), but anything else is just bound to be a bust. Add four little kids to winter weather, and there's no way I want to leave the house, particularly since it takes an hour to get coats, hats, gloves etc. on before we leave!
So here are my five favorite ways to shop without leaving the house:
1. Grocery staples:
Peapod and other similar grocery delivery services are SO convenient, but hard to use for me, because I don't get most of my groceries at a conventional grocery store. They have coupons for free delivery every once in a while, and usually require a $50 minimum purchase. So this works really well for me when we're stocking up on staples like flour, toilet paper, etc.
2. Fresh produce:
From the Farmer (or your local CSA) - This is more of a treat for me than anything else, especially when farmer's markets are closed for the season. They drop off a basket of fresh local produce on your doorstep on a weekly basis (or however often you want - we just do it once a month) and it is ALWAYS amazing and beautiful and such fun to be able to plan a menu around the delicious fresh produce we get! It's $35 for a small basket, which is on the pricey side but if you mention my name (Rosie Hill) you can get $20 off your first order, which is absolutely worth it! Best of all, you can schedule deliveries online, so no need to hide in the bathroom to make a phone call so your 4-year-old doesn't try to get in on the call with you (wait, am I the only one who has to do that?).
Is that not the biggest carrot you've ever seen? Totally don't find them like that at the grocery store!
3. Meat
Relay Foods (available in DC, Baltimore, Northern VA, Richmond, Williamsburg, Staunton, Charlottesville - you name it!) is kind of a combination of the two - Peapod-style shopping, but with tons of fresh local produce available, as well as typical grocery store items. They also have a minimum purchase, but frequent promotions AND you get $30 off your first purchase if you use my
invite code! Their meat is
fabulous, the only problem is how often things go out of stock. But they deliver on most days straight to your door, which a lot less notice needed than with Peapod.
4. Clothes for you
Twice
I know, I extol the virtues of
Twice all the time. But seriously, it's so awesome! Free shipping on orders over $49, free returns, and they have measurements listed on their clothing so you have a much better idea of what will fit/be too short, etc. I find it really useful for staples, and they're super-generous with credit and coupon codes, plus their customer service is fabulous! I just got a J.Crew denim jacket for $2.01 because of my credit from selling my old clothes, credit from you awesome ladies signing up through my link, and some other coupon codes!
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| Shirt & sweater, Twice. John Paul's polo & jeans from ThredUp. |
ThredUp is decent for adult clothes too, but they don't list measurements and their returns don't include free shipping, so I vastly prefer Twice.
5. Clothes for the kids
ThredUp
Hands-down, ThredUp. I just got a huge order of stuff for the kids, Gymboree galore, Osh Kosh, Carter's, etc... Nothing over $8 and most of it was under $4! And every single item was in perfect condition. This is about what I expect to pay at my favorite consignment store, only I
didn't have to leave the house and shipping was free, so I guess it was technically
cheaper than going somewhere to shop since I didn't have to pay for gas.
There's a LOT on their site, but if you know what you're looking for it's easy. Cecilia pretty much only wants to wear elastic waist skirts, so I found the cheapest ones in her size and snapped them up. Browsing isn't a lot of fun because there's so much that it gets overwhelming, but narrowing it down is easy with their search feature.
Returns are not easy, since you have to pay return shipping. But for kids' clothes? I'm not returning anything, because it doesn't have to fit the way clothes have to fit me!
Cecilia paired her new striped skirt with a striped shirt, because that's how she rolls.
Linking up with Hallie at
Moxie Wife - check out more favorites!
. Then there are also TONS of audiobooks currently on deep, deep discount that you can buy even without an audible membership. We've been listening to Little House in the Big Woods ($4!) and I've downloaded several others for seriously low prices. They've got All of a Kind Family, Mary Poppins, Charlotte's Web, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and many others all on serious sale right now. 
