Operation Declutter: I am in SWEATER Clutter HELL

I have literally spent days on just sweaters alone.  I am in HELL right now, organizing my sweaters.  This is payback for years of not organizing and storing my clothes properly.  My sweaters are all over the place, so just when I think I'm done gathering.. I find more.  Which means more to wash and an even longer wait to dry.

This experience, really has opened my eyes to my own personal chaos.  Even  the gathering stage is taking forever because I NEVER properly organized my clothes.  So this time, I'm going to see it through and its going to be so organized so I'll know where all my sweaters are. 

I am never buying another silk or wool sweater ever again! Seriously wool sweaters are a pain in the ** to wash.  You have to be super careful not to shrink them and you can't even dry them in machine. On top of the fact that they are super attracted to dust and lint and moths!  And you can't even hang them in a closet because you don't want the shape to be stretched out.

Agghh, I've been drying these wool sweaters since the weekend.  You have to be extra careful before storing sweaters they have to be 100% dry or your gonna have mildew issue.  I'm so desperate for space my treadmill is now a sweater storage area.

Organizing sweaters is so difficult because you really have to consider fabrics.  Why would you store silk blends which don't attract lint at all with wool sweaters? So far I've only decided that all my WOOL sweaters will go all together in a Large Space Bag, my cashmere's in another.  Hopefully, they will all fit.  And I don't have to worry about extras.

LESSON : ORGANIZE your Wardrobe properly.  If I'd know along the way that I had this many sweaters, I would never have bought more and let the clutter get so out of control.  Also, I've noticed I buy the same sweaters over and over again.

Target Space Bags on Sale

First time, I'm posting just to give props to target styling.  I really love how they mix all the color !!

Back to why I was posting, Space Bags are on sale at Target this week.  If you've never tried them they have 3 Large Bags on Sale for $9.99.  Which I think is over $3.33 per bag not counting taxes.

I'd personally would skip this sale and just buy a value set from Amazon like below you get some Jumbo Cube Bags (way more expensive) and 4 large bags are included and it costs $31.90. Making each bag alittle over $2.  You can use your Amazon bucks from Swagbucks as well to reduce your cost.

My Accidental Discovery for a Cheap Alternative to Space Bags

So as you know my Clutter personality is Easy Distracted and Procrastinator ...hence why I haven't yet finished Decluttering, Organizing and Storing my SCARFS.  My biggest problem is that is its still cold here in NYC and I still need Scarfs and I can't decide which one's I'm actually going to pack in my move.


I also don't know where I'm going to store them as of now and but they do need to be in airtight bag or container.  But I don't think I'm going to buy more space bags because they are super expensive!  I do love them but I want to a avoid paying $3-4 for a space bag unless I really really need it.  But I love them because they air tight seal my more Moth attracting things like sweaters and scarfs.  So I was thinking that maybe I can try making a airtight bag to store my yet to be fully grouped and organized scarfs. And here's what I came up with.

I put my scarf in a plastic bag and decided to iron it shut since I didn't want to buy more expensive gallon size ziplock bags.  I took a rag and placed it so that it covered the edges of the scarf in the bag and would give me enough surface room to iron the bag shut. ** You do this because your iron can't touch the actual plastic bag it will singe and create a mess on your iron. And then I would move my iron to create the about 75% of the seal.  You want to check on the plastic beneath to make sure it sealed tight because if you over do it, it will singe.  Then I'd compress the bag as much as I could and seal the rest.

And it worked, if you put pressure you can see the air that can't escape.  So great solution for sealing my scarfs in air tight bag and isolating the dust loving scarfs which could be a moth target.  As I did more, I realized that it would be much more space saving if I could do a better job of getting rid of the air like those food vacuum seal machines.

So I grabbed two heavy text books and used that as a press and ironed as I did above.  And look at the results!!!

BEFORE

AFTER 

Like a Space Bag the results aren't really dramatic on dense things.

What I love about this is that it's airtight and the end result is slightly more condensed and creates a super cool stackable shape just like my space bags!!

I realize that Space bags are superior because their bags are much stronger so they can compress more.  But Space Bags are a little weak at condensing super thick items like bulky sweaters and things like cotton shirts because the limitation on compression is the actual thickness of the object.  They are best on Comforters, Pillows and fluffy things like winter bubble jackets.  So for my purposes this is a great alternative to Space Bags because I'm using this method for things the Space Bags don't do a great job of compressing anyways.  And I have more options of isolating pieces. Like now instead of mixing my silk dress shirts with regular fabrics because Space Bags don't come in super small sizes, I can isolate the silks in airtight bags. 


SO NOW.. I can just put all the scarfs in a separate Garbage Bag till I'm ready to find them a final storage space.

More Dollar Store Organizing

I've realized going through this operation declutter.. which I am in no way near finished...the dollar store is amazing for organizer items.  And typically at way more than half off a normal store's pricing.  And you when you think of it most things needed for organizing are cheap but because it seems everyone's desperate to get organized.. retailers totally feed off your desperation by charging you crazy amounts more for a typically simple plastic product.

Most of the pictures of the items are from the DollarTree website since my stores are typically too crowded and don't take to kindly to photographers.  

I found versions of these at all my dollar stores in super cute colors, I would use these as cheap alternatives to expensive drawer organizers.  My store had 3 in a pack for $99 and the kind that locks with others so you can build around it to fit your drawer.  You could probably fill a whole kitchen drawer with two sets and pay only $1.98.  These are also great for organizing your underwear and sock drawers.

Compare that to the Container Stores Interlocking Drawer Organizers

These are super cute but still rubbermaid so I'm assuming plastic, and the price range for ONE piece is $1.99 to $3.49!!!!!!  Sure it looks very MOD but who is going to really look at the design inside your junk drawers besides you??  And I would definately think twice about getting wood ones which are even more expensive for two reasons 1) wood is more difficult to clean 2) wood can attract silver fish pests

These are amazing, if I weren't packing for a move .. I'd totally grab them now. I only found these at Cheap Jacks 99 Cent store in NYC and they had more cool colors.  I think they would be great for extending shelf organization.. the stacking helps make sure you use every inch of your space in an organized manor.

The Container Store has a white version of these and charge $3.99 each for the medium size ones, thats 4X as much as the dollar store.  And in the NYC dollar stores, they don't carry many version of these but I bet other states have more elegant versions as well.

They've had versions of these at the dollar section of even Target.  I love these too because metal is so easy to dust.  And the Green especially goes great with natural wood and white.  They look amazing with White Shelving.

Nate Berkus Show Episode on Decluttering

I love love Nate Berkus ! He has the most amazing segments ... it almost makes me wish he were hetero and I just could marry him and he could just organize and beautify my clutter seriously.. I've been at decluttering for ages now...it's been seriously stressing me out.  Again, this segment is going to be a savior I'm just 15 min and I am seeing results.

On his show he had on Organizational Expert Geralin Thomas and she breaks down clutter personalities into 5 types.

• Easily Distracted
• Procrastinator
• Bargain Shoppers
• Sentimental
• Perfectionist 

How bad is it that I'm all of the bolded.. yikes....

The trick that is working is the TIMER idea, basically I just set a timer for 15 min (its been long day and I'm tired).  I realized that I haven't been using my time efficiently because I do get easily distracted and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.  The time helps me focus on time and my the ONE thing.. I'm working on organizing.  Basically the first step is to pick one thing and grab them all and put them back to their rightful place.  Your not sorting or organizing yet.  Your just grabbing all "LIKE" things and putting them back to where they are suppose to be.  

I used this time to grab, toss and sort all my paperwork to the system I developed so far for my first round of Decluttering and Organizing my PAPERS.

I'm doing this because I need to just get rid of all the paper laying around and realistically organizing my papers will really take a long time to organize and file.  And when I have time to watch TV....during commercials, I open all my financial mail from its envelopes and put everything else back into the box.  15 minute and my room does look less messy and I can actually see the other stuff I have to declutter and organize easier.

The expert has an official 5 day plan she put on Nate's website LINK ...I think I'll try it after I get a little more done.

DIY Shower Curtain for Storage

I seriously have been coveting this shower curtain with built in pockets from Walmart .  The Pockets are made of mesh which drains easily to prevent water buildup. Seriously for a New Yorker with a tiny tiny bathroom, this is a great way to declutter up some of your bathroom especially if you have to share the bathroom with others.  

It's $14.96.

 You can buy this at Walmart but its currently unavailable online but for future reference here's the LINK

The site didn't offer much details for the curtain but here's as close of a look as I could get

I still can't tell if the pockets are inside or on the outside... 

But here's my DIY solution to getting a Shower Curtain with Storage thanks to the DOLLAR Store.

I found this Utility Bag meant to organize common Lobby items like Mail.  But upon opening it, the hook looked like the same size as my shower curtain rings and plastic and clear material made me think WATERPROOF and that this would go great with my currently Clear Shower Curtain.  

I put it in the middle, because I wanted to leave the Utility Bag as undisturbed as possible.

I wanted to use this for storage of things I don't necessarily need all the time or didn't want in the shower space.

So I filled it with 

Face Exfoliator

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil

My more expensive special occasion Philosophy Body Wash

Razor

Emergency Bar of Soap ( I hate it when I just run out and have to step out for just that)

Toothpaste

ToothBrushes

Lotion

Neutrogena Microdermabrasion Tool and Refill Pods

I tested it and everything was easy to reach for and stayed dry ( with the obvious exception of what I actually used in the shower).

It may not look as sleek and fancy as the Walmart one but it works and frees up some much needed space. 

All this stuff would have taken up all this counter top space . Now it hangs vertical and does not hog up any additional space that hasn't already been designated by the tub.

 My Utility Bag actually has more pockets so you can separate more things.  Also I just use one curtain if you use a liner and fancy curtain, you could try putting it in between the two and if your curtain is heavy.. it would hide the utility bag.  Or easily unhook and hide when guests come over.

Anyway my DIY solution (I'm not crafty at all) costs only $1.08 with tax VERSUS $14.96, which I guess if you consider that you use your shower curtain everyday the cost per day is not a lot.  

But one of the goals of my Decluttering mission is not to spend more MONEY than necessary during a recession and to achieve a more clutter free existence.  Personally, I think that ORGANIZATION has become a money making machine for lots of corporations.  Seriously, there popular specialized stores like the CONTAINER STORE, BED BATH and BEYOND, IKEA, CRATE and BARREL on top of Target, Walmart, etc.. all making tons off people who are trying to be more organized in their life.  And I think its great that there are companies out there improving peoples lives but if you look at the price of their products their ripping people off a bit.   Considering so many great solutions, I've found at the dollar store.  A normal person could literally spend hundreds if they bought retail easily while on this mission.  

Operation Declutter: Going CRAZY organizing my clothes

I feel almost ashamed to say that this is how I feel right now during Operation Declutter and this is just organizing CLOTHES!!!!!

I have literally spent the last 48 hours doing non-stop laundry and drying clothes for storage!!!!!! The drying part is the worst, it's like the top of my jeans don't dry at the same rate as the rest.  Normally I would just put it in drawer or let it hang dry but I'm trying to at least get some stuff ready for storage so everything I'm storing needed to be a 100% dry.

This is what I've been able to organize so far... I've eliminated, grouped, washed, delinted and bagged the easiest stuff first.

• Work Pants (Formal Dress Pants)
• Nice Work Button Down Dress Shirts
• Jeans
• Sweatshirts
• Gym Exercise Clothes
• Premium Denim  (ok just in space bag right now I haven't figured out what to pack yet for Premium Denim)

Thank You... 6 Items or Less Challenge!!  Honestly, I am only wearing the most minimal of clothes right now so I can store all the above away.  If it hadn't been for learning about the 6 Items or Less Challenge, I would not have been confident enough to pack this stuff away.  By doing the mock run for work outfits, I become really confident in the belief that you really don't need many clothes.  My old self, would have ruined all the nice packing and not have been able to put this stuff away in storage because I'd always feel like I'd have to go back and get just one thing.  Hence, why my bedroom flow always has a stream of clothes on the floor.  By limiting your choices, you become a lot more efficient in dressing quickly and decluttering.


I still have tons to do:


Buy More Bags
Figure out how I'm going to sort and store... Sweaters, Tops, Accessories and Casual Pants, Skirts, Dresses (basically the way more unique and challenging pieces)

Operation Declutter: More Dollar Store Finds

I'm seriously loving the dollar store these days they have so much of the organization stuff , I need for way cheaper!!!!!

And as I continued to struggle in decluttering, I've jumped on the Ziplock bandwagon... Gosh I'm so glad I found these at the dollar store for $.99 because Ziplock bags have gotten ridiculously over priced these days. And these are perfect for all the smaller things, I haven't figured out yet how I'm going to organize.

So I'm just grouping right now with these baggies.  These bags are like 2 cents a bag, vs paying 10-15 cent for the name brand ZipLock brand.  It's important to note, I am not using this for food storage.  With all the plastic recalls these days, its important that you want to cautious of plastic and food.  So even though there are a ton of cheap food containers at the dollar store and really cute ones at that, I only would by glass Mason Jars from the dollar store for food storage or my trusted Lock and Lock which is BPA free.

And for my dusting, I thought I'd give the MICROFIBER fad a try.  I saw a bunch of cloths at Target for around $2.99-$3.99 a cloth, which is ridiculous because I remember even seeing same name brand at the dollar store awhile back.  I got alil distracted when I saw something even better, they had Microfiber Gloves and this awesome thing.  I picked this because I wanted to keep as much distance from me and dust as possible.  For $1.29..... I'd say this is another great find.

**I just tried using it and I cleaned some dusty things and I didn't sneeze once even afterwards!!!!!!!!  This is crazy, OMG like I had no idea how amazing Microfiber dust fabric is!! I was seriously worried that I was developing serious adult allergies to dust from my prior days cleaning, I had even starting wearing a scarf while dusting.

How to Start Decluttering your Closet

Is our room starting to look like this?? Mine's was and so I started Operation Declutter.  I'm starting by first focusing on my Closet because that is probably where I have the most Clutter. I've already started and boy has it been difficult so I thought I'd share the routine, I've finally adapted.

STEP 1 GROUPING SIMILAR PIECES

Start small (so you don't get overwhelmed) and pick one type of Apparel that you need the least.  Then just go through your closet and put that one type of clothing in one place.  If you don't think you will do this in one day, then put it in something so you can keep adding to the pile (for me it was a Garbage Bag).   The first type of apparel I decluttered was SWEATSHIRTS, I work in corporate environment so SWEATSHIRTS are the least likely thing I need to wear and be fashion conscious of wearing.  Even though I have a bunch of nice cute ones, I always end up lounging around in my most baggy and ugly but comfortable hoodie.  

STEP 2 REVIEW YOUR INVENTORY

After you gather all your batch of similar apparel and you finally have time to get to decluttering.... review what you have.  If your like me and "Decluttering" it will probably be a lot.

STEP 3 SORT

I think it's easiest to color coordinate...but you can sort by price, fit, etc. This way you can see quite simply how much of one thing you have repeats of.  

STEP 4 ELIMINATE

After you sort, it'll be much easier for you ELIMINATE.  It was quite shocking to see how many similar grey and black sweatshirts I had. For most people who are decluttering, ELIMINATION is the most difficult and emotional process.

First - get rid of the pieces that are damaged (eg: holes, rips, stains, super faded )

Second - get rid of pieces don't fit well on you.  

Third - get rid of what is seriously no longer stylish.

Fourth -  get rid of what you haven't worn for over a year.

If you still have a lot at this point....

Fifth - find pieces that someone you know may like more than you.  { Like a younger cousin or sibling my covet one of your pieces and you really aren't particularly super in love with the piece.  Think of giving it away as your way of enriching their lives and decluttering yours}

Sixth - are their any similar pieces that have a Non-Dry Cleaning twin? Lets say you have 3 Black Blouses that are very similar but one is Dry Clean Only.  Do you really need the hassle of Dry Cleaning when you have 2 other very machine washable replacements?

If you still ..... have a lot even after all the above.....

STEP 5 EVALUATE harder

Evaluate: How many times a week you wear this type of item.

Me: I wear a sweatshirt SEVEN times a week but as lounge wear.  And maybe once a week on a super casual weekend day if I go to the gym.

Evaluate: How many of this type of apparel do you actually NEED a week taking into account your laundry routine.

Me: I need ONE Sweatshirt a week for lounging and maybe another ONE for the occasional gym day.  And I do laundry every 2 weeks.  So based on that I really need THREE sweatshirts for my 2 week laundry cycle.  If you space situation is not that dire, then take your NEED NUMBER and add ONE additional piece.

Now that you have your NEED NUMBER in your head, can you eliminate some more??

STEP 6 MINIMALIST TRIAL PERIOD

If you still have too much ... pick your favorite (insert NEED NUMBER) pieces and leave those in your closet.  Throw everything else back in and keep hidden somewhere inconvenient for you to access so you won't be tempted to cheat.  For a trial period, just use your selected pieces and see how it goes.  Most likely you'll find that your life is a lot simplified and won't even miss your hidden bag of clutter.  If you truly need something from your hidden stash then take it out one at a time.  If you actually wear it keep it out.  By the end of you trial you will hopefully see how little you needed your hidden stash of extra clutter.

I HOPE THIS HELPS!!!!!!!!!! I know I'll be doing this for all my items till I've finally DECLUTTERED my closet.

Operation Declutter (Part 4): Dusting

Is this level of declutter even possible without a maid or house wife??

Seriously, I have been on this declutter mission for a couple of weeks now and I conclude this is the hardest thing ever!!!!! Maybe I'm a hoarder ??? I don't think I am I just think New Yorker's just don't have enough space so it looks like you are.  I mean check out the Ikea Catologs, not a lick of space for the NY catolog.   I just honestly don't know how people do this, I'm going to seriously make it my mission to at least clear one surface by the end of this week.  

I really think I need to become a minimalist or try to get a more clutter free life.

Tips I've picked up so far:

DUST: What makes it so hard is the dust!!  I have been sneezing non-stop because of all the dust that has built up on my open air things.  So gross, lesson going foward is to box things in storage bins so the little things don't collect dust and just the box. It is so hard to remove dust on small things vs just one clean swipe for a box preferable dust friendly like plastic.  I have an OCD friend that literally zip locks everything, which is great  idea if you do clean regularly otherwise dust does stick to ziplocks too.  But it is cheaper than buying boxes.

Paper Towels:  I made the mistake of using paper towels to clean dust and surfaces.  One Roll down, I realized I have so many clothes garbage/donation clothes that I could just make rags out of them! Much more eco friendly and cheaper!!!!!!!!

Books: I realize I keep things around thinking I will go back to them.  I looked at all the books on my book case and I will be completely honest and say "I HAVE NEVER gone back for one book." I think especially New Yorker's in particular like to display books as a sign of their intelligence and individuality (just think Strands Bookstore vibe) but now with the Kindle I think it's going to be a futile pursuit going forward. I even looked into selling some of my old textbooks, I'd get maybe a $.01 for them now that they've sat on my shelf so long.  Lesson learned: "don't buy any books", they are heavy, difficult to move and take up too much space.

Magazines: One person had a rule of no more than 4 magazines in the house at a time.  Everytime she gets a new one she tosses one out.  My problem is there always a couple of articles I want and never getting around to clipping.  My new resolution is to rip it out immediately and put it in a big colorful folder.  I have literally cleared half a shelf this way.  And with internet these days, I don't really need fashion or gossip magazines anymore.  Honestly, I find my IKEA and JCREW catolog are not only free but really packed full of interesting ideas that I do want paper references too.

"Like Things Go Together": This is probably the best tip I've picked up so far and it really applies to everything.  Because of this I discovered I have a ton of staplers, measuring tapes and pens.

If I weren't moving, I'd definately pick up on some of Target's Storage bin stuff on sale this week.  I love these because super easy to clean and stack.

Operation Declutter (Part 3): Under the Bed Shoe Storage Box

I was at Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and I saw the above in store.  The friend I was shopping with was totally going to grab it at $9.99 but I remembered that I literally saw the same product even the As Seen on TV Logo at one of my local Dollar stores for $4.99!!!!  And I just picked it up for my friend and its the exact same box brand new.  

I'm loving that dollar store its the one right by the Main Street 7 train elevator and Macy's.  You don't even have to leave the block to pick it up.  Another thing I noticed is they have a 4 compartment version of this also from the "As Seen on TV line" for clothes for $3.99!!!!!!  Lightbulb in my head for DIY project is if I really wanted this for shoe organizer, I could cut up my own cardboard and make 8 dividers out of card board.  Taking it even further because I hate card board, I could reinforce plastic bags to them via the iron.  Great way to not collect dust and use your left over plastic bags.

Operation Declutter (Part 2): Comparing Under Bed Storage bags

Finding the Perfectly Valued Under the Bed Storage Bag

Bed Bath and Beyond: has a vinyl version for $7.99 each

This is what I want but that will be over $8 a bag! 

Why not buy more Space Bags??

While I love space bags ($2-3 a bag); there are somethings space bags are not that much useful for regularly dense clothing like sweatshirts.  And sometimes I don't want the hassle of decompressing a whole bag to get access to one item.  Plus they are some what delicate and the more you do that the more you wear and tear you space bags.  So I really wanted to get some under the bed bags. Normally I use the heavy duty clear vinyl zip bags that you get when you buy a comforter, but I've used them all up already. I need these bags to help store my out of season clothes that I may still want access to.  

So I searched a couple of my Dollar Stores and found my solution!!

Dollar Store: Under the Underbed Storage Bag

Cost $.99

I only bought one because it was in a sealed bag and I wanted to test one first, but basically this one is exact same size as the one at Bed Bath and Beyond.  And it has side pockets!  Con: is that its semi clear and the plastic is not strong as Space Bag or Vinyl.  I took up close picture below, because its likely your Dollar Store will have this version too (since all 3 stores I visited had this bag)

Conclusion:  If you don't plan on constantly abusing the storage bag (like grabbing it by the plastic to move, have NYC rat problem) its a great buy.  I save $7 a bag buying this version. So I am going to go back to get more!  For me, I'll just be putting these under my bed and occasionally accessing them.  Because there so cheap, I can buy more and organize my things better!

Cheap DIY Tip:  The Fabric Lining on the bag is really great to my surprise.  If you really want to make the bags sturdier you can just add duck tape.  I get a huge roll from dollar store so I don't have to be conservative with it. 

WHY not buy clear Plastic Under the Bed Tote Boxes?

The average price for the plainest kind of those huge under the bed Tote boxes is $15.  They are great because their easy to clean and durable.  Aside from the pricing issue.  It's not as flexible in terms of space, most beds can probably only handle 1-2 layers.  For me, I'm trying to organize things by actual items so it's easier for me to buy the bag version so I can organize more things and my space limitation is dictated by the size of my items vs the storage box.  Also if you don't own a home and you do have to move a lot... sometimes these will get cracked in the move depending on how careful your movers are.  Also if you have to move to another state via plane, you will not be able to take these with you.  Versus the bags you can just pack as usual and the barely add any additional space or weight.  My lesson was learned in my last move where I had to throw all mine out because I couldn't fit them in my suit cases.

Operation Declutter

My Dream Closet 

Reality check, my closet is half that size and I have a ton more clothes than that.  I’ve been totally on a decluttering mission.  I just hate organizing, cleaning!!!!!!! 

Trying to keep New Years resolution, so first step was to watch some free episodes of those decluttering shows on HG TV’s website.  Main tip I got is to get rid of stuff you don’t use and group all your “similar” objects together so you see how many of one object you have (so you don’t keep onto stuff you have a lot of and prevents you from buying more of stuff you already have a lot of).  For me I always keep buying grey and black slacker like sweaters now that I’ve started to group them together I realize I have a lot and I don’t need more. It’s also great idea because you learn to return objects to designated spot.   

Anyways, I conclude that I must not be the only slob in NYC because there are literally tons of stores in NYC for organizing.  The container store is like this magical toyland for the OCD !!  Target and Bed Bath Beyond are filled with super cool containers and closet things.  Only problem is that everything is super expensive !!!!!  So I’m going to start touring my local dollar stores and discount stores first before forking over a ton of cash to be more organized.

SO far I’ve only been to one dollar store and I’ve found some great deals!!!!!!

Pop-Up Laundry Bag

Instead of getting it at Bed Bath and Beyond; I found it in dollar store for $1.49 each   make it $1.29 each at my other dollar store!!!  I bought two because that’s all the space I have room for .  You could buy more just because these babies once folded take up less space than a t-shirt.

Amount saved  {$14.99-$2.98  2.58}

$12.21

Clear Storage Box (for shoes and misc items)

Container Store so far has the best price at $1.89 see below.

And I can't believe how much of a Rip Off Target is along with Staples.  Both stores have them around $6 a box ridiculous!!!!!

The funny thing is if you don't mind having a color top, my local Dollar store has the exact same boxes even same colors for $1.19 each!!!!!!!!!  If I were to buy 5 of these at the Dollar store, I'd save myself $24.04!!!

I've only been to one store so far I'm not going to grab them yet.  The frugal girl in me is aiming for $.99.

More to post about later... after i get my camera to work.