Retail maven

I don't know if you have this person in your family: the one (usually) female who buys stuff. Constantly. Because it's on sale.

Now I'm not talking about items you might want or need. I'm talking about sale stuff. Purchased simply because it's under a 75% off sign. As my husband says, "There's a reason it's so discounted!"

Don't get me wrong, I love a bargain. Bargains, in fact, make me giddy. But with two small children - who seem to outgrow shoes faster than I can buy them - and a budget, I tend to be a minimalist shopper. By that I mean I do some online sleuthing and then go to the one store that has what I need. Still I have to give myself a stern talking-to about how I do not need the four really cute soup bowls that are deeply discounted.

In part, I want to say thanks to this retail maven, who is working with single-handed determination to keep our economic structure alive. But a small part of me really wants to ask what do you do with all that junk?

Oh, you'll do it for me?

I'm naughty, and I've occasionally been known to play the helpless little girl role in stores to get what I want. (Does this come with any discounts? *Twirling my hair, sheepish grin*) In my search to get organized I made a wonderful discovery—the Internet makes this all possible without the hair twirling.

Case in point: The freelance project I'm working on has been slaughtering toner cartridges. It's insane. Thousands of pages. And it ran out yesterday, mid-project. The thought of loading the kids in the car and driving around to six different office supply stores to find the right fit nearly unhinged me.

Guess what? I found my cartridge online. And a $20 discount. And they'll deliver it. And so $86 becomes $66 dollars that shows up at my home the next day without all the hassle.

And I just worked a little smarter. (And I can save that helpless little girl role for the next time I want my husband to hang a picture.)