Burlington Haul: Home Deals and Le Creuset

Do you ever feel like your soul just connects with certain things? Could be a person, place, sentimental object... maybe even a song or type of food.

Is it normal to have a spiritual connection to clearance racks?

Besides the obvious things (my husband, my family, mascara, etc.), there is nothing I love more in this world than finding an incredible deal. I am that person who remembers where every deal I've ever gotten is from, how much I paid, the MSRP, who I was with... and yes, I am also that person who will tell you all of those details if you compliment whatever it is I bought.

I 100% get it from my grandpa. I'll never forget the Christmas when he got my grandma a watch, and once she opened it, he told us all how my aunt took him to Kohl's on a day when they had a senior discount, plus the watch was already on sale, AND he had a coupon!

Give me a discount retailer like Gabes, TJ Maxx, Marc's, or good ol' Burlington, throw in a clearance section, and I'm in pure heaven. Deals on top of deals? YES. PLEASE. These clearance sections get me through the garage sale off-season from October-April (once May comes around, that's when you can REALLY get the deals). I definitely don't discriminate against a good consignment or thrift store either.

So there it was, the middle of February, about -5 degrees outside, and my mom asked if I wanted to make a Burlington run.

Girl, you know I do.

First things first, you always need to get a cart as you walk past them at the entrance. Otherwise, you may wind up finding an absolutely insane deal on a certain piece of high end French cookware that you can't carry with the armloads of other stuff you've found and have to book it to locate a cart while a lady enters said aisle and you have a mini heart attack thinking you'll have to get into a physical fight over it, and mentally prepare yourself to do so.

True story.

But the Burlington Gods were with me, placing a deserted cart right outside the aisle for me. I snagged this baby up so fast.

Here she is. My beautiful new Le Creuset 3.5 quart dutch oven in coral. The sticker said compare at $380 (I know you can find this size for around $150 on sale), and it was marked down to $69.99. It had a security sensor wrapped around it so I couldn't even open the box until I got to the checkout, but I pretty much decided to buy it as long as it wasn't broken - didn't care what color it was, but was happy enough with the coral sticker it had on the outside. The good news is my kitchen is very neutral, with the only pop of color being my red KitchenAid stand mixer, so the bright reddish orange works beautifully.

Oh, and she sits right next to her friend that my sister got for me for Christmas a couple years ago!

My next favorite find was this oversized basket. The leather handles with grommets sold me on it, and I love the shape of it to layer blankets inside. The height also is perfect because it hides the exposed cable outlet that's juuust a touch too far to the left of the TV stand.

I'm an avid Food Network watcher. On my list of kitchenwares to eventually get was a French rolling pin (sensing a French theme?). I had a marble one that was gorgeous but the handle kept popping out, and I had a plain old wooden one that was fine, but it didn't make me feel like a Holiday Baking Champion like I wanted. This beauty was waiting for me in the clearance aisle, and it just needed a few layers of oil to be ready to display on my island. How silly that this little dowel brings me so much joy, but alas.

The rug I had in the hallway between the garage door and basement living room was so old and gross. It irked me every time I looked at it, but it was functional so I didn't seek a new one out. The color and pattern of this rug caught my eye first, then I saw it was the exact size I needed and yep, toss it in the cart.

On my final sweep through the fun little sauces and seasonings, I found this champagne vinegar. The frosted bottle caught my eye, and I'm always in the market for interesting ingredients.

My total for everything was $115. That's less than you'd pay for a Le Creuset pot on sale!

Isn't that so fun? And as of today, we're only about two months out from those first few garages opening up, and the people who live there welcoming us cheapskates in with open arms. Side note: If you really want to get a good turnout at your sale, have it in late April or early May. You may think it's too early but trust me, us avid garage salers have been dreaming of sales all winter and will seek you out and be there at 9 am on the dot with bells on.

Until then, I've been watching a LOT of Mr. Kate lately on YouTube, so I'm craving a thrift store run next to find some DIY supplies.