The trip to the US last month included a lot of shopping, a fact about which I was reminded when I went to pay my credit card bill online yesterday. Ouch. But I’m glad to say that we didn’t shop impulsively. Between trips overseas we keep a running list of things we’re looking for that we haven’t found in Khrungthep, or which we think are just too expensive here. So when we do arrive in the US, purchases are purposeful and long-considered.
Along the way, we also hunt for bargains. This trip, we managed to score what I roundly consider to be our bargain of 2008, short of that free dinner we received from Patrick when we met at Ember on Soi Langsuan.
One of the things we did when I grew up, something I’m told is very Midwestern (despite having been raised in the Bay Area by parents of midwestern origin), is to keep a compost pile. Compostable matter, scraps from veggies, peels, stems, eggshells, etc. would be placed in a container, to be taken to the compost pile each night. Likewise, “wet” garbage – chicken bones, meat scraps, other things that would otherwise foul up the rest of the trash – we segregated, usually in a milk carton, and taken out the night before the garbage collectors arrived.
That’s a habit I continue to this day. No compost pile (no garden in our condo, I’m afraid) but I do place our wet garbage in a separate container. This is something that took a long time for Tawn to get used to. But I finally won him over when he observed that our building’s janitorial crew actually sort through all the trash, pulling out recyclables. As such, if wet garbage is mixed in, it not only contaminates the recyclables, but it makes for a very unpleasant job sorting.
Even as he was won over on the value of separating the wet garbage, he didn’t think the milk carton is very pretty sitting on the counter. So ever since we moved into this condo more than a year ago, we’ve been looking for an acceptable container, something ceramic, with a tight fitting lid and straight sides, that could replace the milk cartons.
Several initial selections by Tawn were very decorative, but were utterly lacking in practicality. The size was too small, the neck of the container too narrow (so that you couldn’t pull the bag of garbage out after it was full), etc.
So “wet garbage container” has been on our mental shopping list for many, many months.
While we were in Kansas City, we stopped by Dean and Deluca, the famed foodstuffs store out of New York City. On a rack near the dessert counter, set way up high and covered with a layer of dust, were three ceramic crocks, about 15 inches high. The crocks contained biscotti from De Camillo Bakery in Niagra Falls, NY, the expiration date of which had passed six months earlier.
The price tag reinforced the reason for a layer of dust. The price had started at $120, marked down to $80 and then again to $60.
We discussed whether or not to buy the crock, which at $60 was still a bit pricey. But after a year of looking, we had not found anything that seemed to meet our expectations so nicely, so maybe this was worth paying the money for. We decided to get it.
When I stepped up to the register, the cashier scanned the bar code but it didn’t register in the system. Looking it over, she asked where I had found it. I pointed back towards the dessert counter, “On that shelf over there.”
“Oh, the discount shelf?” she asked. I had not noticed that next to the dessert counter was another shelf filled with discounted, mostly holiday, items. Not knowing whether or not my purchase was in fact a discounted item, but considering the dust and overdue expiration date, I replied “yes”.
The cashier manually entered the last price, $60, and then a code giving a 75% discount. Final price was $15 down from the original price of $120.
We’re back home and the crock is in use. It is large enough to hold several days’ worth of wet garbage. The lid fits tightly to keep any smells in and any flies out. All in all, a very satisfactory purchase. And, at 87.5% off the original price, my bargain of 2008.
christao408 
ahha awesome bargains are always great =)glad you guys had a great time
Hey good for you. How come I never have the pleasure of such finds? I need to go shopping with you when you come here next. Hope the comforter made it ok. I remember you couldn’t get a big enough suitcase for it.
This reminds me of a funny episode involving my mother on a diet, cat box cleaning and an empty cookie bag… I just hope no one thinks you have biscotti and reaches into the jar….lol
That is a great buy, and something you can use. That is great! All I could think about was how did you manage to pack in the suitcase, hehe. Maybe you put socks and cloths inside, lol.
That’s a great bargain! It really looks nice too. My mom used to keep compost for her vegetable garden. All the egg shells, peelings, etc… made for great fertilizer. I don’t know what to do with mine as I live in a condo and don’t have a garden at all. I was thinking about getting something with earthworms.
That’s a great buy… and Bargains……will it be more in 2009……
Awesome! That container is really pretty and at $15?! Wow… definitely a bargain!
Nice…
@ZSA_MD – Comforter made it okay, thanks for asking. But we discovered that “king size” in the US is larger than “king size” here, so the comforter cover we bought here is too small!
That is quite a bargain! I really hope that no one does what murisopsis wrote.
Ok Chris this is so weird! I swear, I was about to punch in compost info on my browser when I thought why not check out Chris’ latest entry first. And wow! It was like you read my mind, scary. That wet garbage idea is great! My mom uses milk carton containers the same way. Now I can find something for her and for us. We’ve started composting in our backyard but I have a feeling we have no idea what we’re doing. Hope I find a good website to tell us what we’re suppose to do exactly and hopefully what we’ve already done isn’t too bad!
Fifteen bucks for a pretty and purposeful crock? Sounds like you really hit the jackpot. It’s always nice to go shopping back home, especially with the favorable exchange rate. I, too, brought back a huge comforter from the States… nearly took up the entire suitcase. A limit of two suitcases per person is really quite difficult sometimes. Glad you were able to find everything you needed, though!
87.5% off the original price! This is certainly the bargain of the century!
Woah that’s a fantastic deal!
Not surprisingly, the outdated biscotti are stale, but dipping them in my hot chocolate each evening revives them somewhat. I love the crunch, even after dipped.
@jandsschultz – I thought we threw those out!
@ElusiveWords – I’ve read a bit about condo composting. Sounds interesting but I don’t yet have any plant holders for the balcony so haven’t a need for compost. One of these days I’ll get to it. Here’s a useful link: http://journeytoforever.org/compost_indoor.html
What a wonderful surprise and purchase!!! My best friend always scores awesome deals like that but they NEVER happen to me. What’s the deal??? A friend of mine used a gift card at a major retail store and she tried to use it just in case it had some money in it (she was pretty sure she spent all of it) and the cashier had credited much more money that the card had on it initially!!! I was so jealous…
@euphorie – The two suitcase limit is criminal when you’re an expat. Besides the comforter, what else was on your must-buy list?
@tehls – I’d say great minds think alike, but maybe it is more like, great minds think green. Check out http://journeytoforever.org. They have some useful information on composting. The tough thing is mixing in enough brown stuff – leaves, straw, etc. That has to be added throughout the year to keep the ph balance right.
Thanks for sharing the photos of the new house. It looks beautiful. Can’t wait to see it in person.
@kenpcho – I’m sure these things happen to you sometimes. Or maybe, as the Smiths sang, you just haven’t earned it yet, baby.
@christao408 – Sadly, food items. Starbucks canned double shots, Luna Bars and a couple of boxes of my favorite cereal, haha. Otherwise, I also bought a bunch of clothes, because I don’t always like the style over here. Voilà.
@euphorie – Food items and clothes are usually on my list, too. For the clothes, it isn’t a style issue but a sizing one. In Thai sizes I’m an XXL. No, thank you.
Ooo, that’s a fantastic deal. I love finding good deals like that!