Why it pays to have an organized house

Confession.....my house isn't as organized as it might seem when I describe some things.  Probably more organized than most, but less than ideal.  I have this fantasy of having everything in its place, labeled (using my label maker), and being able to maintain it.   (And as a TMI.....I keep encouraging G-man to help with this fantasy.....it might "benefit" him in the long run.  :) )

Anyway, G-man needed some new clothes (seriously, I can't even remember the last time we bought him clothes....that is an entirely different rant.....).  With Vacation only 2 weeks away (EEEK!), he needed some shorts (he had 1 pair that were in decent shape to be seen in public, the rest....well....we won't go there).  He tends to have good luck at Kohl's, so off we went.

Wait....back up....before we left.....I had a few things that needed to be returned.  A couple of tops I bought him that didn't fit.  A pair of jeans that didn't fit Bossy....and wait....what is this mysterious box I found in the attic...KACHING!  It was the box of a ton of kids clothes that they never wore....brand new....and my brilliant mom stapled individual gift receipts to each item!!

So now we go to Kohl's.  The two shirts got credited back to my card.  The rest was gift cards to the store.  $95 dollars in Gift Cards!!!

While it is ideal to not have to go back and return items, it is part of life.  Keeping track of receipts....remembering that "special" place we all stash these items to be returned....all of this impacts our budget bottom line.  How many hundreds of dollars have we wasted on items we meant to return, and never did?  Now they are clutter.  And we end up donating them, or selling them for pennies on the dollar.  Designate one spot for all of this!!!!  It will save you so much time and money in the end.

G-man got 3 pairs of shorts, a few tops, and Sassy got 2 pairs of shorts and 2 tops.  We paid less than $50 after using our gift cards, and got $30 in Kohl's cash to spend in the next week!

As a side note.....a HUGE shout out to Kohl's customer service!!!  The items from the kids....were dated 2007.  Seriously, my mom bought them 3 years ago (and as another aside....mom said it was ok to keep the money from the return and use it for new purchases).  And Kohl's figured out a way of tracking the gift receipt from 3 years ago and gave us back what my mom paid for. Additionally....our total came to $144, pre gift cards.  Kohl's was offering $10 in Kohl's cash for every $50 spent, and the cashier just rounded us up and gave us $30, vs $20.  Another huge thumbs up!

So dear bloggy friends.....the lessons we learned from this are:  1)  Keep your receipts and items to be returned handy.  2)  Customer service can go a long way in helping you out.  3)  Clutter is bad....finding a gem in your house is a lucky by-product, but keeping the clutter at bay is even better!