Thriftying for Side Tables

After I refinished my new dresser/entertainment center I had more space in my family room. I decided that the sides of the couch were very lonely and needed side tables. I then began searching KSL Classifieds and craigslist 5-10 times a day for several weeks. Anything I found was just too expensive and I soon forgot about my side tables.

I decided that my baby was not such a baby anymore and I should start taking him to the library and let him choose books. As I was leaving the library I saw Savers (a local thrift store) directly across the street calling me. It had been a while since I had been thrift shopping or any shopping. I am not one of those Mom's who can run around shopping with a baby, so I stay home bound for the first year or so. Now that my baby was a toddler I felt up to the challenge. When I got to the furniture section, I couldn't believe my eyes. 2 beautiful solid wood country rustic looking side tables for $9.99 each!!! I also found a couple of toys. Every time we go to Walmart we have to play with the Imaginext Dinosaur that chomps and roars when you press the tail. My toddler loves it, but I never thought it was worth $12.88. We found one in perfect working condition at Savers for $2.99. I also found a cool globe game that I thought might be fun for my older kids if it worked after putting fresh batteries in (Also $2.99).

When I brought the side tables home, I thought they could use some cleaning. I didn't have any furniture polish so I made a furniture polish/cleaner with olive oil and vinegar (The vinegar cleans). I used about 1 cup of olive oil to about 1/4 cup of vinegar. Here is the finished, cleaned and polished table next to the unfinished one: (When we got home my toddler immediately started loading his things onto the tables).
I put new batteries in the globe game and it worked. I looked it up on the internet and it sells for $50-$60! On ebay it sells for $20-$40 used. I also looked up my end tables and found out they were from RC Willey and cost about $200 each. Total spent for 2 toys & 2 end tables = $26. Retail Value = $463! I saved $437! Not to mention all of the free books from the library (It gets so boring reading the same book all the time.)
I found a couple of baskets that I already had that fit perfectly in the bottom of the tables!!! I sewed some liners out of leftover fabric I had that matched my blanket and curtains.
It is a great place to keep the library books so we don't mix them up with our books.
I am now addicted to going to the library and Savers every week. It is for my son, he needs books to read, right?