Greatest Craigslist Haul: Part II

Toys, toys, and even more toys!!!! We've all walked down the toy aisle at Target looking left and right seeing toys stack up to the ceiling. It's inevitable how overpriced toys are these days. Though some toys may be an investment, most of them are played with for a couple of years and thrown out or forgotten.  For me, I knew that I didn't want to spend a fortune on toys. So...I go after second-hand toys from Craigslist. That's right, Craigslist is my friend!

My second Craigslist goal was to go after toys for Eden. My favorite toy brands are LeapFrog and Vtech (both pretty pricey in stores) simply because they're educational and make cool noises that Eden loves. I found a LeapFrog Learning Table for $15 and it was a steal. The person I bought it from was nice enough to replace the batteries. I thought that was sweet. This activity table is so neat. It teaches kids the alphabets, shapes, and colors plus it plays music. I knew I had to have it for Eden!

When I brought it home, I had to hide it from Eden because I didn't want her to play with it until I knew it was clean. It's a used toy and what scares me is the fact that I don't know how many kids played with it. Therefore, I wanted it to be squeaky clean and germ-free. My cleaning procedure:

1. Initial wipe down with soap & warm water with cloth
2. Use a toothbrush dipped in soapy water to get in the nicks and cranny
3. Wipe down again with fresh soap & warm water
4. Spray Clorox on cloth, wipe down
5. Wipe down again with fresh soap & warm water
6. Air-dry for a couple hours

This is a "Before" picture. There was dirt in the letters and in tiny places that had to be cleaned. I had the fiance toothbrush it.

This is the "After " picture . The toy looks brand spankin' new. Eden loves it.

These toys were purchased together on another listing. I thought Eden would enjoy these toys because most of them were electronic. I got all of the toys pictured above for $10 (breakdown: he gave me the play center for $5 and the rest of the toys for $5). Total steal! As you can see, these toys and play walker were in dire need of a good cleaning.

The toys are nice and clean! It nearly took 2 hours to clean the toys. The play center had to wait another day.

I was able to find most of the toys online and compare them to the store prices. 

LeapFrog Learning Table  Store Price: $45           

Vtech Learn & Discover Driver   Store Price: $16

Fisher-Price Corn Popper  Store Price: $14

Baby Einstein Discover & Play Activity Center  Store Price: $100

Fisher-Price See & Say  Store Price: $10

I would have spent over $185 for all the toys listed above but instead, I paid $25. It may have taken time to clean all the toys but it was well worth it. I hope I convinced you to look into buying on Craigslist.