For the first time, I bought the $10 grab box during Michael’s clearance sale and thought – is it worth it for the whimsical girl (gent) whose on a budget?
If you have never seen these before, Michael’s stores put together overstocked items that didn’t sell from previous collections together in these grab bags (which are really fairly large boxes). You can take a peek through the hand holds on the sides (or through the folds at the top) and see if something catches your eye if you are worried about ending up with a bunch of junk that is gonna end up being clutter or thrown away. My suggestion – have a plan for what you are going to do – whether you plan to use everything, even if you have to get creative, or knowing what you will do with any of the extra’s that you don’t plan on keeping. This could be giving them as a gift to someone you know would enjoy it, donating it to a thrift store, or selling it online or at a garage sale.
Let’s break down the box I chose with the following criteria: total value of the box; usefullness of the items; and – is it whimsical?
Now, I did take a sneak peek through the folds (without damaging the box!) and saw a bright yellow colander right at the top. Right away I knew it would be perfect for having in the garden to wash small harvests of little critters before it comes into the house. I also saw some pink (which is a colour I love) and decided to go for it.
The Grab Box
So – what’s in the box? I have the itemized list below along with their original Canadian prices.
- Light Purple Foldable Fabric Storage Box (Ashland) – $19.99
- Pink Jungle Large Oval Plates (Celebrate It 10 pcs) – $11.99
- Pink Jungle Snack Plates (Celebrate It 10 pcs) – $5.99
- Pink Jungle Small Napkins (Celebrate It 20 pcs) – $3.99
- Pink Tablecloth (Celebrate It) – $14.99
- Pink Jungle 5×7 Frame (Ashland) – $29.99
- Citrus Kitchen Orange Timer (Ashland) – $12.99
- Citrus Kitchen Yellow Colander (Ashland) – $29.99
- Citrus Kitchen Blue and White Metal Container (Ashland) – $19.99
- Citrus Kitchen Blue Kitchen Scale (Ashland) – $89.99
- Next Chapter Small Bowls (Celebrate It 3 pcs) – $18.99
- Pink Flower Indoor Garland String Lights (Ashland) – $19.99
- Black Graduation 3 Section Tray (Celebrate It) – $24.99
- Graduation Balloon Foil Balloons 24-26 inch (2 Anagrams, 1 Betallic, $14.99 each) – $44.97
Total Value: $348.84
Now the value of the box is 34x the amount that I paid which is pretty amazing! I would honestly never pay full price for most of the things in there as nothing was ‘need’. (actually, I almost never pay for full priced things at Michael’s even if it is a ‘need’, either using a coupon or waiting until end of season when things go on sale for 50% or more). Even if I got everything in the box for 70% off bringing the total to $100, it’s still an amazing deal. And while I might never buy some of these things for myself, like the scale, I would absolutely be delighted to use it if I had it.
The utilitarian highlights
I already mentioned the colander for outdoor garden use, but here is the plan for some of the other objects:
- Grad balloons – I just so happen to have a kid graduating highschool next year and as long as I remember that I have these, these will be put to good use! However, that serendipity won’t happen for everyone so you might end up with something that you don’t need.
- Paper plates and napkins – while the bold, pink wild aesthetic isn’t really my vibe, sometimes you just need to use paper plates because the thought of doing any more dishes is just too much so they will definitely get used (my young daughter will thoroughly enjoy getting to use these!)
- Purple storage box – I actually have a cube case in my daughters room that uses these boxes and one have them has been ripped and needed to be replaced so I will put it to use.
The whimsical highlights
- Scale – while totally unnecessary in my kitchen as I have a slim digital scale (and also zero room for it), it is going to be a great addition in my garden shed for romanticizing quick weigh-ins of my harvests.
- Floral cups – vessels shaped like flowers are all over my Pinterest boards. I love that it meets multiple of my whimsical aesthetics, and that they are actually useful. These darlings will be used in my crafting room for holding various materials.
- Indoor flower lights – I love decorating for each season at home, and these are such a pleasant addition. Flowers indoors is quintessential for the cottage core aesthetic and I can work these into my rotation of decorations.
Final Thoughts
For the first ever Michael’s grab box I have purchased, I am pleasantly happy with it! I was hoping there would be some crafting materials but the box was wholly home decor and party supplies. I am not sure if there were boxes out there that did have crafting supplies – if you know I would love to hear it!
As a whimsical girly on budget, this was a good buy for me. I will get to romanticize my cottagecore gardening and craftroom with the Citrus Kitchen items, floral cups, and flower string lights; and put to use everything else that came in the box some way or another.
