Threefold Return

It's hard to get a good rate of return on an investment, but I think I did pretty well recently.  As part of my sewing room redo, I came across five spools of ribbon I bought at a dollar store.  When I bought them, I had a vague plan to use them on a tote bag project I had in mind.  But deep down I knew I wouldn't use them.  They were solid colored, satin finish, non-cotton, and incompatible design-wise and function-wise with what needed to be a washable item.  I think I bought them because I liked the colors.  

Not only that, but I no longer wanted to do that tote bag project.  I decided to return the ribbons for a refund.  The dollar store people told me I couldn't get my $5 back, but I could pick out five other items.

I found these two pots in the garden area.  If they had five, I would have taken them all, and gotten a 1:1 rate of return.

Then I found seeds, four packages for $1.  Ooh.  This was about the only variety that was left, but I was glad to see them, having recently read that birds like to eat Cosmos seeds.  Hopefully that means after they bloom and go to seed, not when I plant them.

I found a package of blank note cards - eight for $1.  I already sent one to a friend.

Now I only needed to find one more item.  Since I was there because I bought not-useful items in the first place, I was determined to only come home with things I was sure I would use.  I was tempted by a pink pig plastic spatula, but I had just finished watching Plastic Planet and was trying to cut down on my plastic consumption.

I went round and round and round that store.  After way too much time, I plucked a balloon out of the air.  I know this has plastic in it, and I do feel guilty about it.  

Anyhow, that's the story of how I got a threefold return on my investment:
5 spools of ribbon = 2 pots + 4 packages of seeds + 8 note cards + 1 balloon (15 items)

Or to put it another way, 5 things I wouldn't use turned into 15 things I love.