Random trip made good, had a little outing to Small Batch Liquidations @smallbatchvirginia  ,  which already sounds like a place that should involve forklifts, shelves of loot, and a bell you ring when something unexpected comes in. That is not far off. The inventory shifts constantly, like a tide made of pallets and hope, and the folks working there know what is on the floor right now without having to disappear into the back and guess.

We were on a post-holiday cleanup mission. The season has ended, the glitter has migrated into corners, and I suppose it is time to put things away in a way that suggests we might be functional people. Storage bins. Wreath containers. The unglamorous architecture of keeping a house from slowly collapsing into eternal seasonal chaos. Everything we grabbed was in brand new condition, and the price was right.

There was also a fun detour item. A TI-84 CE Plus Python calculator. Rechargeable. Modern in that specific calculator way where it still feels like serious equipment even if you mostly want to poke at it and see what it can do. Something to tinker with, graph nonsense on, maybe write a tiny program or three someday when the mood hits. (You can also tweak it to play retro video games.)

The people there were friendly and genuinely helpful, not hovering, not rushed, clearly used to the fact that what is available today might be gone tomorrow. They were well aware of their own moving inventory, which feels increasingly rare in stores these days. The prices were excellent in that way that makes you briefly wonder if you misunderstood something, then realize no, this is just how they operate.

You leave with what you came for, a little extra curiosity in the cart, and the sense that you just participated in a small, functional local loop. Things move through. People get what they need. The house gets put back together after the holidays.

A solid stop on an ordinary day that ended up being better than it needed to be.

#roanoakeva #shopping #cleanup #smallbatchliquidations