i have had the same shower curtain since 2008 (a vintage yellow floral affair that i bought off ebay when i was attempting to set up my perfect post-divorce bachelorette pad). as with all vinyl shower curtains, it periodically gets covered in mildewy scunge and requires a good scraping. however, after 3 long years of service, it’s not quite bouncing back the way it once did. also, getting on your hands and knees and scrubbing down a vinyl shower curtain with with a bottle of formula 409 and a mr. clean magic eraser is tiresome.
honestly, i would have bought a new shower curtain years ago, but they’re too goddamn expensive. every single time i go to the store with the intention of purchasing a new shower curtain, the following internal conversation occurs:
“all these shower curtains are hideous.”
“well, i guess this one isn’t too bad…”
“$19.99? are you fucking kidding me?”
“screw that.” [leaves store sans shower curtain]
at which point i unearth the magic eraser and call it good. i recently found a purple zebra shower curtain at big lots for $4, and thought i had hit the jackpot.
but today was a game changer. all the dorm room crap at target was loaded onto the endcaps at target for 75% off. including and especially, a huge pile of cute vinyl shower curtains for $2.12 each. i bought 4. at my current rate, i won’t need another shower curtain until 2023. (there were also at least 20 left over. go! go now!).
today was a good day.
* as a bonus, i also got a super cute pair of yoga pants for $3.34. i think the 75% off section of the sleepwear/fitnesswear section is often overlooked.
broke 207 
Yeah! We had to go to Target last night and because of your post I was able to replace our (gah, embarrassing) mildew-y shower curtain with one of those fancy rust brown numbers you’ve got pictured above. It was slim pickings last night at 9pm — but there are still some man/lady and black ones left!
Truth – I’ve noticed shower curtains are too expensive, too. It’s basically a tarp, people — if I wanted to pay $20 for a shower curtain I’d go to JoAnn, buy the fabric and sew it my damn self!
you’re SO right. it’s a TARP. actually, it’s not even a tarp, because tarps are at least hemmed. what i learned from this experience is that $2 is my trigger point for shower curtains. i’m glad you were able to get in on the action!
i am in awe that you clean vinyl shower curtains. throw it in the wash, they come out ok!
what? they don’t melt or get permanently wrinkly? and all the mildew comes off? WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?
i concur. i picked up a kimono jacket for $8.94 recently at tar-jay
it’s all about the endcaps. i can’t remember the last time i paid full retail for anything…