So I was out running errands yesterday, when a pile of construction debris caught my eye. And in that pile was a broken up wrought iron arbor.

So yes, I swerved the mini-van over to take a closer look.

But what could I do with a broken arbor? There’s not really a logical spot in the backyard to set one up, and the front yard would goofy with an arbor. I idled the car for a minute, (sorry, but it was cold out) waiting for inspiration to hit, (I have a firm rule about not bringing big hunks of junk home without a plan in place.) But then it hit me. I could use the panels as landscaping lattice and grow climbing plants on them! True, they were connected in an L-configuartion, but a screwdriver would easily separate them.

So into the mini-van they went!

Here’s a photo of the arbor panels, awaiting their separation:

And here’s a detail shot of the panels:

Won’t it look cool?

Winter time is normally not a primo time for garbage picking, but every now and then you hit pay dirt! (Or pay rust as the case may be.)

If you enjoyed my Fabulous Frugal Find,  please enjoy these previous posts:

• Megg’s Refurbished Bedside Table
• Darling Girl/Darling Bed
• Frugal Garden Bench
•  Vintage Hostess Cart
•  High End Designer Furniture
•  Hand Knotted Oriental Rug
•  Fancy Velvet Dresses
•  Pot Belly Stove
•  Free Girl’s Sleeping Bag
•  Patio Set
•  Priceless $1 Painting
•  Rejuvenation Light Shade
•  Glamour Edition
•  Roseville Vase

If you have a Fabulous Frugal Find to submit, please send it to me at nonconsumer@comcast.net. Please include your story, as well as a good photo, preferably with you in it!

“Use it up, wear it out, maker it do or do without”

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I wrote last week about the thin line between inspiration and discontentment, and how I can go from “ooh . . . that’s a cool look” to “my whole house needs a re-do” faster than a Kardashian marriage. (Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.)

However, I have recently been energized to attempt some fun home improvement/decor projects around my own house. Inspired by Young House Love, I decided to dye my Goodwill/Pottery Barn velvet pillow shams.

I actually really liked the color of the shams, as they perfectly matched the palette of our guest bedroom. However, our guest bedroom is currently occupied by a Japanese exchange student and I greedily wanted these pillows for myself. But when I brought them up to our terra cotta colored bedroom, they clashed something awful. Here’s the original color: (Sorry, but no picture were taken of the pillows in our bedroom.)

I had read about how John and Sherry dyed their dining room slipcovers from apple green to brown, and I was inspired to do the same. So with my friend Sasha in tow, we ventured out to the big tuchus fabric store in search of dye. Here’s what I bought:

I did run into a bit of a dilemma when I read that a 1/3 cup of vinegar should be added when dyeing silk, and a cup of salt should be added when dyeing natural fibers like this cotton velvet. And since the these shams included both materials, I added the two, crossing my fingers that there would not be an evil mad scientist-style result.

You vanted brown fabric? How about instead I blow up your house and steal your woman?! Bwah, ha, ha . . . 

My hot water was not very hot, so I added a cauldron of boiling water to the wash, and set the machine to agitate. I then left it all to soak while I ran errands. How long did I let them soak? Umm . . . I don’t really remember.

The end result was that the velvet was dyed a lovely brown shade, while the silk, (and the most-likely synthetic thread) stayed green. But this was no catastrophe, as I like the effect. Here, see for yourself:

And here’s how the pillows look in our bedroom. Do you like how the velvet of the pillows pairs well with the velvet frames of our antique botanical prints? Cause I sure do. (If you click on the photos, they should enlarge.)

If I were to repeat this project, I would leave the shams in the dye solution to soak for longer, as I had actually wanting a more saturated color. This was my first attempt at dyeing anything since 1980′s college, (Hello, tie-dye!) I’m actually quite pleased with the result. And since the out of pocket cost of this decor project was a whopping $3.20, I say I definitely got my money’s worth!

Have you played with fabric dye to update your decor or clothing? Please share your stories in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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In January it' so nice, while slipping on the sliding ice, to sip hot chicken soup with rice. Sip it once, sip it twice, sipping chicken soup with rice!

This was possibly the best chicken soup I’ve ever made. It included the last of a red pepper, three sausages and a small container of leftover rice. And yes, my house smelled like heaven for hours and hours.

Plus, I got to have the Carole King singing in my head all day long.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who sings this song whenever I eat chicken soup with rice.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy!

Dear Bagels,

I can’t believe I’m having to write this letter. Where once we were inseparable, we’ve grown distant, apart, without the love that once defined us.

I suppose I should start from the beginning. The very beginning.

When I was a little girl you were deceptively simple. A dusting of poppy or sesame seeds adorned your warm rounded top. Portland had no bagel shops, so my east coast Jewish father would bake you himself. It was an all day endeavor, but worth every minute.  Your yeasty scent would seep through the entire house, permeating our skin and relaxing our souls. Ahh . . . .

Fast forward 35 years, and your presence is now known throughout the nation. From convenience stores to upscale bakeries, you’ve snuck into our daily lives. No longer a rare treat, no longer a special event. But you were still special to me.

And sesame and poppy seeds were your only embellishment. Like Baskin-Robbins, your flavors are now endless.

I took all these changes in stride. I know that a relationship that cannot evolve is essentially doomed. But then you blind-sided me with changes that have ripped us apart and stomped my already fragile heart.

I all started last week when my dear sister brought over two bags of day-old bagels. This should not have been disastrous, yet it was. Disastrous, offensive and downright jarring to the soul.

Why so awful?

Two words – Pepper. Bagels.

Huge chunks of whole peppers dotted your innards, making each bite like a challenge on a reality TV show. And I knew then and there that our love affair was over. No longer could I have faith or trust in you. No longer could I offer you my unconditional love.

You know how I abhor food waste, which makes this situation that much more heartbreaking. You are garbage to me, not even good enough for bread crumbs or croutons.

Please do not attempt to contact me. I have said my piece and wish to spend some time reevaluating my tastes.

Forever yours, sincerely,

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

P.S. I saw you out with that shmear of a tart the other night, I hope you both burn in toaster!

• A Love Letter to a Tiny Tomato
• A Love Letter to Craigslist
• A Love Letter to Pyrex
• A Love Letter to Audiobooks
• A Love Letter to Laura Ingalls Wilder
• A Love Letter to my Cast Iron Pans
• A Love Letter to the Belmont Branch Library
• A Love Letter to Tap Water

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I am home from work today and all jazzed up about getting started on a couple of different fun projects. None of them are complicated or particularly spendy, so they’re right up my alley. (A.k.a. “Any-Extra-Money-is-Going-for-Trips-to-Japan Alley.”)

The first project is to spray paint the light fixture in our ceiling bathroom. Our single bathroom is quite small, and as a result moisture is a major issue. Naturally, our Cheap-o Home Depot light fixture is super rusty. However, this was really a non-issue, as the previous glass shade was very non-discript and did not draw the eye upwards. However . . . I scored a super cute vintage globe at Goodwill that is painted with gold stars for a wallet-friendly $3.

See the rust? Of course you do!

And now the eye is drawn up to ooh and ahh over the sweetness of the light, and then to eww and blegh over the rust.

Not good.

My solution? Take that puppy down, give it a light sanding and spray paint it black. Why black? Because I already own the paint.

I haven’t started this project yet, as there are electricity issues that require my knows-how-to-do-it-safely husband to be the one to actually remove the fixture. Hmm . . . I think I’ll have the ladder already in place for when he gets home from work today.

Lucky guy.

My second project is to rejuvenate the cushions that came with my five buck wrought iron patio chairs. Remember them?

The cushions look okay in this photo, but they'e actually quite mildewy.

Here’s how the cushions looked after I snipped the seams open in order to remove the foam inserts:

Faded and mildewy, but otherwise still in great condition.

A thorough bleach and enzymatic cleaner soak in the washing machine brought the cushion covers to this:

Now mildew-free, the cushion covers are ready for their reconstructive surgery.

I had thought I would dye the fabric maybe a deeper burgundy or chocolatey brown, but our budget is pretty tight right now, so I think I’m just going to leave the color as-is.

My third project is to spray paint this lamp and then make a coordinating shade. (I got the inspiration from HERE.)

Lamp!

I’ve already started looking at spray paints, and will make a pilgrimage later in the week to Muse at Milepost 5  to check out their awesome selection. (Sadly, they’re only open Wednesday – Friday.) In an ideal world, I would love to paint this lamp a chrome apple green color, but I’m pretty sure this doesn’t really exist. (And of course, I’ll be rewiring this unsafe bad boy.)

I’ll continue to share progress on my projects, (as I’m always amazed with myself when I actually complete anything) on the blog. Anyway . . . wish me luck!

And remember, you don’t need a bunch of money to have fun with your home. All it takes is a creative eye and a willingness to get your hands dirty, (or mildewy or rusty.)

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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Just because.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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I’ve recently discovered the blog Young House Love, and have been enjoying spelunking through the archives and drooling over their projects and creative . . . well . . . house love. However, along with divine inspiration, I noticed that their blog was also starting to breed discontentment with my own house.

Hmm . . . not really loving the light fixtures in our dining and living rooms, as they fuddy-duddy the aesthetic. Maybe I should keep an eye out for something more contemporary or look into painting them. 

But then I came across this photo of our spare bedroom from when we signed papers on our house:

Our downstairs bedroom, when we bought our house in 1996. I will leave the subject of how it smelled up to your imagination.

And I suddenly remembered how far we’ve come with our money pit fixer-upper. I can’t take a contemporary photo of the room, as it currently belong to Ayumi, the Japanese exchange teacher. (None of us wants people sneaking into our bedrooms to take pictures for the internet!) However, here’s a photo from a few months ago when I bought my stylin’ velvet pillow shams from the Goodwill Outlet:

I love, love, love our downstairs bedroom.

Same room, slightly wider shot . . . and obviously a different day as there's different furniture!

Finding inspiration without also feeling crappy about yourself is a fine line. Sometimes I cross it, but mostly I’m able to stay safe. It’s the reason why I haven’t spent much time on Pinterest. Too much unattainable perfection goin’ on there.

Do you find glossy haven blogs to be inspirational, or do they just make you feel bad? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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To say that Deanna Duke feels strongly about toxic chemicals in our everyday environment could almost be called an understatement. With an autistic son and a husband dealing with Multiple Myeloma, it’s a subject near and dear to her heart. You probably already know Duke as the author of the popular blog The Crunchy Chicken, which addresses environmental issues with a refreshingly frank style that tells it like it is. In a good way.

Duke’s first book The Non-Toxic Avenger: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You is a natural outgrowth of her blog. Part memoir, part investigative journalism, Duke takes on the role of guinea pig to test her toxic body burden before and after eliminating every single source of toxic chemical exposure. As a person who was already choosing organic, avoiding BPA and reading the small print on her beauty products, it was surprising how much change she still needed to make.

I think of myself as a chemical minimalist. I make my own laundry detergent, rarely wear makeup; (mostly from sheer laziness and complete lack of self-interest) and choose environmentally friendly dishwasher detergent, dish soap and cleaning products. On the other hand, I buy the cheapest shampoo, (White Rain) apply Blistex to my lips dozens of times per day, color my hair, enjoy spray painting Goodwill finds and choose organic maybe 20% of the time. So there is definitely an opportunity to learn a thing or two.

One of the most interesting areas that Duke delved into was the issue of indoor air quality. I know this is more of an issue for people who live in airtight new construction, (as opposed to my 98-year-old colander of a house) but this asthmatic was still fascinated. It turns out that filling a house with indoor plants makes a huge difference in air quality, which of course makes sense, although I had never given it much thought. I used to always have lots of plants, but a cat I owned in nursing school munched away at everything, and eventually I just gave up on my indoor jungle. Battling mildew in her bathroom, Seattle-ite Duke was able to bring in enough plants to bring the mildew level down.

I know it doesn’t compare to Multiple Myeloma, but I’ve had Malignant Melanoma twice in my life. (The first time so deep that it required a skin graft.) So minimizing my exposure to toxins is a priority for me. But you don’t have to be asthmatic or have a history of cancer to want to decrease your toxic exposure.

I really liked this book, motoring through it over a three day period, as it was very much a gripping read. Duke’s writing style is open and non-alarmist, and her five month journey to eliminate and investigate the household toxic substances we all take for granted was both educational and entertaining.

I don’t want to summarize too much of the book, as I don’t want to minimize your enjoyment of a fresh read. Let’s just say that I highly recommend The Non-Toxic Avenger: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, and suggest you add it to your reading list.

Happy reading!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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I ♥  being being frugal. I love the challenge, I love the freedom from keeping up with the Joneses and I love knowing that my family’s frugality keeps us from supporting businesses and environmental practices that are worsening our planet.

Recent frugal activities that warmed my heart:

• Mailing out our thank you notes. At 44¢ per letter, the United States Postal Service is a screaming good deal! (I know we could have e-mailed our thank you notes for free, but it’s so much fun to receive real mail, and if we can make that happen for under half a dollar, I say do it!)
• Using our leftovers to create delicious new meals. I saw that chuck roast was on sale at Fred Meyer, which meant it was time to make The Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pot Roast. After the initial hearty meal of pot roast for the five of us, the next night’s meal of french dip sandwiches knocked our socks off. So yes, we were able to get ten fantastic meals from that single pot roast. (And the leftover mashed potatoes from the first night got served with last night’s sausages.)
• Wandering around the Habitat for Humanity ReStore yesterday with my compacty friend Chelsea. Although I did not find what I was looking for, (spray paint for my Goodwill lamp) I did buy a bag of 50 assorted tulip bulbs for only $4. (I’ll probably split these with my neighbor.) I also found a penny on the ground, which I promptly put into their donation box.
• Lending our snow shovel to our next-door-neighbor. There is no reason why these kind of household items can’t be shared, especially in Portland, where a few inches of snow throws our citizens into a white-hot panic.
• Borrowing our neighbor’s garden loppers, which made it possible to chop the branches from our Christmas tree so it would fit into our yard debris can. If I simply put the tree on the curb for our hauler to take away, it would have cost us $6. This chore took maybe ten minutes, and was actually kind of fun.
• Sharing garbage service with our neighbors. This saves us $14 per month, and is easy, easy easy. This is an annual $168 savings for each of us. Schweeeet!
• Renting out our spare bedroom. My son’s Japanese tutor moved in last week, and it’s been awesome! She’s super helpful around the house, tutors the kids for free, (I was paying $20 per week for just one kid) and is great company. She’ll be paying a small amount to cover room and board, but it will be hundreds less per month less than she was paying in her last living situation. Great for both of us.

I can’t think of any frugal activities that in any way impact our lives negatively. We constantly scrimp and save, but it’s so that we have the time and resources to do all the fun and satisfying things that make life enjoyable.

How about you? Do your frugal activities keep you from living the life you want, the opposite or something in between? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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The wants vs. needs mantra is popular in frugal circles. Food, housing, warmth are all needs, while piping hot steamy lattes and this year’s tiny-bill-tweed-hat and are wants. (Man, am I sick of that hat!)

But are all wants inherently bad?

I want a nice home live in. If all I were addressing were my needs, then we’d be housed in a quonset hut, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. But comfort is also a need. 

No two people will have the same wants and needs. I am totally fine owning three pairs of pants and four pairs of socks, but for you this might be a bypass your comfort point.

There are no hard and fast rules of what makes one thing a need, while another gets labeled a want.

William Morris’ famous quote always comes in handy when mulling over this dilemma:

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

By following this sage advice, we can indulge both our wants and needs with equal measure. Thank you, Mr. Morris.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”

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