As a self-proclaimed “Non-Consumer,” I should probably keep this myself, but man, do I love shopping! Browsing the aisles, scanning every shelf, keeping an eagle eye out for that elusive bargain. Pure heaven. And I can’t be certain, but there may be some serotonin release and iris dilation.

Wait . . . you do know that I referring to thrift store shopping, right?

Just yesterday I took my younger son out for an afternoon of thrifting. (From the verb “to thrift.”) He’s been indoctrinated for almost 14 years, so he was excited to be included in the day’s shenanigans.

Our first stop was going to be a certain poorly frequented, (but well donated) Goodwill, when we spied a sign for a school rummage sale. The selection was mostly little kids stuff, although I did pick up a new looking bandana for 25¢. (I use bandanas for school lunch napkins, and as can be expected, there’s a certain attrition rate.) There was also a largish old beveled mirror for $2.50 that I was thinking about buying, but then a woman butted in to tell me that she’d just bought it.

Bitch. Bless her heart.

The Goodwill which had been our original destination did not disappoint, as they had a large collection of comic books priced at five-for-a-dollar, instead for the normal 99¢ apiece. My son was able to find ten Green Lanterns, which made him a happy boy indeed. Me, I found six new looking Sur La Table cloth napkins for $4.99. I almost didn’t buy them, as this was not exactly a screaming deal, but our dinner napkins are starting to look a bit ragged, and a fresh infusion of pretty napkins would really smarten up the ol’ dinner table.

A quick stop into a small church thrift shop garnered me a sweet antique reverse painted art deco frame for 50¢, and perfectly matches a collection I already have. (I plan on arranging them all together and filling them with black and white photos of the family.)

Our last stop was the main Goodwill where my son found a Manchester United jersey for $4.99. (He pretty much only wears soccer jerseys these days, so this was an awesome find as a new one costs $80!) I bought a ceramic soap dispenser for $1.50, as I’m wanting to make a vintage Mason jar soap dispenser and I need a pump. However, I’ve decided to return it, as instead I’m going to look through our various lotion bottles to cannibalize from one we already own. (Don’t worry, I’ll post pictures when I’m done with the project!)

In all we spent:

• Bandana — 25¢
• Comic books — $2.00
• Sur La Table napkins — $4.99
• Soccer jersey — $4.99
• Soap dispenser — $1.50

$13.73 (I’m counting the $1.50 from true soap dispenser as I haven’t had a chance to return it yet.)

Not exactly garage sale prices, but then again I checked and those napkins cost $5 apiece when bought new. And it was cheaper than if the two of us had gone to a single first run movie.

Man, do I love thrift shops!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Remember my Before and After Projects, Without the After? Well, today’s blog post actually contains a bit of that oh so enticing after. I loved this project, not only because it makes the bathroom look better, but also because it didn’t cost a penny to execute.

First off is our rusted out bathroom ceiling light:

The rust on the ceiling fixture had been looking awful for years. However, it was not all that noticeable until recently when I bought an adorable Goodwill vintage globe that suddenly highlighted the "fifth wall." Do you see what a bright and beautiful day it is? Perfect for outdoor painting projects!

My first step was to spray the sucker with some WD-40 and then scrub it with steel wool to remove as much of the superficial rust as possible. I then rubbed the fixture down with some rubbing alcohol to remove any residual WD-40. Note that I rubber-banded a piece of plastic wrap around the parts that I didn't want painted.

I used black Krylon Fusion spray paint in gloss. Why? Because I already owned a can of it! In all, I sprayed three light layers of the paint, waiting a half hour or so between coats. (The unseasonably warm weather made it fun to stay outside and tidy up the backyard while waiting!) It looks like there's a stuck-on fly in this picture, but fear not, as I did not spray it into place.

And here's the light fixture mounted back on the bathroom ceiling. There's still a small amount of texture under the paint, but it doesn't look incorrect. And keep in mind that our one and only bathroom has an eight-foot ceiling.

And here's how the fixture looks all completed. Sorry that the photo is less than ideal, but my camera, (okay -- me) is apparently unable to figure out how to photograph a bright light against a white ceiling. Please be assured, it looks super cute!

And just for fun, here’s a before-and-after of my front porch:

The hodgepodge arrangement of all my flowerpots, with the addition of a winter's worth of dirt and moss were making the front of my house look super grubby. Also, the placement of the now-sold Pottery Barn rug made it so that my beloved Adirondack chairs were shoved over to the side.

I dry scrubbed the porch steps, (I was worried about accidentally removing paint) and then rearranged the flowerpots. And since the rug was gone, I was able to place my chairs and little table back in their proper place.

I’m a firm believer that many home improvement projects can be undertaken without spending a single cent. Cleaning, rearranging and then refurbishing often cost nothing more than spent time.

Because lord knows there are enough home improvement and maintenance projects that stagger the wallet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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My $25 Pottery Barn rug. Oddly, neither son wanted it in their room.

It’s time again for Non-Consumer Mish-Mash, where I write a little bit about this and a little bit about that.

An Opportunity to Practice Being Patient

Do you remember that 8′ X 11′ Pottery Barn rug that I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet for $25? My plan had been to break out the ol’ Bissell rug shampooer to freshen it up, and then sell it on Craigslist for $200. I figured this was a good price, as a new version of the same rug is $700.

Sounds great, right?

Well . . . I did shampoo the rug, (which, by the way,  made it look fan-freaking-tastic!) and then I listed it on Craigslist. And then I waited, and waited, and waited . . .

I did get a few inquiries, and only one person actually came to the house. But she said it didn’t really “fit with her decor.” (Yeah, whatever . . . )

So I dropped the price to $100.

I then got one offer at $70, to which I countered at $80, but that person lost interest. And then yesterday, a young couple came by the house and bought the rug for $100!

This was very much an exercise in practicing being patient. I didn’t keep track, but I think I relisted the rug five, maybe six times before it finally sold. It may sound like a pain in the tuchus, but relisting a Craigslist ad takes at tops maybe twenty seconds.

Not a bad way to make $75.

Spending Money

It should come as no surprise that I shop the sales when it comes to buying produce. Braeburn apples on sale? Then that’s which apples we’ll be eating that week. But when January rolls around in Oregon, produce prices are higher, and my inner cheapskate, (okay, okay, outer cheapskate) balks at produce prices.

$1.28 a pound for *sale* apples? I am not paying those prices!

Luckily, my inner cheapskate has a friend who I like to call “Slap Upside the Head, Voice of Reason.” This is what she sounds like:

“Katy, it doesn’t matter how much produce is costing, you can’t just stop buying fresh fruit and vegetables for your family.”

Thank goodness she’s there, or my family would subsist on nothing but Ramen noodles and house brand macaroni and cheese. Inner cheapskate lady needs to get a grip.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Frugality

It’s salad made from the biggest head of lettuce in the bin instead if a bag of salad. It’s storing your lettuce in a manner that keeps it fresh to minimize food waste. It’s then eating that salad at home, using a homemade dressing recipe. Frugality is about feeling empowered, not embittered by these hundreds of daily decisions.

Frugality is not deprivation. Frugality is a tool to live the life you want.

And frugality is the life I choose.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Mild mannered RN and blogger by day, slightly crazed coin enthusiast by night. She is "Coin Girl!"

Yesterday was a convergence of several rare factors. I was off from work, my husband was off from work, the kids were in school, it was not raining and neither of us had much in the way of pressing business to attend to.

Bizarre to say the least.

So my husband and I decided to head out for  nice long walk of running errands and uninterrupted conversation.

First stop was the library where I dropped off a crushing armload of books. (Upper body workout. Right?) I found a penny along the way.

Second stop was the credit union, as I had a BlogHer check to deposit. And yes, I found another sidewalk penny en route. (This is where my story get really exciting, so you might want to swallow any drinks, so you don’t do a spit take.) And inside the doors of the credit union is the coin counting machine, and in the little return tray lay a handful of coins. Thirteen coins to be exact.

Korean coins, Canadian coins, American coins and, wait for it . . .

Four individual wheat pennies from 1941, 1936, 1934 and 1919!

I asked the credit union employee if it was okay to keep the coins for my “coin collection,” (This is the part where I am working to protect my false reputation as a sane person) and he said “yes.”

In all, there was 43¢ in spendable money, (which did not include the foreign coins and wheat pennies, which I will save) to add to my Found Money Jar. (Yes, all capitals.)

My life as Coin Girl is so much fun!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Our whole never ending fixer-upper house has been a lesson in learning as we go since day one. Sadly, this often means that it’s only when a project is finished that we then know how it should have been done. Also, a number of initial design decisions were made pre-internet, which meant that there was no way to find non-Home Depot resources. (Okay, perhaps not officially “pre-internet,” as MIT guys and Al Gore were surely surfing the web in 1996. But I sure wasn’t.)

Take our spare bedroom closet as an example. It’s oddly large for a 1914 house, and it was only when we toured a neighbor’s twin home that we realized that half the closet space was meant to be a linen cupboard, accessible from the hallway outside our one and only bathroom. It was one of those smack-yourself-upside-the-head ah-hah moments, as we realized that of course our house should have had a linen cupboard.

It was the “duh” heard around the world.

However, my husband had already spent a significant amount of time outfitting this large closet for optimal storage, and there was no way we were going back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, in all our planning, we never installed a door on the closet. (Why? Maybe the whole we have tiny kids and work exhausting jobs thing got in the way.) So even though the room is super cute, the extra suitcases, vacuum cleaner and whatnot are always in view.

Fast forward 15 years, and  I was ready to tackle this project. My inspiration? This photo of a curtain installed inside the closet from Young House Love:

And a lightbulb went off. I could totally do that!

So I dragged my friend Sasha to the fabric store, (and Ikea) and bought the fabric, Heat’n Bond and curtain clips. I already had an extra curtain rod, which I shortened using a pipe cutter. (Fun!) An evening spent measuring, cutting and ironing was all it took to complete the project.

Here’s how the room looked Before:

Closet, before.

And here’s a detail shot, of all the glory of our visible closet paraphernalia:

Board games, luggage, vacuum cleaner, printer. It's all in here!

And here’s the After:

Closet, after!

And here’s how the closet looks with the curtain pulled to the side:

Yes, the closet it still full of miscellaneous supplies, but it's now blissfully out of sight. And because the curtain is on clips, it's slides to the side like greased butter.

And here’s what the curtain looks like inside the closet:

Despite multiple measurement sessions, the curtain was still a wee bit too long, so I ended up folding the top over, which then made it the perfect length.

This is the perfect kind of project for a renter, (or frankly anyone who’s not up for the job of proper door installation.) In the end the project cost me around twenty bucks. And if I had been patient about finding secondhand (or free) fabric, the cost would simply have been the curtain clips and the Heat’n Bond. And if my mother hadn’t absconded to Nebraska with her sewing machine, that last expense could have been eliminated.

Now . . . what should I do next?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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It was sure a lot more fun and satisfying to fix up this old mirror than it would have been to buy one online. And yes, the antique dresser was a curbside find.

• Dinner out without ever having to worry about the bill.
• This season’s hip new clothing without the slightest inclination to look at the price tag.
• A turnkey house where your only project is where to place your gorgeous furniture?

Sounds great, right?

Nope.

As dreamlike as it sounds to have access to everything you want at your fingertips, I feel like the reality of a limited budget sparks creativity and imagination that would otherwise lay dormant. 

Because the cost of taking four adults out for dinner, (Yup, teenage boys eat as much, if not much, much more than an adult) is staggering, so I end up having to cook at home. However, this doesn’t translate into frozen Costco lasagnas, as I like to prepare what I actually enjoy eating.

Take last night as an example. I’ve been craving Vietnamese salad rolls all week, (probably due to the fact that I spent an afternoon cleaning one of my mother’s guest cottages, and basking in the aromas of the divine Jade Teahouse and Patisserie, the *best* restaurant, Vietnamese or otherwise in town.) So instead of wallowing in the sentiment of “Poor me,” I found a recipe online and whipped up a huge batch of salad rolls for the family. And no, they were not as pretty as Jade’s, but for the first time in my life I got to gorge on a delicacy, which before had always been an appetizer.

Such a luxury, and frankly, pretty damned satisfying. And now, I have a new skill! Some might even go so far as to call it self improvement. 

The harsh reality of not being able to buy the things you want, whether it’s a certain type of food, a decor item or the services of a professional can force you into learning new skills. And then, if your financial situation takes a nosedive, you already know how to fend for yourself. But you know . . . in style.

It’s a good thing that I wasn’t born an heiress. What a travesty that would have been.

Agree, disagree? 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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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 look 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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