The Non-Consumer Advocate

First off, I’m so sorry about letting the blog lie dormant for so many days. I worked four 12-hours shifts in a row at the hospital and was utterly brain dead by nightfall, and simply didn’t have the mental energy to string words together.

The blog posts would have looked a little something like this:

“I wear thrifted clothes. They on my body two hours a day. Otherwise scrubs. Feet hurt. Sleep now.” (Please feel free to read this aloud in a standard caveman voice.)

And nobody needs to read that kind of drivel.

Please enjoy a shiny new Five Frugal Things post:

1. I didn’t bring my lunch to the hospital three of the last four work shifts, but  I made fairly frugal food choices in the cafeteria. I am somewhat obsessed with the poached salmon in their salad bar, especially since I can assemble a huge salmon topped spinach salad for just four or five bucks. I drank the free crappy coffee and the free delicious tea.
2. I fielded a couple of offers on things I’m selling on eBay. I think I’ll lower the prices on those items if my offers aren’t accepted, as I’m pretty sure I can find a price point that works well for both for customers and my bank account.
3. My plan for today is to cleanse the house with fire scrub down the house and then go thrifting with my mother. I’m keeping an eye out for a new queen-size fitted sheet and know that the cheapest (and most environmentally friendly) deal will be at the Goodwill Outlet “bins” store. Paying by the pound is a screaming deal when it comes to lightweight items. My mom is always up for an afternoon of thrifting, which makes for the perfect mother-daughter date. Hey, maybe I’ll find another Dyson vacuum cleaner that I can spiff up to sell! Buying used not only prevents the environmental damage associated with a newly manufactured item, but it keeps unwanted items from the landfill, which will always be a win-win in my book!
4. I have a set of iPhone earbuds that stopped working, which is a huge pain in the tuchus since I normally use them to listen to podcasts or chat on the phone while cleaning the house. (There is a direct correlation between the current grubbiness of my house and my lack of earbuds.) I was thinking I should bite the bullet and buy a new set, but then realized that it might be possible to fix them. Sure enough, there are almost endless youtube tutorials on fixing earbuds which should get me back on the road to productivity. Electronic or home repairs may seem intimidating, but youtube tutorials are a game changer for most any problem.
5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar and horrifying gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I sold my thrifted Dyson vacuum cleaner through Craigslist, making a tidy $100 profit. Now that I know how to crack open and clean the “cyclone”  I can start keeping an eye open for more of them to flip. #collegefund
2. I did a grocery store run this afternoon and was able to buy three bags of groceries for only $28 by taking advantage of sales, (eggs and cheese) and choosing basic ingredients and inexpensive staples such as bananas, apples, zucchini and carrots.
3. I watched the third episode of Victorian Slum House through my Roku box. I lived in London for three years throughout my childhood and have a soft spot for the city. Seeing how slum dwellers lived in the late 19th century gives an important perspective to modern day life.
4. I finished up a Clark Howard article that’s been sitting in my drafts folder since last week. I have a nice chunk of time off from the hospital and plan to use it to work through more paid writing. (To clarify, I’m not taking time off from work, this week’s schedule just happened to connect more consecutive days off than normal.)
5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I picked up a Dyson vacuum cleaner at the pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet store while thrifting with my mother. I paid a budget-worthy twenty bucks for this bad boy which needed nothing more than a thorough cleaning. The thing was crammed full of dust and crusty dog hair, but it’s now immaculate inside and out thanks to an instructional YouTube video on how to crack open the cyclone. I currently have it for sale up on Craigslist, but I’d just as happy to keep it as I would to sell it. I kind of love that part of what I paid for was the weight of the filth that crusted the inside of this vacuum cleaner.
2. I worked the last two days and I brought my own food, drank the free crappy coffee and enjoyed the free lovely tea. I know this unexciting “frugal thing” shows up repeatedly, but much of living a simple and balanced life is about daily small choices.
3. I set up my backyard clothesline for the season which has prompted day after day of thunderous rain drenched weather. That’s okay though, as I wouldn’t expect any less from my beloved Oregon.
4. Today is my husband’s birthday, so I’ll be planning out a day of adventures for him this weekend as he doesn’t have time to celebrate until then. We stopped exchanging gifts a long time ago, as neither of us need anything and it was a waste of money and a source of clutter. Studies have indicated that experiences make us happier than stuff, to which I wholeheartedly agree.
5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar Позолоченная квартира в небе.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I worked two days at the hospital this week and even though the hospital was giving away cloth surgical caps for Nurses Week, I chose not to take one. Part of having a uncluttered home is knowing I’m not obligated to take stuff just because it’s free. Especially since these pointless caps can’t even be worn into surgery without an additional disposable cover.
2. My mother is taking me out for lunch this afternoon as a belated thank you for a favor that I did for her last week. I watched the movie Today’s Special on Netflix last night and am thinking that Indian food should be today’s culinary theme. (By the way I liked the movie, but was annoyed with the poorly written girlfriend character, whose only role in the movie was to be attracted to the main character. This is a huge pet peeve for me when male writers craft interesting male characters, but don’t bother for the female ones. Step it up, dudes!)
3. I finally strung up my backyard clothesline and was able to line dry a huge fleece blanket, and I even remembered to take it down last night after seeing that today’s Portland forecast called for rain!
4. I batched errands on Tuesday, which included dropping a few things at Goodwill and returning library books. I didn’t go into Goodwill to shop, and I made sure to fully fill out my donation receipt.
5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. My husband and and I walked to the library yesterday to return a DVD and look for fresh reading material. I dragged him to a garage sale along the way, where I spent a dollar and bought:
   – A vintage wooden rolling pin.
   – A packet of nice chopsticks.
   – A 1/2-cup stainless steel measuring cup, which I needed as my normal one lives in the cat food bin.
   – Two birthday candles in the shape of a “1” and a “0.”
   – A stainless steel pastry cutter, which I also needed as my old one has two missing spines.
   – A silicone pastry brush.
2. I picked out two library books, which were sadly a bust as one reeked from cigarette smoke and the other one turned out to be a sequel to a book I hadn’t read. That’s okay though, as no money was spent. I did put an explanatory post-it note on the smokey book so they could properly deal with it.
3. We then walked through Fred Meyer (Kroger) where I picked up three Friday Freebie items. (A bag of tortilla chips, a bag of popcorn and a yogurt.)
4. I browsed through my Roku box streaming options and added a few free channels. This included the PBS channel, where I discovered the show Victorian Slum House, which hadn’t been on my radar. I’ve watched Frontier House, The 1940’s House, Colonial House, Manor House and The 1900 House in the past and am very happy to see that that these shows are continuing to be produced. I watched the one episode available and highly recommend it. I absolutely loved my visit to NYC’s Tenement Museum, and had wondered if London had something similar. My docent didn’t think that they did, and I wonder if this show will spark enough interest to create one.
5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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