The Non-Consumer Advocate

I’m in New York visiting with my sister and her kids for a couple of weeks, so my side hustle opportunities are a bit diminished. (I did switch my eBay listings to a three week handling time so I can continue to sell.) Not too much is flying off the shelves at the moment, although I did sell a Dr Doom Funko Pop bobble head for $65, which is not too shabby considering that it was jumbled inside a large $4.99 bag of collectible figures.

My niece and I collected free magazines from a nearby business for collaging, and I set aside a small stack of vintage Modeltec magazines and quickly listed them on eBay. I’ll delete the listing if they don’t sell before I’m scheduled to fly back to Oregon as I don’t relish lugging heavy stuff through the airport, but I figure I might as well attempt to squeeze a few dollars out of this trip.

I accompanied my sister and niece into the city yesterday to pick out school supplies and a new pair of shoes. We hit Muji, Staples and Dick Blick for school supplies; and then Marshall’s, Modell’s and Designer Shoe Warehouse for sneakers. I rarely shop at traditional stores, so I felt like a visiting alien.

“Beep boop . . . take me to your sneakers.”

I did force them to go into the Goodwill thrift shop on 14th Street, and ended up buying myself a pair of like-new Uniqlo jeans. Unfortunately they ended up fitting incorrectly around my lumpy belly, so I handed them over to my un-lumpy sister as a hostess gift. I should have tried them on in the store, but I was feeling lazy.

Rookie mistake!

My son and I went into the city together on Tuesday and wandered around a bit after we hit a guitar shop that he’d been wanting to visit. We passed the Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and stopped in as A) It was free, B) We both like Project Runway and C) It was free. (Have I mentioned that it was free?)

Their current exhibit is titled Minimalism/Maximalism and is a very interesting examination of the ebb and flow of fashion, and how the minimalism and maximalism aesthetics relate to one another. A reflection and reaction to culture and era. What is considered luxury is largely perceived, which is an interesting notion to mull over.

It’s a small exhibit, and worth stopping into, but not to make an entire day of.

I’ve been carrying my thrifted HydroFlask water bottle in my purse, I’ve picked up five pennies and a dime, my sister and I split entrees at two different restaurants, my friend Jennifer gave me a Carolina Herrera purse to sell, I’ve been taking the subway and walking for transportation and I staved off hunger with a 25¢ banana from a 23rd Street vendor.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet and I won’t be visiting any vulgar gold-plated apartments in the city.

I continue to sell things at a slow but steady pace. I sold a Funko Pop Iron Man bobble head that was jumbled in a $4.99 bag of similar items, I also sold a vaseline glass sugar bowl and mustard pot to a friend, a Jonathan Adler wine stopper, an All-Clad sauté pan and a student tech thingy that I nabbed from an after-garage sale free pile. No one of these things will trigger a clickbait article titled “You’ll Never Believe What This Woman Found at Goodwill,” but together they add up quite respectably.

My son and I are flying out to New York City tomorrow, so I’m spending the day spinning my wheels ticking off small tasks from a lengthy to-do list. It’s kind of overwhelming, but I’m hoping that this being my fourth (!!) to trip to New York over the past ten months to have a slim chance of achieving packing perfection. However, there will always be something that falls off the radar.

My son didn’t have a great carry-on suitcase, so I let him choose from the three available at the West Burnside Goodwill. He wisely picked out a Samsonite “spinner” suitcase that was in almost new condition. $14.99 later and he now owns the nicest piece of luggage of anyone in the family.

I’m giddy with excitement that my sister will be able to pick us up from the airport, as it saves us $26, but mostly because we don’t have to take New Jersey Railroad into Penn station. Something I’m normally 103% willing to do, but also 104% happy not to do.

I’ll pack food, as well as reusable water bottles and coffee mugs for the journey. Plus I always bring a sealed treat for the overworked and underappreciated flight attendants.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for a used Soda Stream seltzer maker, specifically one with glass bottles. I wasn’t actively looking for one, so there was no urgency to my search. I liked one that my friend Lisa has in her kitchen because it has the requisite glass bottles, but mostly because it’s shaped like an adorable penguin! So there was I was perusing my local Goodwill shelves when suddenly a tall, dark and handsome penguin caught my eye. $14.99 and it included two glass bottles. SOLD! It wasn’t until I got home that I realized that they sell for $380 new!

I need to buy the CO2 canister, but I can do that after I get back from New York. My new tuxedo-d boyfriend can wait for me.

I grabbed my reusable shopping bags and bought a metric ton of Winco groceries to get my husband and daughter through the first week that we’re gone, (my husband works night shift and is often in a fog) I picked up a pair of high falutin’ artisan crafted pepper mills to sell on eBay, I got another paid writing assignment, I gave a jar of homemade applesauce to a friend, I enjoyed a restaurant lunch courtesy of my father, I finished listening to an audiobook of Half-Broke Horses (I highly recommend!) then started listening to At The Water’s Edge through the free Libby app, and I resisted the urge to get a haircut to ready myself for the trip. Nobody cares what I look like.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet and I won’t be visiting any vulgar gold-plated apartments in the sky.

My Facebook Marketplace and eBay sales picked up this week, and I sold a number of items including an Arcteryx backpack, some Yakima bike rack pieces, a pair of Doc Martins, a Jonathan Adler wine stopper, a Portland Timbers scarf, one soccer ticket and the $4.99 vintage dresser that I picked up a few weeks ago.

I also stopped into a couple Goodwills yesterday while running errands and picked up an armload of fresh inventory. Especially impressive was a $4.99 bag of collectable Funko Pop figures which I’ve pieced out into six different eBay lots. I should make a couple hundred from this find alone! I also grabbed an $4.99 All-Clad sauté pan, which should sell this morning.

I haven’t been in the mood to do any cooking lately, but still force myself to prepare inexpensive meals. (My husband works 5 P.M. to 5 A.M., so I do all the cooking.) I fired up the ol’ Instant Pot and pressure cooked white beans for a batch of The Prudent Homemaker’s white bean rosemary soup as well as some black beans to stash in the fridge. I also pulled two packs of clearance priced chicken breasts from the freezer for some tasty marinated Asian style chicken.

Mind you, we do splurge on food here and there. For example, my 21-year-old son woke up the other day and mentioned that he was “craving jerk chicken.” I did some quick internet sleuthing and found a nearby Jamaican food cart with good reviews. (Gotta love Portland’s food cart scene!) An hour later my son was sitting in front of a steaming plate of jerk chicken and I was $11 poorer. Worth every penny.

My son and I are heading out to visit my sister and her kids in New York City at the end of the week. Because we have a free place to stay, being there is barely more expensive than our normal humdrum Portland existence. Just like at home, we’ll buy groceries but eat some few meals out, fill up our Metro subway cards instead of our gas tank and enjoy some generally simple (read inexpensive) NYC activities.

We’ll be there a couple of weeks, so you’ll be able to follow along with our adventures through the blog as well as The Non-Consumer Advocate Instagram. I’ve reinstalled the Pret a Manger and Pain Quotidian apps on my phone as they keep sending me emails about how they “miss me” and that I should come enjoy a free coffee/baked good/some such thing. Free coffee? Twist my arm!

We’ll also be celebrating my niece’s 15th birthday, so I’ll be treating her to a Birthday Day of Adventures. I guess I’ll have to scour through The Skint to research free and almost free opportunities.

I listened to Sophie Kinsella’s My Not So Perfect Life through the Libby app and then started listening to Jeanette Walls’ Half Broke Horses, (both great, I highly recommend!) I thrifted a $2.99 wooden cutout of an adorable fawn which now graces my front porch, (cheap decor for the win!) I forced myself to break down and buy a swimsuit at Goodwill, which was a necessary purchase as my last one had disintegrated and become see through, (NOPE!) I was gifted a basil plant as a thank you from a neighbor, (I’d given her a large bowl of yellow plums) I chopped and planted a sprouted sweet potato, I pounced on a billowy mountain of bubble wrap that came with a guitar my son ordered from Japan, (I exclusively wrap my eBay sales in used packaging) I slathered benzoyl peroxide over pen marks on a $4.99 thrifted American Girl doll to ready her for resale, (great tip for anyone whose doll-loving kid is a budding Picasso) and I returned a blouse to Goodwill that was so voluminous as to potentially get me congratulated.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I sold a few things here and there including some Doc Martin Mary Janes, 50 Fiestaware paper napkins, a small set of vintage dishware, a couple mugs and the last of my free general admission Thorns soccer tickets. (I still have a few miscellaneous assigned Thorns seats left, but those are harder to sell.) I also sent out a two invoices for paid work.

My son and I drove to the Oregon coast for the day and stopped at our favorite Mexican food cart in Tillamook. They had large boxes of fresh yellow plums with a “free” sign, so I filled a small bag. I started up a conversation with the owner’s adult daughter and she ended up offering me an entire large box of the plums, which I gratefully accepted.

I ended up making a dozen or so jars of jams and then cutting up the rest for the freezer. I would estimate that there were approximately 73.4 bajillion plums and it took an entire day to process them all, but nevertheless I persisted.

I treated my kids (plus my daughter’s girlfriend) to a night at the movies, but kept the cost under control by going on 2-for-1 Tuesday. So yeah . . . I paid $8 for the four of us to see The Goonies on the big screen! I’d never seen the movie before and actually really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed a simple morning sipping home brewed coffee with my childhood best friend Carol, I cleaned out the impressively filthy interior of my car with a standard vacuum cleaner, I stopped into Goodwill to return a pair of Nike sneakers that didn’t properly fit my son, (possible with the receipt and original price tag still attached) I picked up a Blues Brothers mug and vintage Finish casserole dish to sell, I made an appointment to get a free inspection of a slowly leaking tire at Costco, (part of their warranty) I saved the skimmed-off plum jam foam to use in a chicken marinade, I foraged more wild blackberries with my friend Lise, I listened to the audiobooks Why Not Me and Silver Star through the free Libby app and I picked up a bag of $1 bagels from Dollar Tree.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I continue to sell a few things here and there including a vintage picnic basket, some midcentury salad tongs and a Portland Thorns scarf.

I listed a small dresser on eBay, which is a first for me as I normally sell furniture locally through Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. I have zero interest in packaging and shipping enormously heavy items, so I marked this piece as “local pickup only” as an experiment. It’s a semi-desirable piece, so I figured I’d try to widen the net. It’s from the vintage (but currently popular) Thomasville “Allegro” line, which people love to repaint in shiny bright colors, so I’m hoping this will help find a buyer who’s looking for this exact piece.

Needless to say, it’s a $4.99 Goodwill find.

I had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon for a nearby pizza joint, so my son and I walked the half-mile or so to the restaurant. I knew my son would appreciate the pizza slices more than I would, so I slammed down a PB&J before leaving the house. I was able to treat him to dinner for $3.25 (plus $1 tip) and ended up accepting a free slice as they’d initially messed up his order.

We also walked past a free box which included a cool baseball cap for him, as well as two cheese shaped cardboard cat scratchers, which I normally cost $27 apiece. I came home and washed up the cap and subjected the scratchers to a thorough inspection before sprinkling them with fresh catnip and setting them next to our couches.

Not bad for $4.25!

I bought tickets for my son and I to visit New York City for the second half of August. My son’ll be hanging out with his cousin, and I’ll be helping my sister set up her Bronx high school classroom where she’s been hired to teach Earth Science.

I should have bought the tickets ages ago, but was unsure of dates, which means that I have no crazy cheap fare to brag about. However, I did watch fares closely enough to know to I needed to pounce when they hit just (ha!) $400 apiece. I stalked costs through Google Flights, which I like better than the popup hell that is Expedia or Travelocity.

There’s inevitable buyer’s remorse when booking travel, as there will always be a cheaper flight, but in the end it’s done and time to move on. To fun stuff like what I can only assume is the joy of a non-air conditioned NYC classroom in late August.

I started listening to Jeanette Wells’ “The Silver Star” through the free Libby app, my daughter and I went in person to her medical clinic to investigate why a bill was being denied by insurance and I bought nothing except groceries. I’ll need spending money for my NYC trip!

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I sold a few things here and there including a thrifted midcentury chair, a pair of Danskos, a Pendleton wool blanket, an iPad case and three more Thorns soccer tickets. I also earned some extra money by helping my mother clean her rental cottage between tenants.

For those who are counting, I’ve sold 18 of my free Thorns soccer tickets so far.

I got another free sample quart of paint from Miller Paint through their June/July “Free Sampler Saturday” promotion. I picked up another quart in the same color a few weeks ago, so I think I now have enough to paint my son’s small north facing room. We’d painted it a rich forest green when he was two-years-old and my single goal was to get him to sleep past 5 A.M, but he’s 21-years-old now and ready for some brightness. It’ll be a fun project for the two of us to work on together.

I think we already own the supplies necessary to complete the job, but should we need any miscellaneous stuff I’ll certainly bring that business to Miller Paint.

My husband and son both work night shifts, which means that I’m without a car after 6:30 P.M. Mostly this is a non-issue, as I can arrange to run my errands during the day, not to mention that I’m walking distance from two grocery stores and an endless number of miscellaneous shops. However, it’s an issue every now and then. Last night was one of those times. My daughter needed to be waaaaay across town at 6 P.M., and it was far enough away that an Uber would have been financially painful. Instead I asked my nearby friend Lise if she’d let me borrow her Prius. She did me one better by offering to drive so the two of us could hang out and hit a Goodwill together.

I thanked her with a Goodwill gift card.

Off subject, but we decided that there needs to be a word in the English language for “When you burn with envy from someone’s else’s thrift shop find.” This came up as the man behind us in line was buying a fully kitted out Motobecane racing bike for just $25!

Any linguistic suggestions?

My husband brought some bubble wrap home that his work was going to throw away, I crisped up a pan of stale boxed cereal, (250° for ten minutes or so) I listened to both Jennette Walls’ The Glass Castle and Andrew Rannell’s Too Much is Not Enough through the library’s free Libby app, I went back to my secret spot to pick more wild blackberries, I ordered a $4.95 lid (with free shipping) to go with the Hydroflask water bottle that I pulled from a pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet bin last week and I found two dimes under my credit union’s coin counting machine.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I sold a random hodge-podge of items which included a Marimekko tray that I picked up from the Seattle Goodwill a few months ago, four more Thorns soccer tickets and a macrame wall hanging that I nabbed from a Goodwill pay-by-the-pound outlet store, (aka “the bins.”) I turned in some paid writing and thrifted a few more pieces to sell both on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

I returned to my newly discovered wild blackberry patch with bowls and a picking bucket that I McGuyver-ed from a milk jug. I braved the poky vines, (after first donning a protective layer of jeans, long sleeves and sneakers) and filled three large bowls with the sweet free berries. Enough to make jam, or . . . to make a single blackberry coffee cake and then eat by the handful.

I brought a still warm bowl of berries to my friend Lise as she was with me during the discovery of this secret garden.

I’ll go back later this week as I love berries, but rarely splurge on them.

My son is working a food service job this summer and gets to bring home leftovers, which means that I’ve been opening my fridge to discover such delights as poached salmon, shredded jerk chicken, turkey meatballs and fried rice! It’s like the Food Fairy has chosen to grace us with daily visits!

My husband and I started watching the third season of The Handmaid’s Tale through my friend’s Hulu account, I listened to the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice through the free Libby library app, I donated a bin of unwanted but perfectly good stuff to Goodwill and I bought a few too many half-off pints of Ben & Jerry’s from New Seasons Market, (they mark one brand 50%-off every weekend throughout the summer)

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

I didn’t sell much this week, although I made my favorite sale of 2019, which was the ornate wooden feet from my couch-that-must-not-be-named for $35 on eBay! Considering that I spent $50 on said couch, it’s a miraculous work of alchemy.

My friend Lise needed to go to the fabric store, and asked if I wanted to tag along and then hit up the nearby pay-by-the-pound Goodwill Outlet store together.

Hmm . . . let me think that over. I’d just watched a couple of The Recycled Life, YouTube videos that night before was itching for a trip to “the bins.” So yes, my answer was an emphatic YES!

I started out slow, and probably spent a good twenty minutes poking through the blue wheeled bins before getting into the groove. I ended completely filling my blue Ikea bag, which seriously dug into my shoulder, especially after I hit a deep pocket of heavy Brio track pieces.

Here’s what I bought:

– 54 Brio and Thomas The Tank pieces.
– One new looking Hydroflask water bottle.
– Two stuffed animal/blanket “lovies.”
– One Scrabble mug with the letter “J.”
– Four brand new Mikasa “fromage” plates.
– One Nasa dress-up jumpsuit.
– One new with tags Disney park stuffed animal.
– Three Calico Critters animals.
– One pair of Chico’s pants for myself.
– One large macrame bunting.
– One mini stainless steel bowl.
– One antique bedknob.
– One Electrical something or other.
– One vintage rosary.
– One antique Blue Ball jar that reads “Improved.”
– One water bottle lid to replace one that my daughter broke.

Total: $44 for everything, including Lise’s stuff.

I then spent a pleasant few hours on the front porch cleaning, photographing and listing said items on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. My happy place.

Lise and I pulled the car over near the fabric store as there was a row, probably 100 yards long of wild blackberries heavily laden with ripe berries. Neither of us had a container to collect the berries, but we did help ourselves to the berries for a good ten minutes or so. My plan is to go back tomorrow in long sleeves and closed toe shoes for more. Only one bandaid was required.

I stopped at the Franz Bakery outlet store in a quest to see if they sold discounted gluten-free bread. Unfortunately theirs was just as expensive as any regular store. (Five dollars!) However, I discovered that they have a bargain area in the back stocked with mostly $1 loaves including their fake Dave’s Killer Bread and other whole grain items. I’ve been buying bread from The Dollar Tree lately, but it’s super hit or miss, so I think I’ll switch this errand over to Franz.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Sales this week were not too shabby. I finally sold the thrifted Yakima bike rack system, as well as another Starbucks travel tumbler, a carved piece of wood from an antique piano, some brand new racquetball equipment (that I plucked from a free pile) and three more Portland Thorns soccer tickets. (Most of the tickets are for August games, so I expect to sell the bulk of them next month.) Once again, I got the tickets for free by taking advantage of an easy 76 gas station promotion.)

I finally got mad enough at my couch to heave it out of the living room and onto the front porch. Some mothers can harness Hulk-level strength to lift automobiles off their precious children, but my muscular prowess is reserved for urine scented furniture.

Yes, this is the $50 couch that I just bought mere months ago. The couch I bought to replace my beloved yet cat urine soaked vintage couch. Because as much as I laundered the cushion covers, doused gallons of enzymatic cleaner onto every non-launderable surface and even pressure washed the seat cushions, it still emitted a slight funk.

NOT OKAY, PEOPLE!

I’d rather have zero couches in my living room than a living room that everyone avoids.

However, this couch had really ornate carved wooden feet that were easy enough to remove. I’m asking $35 on eBay*. Edit: I sold the couch feet!!!!!!!!!!!

Addendum: The cats (Zelda and Hyena) are fine, and have been deemed healthy by the veterinarian. We added an extra litter box to the nearby bathroom and have not had any inappropriate urination since. It just took awhile for my decision making brain to catch up to my irate nose.

My friend Dezsea was gifted an absolutely ginormous TV and generously offered us her hand-me-down plasma screen TV. It’ll replace the four-foot thick/not so energy efficient version that we currently watch. I thanked her with a Goodwill gift card. Thank you, Dezsea!

Our next door neighbors replaced their five-year-old air conditioner and offered it to us. (there was nothing wrong with it, they just worried that it was getting old.) Since my son’s window unit is easily twenty years old, we were happy to accept their generous offer. I thanked her with a latch hook rug kit for their energetic granddaughter.

Both these items will be more energy efficient than their predecessors, and I look forward to some savings. Sometimes it’s nice to be on the receiving end.

I used a 2-for-1 coupon to treat my son to some slices of pizza, I thrifted a fancy Arcteryx brand backback, which I quickly cleaned up and listed on Facebook Marketplace, I made another batch of homemade Everything But The Bagel mix, I finished my library copy of Lost Roses and started a Lucky Day copy of The Lost Girls of Paris, and I stopped into New Season’s Market for ice cream, balked at the $7.50 price tags and walked the extra two blocks to Fred Meyer for their $2.50 store brand.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.