The Non-Consumer Advocate

Someone in my Buy Nothing group was giving away cuttings from her fig tree, so walked to her house and picked up a trio of cut branches to propagate. I then watched a couple of random YouTube videos, which made it look pretty straightforward and I’m excited for the prospect of having my own fig tree. Even though I’m fully aware that my yard is shady and this is likely a doomed project.

Might as well try!

I pulled out my upholstery shampooer and cleaned the fabric parts of my $7.99 thrifted Restoration Hardware chairs. (I also scrubbed the stubborn spots with a toothbrush and diluted dish soap.) They’re still not perfect looking, but I think they’ll brighten up once they’re fully dry. Which here in Portland, should be by the end of summer!

Here’s the before:

Here’s the after:

I’m thisclose to the end of my No Spend March challenge and am surprised with how quickly time has passed. I spent no money on restaurant meals or pick-me-up purchases, but I did have the unexpected expense of a pair of new tires, which is unavoidable and falls under “shit happens.” Can’t exactly drive around on a flat tire!

Groceries were certainly allowed, but I tried to minimize trips and avoid impulse purchases when I did go. (Think nothing but lettuce and bananas from Trader Joe’s.) It’s entirely possible that I might buy something tomorrow, so I won’t tally up the numbers quite yet.

My Earth Abides audiobook from Libby automatically returned when I was only halfway through, which was a huge disappointment as I was really enjoying the story. But then I remembered that the reason the book was on my radar was that there’s a new TV show based on the 1949 novel, so I started a one-week free trial of MGM+ through my Roku box. I then immediately turned off  “auto-renewal” so I wouldn’t accidentally extend my free trial.

I used to think that you couldn’t cancel a free streaming trial until the last day, but it turns out that you can cancel immediately and still enjoy the full contract.

I haven’t written any million dollar checks to sway the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

I used the discount postage website PirateShip.com to mail my father’s needlepoint artwork to New York. $14.18, which is a pretty good deal considering the box was 19″ x 19″ x 3″ and 4-1/2 pounds. I then walked the package to the UPS store.

I passed by the above free wire shelf unit on my way to the UPS store and texted my daughter to ask if she could use it in her apartment. She answered that it would work in her kitchen, so it’s now hers!

I received an annoying plastic $10-off-$50 Portland Nursery coupon in the mail, which I gave to my next door neighbor as I know she shops there for her expansive garden. I also passed a page of New Seasons Market coupons to my other next door neighbors as that’s where they do most of their grocery shopping.

I made a batch of rice that I later forgot to put into the refrigerator and it sat out all night. I’m unfortunately aware that the specific type of food poisoning that you get from rice is particularly nasty, so I scraped it into the yard debris bin and moved on. I abhor unnecessary food waste, but I’m categorizing this one as completely necessary!

I’m not rushing out to buy a brand new car in anticipation of looming tariffs. However, I am hoping that some random Portlander will impulsively buy a new car and sell their perfectly good Prius at a nice low price.

I sold my thrifted $3.59 chair for $40 through Facebook Marketplace. Mine was a cheap knockoff of the classic Eames design, but I’ve learned time and again that Portlanders love faux midcentury furniture. It took a week to sell, but it’s okay to wait for the right buyer.

The real deal:

My knockoff:

We had our daughter over for dinner last night and munched on rice and bean tostadas while watching the second season of Picard through my niece’s Paramount Plus subscription. (A perfect meal to complement my free avocado and tomatoes!) I’d stashed up a box of gluten-free Oreos a couple weeks ago, which became a nice treat for her.

My husband and I are planning on buying an used Prius for our daughter and visited a used car lot that specializes in them. It would be easy to get drawn into an impulsive purchase, so we refused the offer of a test drive as I didn’t want to bond with any specific vehicle. I compared it to “Going to the humane society to ‘just look’ at kittens.”

Plus the dealership’s prices were much higher than buying from a private seller and there’s no reason to rush the process.

Dealer price, $7,500 for a 2007 Prius:

Marketplace prices:

I went to H Mart to pick up gluten-free soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, coconut milk and spring roll wrappers. I came home with . . . gluten-free soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, coconut milk and spring roll wrappers. Avoiding impulse purchases is a huge money saver and especially difficult in store like H Mart that feature endless fun snacks, drinks and sweet treats. It helped that I had neither of my kids (nor husband) with me.

I’m not so disliked that people would refuse to meet with me.

I planted some propagated spider plant starts in a curb picked flowerpot for my daughter’s apartment. This is the third time I’ve replanted this exact pot, but I know she’ll eventually figure out how to keep her plants alive. This is how unconditional love works.

I took my daughter out to practice driving and we ended up at the Sellwood goats, where my daughter spent a good half hour communing with them. There was also a goat-happy toddler who pointed out at least a hundred times that there was a “mommy goat.”

My daughter and I will now add “mommy goat” to the things we say to each other.

The two of us were unsurprisingly in need of a hand wash station, so we popped over to New Seasons Market to use their facilities. I remembered that I had a soon to expire coupon for a free case of seltzer. Perfect for Portland’s record high temperatures.

I finished reading my library copy of The Seven Year Slip, which was a delight from start to finish. I have more holds to pick up at the library, which I’ll do before today’s forecasted hail and tornados!

I didn’t create a treasonous group text.

Today is my niece’s last full day in Portland before heading back to college and we’re both feeling/not feeling the urge to make the most of it. She has a paper with a looming deadline, so we looped back to Tabor Space so she could focus enough to make her deadline. We brought our own coffee/tea, but slipped a couple bucks into the tip jar.

Breakfast was cheesy grits with sautéed spinach, topped with reheated frittata, which was so delicious I’ll definitely add it to the rotation. Frittata is no longer the Cheap Eats meal it once was, but it’s still cheaper than hitting a restaurant.

Here’s my frittata recipe.

However, last night’s dinner was pizza, courtesy of my mother and stepfather, which was full-on frugal as it was their treat and we ate at my house. We then watched a couple of vintage Twilight Zone episodes through my niece’s Paramount Plus subscription. Quality programming + pizza never grows old.

My niece complimented my kale pesto, (recipe HERE) so I grabbed a frozen jar for her to take back to school. She lives in an off campus rental and does her own cooking, so it’ll actually come in handy for her. I love having a jar of pesto in the fridge at all times as it’s infinitely versatile.

• We stopped by the library so I could pick up a book to read while my niece works on her assignment.
• I put out a request on my Buy Nothing group for a travel mug, as my niece has a loooong travel day tomorrow and doesn’t actually own one. Our backup plan is to hit a Goodwill, but free is better for her every-dollar-counts budget. *Update — I got an almost immediate reply from someone who has “several to choose from!”
• I printed out a page of official two-letter Scrabble words to keep with the game, which is an example of “other people have had this problem, surely there’s an easy solution.” Not every wheel needs to be reinvented.
• I cut some forsythia from the garden for my mother.

I basically buy nothing, so it’s almost as if I’m joining Canadians and Europeans in boycotting American made products.

My niece and I took our laptops to Tabor Space, which describes itself as “A community gathering place.” Located in an historic church, (note the stained glass windows) this non-religious space is the perfect example of a “Third Space,” for when you need somewhere that’s neither home, work nor shopping. (Other examples would be a park or library that lets you exist without the weight of consumerism.) There is an adjoining coffee shop, but you’re not required to buy anything to use the space. I brought my own tea from home, but slipped a dollar into their tip jar.

This reminds me of when I wrote about New York City’s Privately Owned Public Spaces (aka “POPS”) that allow New Yorkers to legally hang out in hundreds of specific places without the stigma of loitering. It’s easy in balmy weather to find commercially neutral places to hang out, but such is not the case this time of year.

I got a text from New Seasons Market with an offer for a free 16-ounce box of their pasta, so I picked up the box and nothing else. I guess rigatoni is in our future!

I thrifted a $4 faux midcentury dining chair when dropping off Goodwill donations the other day. (Minus my 10%-off senior discount, so it was actually $3.59!) I promptly listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $40 and have a couple people who’ve already messaged me about wanting to buy it. It hasn’t sold yet, but I’ve done very well with midcentury style furniture and fully expect it to sell.

My mother and stepfather took us to dinner, which was a treat as I’m otherwise sticking to No Spend March as much as possible. We’ve had them to dinner the past few nights, so I feel A-okay accepting their generosity.

I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.