$100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge Update
I went back to the Goodwill Outlet bins a few days ago to hunt for lightweight inventory for my $100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge. I spent $1.40 and still have a $54.15 balance left on the card.
Here's what I bought:
This "Kathe Kruse" brand lovey, as it stood out as less commercial than your average mass produced baby item. Baby blankets plushies can sell for bug bucks on eBay, since they get lost and frantic parents will pay up for replacements. I couldn't find an exact match on eBay, so I priced it at $75.
This vintage baseball cap, which I later learned was for Appalachia State University. It weighs very little, so I took a chance on it. I gave it a good wash and listed it on eBay for $20. I'd hoped that it would be worth more, but $20 isn't too bad considering that I paid 40¢.
This Portland Gear brand wool blend baseball cap. Sells new for $42 and I listed mine for $20. I was able to remove the dog hair with packing tape.
Click HERE to see the listing.
I've yet to strike gold with this gift card, as I'd prefer to be selling higher value items. However, I have no control over what I find while out thrifting.
I did sell the "Pink" concert T-shirt for $23 to a blog reader, (thank you, Cheryl!) which brings the net profit up to $129.20. There's still a week left in January to up my Oregon Food Bank donation.
I still have have 11 unsold items up on eBay, as well as the Hockney poster on Facebook Marketplace. Plus the $54.15 left on the gift card. My goal had been to get to a thousand dollars, which might seem unlikely, but you never know what diamond in the rough is just around the corner!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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Happy to have gotten a good deal on a gift, and help your cause at the same time!
True about desperate parents trying to replace a lovey - my friend's son had a specific Tigger plush that was his bestest friend, and it took a direct hit due to a stomach bug. After multiple washes it was still rank, and she was thrilled to find a replacement on eBay. Her kid knew the difference though, and she ended up giving him back the smelly one, and he carried them both around for a while until he finally outgrew it. Hard to believe that little dude is old enough to buy beer now.
All this goodwill bins content inspired me to go to the bins this morning! Sometimes, the bins don’t deliver, and today appeared to be one of those days. Just when I was about to give up, I found a pair of vintage gold-filled B+L cat-eye sunglasses with rhinestones. Similar ones are listed for $200 on eBay, so 6 cents was a decent price!
I also bought some sewing notions and a storage container. I found 50 cents in a bin, so my net expenditure was 51 cents.
I wish I’d found something from my BOLO list, but it was an entertaining visit nonetheless.
Wow, I wish you could share a photo!
You inspired me to take my second ever trip to the bins today here in Seattle. It was a wild experience, but overall fun and I’ll definitely be back!
This makes me wish there were bins near me! It would probably push me into non-frugal territory though. I'll have to live vicariously through Katy's adventures 😉
1. My number two son was excited that I had made the chilli and has portioned it into yoghurt containers to take to School and put in the staff freezer there. He is working on a whole series of experiments that are requiring him to stay very late, and he has been coming home really hungry.
My roommate doesn't eat beans and I made a very large quantity of chilli... Although my son and I do thoroughly enjoy eating it, it's great that he was so excited to have back-up food for the freezer at work.
2. The family WhatsApp chat has blown up, because my mom hasn't been doing very well. Luckily she is in a seniors condo. Her neighbours started contacting me because they've been concerned about her. I got a phone call a week ago; luckily my niece was going to visit her anyway the next morning.
When my niece got there, the neighbours had already arranged to get the master key and had “broken in”, thank heavens for nosey neighbours! Because mom was still in bed!! My niece got her out of bed for a bit, and got some liquids into her, including electrolytes, and got her to eat something - however I think she turned around and went right back to bed.
The family (her grandchildren) has stepped up with a bit of a plan. Even my daughter - who has a fraught relationship with her grandmother – has been willing to go and see her. My son saw her one day and I had to be the big city the day after with a medical thing, so I saw her.
(I have been avoiding trying to drive down to her because it's a rather challenging hour-and-a-half drive at this time of year, mountainous and very very foggy, and my arm is quite sore. If I needed to, I could have gotten myself down there, however a few extra days of healing while the kids showed up were helpful.)
My sister lives on the completely opposite side of the country, so for all that I feel a bit helpless, being an hour-and-a-half away, I I know it is much harder for her. She has done a lot of coordinating and we now have help coming in two times a week for a couple of hours, and are working on a roster to cover most other days – and one of the condo neighbours is very keen to help, now that we have clarified that the family doesn't think she is stepping on toes doing so. (As I said, thank heaven for nosey neighbours)
Good thing our kids are able to do some of the big time adulting, as well, my neice in particular has been doing all things electronic and has ordered some devices (a phone amplifier, a key lock for outside so folk can get in, and a largish clock that will tell time AND DATE).
3. I lucked out and got an appointment with the Hand Physiotherapist the day after the Surgeon gave me a 'prescription' – someone had cancelled and I live close. The Physo is an absolute gem of a human, spent a lot of time with me with articulating models of arms, explaining my x-rays, the reason my thumb is suddenly migrating into my palm, and gently massaging the scar on my wrist while encouraging me about the prognosis. I have exercises to do daily and have succeeded in getting to them twice already today – leaving the directions in the middle of the kitchen table helps. It is boring and a bit painful however friends of mine have lost a lot of mobility after a break due to poor followup, particularly the mobility aspect, and I am determined to do all I can to regain whatever scraps of agility is possible.
I still am paying the year-beginning fee XXX before full benefits kick in, but once that happens I have some money in that benefit account that can apply toward the physio.
4. I cooked up a batch of twirly noodles purchased on steep discount, and mixed them with some Costco pesto, an aging red onion, some sliced green olives, aging cherry tomatoes, and two bell peppers who were begging to be employed somewhere other than the fridge.
This is a meal good hot or cold, and I always forget how much I love it. The big batch has been portioned out but won't last long in the fridge due to deliciousness.
5. When I visited mom last week I took a Costco chicken, which I deboned completely while there. I left the remainder of the meat with my mom and daughter (along with most of the croissants from Costco) however I brought home the bag of bones. I had purchased a second chicken for use at my home. Today I put the two carcasses into the instant pot and made 3 litres of broth, currently cooling on the counter in glass canning jars – soup in the future.
6. Frugal-ish fail - It was fridge cleaning time, or at least a couple of shelves. The chickens got the remains of the barley soup (note to self, only make as much soup as 1 cup of barley will thicken – or freeze some immediately!), and I thought of Lindsay when I poured out some bean broth that never made it into any meals, however there really wasn't much waste.
Now to fill the fridge up with 'things to eat' from the 'ingredients' that currently reside inside.
How wonderful your family is rallying around your mother, together!
And best wishes for your hand therapy. No one ever says, "I wish I hadn't done the therapy"-- quite the opposite.
Ecoteri, I hate to say this, but it sounds from your #2 as if your family would do well to be thinking about institutional care for your mother at this point. She sounds as if she's in the same stage my own dear mother was in when I flew down to FL to see her in late 2006 and found she hadn't gotten out of bed in quite a while (so much so that she had bedsores). I rallied the siblings round, and we moved her from her apartment in her residential community into the community's nursing home within a week. But meanwhile, I'm glad that you, your family, and your mother's neighbors are all pitching in.
Agree with another poster. Don't be afraid to get your mother professional help to avoid her medical from declining. Unfortunately laying in bed for too long can be very bad for people, especially the elderly. I also learned that UTI's in seniors can be very bad for their mental clarity and very quickly. It's something they may not be aware of or seek help for but then it becomes a bigger issue quickly. Praying for your mother and family.
Ashley B. and A. Marie,
I agree with what you have both mentioned. UTI's in the elderly can cause confusion, as well as weakness and a lack of appetite, among other things. Bedsores can be difficult to heal in the elderly as well, for a number or reasons. While moving a loved one to a skilled nursing facility can be difficult, sometimes it's truly the best thing.
1. I brought homemade, frozen ribolitta to the work apartment this week, and ate that on Tuesday. There was a lot left over, so I stuck in in the apartment freezer.
2. I ate BOTH lunch AND dinner for free at work on Wednesday and Thursday (and lunch on Tuesday & Friday). And, of course, I drank the free, crappy coffee each day, too.
3. I picked up 2 mystery shops for my long commute (3.5 hours) - one, at a grocery store (which was packed because of the impending storm), and one for dinner. In the end, I got $26 worth of groceries free, $16 in food for dinner free, and put an additional $20 in my pocket to help pay for gas. Laundry detergent was on sale at the mystery shop from $5.19 to $2.99, but when I scanned into Fetch, I got 1,000 points.
4. We are going to a free concert today as a friend did "School of Rock" (adult rock camp) and today they showcase their talent.
5. Week 3 of overtime is complete. I got my first paycheck with the OT and put it directly toward my Roth.
What company do you use for mystery shopping?
A number of them!
Lindsey (who a number of us are concerned about as she hasn't posted in ages) wrote up a great primer for The Frugal Girl: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/a-mystery-shopping-primer-from-alaska-lindsey/
Betta, we all care deeply for Lindsey and she provided an update here: https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/five-frugal-things-i-check-out-the-newest-library/
MB in MN,
Thank you for providing this link. I only found out about Lindsey's update last night. Lindsey, if you see this, please know you have a big fan in Ohio. I have so enjoyed all of your stories about your life in Alaska, your dogs, your childhood, and your husband, always the husband. As a fellow lover of Sumo mandarins, I will remember you fondly whenever I eat one. 《Hugs》
My son takes drum lessons through School of Rock! Plus my hubby has taken electric bass lessons and performed in 3 adult SOR bands. They both love it!
I just made my first listing on eBay in quite a while. A lot has changed. It was daunting. I started with a small piece and I am going to try to make a new listing every day until I get used to it.
It is still subzero here, but we have been lucky enough not to get the ice and snow that others are getting. I was going to go to the gym today, but decided to wait until tomorrow, hoping it will be warmer.
A friend has connected me with another friend, who needs a dog sitter over spring break. I agreed to do it. She will pay me $500, which will be most welcome.
I was almost charged $500 for a plumbing bill, not of my own making. Last year, the neighbor below me was having issues with his kitchen sink not draining. He called a plumber, but then went AWOL. The plumber knocked on my door and asked if he could get access to my sink to see if he could clear it from above. He did, and I forgot about it. After all this time, the bill hasn't been paid, and our HOA President was trying to lay it at my door. When I explained what happened, he reluctantly said that he would charge it to the property managers. I don't know if this is the last I'll hear of it. Life in a condo building, ugh.
$500 for spring break sitting (not sure how far you have to drive) is quite the haul. I've told the neighbor for whom I pet sit that I don't expect cash. Usually get edibles or a book of some sort from where they visit - that is fine. I expected nothing when I pet sat each time one of her parents passed away. Occasionally she "sneaks in" cash or a gift card. I don't fight it. We're both pet lovers, care(d) for our parents, and are doing/did our best for our kids.
Any money you give the food bank is money they didn't have before, so don't be so hard on yourself. As you said, we have no control over thrifting, which is why it's so much fun. But we can all pray that you reach your $1,000 goal. And hopefully inspire others to also raise funds for good causes.
Frugalilty in the big freeze edition:
1. I put my un-installed gas log fireplace/space heater for sale on craigslist. Also grabbed the other parts, that would allow it to be installed in a corner, out of the garage and will include them in the sale. Meanwhile, the new wall heater is working well and I can easily adjust its controls. Thankfully, the electricity is still on, so life inside my house is normal even in this cold.
2. Set the central heat lower and used multiple quilts, blankets and comforters on my bed last night. I was toasty warm. Hopefully this will save $ on my utility bills as well as help conserve the electric grid and natural gas supply when both are at peak demand due to heat.
3. Keeping the central heat low and staying in the den with the space heater today. (see #2). Our store is open today and will close at 5 p.m. They want us home before sundown, when the fallen rainwater turns into ice on the streets. So I will have to work only 2 hours. I'm told there are hardly any customers today. My house backs up to a busy roadway, yet I haven't heard one single vehicle drive by all day.
4. Eating what I have at home. Last night I had a "New Year's Special": (canned) black eyed peas and cornbread.
5. Did not try to charge people $1 billion for a place on my newly-established board. The biggest attempted con job in history!
You're doing great! What an innovative way to donate to a food pantry by using a gift card and reselling. I know you're using your own time and energy in this endeavor so kudos to you.
1. I took a car full of giggly 5th grade girls to a birthday party that was an hour away. This didn't save me $, but it did save the other parents gas $, which I will still count as a win. While out, I went to a public library and wrote a paper for work (it's needed to keep my licensure current). Initially I was going to hit a coffee shop, but I'm so happy I went the free route with the library. I got a quiet room in the corner all to myself, and I put my seat right in front of the small space heater. Wind chills have been -42, so it was great!
2. Due to the weather, I have not gone anywhere for 2 days, so no spending needed. As an added bonus, the school I work at was closed yesterday. Yay!
3. My mom brought me a Bubbl'r when she and my dad came to visit. I love this drink, but it's a bit on the expensive side so I don't purchase it often.
4. I made a can of black beans last for two meals in the last 24 hours, adding assorted veggies and homemade hot sauce to make it more filling. I enjoy cheap and healthy meals.
5. I'm too cheap to pay for streaming services, so I don't watch many movies, but my husband did brave the cold yesterday to get some movies for tonight's family night. Our kiddos are younger so we're watching Despicable Me 4. We'll pair that with popcorn and smoothies, my ultimate "I'm not cooking tonight" dinner.
Getting ready for the big snow!
1. Made broccoli cheese soup with broccoli that was given to me, a box of free beef bone broth, a random can of cheese soup, a block of cheese that didn’t have much flavor and a sad lonely carrot.
2. Filled my car w gas in anticipation of the storm. Used 20 cents off a gallon at Wawa. Opening the app I saw I had a free any size beverage for my birthday. Yes please! I got the biggest size of salted Carmel coffee and I’ll drink it tomorrow morning.
3. I went to tractor supply to get chicken feed and use the points I earn with my TS credit card. I had a $10 off of $50 for my birthday and $60 in credit plus some other discounts. I got $129 of merch for $35! Plus I scanned all the Purina products into the Purina app.
4. Daughter wanted vanilla coffee creamer. Had to pick up meds at CVS. used accumulated CVS rewards so it was only $2 for a large container.
5. Watched YouTube videos on dog grooming and was able to successfully groom our new rescue dog who is too scared to go to our regular groomer. I will continue to save $ and groom her at home. Our other dog has very very thick fur so I’ll probably continue to have him groomed. Plus our groomer is one of my 4-H kids all grown up so I like supporting her career.