Five Frugal Things -- It's Garage Sale Season!
1) I stopped into Dollar Tree to buy soap, crackers and ginger snaps and bought . . . soap, crackers and ginger snaps. This might seem like an odd "frugal thing" to keep to my list, but that store is rife with impulse purchases. I didn't hit any irrelevant aisles and pretended the rest of the store didn't exist.
I'd normally buy their Monet brand "entertainer" crackers, but they seem to have switched to the creepily named "Global Brands" variety. My expectations are low, although I'm up for being wrong.
2) I then pulled the car over for my very first garage sale of the season, even though it appeared to be just a couple dozen items on a apartment building's front lawn. It turned out to be the apartment as well, being run by the landlord who was selling off the random items abandoned by the last tenant.
They had a Medusa'd Goldie Fawn and a flowerpot that interested me, so I asked the price and was told "They're free if you buy something else."
Here's the flowerpot, next to a similar one I garbage picked from this same street:
This sent me into the apartment, where I came across this reproduction vintage toaster:
So cool, right? I paid five dollars and walked away with three items. Moira Rose's favorite season might be "award season," but mine is "garage sale season!"
I'll test it out and sell it on eBay, as I already have a perfectly functional curb picked toaster.
3) I later attended my youngest's soccer game, where I walked the track during warmup and brought home two 10¢ returnable bottles. My kid got two goals and three assists!
4) We were starving after the game, so I quickly assembled a tostada buffet using canned refried beans with sautéed onions and peppers, along with pepper jack cheese, lettuce and assorted salsa options. We were tempted to get takeout, but this took less time than waiting for restaurant food. Plus it was yummy, cheap and used what we already had on hand!
5) I visited with my mother and stepfather yesterday and convinced them to put a couple items out on their parking strip with a "FREE" sign. One of these things was a small framed mirror, which was snapped up in under fifteen minutes!
It's like magic!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
I love garage sale season. Starts " in earnest" in May here in MN. I always enjoy spotting my first garage sale sign of Spring!
Aww!! Goldie Fawn has a friend. That pot and the other one are both beautiful.
1. My three daughters, one of my son-in-laws and I met up at the halfway-ish point which is my youngest daughter's apartment. My middle daughter, her husband and I carpooled. We left our dogs with my mom. We went to a Salvation Army bin outlet in Detroit. I found it disappointing but according to my oldest daughter who follows someone who shops there regularly, it is normally a treasure trove. I guess Saturday afternoon is not the best time to go.
2. We also stopped at a used bookstore where one daughter found 37 Animorphs books. She and her husband will sell the whole set once they've found the rest. The last full set they sold for $600.
3. My two oldest daughters really wanted to stop into the Costco Business Center. They sell to restaurants and other businesses and carry industrial appliances as well as some of their regular items. I bought a box of bubble wrap and my girls bought cleaning supplies and few other things. My car was very full. It was very entertaining. Anyone need a whole lamb?
These are the things my family finds entertaining.
4. Not a frugal weekend for me. I bought them breakfast and we stopped and picked up pizza for dinner which we ate in my youngest's teeny tiny apartment. It was a fun day spent together. This is why I try to save where I can, so I can treat my kids without worry about it.
5. I cleaned my bathrooms using a homemade shower cleaner, homemade glass cleaner, baking soda purchased in bulk and all purpose cleaner purchased at an estate sale. My favorite cleaning rags are from an estate sale also.
1. My husband saw ants in the basement bathroom. I put out the Borax, sugar, and water solution I made a few years ago. It works every time.
2. We ate at home even though we were hankering to go out. It's healthier and so much cheaper. So many restaurants have eliminated their lunch menus.
3. I pulled out a needle and thread and sewed several lose buttons, on the cuffs of one of my blouses, on a pair of capri pants, and while I was at it the buttons on DH's sport coat. It's much easier to take care of it before buttons are lost.
4. We helped a neighbor put stuff in her vehicle for a dump run. If it had been anything that could be reused I would have given it away.
5. I listed a few items on Freecycle and they were quickly claimed. I'd rather have stuff we are using be put to use by the community.
Nice haul at the sale! The neighborhood garage sales are starting up here, hoping to hit a few this weekend.
Please give a review of the new crackers. You got me onto the Monet ones, and I'm disappointed they're gone. Probably my fault, lol.
1. Put together a delicious lunch out of random leftovers to clean out the fridge. Grilled sausage, sauteed onions and peppers, white rice, pineapple chunks. Warmed it all with some teriyaki sauce and it was tasty!
2. Picked up a receipt in a parking lot that gave me over 1000 Fetch points and almost $10 on Ibotta.
3. Upside app has cash back at Kroger now, so I've been sure to claim that deal whenever I shop there. Have been able to do it 3 times so far. Hopefully it keeps resetting.
4. Husband and I are almost eligible to donate blood again. Checked the blood bank website to see what perks are coming up and made an appointment on a day that gets us an additional gift card.
5. The usual - making coffee at home, carrying a refillable water bottle, combining errands to save gas, meal planning from the pantry and freezer, line drying laundry, etc.
That is a nice bunch of stuff from the landlord's sale. Our Dollar Tree has stopped stocking the Monet crackers and the shelf stable unsweetened almond milk, which is disappointing. It stocked sweet potato chips for a while that were awesome but also seem to be gone.
I found a trouser button in my stash of reclaimed buttons to mend a pair of thrifted slacks. Also altered a shirt I bought new three summers ago that always fit a little strangely by removing two useless vertical darts. I will wear it more now without having to tug at it.
DH and I went to Ollie's Outlet today for nuts, Breton crackers (very much like Monet but $1.99 a box), applesauce, dog treats and a pack of white cotton washcloths.
Saturday I attended a ladies' tea party wearing a flowered dress and straw hat, both from Goodwill, and had a great time except that something I ate gave me quite an upset stomach all day Sunday. In retrospect, every sandwich and treat had dairy in it, which I can eat only in tiny amounts. I should have known better.