Five Frugal Things -- May Day Boycott
Today is May 1st, which is "May Day" and a worldwide economic boycott. I haven't promoted it on the blog, as I plan on living my life today as I do the other 364 days per year.
Refusing to buy new whenever I can, promoting the nonconsumer concept to thousands of people on a daily basis and to "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
1) My new (used) iPhone14 needed a proper phone case, but instead of buying one online I simple rummaged through Goodwill's offerings until I found one that clicked perfectly into place. It took a few visits, but in the end I got a graphically interesting case that set me back just $2.69, (55+ senior discount, bay-bee!) and kept Schmeff Schmezos from getting a tiny bit richer.
2) I went for a walk after dinner and came home with a discarded water bottle that'll add 10¢ to my family's growing coffers. By going for a simple walk I was able to chat with a couple neighbors, get some exercise and not hand our hard earned dollars over to a private equity/corporately owned gym like 24 Hour Fitness.
But what about my upper body workouts? That's what the cast iron pans are for!
3) I stopped by Lounge Lizard to sell them the vintage lighting globe that I thrifted the other day for $2.99. I walked out with thirty dollars in cash. This groovy store is in my neighborhood and I love that my sourcing helps keep them in business.
4) I thrifted this lucite table to resell, paying just $11.69. (It was priced at $12.99, but again I used my 10% senior discount, as it was a Wednesday.) I'm no expert on lucite furniture, except to know that some of it can be worth a pretty penny. I haven't been able to identify this specific model, but it's super thick and heavy which is a good sign.
I'll clean it up to sell locally and in the end I'll have done enough lucite research to sharpen my thrifting eye for future lucite offerings. My guess is that it was specifically manufactured for a retail space, which is why I haven't been able to find a match online.
5) I went to lunch with my mother and she paid for my bagel and lox. Thank you, mom!
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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It's super easy to boycott the stores today bc it's raining cats and dogs here! No doubt we'll have a very slow shift at the store tonight and they'll make us fold t-shirts. IMI the deepest pit of hell should be reserved for Hitler, Trump and customs who mess up the T-shirt displays. I've seen dirty clothes hampers that were less jumbled than our T-shirt shelves!
Poor Snuggles! He's decided it's too rainy to chase squirrels in the backyard and he looks bored.
Meanwhile, I'm setting up my secondhand refurbished computer, something I've procrastinated on for months now. Because I have a freelance assignment next week. And I'm reading books in preparation of same
I just hard-boiled some of those (89 cents a dozen) brown eggs I bought the other day. Will be snacking on them a lot!
IM0, customers. Spell check errors again
In "Nickel and Dimed", when writing about her time at WalMart, Barbara Ehrenreich also laments clothing clean-up, but especially the bra section. All those straps and sizes on little plastic hangers. I remember when bras came in boxes, and that might be just as bad to restuff.
Finally made a batch jam from cherries from my niece's tree picked last June. I reused jars and bands. Now to get the other 4 batches made from fruit measured and frozen since last summer including 2 batches of raspberries from my bushes, one more cherry, and strawberries picked from local farmers pick your own.
That's great that you could bind a phone cover at the bins. Our thrift stores aren't as good as yours or ones where have lived other times. I keep hoping they improve.
Hubby is out getting a haircut and doing our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's so I can't say we are boycotting spending today. He usually goes on Tuesday or Wednesday so the frig is getting bare. However -
- I exercised this morning using a DVD program that is so old that I recorded the sound since I have exercises memorized.
- Drinking homemade coffee, wearing a thrifted sweater and scarf plus jeans that are about 10 years old.
- Using a home blood pressure machine that was my FIL's. I often record higher blood pressure at the doctor's office and have my annual physical on this Thursday. They checked the machine calibration and said they will take my record of my normal blood pressure instead so I am going to take readings on 3 different days. No additional medication is thrifty.
- Gave myself a pedicure this morning, drinking coffee made at home, we are going to cook Mother's Day brunch for son, DIL & grandgirls, etc.
I didn't know about the boycott, so I went to Target this morning. It is between the library and the train station, so an easy stop to make. I wanted to see if anything I had on my grocery list was on sale there. No, and everything was ridiculously high priced. I did find a few items on the clearance shelf, though. I bought a sugar cookie mix, Heinz chili sauce, and olives. Then I picked up cream cheese, to make a sandwich spread I like with olives and walnuts. Target's house brand of cream cheese is reasonably priced.
For lunch, I finished the soup I made yesterday, which was made from leftover salad, and I also made two mini pizzas from biscuit halves.
The biscuits were rescued yesterday when I noticed the can had popped in the fridge. One biscuit had to be tossed, but the rest were fine, and I baked them immediately.
I have three more books to read after my stop at the library.
At Target I found five receipts in the wastebasket by the self checkout. It was a little embarrassing to snatch them up in front of everyone, but I did it anyway.
The whole reason I left the house today was to go to the post office to mail an item I sold on eBay. It was a doll I'd bought at Goodwill, so I was glad it sold -- I was afraid it might have been a bad buy, but nope! Money in!
Just have to add, on the train there was a twenty dollar bill torn into pieces, lying on the floor. A lot of pieces. I don't know why someone would do that. I discussed it with another lady, but neither of us stooped to pick up the pieces. Maybe if I'd been alone in the car....
1. We've eaten down to nothing but half a head of cabbage and three potatoes. No garlic, onions, carrots, peppers, etc. Is life worth living? Yes. Can I cook? No. 2. I had planned on grocery shopping today. But I'm observing the boycott and hope that waiting until tomorrow will give my hold at the library time to arrive. A friend invited us out to lunch, and I have many bean Indian soup and rice still in the fridge for dinner. Could we make it to Sunday? 3. My basil seedlings are up. 2.98 for this dozen, and many more in the seed packet. 4. I've started sewing a jacket from hand-dyed fabric a friend gave me 18 years ago. Shopping the stash saves big bucks. I'm using a pattern I've made several times that fits and flatters. No need for novelty. And while I was shopping the stash, I measured the yardage pieces and safety pinned on snippets of interfacing with the measurements. Saves time when shopping the stash, and I hadn't done that for the bin of reds. 5. Splurge--we're going to the Sheep and Wool Festival on Sunday. Twenty-minute drive, fifteen bucks, and a day's worth of fun. Sheep to shawl in the big tent with bleachers to watch, many breeds of sheep, many classes--I'm telling myself (sternly) that I don't need new pastimes as I have what I need for quilting, mending, and knitting.
We are accidental boycotters, simply because we rarely buy anything. We will be picking up groceries today, from employee-owned Winco, because I have a standing Friday date with my eldest son. He doesn't drive and the only grocery store in easy walking/bussing distance is an overpriced "boutique" grocery.
1) I harvest rhubarb today. A lot of rhubarb!
2) The spouse found an old garden hose in the woods behind the house, probably tossed there by a former resident. It has a couple of leaks, but it relatively sound. We are going to poke more holes and string it over the raised beds as a janky drip irrigation system.
3) We have a potluck to attend tomorrow at a friend's house, and we are in charge of salad. I'm making rhubarb slaw today, which tastes bests when it marinates in the dressing overnight. The rest of today's harvest is becoming scones and wine.
4) I made garden trellises out of some old chicken wire and a few warped cedar 1-by-3's I picked up from the side of the road last year. (Secure your loads, people!)
5) Tonight is our darts tournament night, which we host in our home. A free evening of entertainment, friends, family, homemade food (we always do snack trays/no-frills charcuterie), and adult beverages!