Five Frugal Things -- Butthole Pillows & Boob Lights

1) I spent $13.14 from my $25 Ikea Fetch app gift card and treated my husband to lunch. I chose a $1.40 veggie dog and the free coffee and he chose the $9.99 meatball platter and a $1.75 soft serve ice cream cone. Enough money leftover for a second lunch date!

I thought they'd stopped offering recyling services, but it turns out that they'd just moved it. Good to know.

2) My husband's had his grandfather's small dresser siting unused in our basement for at least twenty years and was finally ready to let it go. He listed it in our Buy Nothing group and even delivered it to the lucky recipient.

We also donated a load of random tools and miscellaneous items to the Habitat ReStore, which was wholly unphotographed so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Our basement is slowly but surely becoming clean and organized.

3) It's been awhile since I've hit the Goodwill Outlet pay-by-the-pound bins, so I stopped by for a short visit. I grabbed this filthy insulated Hydroflask tumbler -- I think it was actually brand new. It reads "Subaru Ambassador" on the back, but that bothers me none whatsoever. They sell new for $24.99, so it was a bargain.

I know we just donated a bag of reusable water bottles, but I didn't have a tumbler and know I can put it to good use.

I have a few blue and white enamel darkroom trays, which I use under potted plants, so I was happy to add this one to my collection. I may just be me, but I think there's something timeless about enamel.

You know I like to clean things up and remove stitched monograms, so this filthy waxed canvas toiletry kit was right up my alley. My youngest has some travel coming up, so I'll give it to them after I've worked my magic.

Of course, not everything is worth buying, like this pack of expired Mucinex.

Or this space age "butthole pillow." No it's not the official name for it, but Sherry from Young House Love adores this pillow and recommends it whenever the subject of pillows comes up. I. DID. NOT. BUY. THE. BUTTHOLE. PILLOW!

I also didn't buy the Vladamir Putin: Life Coach book. Shocker, I know.

I got back out to the parking lot and noticed an anonymous gift of three unopened tampons under my car. I suppose this would be a miracle find after the apocalypse, but I'm not there yet.

Here's everything I bought:

• The Hydroflask tumbler.
• The enamel tray.
• The toiletry kit.
• A pair of OXO tongs, as I have one exactly like it and feel like a second one would come in handy.
• A pair of NYDJ Alina ankle jeans that sadly didn't fit, so I'll list them on eBay. This brand starts at $99, so I should do okay selling them.

I don't have the receipt on me, but I spent a bit more than $12. The tongs alone would cost around $15 new, so I think I did all right. Sadly I didn't find any true diamonds in the rough.

4) It's been awhile since I last browsed The Prudent Homemaker's blog, so I spent a bit of time catching up with Brandy. (She and I live very different lives, but she's also extreme with her frugality, so there's occasionally a fresh cheap hack to add to my repertoire.) She recommended the book The Seamstress of New Orleans, by Diane McPhail, so I put it on hold at the library. It came in the next day, so I picked it up while out and about running errands.

I do need a "set in the distant past" book to complete another row on my Powell's Summer Reading Challenge bingo card! I'm not sure how "distant" this book is set, but that's a vague enough word to be open to interpretation.

5)

• I reheated some of Tuesday's leftover frittata to use in breakfast burritos.
• It rained last night, which'll help my feral blackberry patch to continue flourishing.
• My husband changed the oil in our car.
• I didn't buy any "boob lights" at the Habitat ReStore.

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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