Four Frugal Things -- A $3.50 Bathroom Upgrade!
1) My sister and I drove over to the Garthwick neighborhood garage sales and picked up a couple items. I spent $3.73, mostly on this bathroom light fixture, which set me back a whopping $3.50. I scrubbed the rust off a similar fixture a few months ago, (which I wrote about HERE) but that was never more than a temporary solution.
For comparison:
I'm still proud of how I took it from "eyesore" to "good enough."
Now I can upgrade the bathroom for less than four bucks, while still keeping to my Buy Nothing New goal! (Going strong since 2007!)
The angle makes it look like the new fixture is much wider than the old one, but they're pretty much the same size.
2) I also got some free clothespins, which are sorely needed as I'm too lazy to bring mine in during inclement weather. Can you tell which ones are new?
I also spent 23¢ on a decent quality plastic plant, which I quickly added to the window box on the front of my house. Sounds tacky, but it actually looks really cute.
3) We stopped by our mother's house for a visit and I helped myself to a pair of her neighbor's zucchini.
I wish I had enough sun to plant a garden, but I gave up after years of fruitless attempts.
Our maple tree provides blissful shade and oxygen to my backyard, just not much sunshine!
We immediately put those zucchini to good use!
4) I'm halfway through reading my personal copy of Little House on The Prairie, which I'm using for my "Everyone's talking about" Powell's Reading Challenge bingo card square. Why? Because Netflix released their Little House series earlier this summer and people had Big Opinions about it! I didn't watch it, but the challenge ends tomorrow and it's crunch time!
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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I volunteer for a political cause; we opened our campaign office with several office chairs, including one I scavenged and washed sooo thoroughly, another from Buy Nothing. Another member donated spare folding chairs. A member has a garage with loft space where we can store things between events/ campaigns. Our tables, chairs, and other resources are used by several aligned groups, making them a community resource!
Be sure to spray some clear poly on the new light fixture to keep rust away.
DH and I figured out how to open the back of my watch to get the dead battery out, but none of the local stores had the right size replacement, so I had to order one. $7 for a battery is better than the $25 the watch shop will charge to do the same thing.
Been eating from the pantry (yummy rice and beans with a bowl of canned peaches as a side), reading library books, and doing household chores because staying home is frugal.
The bathroom light fixture was an amazing find!
I scanned my receipts from yesterday to Fetch, and one was worth 800 points! That took me well over the 32,500 points I needed for a $25 Visa card, which has been ordered.
I actually brought home more than one burger patty from yesterday's lunch, because I only ate half of one patty. I ate the other half today with sourdough bread as a bun. I also made Pioneer Woman's pea salad, using red onion, pickles and scallions from yesterday's lunch.
I have looked at the clothes that BFF gave me, and they all look like keepers to me. All casual tops. I put them in the hamper, because washing secondhand clothes, even when they're already clean, makes them feel like mine.
I am bracing for hotter weather tomorrow. I may be spending some serious time at the community center and the library.
Froze quartered tomatoes and sliced beets (separately). Kept 3 bags of beets whole.to make borscht this winter. I've never tried freezing beets so I hope the texture remains good, fingers crossed!
Cooked a ham while at church. It will keep us in sandwiches this week. We're expecting hot weather. I'll freeze the hock for beans later.
Dug out an iron on patch to fix Dh's shirt. The rip is in a place that will be tucked in, so I don't have to be too particular.
Defrosted a freezer and unplugged it.
Cobbled up a tank and float to water the bovine buddies from our stock pond. Built a fence.to exclude them from wading in my newly renovated pond. Sorry guys, the water tastes better when you don't bathe in it!!!
Batched errands with an Aldis run.
Hanging out clothes, composting, and eating from the garden and freezer.
Family is going fishing this evening. Hey, we pay for this place!!! :p
1. It FINALLY rained, so Mother Nature watered everything free of charge.
2. Went to the free (and fantastic) Minnesota Museum of Art in downtown Saint Paul with a friend. She paid for parking since I drove. We gave a small donation.
3. Our established hydrangea inexplicably died, so we plan to divide a huge hosta this fall and plant it where the hydrangea used to be.
4. Husband unwittingly signed up for a $40/month subscription to an app to help with sleep. I noticed a $2 charge so I called the company and learned that he had ordered a one-time demo of the app and didn't know that he was signing up for something more. It pays to pay attention!
5. Received notice a while back that the healthcare system we use will no longer work with our Medicare Advantage Plan as of January 1. We're happy with both as is and unhappy that something will have to change. Or *may* change as they're in negotiations, as always, and freaking out their older and sicker customers in the meantime. It makes me sick!