Five Frugal Things -- Wastefulness
1) I stopped by the Goodwill off S.E. Woodstock Blvd. to scout for stuff to resell.
I looked up this Mr. Rogers mug, but they only sell for ten bucks or so on eBay. Still unlocked some memories though. My dad was from Pittsburgh and Fred Rogers lived on my grandparent's street, so they literally lived in "Mr. Rogers' neighborhood!"
I also looked up this eye catching set of $1.99 glassware. I looked them up on Google Lens and learned that they're Mikasa Cheers cordial glasses, but only sell for around $30, which is not enough of a profit margin for how much of a pain they would be to package up and ship!
I've sold this Ikea DUKTIG kids' play kitchen a couple times in the past and know that it sells well. (Locally.) It was priced at $12.99, so there was enough profit to make it worth picking up.
Unfortunately the bottom of the tag was already torn off, which means someone got there before me. Drat!
I walked out empty handed, which is not all that uncommon.
2) My neighbor brought over a handmade round loaf of challah, which is the traditional shape for Rosh Hashanah/Jewish new year. The round loaf is specific to the new year and symbolizes "the continuous cycle of the year and our hopes for a year filled with wholeness, joy, and renewal." I have the best neighbors!
I added an apple and our mangled bottle of honey for this photo, which are also traditional to this holiday. Apples and honey symbolize hope for a sweet new year.
3) I listed the Introduction to Knitting book/kit that picked up at the Goodwill bins the other day. I'll try and sell it on Facebook Marketplace, as it's big.
4) I sold the Hydroflask lunchbox that I thrifted from the bins when my sister was in town. I'd initially listed it at $20, but had no interest so I dropped the price. Happy to get it back in circulation and help Portlanders choose used over new.
I mostly bought it as it was at risk of being sent to a landfill if someone didn't scrub it down. So many consumer goods are abandoned due to being dirty, despite things being easy enough to clean.
This made me remember a Built lunch bag that I pulled out of the hospital breakroom maybe fifteen years ago. It was super grubby, but a simple trip through my washing machine made it look new! I just checked and they sell new for $27.99.
I still have that lunch bag:
I observed over 24 years that many nurses tend towards wastefulness. Probably a combination of germ phobia and being well paid.
5) I did some boring grocery shopping, which was uneventful. Zero incredible deals, but I did grab a discarded parking lot receipt, which I later scanned into the Fetch app.
I spent $53.87 on four bags of groceries.
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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We filled up the car at Costco this morning. Gas is over $6 a gallon here. It makes every trip on the regular bike, electric bike or motorcycle a huge frugal win. Costco is the cheapest place in town and my husband had to go at 7:30 am on a Saturday in order to not wait in a half hour long line.
Prepped a veggie bed ready to plant kale tomorrow. Due to the fact that I'm stretched very thin right now, I bought starts at a local farm stand instead of starting from seed. We do have 2 volunteer kale plants that are producing well and my collard trees came back after a very hard pruning. Still have tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Only veggies I purchased were a cabbage from Trader Joes (picked the biggest one) and a pound of carrots.
The weather here is absolutely glorious, clothes dry quickly, there's a cooler breeze. All windows can be open and much time can be spent outside. I'm hoping the fling the garage doors open and have a bit of a tidy this afternoon.
Used store credit to buy slippers at a local shoe store. It's always frugal to use up store credit and gift cards before they get forgotten.
Brought home a tea bag and a cup of coffee from my mother's assisted living.
Used up the last of the less-than-desirable noodles purchased a while ago.
Sold 3 things on Vinted today alone!
I love the little kitchenette set-- too bad you didn't get there first!
I took a walk today, trying to get back into my routine. It's a rainy day, and I walked between showers, but it was very humid. I stopped and sat a little while at almost every bench I passed. Let's see, that was four! The only thing I found was a Chipotle receipt, and I'm not sure it will be legible after it dries out. I checked three LFL's and the little free pantry, but didn't pick anything up.
I had a second serving of my leftovers soup, and there is still enough for a small bowl tomorrow.
The $75 Walmart Healthy Living gift card arrived today. I read over the rules and restrictions, and it looks like it will cover most foods, so that will be a nice boost to my grocery budget. I also have a $25 Kroger gift card, and a $25 Visa gift card, so I think next month's groceries are covered.
I hope you recover quickly!
My friend, a emergency room nurse says covid, and the flu are the big thins now.
1. I had a pound of strawberries (had to buy for mystery shop last week) and I get another tomorrow. The ones from last week were looking like the end of their life and our freezers are FULL, so I made a single jar of jam.
2. We received more plum tomatoes in the free CSA box, so I'll make sauce and can tomorrow. Someone didn't pick up the corn and fruit share, so I cut the corn off 8 cobs and froze.
3. Friends had asked if we wanted to go with a concert, and my partner said yes, but didn't ask the price of the tickets. When I asked how much we owed them, they said that they were paying. (We'll buy them dinner tonight in exchange, but they picked a food hall, so I think/hope that it won't be too expensive. We'll take the T (subway) and save a bunch on parking.
4. My partner is going to visit his brother, niece, and nephew, so I'll make a batch of mac n' cheese, as the cheese and milk are free from a mystery shop, and the breadcrumb topping is saved stale bread.
5. Partner ended up with ANOTHER free corn and fruit share, so we gave it to our neighbors, and they gave us a very expensive chocolate bar (it retails for $18!!!) and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts (retails for $22). The products are their cousins, who own a farm in Hawaii, but still....
Bonus 6: At my partner's work, it is a town festival, so the owners put out some inventory from last year, which includes pricey Paddywax candles, and is selling them for $5 and giving the $$ to a local charity (retail is $18-24 each). I asked him to pick up 4 to use for Christmas gifts.
1. Bought two white pillow cases to have as spares in my rental cottage for $16. Used a gift card I was given in November, still has $10 on it.
2. Bought another case of pumpkin puree for my dogs. The six 100 oz. cans were quite badly dented. I let the company know, they responded quickly, thanking me, and have offered me a discount on my next order. How much remains to be seen.
3. Cousin came to visit for a couple of days, and we went to see my 91 year old Dad who is in long term care. He insisted that he pay for our lunch afterwards, even though he can't join us. He says that it's the only thing he can do for us these days, and it is much appreciated.
4. Still giving out cucumbers to whomever will take them.
5. DH has done some cabinetry work for our kitchen, savings us a lot of money. He's done an amazing job.
When my kids were at the age when toy kitchens were a thing, I found a cheap free pile end table with a door and made four “burners” out of craft felt to put on the top. They loved it! They even used a couple of my smaller pans to “cook” with. They never noticed the difference, and when they grew out of it, I removed the “burners” and donated it to goodwill!