- I finally sold a clawfoot tub/shower conversion kit that I’ve been trying to offload on Craigslist over the past two (three?) months. I actually lost money on the deal, but only because I bought it brand new in 2005. (Pre-Compact.) I would rather recoup some of the cost than let it sit forever unused in the attic.
- I bought butter, but forgot to use my in-store coupon. I was back at the store today, so I presented my receipt to customer service, where I was handed 98¢.
- I used a RedBox code to rent a free DVD of Inside Out, which my older son wanted to watch.
- I got this year’s Thanksgiving turkey for free using a coupon my employer sent out for last year’s Christmas. It was in our deep freeze all year and tasted quite delicious.
- I stopped in at my hospital’s pharmacy for some over the counter medicine. My employee discount took the price down around 50%, which really helped. I don’t buy much medication, so I tend to forget about this work perk.
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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{ 55 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Garage sale tomorrow (I’ve predicted I’ll take around $400).
Then Did another quick sweep of the house and found another $5 worth. Every bit counts when you’re saving for a house!
2. Free lunch at work today.
3. Had free lasagne my MIL gave us for dinner tonight.
4. Was given 3 extra shifts over the Christmas period (16 hours).
5. Mum gifted me a $10 liquid bath soap for my daughter who has ezcma.
1. I’ve been saving food scraps and paper scraps for compost to start a garden this spring. We’re planning a raised bed garden and a while back bought some produce crates for .98 each. They would have otherwise gone to the land fill. (These make great storage bins, too..and they’re quite sturdy..also collapsible, which makes them easy to store when not in use).
2. I sewed a zigzag stitch around some 6 x 6 inch flannel squares to make bathroom wipes for myself. I’m trying to drink a lot of water every day and this was resulting in much TP usage. The wipes will save us a small chunk of change in the long run.
3. My husband has been clearing the back yard recently and last night we used some of the debris in the fire pit and had a wienie roast. Free wood and a lovely night warming ourselves by the fire.
4. I’ve been entering sweepstakes for a while. Recently won a Cottonelle prize package and will be receiving it soon. It includes a $10 Walgreens card and other small gifts, making a total of $29.91. I also received a nice (small) win from Mountain Dew, a canvas bag with lots of zipper pockets that was the perfect size lunch bag for my husband. His old one was in need of replacement, so the timing was perfect.
5. I love popcorn and instead of buying the microwavable kind, I use paper lunch bags and buy popcorn by the bag/jar and use a couple Tbsp. about 1-1/2 to 2 Tbsp. butter and pop it in the microwave. Works great and tastes so much better than the store bought with all the preservatives.
About the popcorn-totally agree!
Thanks for the reply Jennifer. 🙂
We have always made popcorn on the stovetop.
Hmmm let me think.
1. Lunch today was a couple of homemade curries dug out of the freezer. Leftovers that were delicious and cost nothing.
2. Went shopping with my youngest and bought a few more items for homemade Christmas gifts as part of my regular grocery shopping. This increases my weekly shop but reduces my Christmas shop. My family are doing all homemade Christmas gifts, so I want to make some rocky road for my dad and brother.
3. Once again I did not buy a coffee out. It has now been several weeks and I have *almost* broken myself of this very costly habit.
4. An online shop I use had a 40% sale, so I bought underwear and t-shirts, all locally made, as part of Christmas gifts.
5. My sister dropped around with a bag of clothes for my daughter. I had noted when I went to find her something to wear today (she normally does this, but she had her first day of volunteer work and was unsure what to wear) that most of her clothes were looking a bit raggy. Then my sister turns up with a bagful of lovely clothes and a promise of more to come as she cleans out her wardrobe.
Thats nice, your employee rebate at the hospital pharmacy. We have no rebate at all at the hospital I work for.
* Stayed right on budget for groceries this month (budget of 500$, finished at 499$!)
* Buying hot yoga cards at 20% off right now, which brings the cost down to 11.30$ per class. Not cheap but good price around here for quality hot yoga in a specialized studio. I try to go once a week.
* Decorating for Christmas this weekend. Will be using what we already have + our new 2015 Christmas tree ornament bought at Michaels with a 40% off coupon, 3 mantle ornaments that I got at Goodwill for 3$ and a tree skirt for 4$ that is like new. So total cost this year : 12$
* Used PC points to get 20$ off groceries
* Received a check for 22.50$ from Zweet, will apply on next groceries
Have a great frugal day!
We saw Inside Out with a free Red Box code a few weekends ago. We all enjoyed it. On to my list…
1. With family visiting from out of town, we spent yesterday enjoying unseasonably warm November temperatures on the East Coast. No $ needed to take a long walk at a beautiful park and take the kids to the playground.
2. My family shared the holiday meal prep – one person took T-giving (with help from all of us on dishes), one prepared a lovely brunch yesterday morning, and we did a pizza and (leftover T-giving) salad night last night. Sharing food and family, and sharing the cost.
3. As usual, workouts were running outside and a free FitnessBlender you tube video. Today I’m going to do a youtube yoga video.
4. My Mom had a pint of leftover whipping cream after only using 2 T for Tgiving dinner. We brought it home and used it in a delicious mushroom soup that we shared. We love cooking soups on the woodburning stove.
5. Have done a much better job of reducing laundry lately. I am trying to train my daughters to determine if something can be worn again before being mindlessly thrown in the hamper. This is a work in progress with them!
1. Two more of my ebay items sold yesterday for a total of $35.
2. I used up all my free listings for the month, but ebay sent out a promo for 1,000 (ha ha ha!) free listings through 11/29, so I am going to renew all my unsold duds and I’m working on getting new ones up today.
3. My son just added a candy dispenser to his Christmas list. I know I saw an identical one listed on a local FB sale board. Took me ten minutes of scrolling through photos, but I found it. $5 for 2 dispensers, compared to $30 for one online. Meeting her on Monday.
4. Black Friday I did prowl around online. I was so tempted by the down coats at Lands’ End. However, I only bought one winter hat. My son had expressly asked for a face covering balaclava. Found one on sale, for $6.
5. Of course, eating leftovers. We’re not dark meat turkey fans, so the dogs are getting a little shredded treat at each meal time. Their faces!
What is a candy dispenser—is that the same as a Pez dispenser?
Gumball type machine, maybe? They put jelly beans, candy, and peanuts etc. in those.
It’s just a battery operated machine that spits out candy. It’s motion detected, so you put your hand under it to get candy. I know it’s silly and ridiculous, but my son is 11 and asks for very little for Christmas, so I’m happy to have found a cheap one. 🙂
I think it’s neat!
I was just out at the store tonight and saw on of those for 40 dollars here in Canada, so five dollars is a steal.
I don’t think it is ridiculous! We all have oddball things we secretly (or not so secretly) desire. How wonderful that you found one and for such a good price. It feels so great to find something you absolutely know someone will love!
Still using leftovers from music club for nice vegetarian sandwiches for dinner. Quick and cheap! Hubs got free food at work Thanksgiving day so he saved his packed lunch for the next day. Sometimes it’s the little things but talking to my mom on the landline instead of my pay as you go cell phone is a big savings. Plus the landline is only $10 a month for unlimited calls. Mom makes butter and egg money crafting and I researched a few new ideas for her to try. Found $7 while cleaning out a drawer. Making a stock up list for grocery shopping with hubs 25% discount voucher. 25% off everything is a nice bonus on top of double pay for working Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Started Christmas crafting. So much fun to make instead of buy
I miss working at a hospital that has a hospital pharmacy.We too rented a free red box movie. The movie Escape. I thought it was gonna be cheesy but it had us on the edge of our seats the whole time.
1.Sold a children’s guitar on Craigslist that I got at a yard sale for $5. This is my FIRST time to ever sell anything on Craigslist so I am stoked! It’s been on there for awhile so I kinda forgot about it.
2. Picking up my free 8×10 from Walgreen’s to use for a gift for my husband. I think the code is 1FREE8x10 and today is the last day. Putting this is in a nice painted goodwill frame.
3. Was so pleased when I was looking through the things I have collected for stockings for my young and adult children. I do sign up for free samples just for this. I got a full size Aussie hair treatment to put in my daughters stocking! Other things are mints, gum,candy, k-cups, fancy lotions, Hershey’s kisses, etc. Most of these came from Kroger’s free Friday downloads. I have stuffed my kids stockings without paying anything. My kids enjoy trying this cool stuff they know mommy wouldn’t really buy.
4.I managed to use my old artificial tree again this year. Many branches are falling off and the stand is literally “on its last leg”. I got a new stand for it at an after Christmas sale last year but it didn’t work(maybe I will Craigslist that). After it’s all decorated though, it looks just perfect.
5.My favorite thing is putting my kids homemade ornaments on it each year. I never buy ornaments anymore.These bring me so much joy. Some of my favorites are salt dough(salt, flour, water) and gingerbread ornaments(cinnamon with a little applesauce in it). Be aware if you have dogs they will eat this type of ornament, I know from experience. My family tradition is to made new homemade ornaments together each year. It’s good cheap fun! I also love the ones that the kids bring home from school, they are priceless.
Several of the Kroger Friday freebies are in my stocking stash, too!
I’ve gotten a few freebies from Savingstar as well! Candy, etc. for stocking stuffers.
I picked up another Free Friday download(stocking stuffer) this morning. Airheads chewy sour candy. Yes, it’s pure junk but at Christmas I let these things slide. I haven’t tried Savingstar, I did sign up but never really did much with it. Might should try it!
1. My sons moved back in with us temporarily and were in need of bedding, so I put out an APB for sheets and got a bumper crop: a bedspread and sham, a comforter and cover, a fuzzy throw and a deluge of sheets, matching and not. I let the boys pick out what they wanted, took two pieces for us, and will be giving the rest to either GW or my SIL for her quilting group to use as backing.
2. My husband and I have both been wanting an ereader, so I went on line yesterday and found Kindle Fires for 34.99 each, bought him one and me one, with cases. I also bought a grown-up coloring book with the 30% coupon they were offering, to send to my nieces in FL. Xmas shopping from the comfort of the kitchen table!!
3. My son volunteered at an international students’ Thanksgiving dinner on Wed. and was sent home afterwards with a carton full of to-go boxes full of leftovers. He was able to bless a friend with nowhere to go with all the fixings, gave me a piece of my favorite pie, and kept one box for his dinner last night. Proud of his willingness to serve….
4. Found several more boxes of books in the storage room upstairs and will be listing them on Half.com sometime today.
5. Pulled two grown-up coloring books out of the stuff my son was tossing out of the attic, which I will share with a friend who loves to color. They’re a little too bent-up to gift, but there’s lots of life left in them!
1. I was given some fresh fruit and a blackberry pie from a couple of my co-workers who had an over-abundance from the holiday.
2. I found a recipe for whole wheat bread that I really like and made two loaves in my bread maker this week. Aldi had a good price on whole wheat flour which made it an even better deal.
3. My husband and I watched movies on Netflix Thanksgiving Day instead of going out to the movies on the holiday which was our custom in the past.
4. We ate two meatless meals, and except for Thanksgiving, had just bits of meat in the rest of our meals through the week. I’m working toward making meat less of the focus of our meals and I find it saves a lot of money in our grocery budget.
5. I’m using a worn pair of my husband’s jeans to make a new clothespin bag to replace one I made about ten years ago that is finally disintegrating from being out in all seasons.
I hope you got a nice chunk for your tub adaptor, even though it was a loss compared with the purchase price. Think of it this way- it was just money sitting in your basement!
– we are diligently working our way through Thanksgiving leftovers. I stashed the carcass in the freezer to make some broth down the road.
– yesterday we went on a hike (bike ride for my son). We all enjoyed the beautiful weather and got exercise, for a grand total of $0.00
– decided not to renew my Costco membership this coming year. Though I’ll miss my 48 roll pack of toilet paper, we’re using Costco items less these days. We don’t buy pet food there and our Costco doesn’t sell gas- boo! I’ll still always love it, though!
– we’re downgrading our Netflix to one movie at a time which will save a few bucks a month.
-I plan to have a bake-a-thon this week to make and freeze pumpkin bread and ginger snaps for some holiday gifts. Instead of reflexively giving some peripheral people wine or gift cards, they’ll Gerso e baked gifts instead. Decidedly less expensive.
–
1. Traveled for Thanksgiving making sure to get the cheapest gas in Virginia and packing lunch and snacks for the road.
2. Visited family and was able to get a small flat screen tv and a dresser for the guest room.
3. Also we were given 2 coffee pots, a shower curtain with liner, a printer, and a microwave for my sons who are going to college this Spring and next Fall.
4. My sister gave me all of the leftovers because her husband will not eat them.
5. Spent a lot of time with family and friends.
Truly enjoy this blog, thank you Katy.
1. We had one pumpkin left from Halloween we didn’t carve, and it was still very fresh, so I roasted it and puréed it to add to recipes.
2. I actually bought a Black Friday deal. Our washer went out about six weeks ago. I had not been able to find a used one in good shape. I finally decided to just buy new when Home Depot put them all on sale. I bought as no-frills as possible on the recommendation of our appliance repairman and saved $100 by buying this week instead of last.
3. Avoided all other Black Friday deals.
4. Went to see a friend of ours and was shocked at the amount of stuff filling her three-car garage, which had no actual cars in it. They can afford it, so to each his own, but I thanked my lucky stars and my husband that I am not married to someone who wants to accumulate stuff.
5. We’ve been eating ham sandwiches regularly, the ubiquitous frugal lunch, but our ham sandwiches are made with ham that my dad gave us. #superfrugal
1. Major meals have been Thanksgiving leftovers. There hasn’t been any cooking since Thursday.
2. The only shopping yesterday was $.99 poinsettias at Home Depot and a trip to Aldi.
3. I thought I needed a new garage door opener but with some maintenance it is working great.
4. I had over bought so today I returned some non-perishables to SAM’S Club. We walked around but bought absolutely nothing.
5. Not frugal for me but I am continuing to give items away via freecycle.org. I feel as if I am putting it out there in the universe.
My “out-of-town Thanksgiving” edition of FFT:
(1) Again, packed a picnic lunch and ate it in a Thruway service area’s food court on the way out.
(2) Brought our traditional offering of roasted root vegetables to our friends’ Thanksgiving table. Everything except the sweet potatoes (which don’t do so well in our part of Upstate NY) was grown here: my own garlic, leeks, and carrots, and local potatoes, beets, and parsnips.
(3) Stayed overnight with said friends and went with them into their small town’s business area on Friday. DH offered advice on a structural problem at their local library (they’re on the library board). Friend helping friends.
(4) We then made some purchases at Main St. shops in advance of Small Business Saturday. My favorite was a $2 bag sale at the local cat rescue group’s thrift shop, from which I came away with two pairs of pants, a shirt, and a belt that fit me, plus a pair of jeans for DH. Re-donated the stuff that didn’t fit on our way out of town.
(5) Back home now, enjoying the fire we just lit with pine cones picked up off our friends’ patio.
1. Gave thanks for all my blessings – home, family, friends.
2. Signed up for a free computer class at the library.
3. Took advantage selectively of black Friday deals at stores with minimal crowds. Home Depot was sold out of .99 poinsettias so shopped the competition and found the same deal. Not high quality but good for a planter that needs small plants. (My grocery store had same size plants for $5 – better quality but decided for seasonal use to go with less expensive offerings)
4. Continue to use up Thanksgiving left overs – will freeze some portions for later in the month.
5. Resisted the urge to go out for a coke and goodies tonight – instead made tea and found some sweet rolls in freezer. Spent part of the evening reading a book on how governments fed their citizens during World War II – interesting comparisons between Britain and Germany, and how small Belgium coped by relying on small farmers whose crops and animals were sold on the black market. The book is called ‘The Taste of War’ by Lizzie Collingham. In depth study of this time in our history.
Janine, that book sounds really interesting. Must read it. I do appreciate when folks share titles here and give a brief description. Mini book reports!!
KT
KT – found it at the Dollar Tree – don’t know if yours carry this title – they often have overstock, but rarely a non-fiction of this depth.
J
Thank you for the reply. Dollar stores are actually on my errand list for tomorrow. If no luck, I will try the library.
I agree! This sounds like a great book! I’m gonna check at Dollar Tree tomorrow, too!
Used home grown pumpkin to make pie for Thanksgiving. Froze extra puree for future bread, muffins, scones, soup, etc.
Brought home leftover turkey from family gathering, made it into Turkey Tetrazzini.
Upcycled thrift store garments into Am. Girl doll clothes.
Took advantage of our BEAUTIFUL cold crisp weather to take a walk in the park with friends.
Walked to St. Vincent’s 1/2 off sale. Bought NOTHING!
1. Had the turkey breast purchased last January (BOGO) and stashed in the deep freezer for Thanksgiving. It was fine.
2. Resisted the urge for take-out the next day and picked something quick and easy from the freezer coupled with leftover rolls.
3. Filled hubby’s car with gas using a coupon.
4. Hubby drank awful free coffee during my long doctor’s appointment, resisting the nearby spendy cafe.
5. Yes, eating leftover turkey.
It’s really foul weather here in the UK, which has led to a mostly home-bound weekend; in itself very frugal!
1) Other half had to journey to our nearest big town yesterday for an appointment to get his phone fixed. It cost him around £700 (gulp!) a year ago and as they can’t fix his problem they are replacing it with a brand new handset for £99. I’m sure they are still making on that price so it just goes to show how much margin they make on the initial purchase. Still, fixing is better than buying, so I’ll take that.
2) The thought of going to a shopping mall at a weekend fills me with horror so I took a car load to our local thrift/charity store and returned our library books.
3) I put air in my tyres myself at the petrol station attached to the supermarket. This is the only station with free air, and by looking after my tyres I hope to get more life out of them.
4) I’ve started the recovering of the final three dining chairs in the set that OH bought from a thrift store last year. They were a brown pleather, which doesn’t really reflect our personalities so we have covered all eleven in a different, clashing fabric. I love them!
5) We’ve had some hand-me-down action here this weekend. I was substantially thinner about eight years ago, so I passed on a lot of clothes to OH’s teenage daughter, who subsequently passed some on to her smaller sister.
6) A colleague noticed a small hole in the neckline of her (beautiful) sweater and mentioned she’d have to throw it out. I suggested embroidering something pretty over the hole, and she said she couldn’t be bothered, so I could have it if I wanted it 🙂
Great save on the sweater! I have done similar things, such as sewing up a hole and covering the spot with an arrangement of pretty buttons from my button stash.
Thanks Ruby – I love the button idea!
I love the clashing seat covers! I tried a similar look with Mexican oilcloth several ears ago. I loved it, but the table and chair set was too small for our growing family. Now I make-do with bright place mats.
Sounds brilliant – I will never win an award for home decor, but we just love colour!
I will need about 500 very frugal things to make up for a disastrous November. We had car repairs, house repairs, repairs to both our washer and dryer, medical expenses, pet expenses, and on and on. Our emergency fund took a bit of a hit, but thank heavens we had it.
Still plugging away with the frugality, though:
1) All Christmas expenses, even the food, have been covered by the money saved up all year. I put aside half my pocket money January-November so nothing has to come out of the household budget.
2) The wool dryer balls I made from old wool socks and tennis balls work great! No dryer sheets needed and things dry faster from being fluffed up by the bouncing balls.
3) Am reading several free Kindle books.
4) Continuing to cook homemade items for my husband to take to work for his breakfast and lunch.
5) Finished crocheting a really cute winter muffler for my friend who lives in Minnesota. The yarn was all bought on discount/sale/with coupons.
I can relate to your pain a little. I’m getting a new roof for Christmas.
1. Baby and I are going to an indoor “picnic” at our church and bringing baked beans (nom, nom, nom) to share. There’ll be a huge feast with everyone coming bringing something. And somehow, we always come home with leftovers.
2. Diapered baby in Lullabies diapers (Aldi brand). Never had a leak yet.
3. Put baby on potty whenever I change her diaper. She’s too young to potty-train (12 months), but she tinkles in the potty, flushes, and claps. And her diaper stays dry through her nap. I call that a win on all counts.
4. Ate leftover mashed potatoes for lunch while baked beans were in oven and baby taking a nap.
5. Made eggs and toast for our family-sit down meal this morning before church. Hubby works Sunday nights, so no family dinner. *sad* But eggs are cheap and we get to sit together. *happy*
My Thanksgiving Weekend Frugal Five:
1) Took a long walk on the beach with my husband and daughter instead of joining in the Black Friday craziness.
2) Took several free evergreen branches from the local Christmas Tree lot to decorate the fireplace mantles and holiday table.
3) My local grocery had $50 gas cards for $40 this weekend with minimum purchase. I was able to buy one.
4) Wrapped gifts I purchased on sale for hostess gifts and club gift exchanges during the holiday season. This will save me time and money during the next month.
5) Dealt with Thanksgiving leftovers. I made a pot of turkey-noodle soup and turkey pot pie. I used leftover mash potatoes to make a shepherds pie.. Leftover veggies were frozen to make vegetable soup next week. Praline sweet potatoes were divided into small 3 tablespoon servings and frozen . These will be stirred into morning oatmeal. Lastly, I will make cranberry-Apple turnovers with homemade cranberry jelly.
I am thankful for this bounty!!!!
I love your idea for the sweet potatoes in the oatmeal! My family quickly tires of Thanksgiving leftovers so this is great. I make homemade cranberry sauce. I have found that it turns out about the same no matter what kind of liquid you put in there. This year all I had in it was frozen cranberries,lemon juice, water, and brown sugar. It was wonderful! I was kinda scared because last year I got cranberries on sale and just threw them in the freezer. I didn’t put them in freezer bags or anything! They were exactly like I put them in there. I just washed them and threw them in the pot to cook. They came out tasting fresh and perfect. Love yours ideas, sounds delish!
1. Spent the afternoon gleaning things for my thrift store appointment tomorrow. Cleaned out our games, cards, daughters old “like new” toys, etc. Hopefully people will be looking for these things for Christmas gifts. It always feels so good to do this – I get half of the proceeds, the church gets the other half, if it doesn’t sell I can still claim it as a donation on taxes – win win!
2. Making chili and used homegrown tomatoes.
3. Hung up three loads of laundry to dry in the house today.
4. Working on Swagbucks all day and all weekend building up more again. 😉
5. Did my invoice right away from the vacation dog sit I did this weekend and received a really nice tip from the owners as well. 🙂
6. Looked at gasbuddies.com website before filling up on gas yesterday and saved!
7. Remembered to turn the water heater way down while we were gone for the several nights we did the dog sit.
8. Brought food with us and also ate some of their food. I bring towels and use some of the towels they provide, a win win for us and them.
9. At the end of the sit my daughter and I stroll around the downtown window shopping, look at the lights the city does up on every store front and treat ourselves to dinner at our fav Italian restaurant and treat my daughter to a Sanders Hot Fudge Cream Puff dessert (with a few bites for me ;-). We had leftovers from our dinner so I boxed it up and carried it around, Calzoni still tasted great today. 😉
Forgot to mention our favorite parts about doggie vacation sitting – we get to watch their awesome cable for free on their huge tv and used their gas fireplace everyday. Totally watched the Hallmark channel. They keep their heat at 71, I always turn it down at night upstairs to 62 and to 68 during the day so figure I save money on the electric for them even if I am using the fireplace.
1. Using the swagbucks to make some extra “money” for things we need around the house– got a $25 sam’s card to help with groceries and $6 on ebay to replace some curtains.
2.Am bundled up and wearing my socks to keep my heat low.
3. used a $5 off $30 coupon to buy cat food and litter at the DG yesterday.
4. reserved the first two Daniel Craig Bond films at the library and will pick up Tuesday. (Admittedly, I did see them both in the theater when they came out and I saw the latest one yesterday in the theater– matinee–but I love Craig as Bond so much, I want to watch the first two again. I was going to rent but…why not wait two days and get them FREE!) This is one of those things that I call progress, not perfection on. I love movies and some movies I can’t just wait for them to come out. Bond films are one of those exceptions.
5. I had checked out Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson from the library as an ebook. It’s a long book– 630 pages– I and ran out of time to finish it. My first reaction was to buy a cheap copy. After all, I am really enjoying this book. Mostly because the wait list for this ebook is INSANE. I had been on the wait list for two months! So, my time ran out, but I thought, well, let me turn my iphone on airplane mode so it can’t sync the Kindle app, and perhaps it will still be there on my phone. Sure enough, IT IS! So, I can finish my book, I don’t have to wait and I don’t have to pay! (I’m not sure if this is unethical– does anyone think it is? I welcome feedback on that point. I personally don’t think I am hurting anyone because as soon as I sync it, the book will be taken away.)
I love the fact that you are reading a book about Steve Jobs using an iPhone — one of his last projects for Apple.
Yeah…and the fact that I figured out that by turning it on airplane mode would keep the book on the phone long enough to finish it was an irony I thought Jobs might like as he saw himself as a bit of a rebel/pirate. 😉
Can I say thank you? Because, dear Katy, without your inspiration, I would never have spent an hour listing a TON of stuff on Craigslist. Since I already had the photos and descriptions, I also stuck it on my local Facebook garage sale group.
In the past 24 hours, I have sold:
1) 2 chest end tables (to a man whose 2-year-old grandson lives with him, and he’ll store toys in it)
2) two bookcases (to a man who already has 6, but wants his kids to have shelves so they appreciate their books and grow up around them)
3) a coffee table (to a woman who owns a home staging business, and refinishes furniture herself to keep costs down)
4) a metal shoe rack (to a woman I know from crossfit…who wants it for her son)
5) a blue mirror (to a woman who is an avid DIYer)
6) a brown mirror (to a hair stylist at JCP)
7) a standup mirror (to a coworker who is donating it to Project Prom)
8) two leather-bound journals (to a woman who will give them as christmas gifts)
9) a salad bowl (to a woman….who eats salad?)
I have made $150. Have decluttered my guest room. And have more steam to list some Christmas items…and drop off some lesser quality stuff at goodwill.
THANK YOU. 🙂
Very impressive!
1. When I ordered our turkey, I did it online which netted me a sales price plus a $10 off coupon for a future purchase. I always make my own cranberry sauce. I thought cranberries were expensive this year, so I used the ones I’d frozen last year. Still delicious!
2. We ate Thanksgiving leftovers all weekend. Also, I made turkey stock yesterday, then used some to make a huge pot of turkey/black bean chili. Froze some for future meals and froze about 12 cups of stock as well.
3. I bought three packages of printer paper several months ago from Staples. The rebate check arrived yesterday, so the paper was 1 cent/ream plus the cost of a stamp.
4. Bought my son a winter jacket for 40% off and free shipping. It’s new, but he’s wanted the same jacket for a year and I hadn’t found a comparable one secondhand. The jacket is a bit large and he’s almost done growing, so it should be quite some time before I have to buy him another.
5. Took advantage of online sales/price matching/free shipping to get other son a pair of shoes. I hope they arrive in the next day or two since I’m sure the ones he’s wearing are too small!
I was helping a family member clear out the room of a relative who had passed away in a nursing home. I took out the trash to the dumpster, and saw some beautiful patio furniture pieces put out by the trash. I asked inside, and they said that nice things are thrown out there all the time. I took home two pieces. My friend joked that we should go there more often. It did make me wonder how much is thrown out that is perfectly good, just because a family member couldn’t find a home for it for whatever reason.
1- On Friday I did a leftover potluck with a co-worker. It cheered up a day when not many people were at work.
2- My family of 4 has managed to live off the pantry, freezer, leftovers from a family Thanksgiving, and the dregs from the produce drawer as we wait for payday. We are trying to not dip into savings, but being down to one income hurts.
3- I spent the weekend making (and freezing) Christmas cookies with ingredients that we have on hand. Most of our non-family gifts will be of edible variety.
4-I’ve been plugging away on making felt Christmas tree ornaments for all the babies in my life. Candy canes and hearts seem to be favorites. The tree shaped ones looked a little too much like air fresheners for comfort.
5- Still bringing lunches and riding the bus every day for work.
1. I had company for Thanksgiving and beyond, and we did eat out a couple of times, but we brought home the leftovers and made two meals out of each one.
2. My sister shredded leftover turkey and made a great turkey salad. I found out I like it even better stirring it up with the leftover cranberry sauce. Some cranberry sauce will go in my breakfast oatmeal, too.
3. We shopped Black Friday as usual, going when the rush is over, but the deals aren’t. Most deals here ended at 1 p.m. on Friday, so we made sure to shop before then. Every present I bought for the adults is totally useful — we tend to ask for needed, not wanted items — and the toys for the little ones are thinking toys, like the dominos I bought for one of the boys, and which he’d asked for. My sister and I wrapped the gifts we’d bought for each other’s grandkids, and exchanged them. No need to mail any gifts that way. I also picked up a little gift for her while she was here and gave it to her, since we only give very inexpensive gifts to each other. Her husband gets a subscription to a hobby magazine he enjoys.
4. My husband and brother-in-law put up our new TV antenna. We’d cancelled cable a long time ago, and have been without TV. I had to pay for the antenna and co-ax, but not the $100+ to have it installed. They had to work on it a good bit due to some old hurricane damage to the old cable box, but consulted the antenna shop owner and he ended up showing them how to re-do the damaged parts and loaned them his tools. They promptly returned the tools of course.
5. The usual stuff, hanging laundry, eating leftovers for lunch, finding change on the ground, re-using freezer bags, cooking from scratch, etc.