Five Frugal Things
by Katy on October 21, 2024 · 13 comments
-
My husband is in Las Vegas all week to play in a baseball tournament and I’m torn between committing to extremely productivity or the full hurkle durkle experience. (Somehow I think the answer is “both” and “neither.”) Either way, it’ll be a frugal week for me. Or . . . maybe just the opposite. I kind of like that the week contains nothing that I “need” to do.
Time will tell.
-
I switched the ceiling fan in my living room from “summer” to “winter” so that it’ll spin clockwise and push warm air down instead of drawing it up. This was actually a bit premature as I only run the fan while actively using the furnace, but I know that chilly days are right around the corner.
-
My husband and I added pretty much nothing from his parents’ estate into our home as A: We’re established adults with everything we already need; and B: We’ve worked hard to establish a clean and organized home. However, there’s an unfortunate number of their random things that snuck into our basement in the rush to ready their house for sale. One of those items was a kitchen shelving unit that I realized would slot just so into a small niche across from our chest freezer. It was pretty filthy, but it cleaned up nicely after I took soapy wet cleaning towels to its many nooks and crannies. It can now hold infrequently used kitchen items and backup pantry supplies.
Removing these large items from other basement shelves freed up enough space to then shelf the handful of items that lived on the floor.
-
• I walked my stored up “clamshell” plastic over to New Seasons Market for their free recycling.
• I put It Lasts Forever and Then it’s Over on hold at the library, after seeing that it won the 2024 Ursula K. LeGuin Prize for Fiction.
• My husband is sharing his AirBnb with four teammates and his rental car with a friend. They’ll mostly cook at home. Luckily my husband is not a gambler.
• I put together a bouquet of backyard hydrangeas for my mother.
• I made a big pot of chicken soup using a half eaten Costco rotisserie chicken that I’d thrown into the freezer a couple months ago. It was more chicken than I needed, so I’ll use the rest for fried rice.
-
I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
The kitchen shelve unit looks to fit perfectly and holds those roasters like a boss!
Congrats on the house selling!
1. The glasses we ordered online from Zenni turned out perfect, the best my husband has had! Prescription glasses for $10!
2. Ate the wilted salad from the fridge, refreshed with enough crisp lettuce to make it edible. I had added salad dressing, so it went south without being bad. It rounded out an odds and ends dinner when my husband wasn’t hungry.
3. Made it to a moderately cheap showing of Wild Robot Sunday. And I found out the theatre has half price movies Thursday! In the future, we’ll get our theatre itch scratched for cheaper.
4. Went for a walk on the beach Saturday, at sunset. We even watched dolphins playing and surfing in the waves. Was better on the beach than it would have been at a restaurant set farther back, and we got some exercise. Which will be handy to counter the stocking-up-for-winter tendency my winter dresses have revealed.
5. Washing jeans tonight, and hanging them outside overnight. No chance of rain, and I really don’t want to have to machine dry jeans because we run out.
I love Zenni and also Goggles4U. Have never had a bad experience and I am always spreading the word about them.
What an amazing deal on the prescription glasses!
Did your mom get to go home this weekend?
1. Went to an “everything free” yardsale and brought home a microwave and office chair. The microwave has already sold and the chair is listed. There wasn’t a lot there and it went quickly.
2. A friend brought over 2 bags of fresh basil. I’ll wash it and put it in net bags to dry in the garage.
3. I’m faithfully working through my sell pile, which is large thanks to the friend whose house I helped clear out, and my son and daughter-in-law. Things won’t sell if they aren’t listed, and I am not a storage unit. I’ve gotten ruthless and have a good sized donate pile ready to go too. Things have been selling, including a twin bed frame with trundle and 3 bar stools over the weekend.
4. I helped at a Master Gardener event yesterday. I ate a free apple there, and picked up supplies for 4 different crafts to do with my grandson. Fresh air, good company, service to the community and not a dime spent.
5. Chased a couple of refunds, went over bank and credit card statements, figured out the ream of paper from the insurance company, and generally tidied our finances.
Thanks to all the posters who chimed in on my Low Budget New York trip I leave tomorrow. I have a pretty organized plan tailored to what is important to me.
I have submitted my names in in the lottery system for Broadway tickets. I have left myself free enough to accommodate a win!
In the Sacramento 1917 River House renovation, some frugal wins:
1. My mom gave me a brass drum chandelier very to similar to the reproduction we just bought. I will return the latter and restore the former.
2. We are going for simple on back splash. Standard 4 inch countertop mimic. This avoids extra tiling costs. There are some incredible ideas but we are letting the house itself be the show piece for a lot less money.
3. I have started collecting antique brass switch plates and will over time use only those.
4. The vanity mirrors will all be second hand framed mirrors. I have enough wiggle room to accommodate a variety of different sizes. There is a wonderful home consignment shops which normally prices these from $10 and up.
5. Many of the rooms have pairs of brass fixture reading lamps. We are rewiring them to be able to keep them.
6. When I get home NYC, I will start listing tons of pulled out appliances and cabinets priced to move quickly. I haven’t had a successful facebook sale yet (just EBAY and Poshmark) I would love for any tips on making these two platforms work.
The framed mirrors as vanity mirrors sound great. However, just as a matter of taste, please do not buy showy switchplates. Decorative things should be reserved for innately lovely items, which switchplates are not. They’re utilitarian. The most discreet, plain switchplates are the best taste.
1. Volunteered at the Assistance League fun run yesterday
2. Received a $50 check for participating in health activities
3. Got flu shot $5 United Healthcare reward
4. Mailed birthday gift from my stash
5. Purged tshirt drawer and have 3 tshirts to donate
I am SO HAPPY for you that the house sold. Whewwwwwww.
1. I went for my yearly gynecologist appointment. Staying healthy is frugal. I don’t have a copay so there is no reason not to go.
2. I am working all day tomorrow so I prepped everything in the crockpot today. Hubby will put it on for me before he leaves for work. I wrote a giant note so he doesn’t forget. I already packed leftovers for tomorrow. All I have to do is put it in a cooler with an ice pack. I made muffins and hard boiled eggs for easy breakfasts.
3. Hubby went to a free car show with his brother Sunday morning. I opted to stay home and be a bum with my dog and my son’s cat. It was wonderful.
4. We visited my in-laws. They are thinking about downsizing. We were given some tools that we will pass on to our kids, a giant pot and propane burner for canning and a homemade blanket that my MIL made. We gave them some figs.
5. Windows are open, heat is off, food is prepped for the next 3 days since I’m working. Laundry was hung up to dry and now is folded. The house was vacuumed and bathrooms were cleaned. I work the next 3 days so not much will get done at home.Getting lots of kitten snuggles while my son is away.
A sold house for the win!
I love the kitchen rack and we have twinsy Wagner ware roasters (love).
I picked a 5 gallon bucket of walnuts from my friend, blew off her driveway and raked the rest of the walnuts into a pile for her friends to easily pick up. I cracked them and they are roasting in the solar oven set up in the greenhouse.
Gave the neighbor’s dog a good washing after being skunked, he gave me fresh fish for my efforts.
Set up the winter clothes line under the covered patio to hang dry a quilt.
Put environmentally safe roof cleaner crystals on the comp roof before the big rains yesterday and set up the new to me rainwater barrel on the biggest shop.
1. I helped get the Christmas room ready at my church for our upcoming annual Harvest Fair. The person in charge told me to take anything (we have so much, mostly second hand) for helping. I chose a linen dish towel, a tablecloth, three ornaments and a baggie full of Christmas cards. The Christmas cards will go to my friend residing in a nursing home, who enjoys sending cards and mail.
2. I reserved two spaces for DH and I for a free talk on the Nipmuc Lithic Trail, Landmarks and Artifacts. The Nipmucs are our local Native American tribe. The talk takes place at a museum here in town.
3. I made a Shepherds Pie using the $3.33 lb. ground turkey I purchased awhile back and frozen. Flavored with onions and Adobo seasoning, it was hard to tell the difference between turkey and the hamburg I usually use.
4. My generous neighbor brought over a bunch of cherry tomatoes, which she said were probably the last of them for this year. DH eats them like candy.
5. Still hanging laundry outside due to the warm, dry weather here in New England, I used my great aunt’s old rug beater on my large braided rug hung over the deck railing…I’ve had lots of practice from my father having us beat the dust out of area rugs when we were kids, I returned my deposit cans for $2.40, stretching the freezer and pantry food due to a low cash week, reading library books for entertainment and enjoying the New England foliage.
1. Did 3 gas shops, mostly because I have to buy 20 oz pops for those, and I don’t let myself get pop any other way but free. Also got 6 gallons of gas, but, really, it was all about the pop.
2. Husband and I went to a meeting and there was a bottled water by each place. We don’t use bottled water but we do have an earthquake emergency preparedness corner that we keep stocked with water and other supplies, so we brought our bottles home for that.
3. Took another load of newspapers, old towels, and toilet paper rolls to the animal shelter. It just cracks me up that they stuff the rolls with straw for hamster enrichment. I have told several friends about this and they save the rolls for me; the animal shelter staff must think we have a huge family to bring in 50 to 75 rolls on a regular basis. Doesn’t really save me money to do these donations but it makes me feel good.
4. The grocery store had bags of lemons in their marked down produce section. I use lemons every single day so I took four of the many bags—that is 8 pounds of lemons for $4, when the normal price would have been $28. I juiced them immediately in case they were about to go bad and froze the juice.
5. Filled out a state survey months ago. They do a drawing for five gift cards after the deadline and I won a $25 Amazon card.