Five Frugal Things
by Katy on February 3, 2025 · 10 comments
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I grabbed this Heywood-Wakefield-ish bedside table off the curb, even though it was soggy and grimy as all get out. Luckily it’s solid wood, (likely maple) so there’s no veneer to get ruined. It’s also incredibly heavy, which is a good sign. I’ll dry it out on the porch and then set it in the basement until the weather’s mild enough to sand and refinish it. Should be a fun (and cheap) project!
It’s giving this vibe:
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I went on the library website at midnight on February 1st to see if they’d loaded any new free “discovery passes.” I was able to reserve passes for the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (value $20) and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. (value $16) The reservations aren’t until March and April, but it’ll be nice to have something to look forward to.
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My sister and I stopped at the Goodwill near my father’s house and I thrifted this handmade wooden tray for just $3.99. I’ll probably keep it as I’m a sucker for a good tray to corral like items.
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I slept in my daughter’s old bedroom for a night as my husband was fighting a cold and was coughing a fair amount. I rarely go in this room except to water plants, so I was super surprised to discover that an orchid plant was in full bloom. This plant was given to us by a neighbor a couple years ago after she lost interest in it. I never expected that it would bloom as this room is kind of cold, but I guess the key to success was to do nothing whatsoever.
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I didn’t buy an election.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Good morning. Again you’ve surprised me with another curb find. I’m excited to see what it looks like when you’ve finished it. Also, that tray is so cute.
1. I made lasagna from scratch, some salad and breadsticks for lunch at my MIL’s house. Two daughters and my Son-IL came also. We had a great lunch and there were enough leftovers for everyone and also a couple pieces of lasagna for my mom and sister.
2. I used a $5 reward at World Market to buy 3 clearance dish towels. I paid $1 out of pocket. They have a loop on the corner so I can hang them from a knob in my kitchen to dry my hands. They’re a darker color so they won’t show stains.
3. I returned a frame to Michael’s that won’t work out. I chose to have an item custom framed instead. I used a $5 reward towards this.
4. I found a chuck steak marked down 55% at Meijer. I put it in the freezer for a future stew.
5. I sold another item on Ebay. I shipped it with recycled materials. I sorted through and organized all of my shipping supplies so I can use what I have up.
My dingaling puppy managed to knock over a large, heavy 1940s lamp with its original shade. The metal components were bent when it fell to the ground and the shade fell off the frame. I bent the metal parts back, praying it would work (it did) and I ordered some “frame tape” (who know that was a thing) from Schmeff Schmezos.
I used Pirate Ship to send some packages all with recycled materials.
I continue to eat my usual breakfast of scrambled eggs and vegetables. Even if they’re $1 an egg here, I love them and they’re good for me, and $2 plus maybe 50c for vegetables is still a cheap enough breakfast.
I was treated to drinks and dinner by a good pal.
I didn’t crash the economy by levying ridiculous tariffs on my neighbors.
Also, that is a very nice bedside cabinet. It does look Heywood Wakefieldish, but it’s also giving me 1930s English art deco vibes. I will be interested to see if it’s marked or stamped in any way. Might be burr maple, which again points to art deco.
1. I didn’t set foot in any retail establishment yesterday.
2. I went for a walk (in the drizzle) and found enough cans to finish off a bag to take to BottleDrop.
3. I gifted a kitchen gadget that had been cluttering my cabinet.
4. I found a bright yellow dish tub in the gutter and brought it home with me. It will corral cleaning products under the kitchen sink. I love that it found a home before it got crushed under the wheels of a car. (It was a non-residential street, Katy! I’m pretty sure it isn’t someone’s recycling tub!)
5. I didn’t call anyone a DEI hire.
1. Had a no-spend Sunday, and working on a no-spend Monday.
2. Cashed in on some rewards to pay a bill.
3. Set up my bachelorette party event… a tour of my favorite natural history & art museum. Will be $180 for 13 people.
4. Registered for a free water conference- I’ll be able to finish my advanced training hours for a volunteer organization completely for free.
5. I didn’t harass another country for trade purposes.
1) Used lemons from our tree to make a delicious lemon chicken dish. Also used the remaining half lemon to dress our salad.
2) While I was working on my taxes (oh boy), found a $25 multi store gift card that had never been used. Activated it, and saved it to my app,so I could use it next time we were planning on a meal out. (I tend to save these for days when I’m sick, or when we are struggling to plan a meal based on activities, etc.)
3) Used a $5/$25 purchase at CVS & a $2 Rite Aid reward to pick up a few things we need. We have a busy February, with multiple birthdays & Valentine’s Day. I like to get my teens a few treats & a small amount of cash for Valentine’s Day. I also picked up a birthday card for DS18.
4) Sold a skirt on eBay.
5) Picked up a few oranges my neighbors set out for sharing. A lot of our neighbors have citrus trees, as our area used to be an orchard before houses were added.
Oh, and I love that bedside table! So glad you rescued it & can’t wait to see what you do with it next.
1. Back from another whirlwind travel weekend and we have all the leftovers to prove it. Pulled dinner together last night out of leftover side dishes and a few dumplings out of our freezer. No takeout ordered!
2. Started another book on libby – Daisy Jones and the Six. I am not sure I love the format, but I’ll give it another dozen pages or so. Love that if I DNF I can just return it and not feel bad about spending the money on it.
3. Using up crappy hair products on days I stay home. I don’t need my hair to curl nicely every day, just stay detangled, so this works to keep it from knotting and not waste product.
4. I wanted to start journaling again to stay sane, so I found a notebook from some conference giveaway and started using that. Not everything has to be a perfect purpose/use and this one is just fine.
5. I did not put tariffs on our neighbors, raising prices of my favorite groceries (cucumbers! avocados! whiskey???)
1. Thrifted 4 different love every toys at our local arc. Was able to source missing parts through our BN group and contacted the company for some replacements. I did pay for some, but these toys resell well and I appreciate that they are not all plastic. Most will be saved for birthday gifts for 1st second bday!
2. Scored a bunch of marked down food at a grocery store I don’t typically go into including produce, rainforest crisps, sugar, baby puff snacks, and steaks (frozen and saved for Valentine’s Day).
3. Got my free zoo tickets for our local zoo for next weekend. Will be baby’s first time!
4. Used free coffee coupons to a local coffee shop before they expired. A lot of local realtors sent them out. One of the locations is in the clubhouse of a gated community , and I learned that you don’t have to be a resident to go! It’s a lovely building with a little play area for kids, lots of tables, a large fireplace and is only a mile from home, so am really excited to spend more time there with baby.
5. Picked up a bunch of things through our BN group including boxes of qtips (for doggos ears), marble coasters, a stroller blanket, a bunch of really nice pens (we were down to 1), children’s Tylenol unopened, new to us toys and a play kitchen that needs a lot of love, but am excited to rehab!
Not so frugal: this morning I put baby in the car after 5 nights of no sleep and nap strikes. We went to Starbucks and I got coffee and an overpriced breakfast sandwich and then went through an over priced car wash so I could eat said breakfast sandwich. He loved it. Did I spent almost 35 dollars ? Yes. Do I have time to hand wash a car with an infant? Absolutely no. So focusing on the fact that baby was entertained, I ate before 2pm, the car is clean, and he fell asleep when we got home for at least a short nap.
1. Finally got rid of the tv that our neighbor gifted to us last March. He was going through a divorce and moving and he didn’t want to move it. So we accepted it only to find out that it didn’t work. Most places here make you pay them to offload a tv – even electronics recycling. Then I saw on my Buy Nothing group that you can donate it to a Smash Room. Brilliant! So as of yesterday afternoon, I am happy and so is the Smash Room.
2. Still in the process of cleaning out my closet and this time I went through t-shirts and sweaters. Found a few to get rid of and am donating to my Buy Nothing group today along with a few food items. I was late to the party with Buy Nothing but I love it.
3. We needed two new tires on our car. Bit the bullet last week and went to get that done. My husband thought to ask if they had any used tires and upon inspection of what they had, he picked out two and saved us a good chunk of money.
4. After dropping the tv off yesterday we decided to use a gift card our daughter got us to go out to dinner. The wait at that establishment was an hour to hour and a half! (The weather was nice yesterday so I suppose every one decided to get out) There was a chain restaurant across the street so we headed there and they had early bird specials of 50% off apps so we got those and my husband enjoyed a cheap beer.(happy hour prices) Not frugal to go out but the bill was incredibly
low. Not as good as free but it’ll do.
5. Eating food from the freezer that I got on sale, reading library books (current: A Rose Life in Italy by Rosie Meleady), watching Brit Box (current: Beyond Paradise) , cleaning out closets and hanging with my 3 year old grandson.