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I took my kitchen knife to a free Repair PDX event and got it professionally sharpened by a volunteer, which felt like magic. (Normally costs around $10 per knife.) They also had volunteers fixing small appliances, bicycles and even mending clothing. The event was like a big jolly party and I’ll definitely be returning.
I’ve been aware of Repair PDX for awhile, but this was my first time to attend one of their events. I love how there are always new frugal hacks to slip into my bag of tricks!
Click HERE to see all their events and resources.
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My daughter’s old roommate abandoned a bag of dry cat food, which I brought home and mixed into our regular cat food. I did feed a small amount to 16-year-old Zelda to make sure she liked the brand, but she gobbled it up, so I called it good.
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I walked my plastics recycling to New Season’s Market instead of paying $14+ per month to Ridwell for bespoke recycling. It may be convenient to have porch pickup, but Ikea takes lightbulbs, city curbside now takes batteries and there’s an annual neighborhood event that’ll take styrofoam.
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My daughter’s old roommate stole her vacuum cleaner when she moved out, which is a annoyance. However, I have a thrifted Black and Decker rechargeable vacuum that’s just missing the charging cord. (Leftover from when my youngest was in college.) I looked on Amazon to investigate buying a new cord, but instead put in a request in my Buy Nothing group to see if anyone has one laying around. One group member thought he did and is going to get back to me. Crossing fingers!
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I didn’t accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to use as my own personal Air Force One.
Five Frugal Things
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{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }
Loving your cat, what a sweetie!! We have several of these repair clubs in neighbouring areas, like you I haven’t used them yet, but it is really good to know that they’re there should I need it!!
Good luck with the charge cord, how mean to take the hoover!!
Have a good week! Xx
Please let me know if you try out your area repair club!
Katy, you should volunteer at one of those events! You’d be good at it.
Not much going on here. Forcing my long suffering children to eat Cobb salad (my favorite) for dinner. It’s Mother’s Day–my choice! HAHAHA! Missing my own mom, who died a year ago today. In lieu of a yahrzeit candle, I’ll light a regular candle.
I’m sorry for the loss of your mother and I’m happy you get to choose your meal today.
Rose, I am sorry for your loss, even if was a year ago; I’m sure it is especially tough with the anniversary falling on Mother’s Day. (How ironic.) Sending you a virtual hug. The first year after a loss is the hardest IMO, and I believe that’s why people in past centuries wore black and were “in mourning” for an entire year. So congratulate yourself for having endured it.
When I lost my mom, my friend Donna shared with me some wisdom one of HER friends gave her when she lost HER mom, the friend having also suffered such a loss. I was told that losing your mom is like having a limb amputated: you always have the loss but eventually, you adjust and learn to live with it.
Hi Katy,
Longtime reader/mostly lurker here. I just want to say how happy I am that you are posting often these days! I really enjoy checking in to see what frugal and homey things you’ve been up to. Thanks for continuing to share!
1. Received four outdoor folding chairs from Buy Nothing. Two of them need sewing which I will try to do by hand; otherwise, I’ll bring them to the Fix-It Clinic (like Katy’s Repair PDX).
2. Also received 15 packs of cocoa and a men’s shirt from Buy Nothing.
3. Put the watering can in the shower to capture the warm-up water.
4. Received dog food and treats from a friend.
5. Scored some good deals at the discount food store, including veggie egg rolls for .50 cents each, cauliflower head for $1.00, huge package of shredded Parmesan cheese for $7.99, large can of pumpkin pie mix (which I use for pumpkin bread and pumpkin scones) for $1.00, 3 bell peppers for $1.00.
Oh my gosh, I don’t know why I didn’t think of using the watering can. That’s genius.
Those are some seriously good food deals!
1. I have to go to NYC for a night for work. I booked on a platform that I’m trying to get to the next ‘level’ of price discounts. Dinner and all of tomorrow’s meals will be on the company dime! I’ll use my credit card that gives the most back on dining.
2. I’m using the closest train station, so the tickets will be a bit more, but the parking is free and I won’t have to use my car/gas as much to get there.
3. I found a penny on the street when I was walking with a friend. She was astounded that I saw it, and she figured it made sense, since she knows how frugal I am with money.
4. The same friend and I had taken a day trip to Hobart, NY, pop. 441, but has 7 bookstores! We went through all 7 stores, but in the end, I figured I’d rather borrow from our library, as then I don’t have to find a place in my house for one. more. book.
5. We split a sandwich for lunch, and I drank the water that I had brought with me, and we did a mystery shop for dinner. It cost $8 beyond reimbursement, but we both had a cocktail and we had enough leftovers for both of us to have lunch today.
You are the world’s biggest cheap date and I mean that as a compliment!
1) I did my usual low cost Mother’s Day, I never want to go out to eat on Mother’s Day because it’s always packed everywhere. I requested bagels for breakfast which my husband picked up. Now we are going on a bike ride and my husband will cook dinner on his smoker. He will probably also take the kids out somewhere for a few hours later today, so I can have the house to myself for a bit (something that never happens!)
2) Cooked some dried kidney beans and then some buckwheat in the instant pot, so I’d have them ready to go in the fridge and freezer for quick bowl type meals.
3) I’m giving my daughter an American girl doll for her birthday, it’s “used” but in like new condition, still in the box and it was given to me for free! I was looking at getting her additional clothes for it, the official clothes from their website are pretty expensive for doll clothes but I found so many cute things on Etsy that people make to fit American girl dolls, a lot better variety too!
4) My parents are flying to visit my sister and the timing works out so they can leave their car at our house and I can give them a ride to the airport, saving them the cost of airport parking or an uber ride (I live 15 minutes from the airport while they live an hour away)
5) Continuing my free weight lifting videos on YouTube
A bike ride and a home cooked meal sounds like perfection! By the way, the off brand American Girl clothes are cute as well. Target’s brand is “Our Genration” and you should be able to find a “lot” of them on eBay for a bargain.
I made a bunch of those clothes, using my scrap bag, for all three of my daughters. And when my daughters became Girl Scouts, I made Girl Scout uniforms for their dolls.
I found PDF patterns for American Girl dolls online and used those to make several outfits. During COVID, I even made matching fabric masks for girl and doll. My biggest accomplishment was freehanding some crochet shoes for the doll. Turned out super cute.
It is really sad that doll clothes are so expensive! When I first got into Barbie — I had exactly one doll, although later I got a Midge and a Skipper, too — I had only 2 or 3 outfits for Barbie bc of the cost. I will never forget the most wonderful Christmas gift I got as a child. There was this little suitcase, a plain older suitcase an aunt had once used, under the tree for me. When I opened it, there were scads of Barbie clothes inside! My sweet grandmother had spent the entire summer and fall sewing those outfits! She used scrap fabrics and one pattern package of doll clothes patterns. Barbie got long and short formal gowns, and a wedding dress; full dresses and sun dresses, jackets and straight skirts and many blouses. I didn’t even realize that many of the outfits were the same pattern because Nanny put different trim on them and used different fabrics, much of it scraps gleaned from the aunties and ladies in her church because Nanny was on a fixed income and didn’t have much money. It was incredible! Every stitch was sewn with great love, and I felt that energy every time I played Barbie.
My mom made me some magical gifts. One of the best was a doll, similar in size and shape to American Girl (but this was the 1970s and they didn’t exist). My mother took out books on 18th/19th century fashion from the library and made the doll a whole wardrobe of historically correct outfits. She made the dresses from her old ones or remnants. My favorite outfit was a blue velvet riding helmet, with a top hat Mom made of cardboard and then covered. She even made a scarf/veil for it out of an old gray silk stocking of hers.
So you can see why when I had nieces and then a daughter I basically bought out the AG catalog every year. I oonce bought two Hanna Andersson dresses, one my daughter’s size and one in a baby size which I cut down for her doll. She had the Victorian one, my one niece had the blond pioneer doll and the other the red-haired colonial doll.
I saved all my daughter’s stuff, including the carriage and sleigh, for my niece who is now 16. She couldn’t have cared less about the historical dolls. No doubt my sister sold the carriage and sleigh, etc, on eBay without telling me. The sets go for $200 and up now.
Riding habit, not riding helmet. sigh.
I am glad your daughter’s roomie is now the ex-room mate with that kind of behavior.
1. Thought I needed a haircut, but trimming my own bangs made a huge difference.
2. Bathed, conditioned and brushed out both dogs yesterday. They look and smell beautiful.
3. Made a pan of mixed fruit baked oatmeal to use up last bits of frozen and dried fruit/berries.
4. Scraped the label off an empty olive jar so it can be reused.
5. Cut a pair of skinny jeans off at Bermuda shorts level. Used fabric from one of the cut-off pieces to add a gusset to the inseam to make them more comfortable for summer.
Ruby, I agree re: Katy’s daughter’s ex-roomie.
And I’ve forgotten to wish a happy Mother’s Day to you, Katy, and all the other mothers in the Commentariat.
Thank you for the Mother’s Day wishes. My DS every year gives me a card from him and “the wee beasties,” as they require much more hands-on mothering than he does. It’s very cute.
I did chide Betty for not dropping me a Mother’s Day card. She replied in Cat-Speak that she lacks not only opposable thumbs, but access to my wallet. Point taken.
Unless Mother’s Day is May 8, I’ve worked until 6 am then sleeping. We usually get together before then. Truth be told, less stressful not eating out on M-day. Some day when I am retired, I will be able to start plants. So will buy plants/herbs from the local “market” but avoided it yesterday and today.
Aww, thank you!
I’m impressed with your sewing skills!
All it really takes is a willingness to screw things up occasionally. 😀 These jeans were not really wearable as jeans — the super slim fit allowed no ventilation — but they are nice and breezy as shorts.
FFT, It’s Finally Raining Something Besides Rain Edition:
(1) The spring monsoon season seems finally to have ended in Central NY, so I headed out on Saturday for a lovely morning of thrifting and cruising garden centers. I didn’t buy anything at the garden centers (I’m going to wait to buy any plants I need till after Memorial Day when the prices come down), but the thrifting was hot. In particular, I found three pairs of new or like-new Skechers shoes (two pairs of slip-ons and one pair of sneakers) for a total of $28. Not easy to find thrifted shoes that work for my aging and ever-expanding feet!
(2) The Bestest Neighbors came home last week from some time at their Lake Erie house with 18 eggs from Ms. BN’s cousin’s chickens, and they shared 9 of these with me.
(3) The BNs also came over today to dig up some of my excess of echinacea (purple coneflower), beebalm, and dill seedlings. Some of these will go into their own garden, and some will go toward some of Dr. BN’s many Master Gardener projects. They also brought me the three tomato seedlings I ordered from one of Dr. BN’s Master Gardener friends. I gave them a garden kneeler seat that was a gift to me I can’t use, because I can’t kneel on my partially replaced right knee. And it says a lot for a friendship of almost 40 years that we’re not overly hot and bothered about who owes whom what at this point. In fact, I expect we’ll probably call it a draw.
(4) In other news, I’ve been busier than a one-armed paperhanger fielding questions from family and friends about the first episode of Miss Austen on PBS Masterpiece. I’ve done two PowerPoint presentations for my local JASNA region about the people in this series (one on Cassandra herself and one on the members of the Fowle and Lloyd families), and even I had a few moments of bafflement. If you’ve been watching this and you’re confused about who’s doing what to whom, you’re not alone. We should have a lively discussion of all this at next Saturday’s regional meeting.
(5) And I just renewed my membership in my local NPR station, doubling my contribution from last year. I’ll do the same when my local PBS membership comes due.
I watched the furst episode and had a bit of a hard time keeping the “characters” straight. Happy your monsoon season has come to a close!
A. Marie. Well, it is a relief to know that I am not the only person confused by Miss Austen, episode one. Why did the writers fail to provide any context for the relationship between the Austens and the Fowles? So irritated that I may not watch any more episodes. Such a waste of terrific acting.
@A. Marie – I call it the circle. Friendship may or may not be close. Maybe geographically close in the neighborhood or not. Grifters and scorekeepers aren’t hard to see.
I also had an amazing yard sale and thrift store day w my BFF. we started with a diner breakfast, as usual, then hit the yard sales. I also hit the jack pot on shoes. One pair of high top zebra sketchers and one pair of garden clogs, also zebra striped. I have very small feet so I was super excited.
The repair fairs are awesome. I’ve attended and volunteered at them. I usually offer my sewing skills.
1. Successfully propagated 6 collard tree starts. Gave 3 away, will plant 3 at my own house. They are productive and nutritious.
2. Brought my own gf food for stay at son’s house to help while he recuperates from surgery.
3. Gave my DIL 3 tins of smoked salmon from TJ’s for Mother’s Day. A frugal and useful gift that I know she loves.
4. Driving directly from son’s house to my parents to celebrate my mother’s birthday. Saves me several hours driving.
5. So far spent $12 on local ice cream during my visit at son’s house. Will treat my grandson to a muffin. I brought board games and crafts for free entertainment.
$12 well spent!
Kara, I’m a fan of the TJ’s smoked salmon tins too. And can you tell us more about the “collard tree starts”?
https://www.projecttreecollard.org/
Tree collards are the easiest of any food plant, and so productive. For any person or family, and particularly for the food insecure, tree collards can’t be beat. It grows all year round, doesn’t mind the heat or cold, and lasts for 4-5 years. A new tree is propagated from an old one, meaning that one collard tree starts could give you a lifetime of purchase-free eating. The leaves are tougher than kale, so are best eaten cooked, though the very young leaves sliced thinly are lovely raw.
Cold is a vague term – they will not overwinter outside here in zone 5 (or “less”). You can take cuttings to overwinter (inside).
And collard trees will withstand some freezing temperatures, we have frequent temps of 28°F. But cold and sustained hard freeze are certainly different.
I’ll have to find some collard tree starts for my hair sheep.
They adore kale, so this looks like a winner.
I grow extra veggies for my hens, and sheep!
1. Played hooky from church (hubby went) so I could have what I wanted for Mother’s Day – TIME ALONE! Although I did bake and freeze hubby’s stuffed peppers; and washed, dried outside, and put away 2 loads of laundry, I enjoyed the time by myself. Also took myself to breakfast – a bacon, egg and cheese croissant from BK. Almost $5, but still cheaper than any Mother’s Day meal at any restaurant. Had my own coffee at home.
2. An article popped up on my Google this morning with 9 suggested pantry items to stock up on in the wake of tarriff he–. Items were suggested by The Krazy Coupon Lady and are as follows: canned pineapple, canned tuna, canned vegetables, Jasmine rice, chocolate chips, coffee, sugar, vanilla, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Suggested because of either imported items/ingredients needed to make items (e g. coffee beans, cacao) and/or cost of tin. The article said not to “panic buy” like we did during Covid (emptying the shelves), but said to pick up a few extra items each time you shop.
3. Had a box of lime jello hubby didn’t use when he was doing his colonoscopy prep last fall. Bought a small can of lite pears. Will cut those up tomorrow and make pears in lime jello. Served regularly in the cafetetia when I was in school. Easy dessert.
4. Picked up “reusable paper towels” in the clearance aisle at Walmart recently. $2 for a pack of 3 (regularly $4.50). I bought 2. I LOVE these!!! Going to check the clearance aisle when I go to Walmart again and, hopefully pick up another pack or 2.
5. Cancelled my Planet Fitness membership as I haven’t been able to get there in a while. It’s about 12 miles from home – 1 way. $10/month saved! Checking into getting a 3-month membership at the local community center as they have a pool and I really should be doing low/no impact exercise anyway. Also, only about 6 miles from home – 1 way. Only going to do a 3-month membership so I can evaluate my level of commitment to exercise before I spend a huge chunk of change on an annual membership.
Hooray for reusable paper towels and an extra $10 per month!
Forgot…someone told hubby at church today that one of the local restaurants was serving a Mother’s Day buffet to the tune of $150/person!!!!!! Saved $300!!!!
That sounds like my worst nightmare!
Had 9 for a Mother’s day luncheon and it was great.
1. Sold some overflow Pyrex on FB marketplace and made $25. Crap out. Money in.
2. Used the self checkout register and someone had left their change. .56!
3. Already packed my lunch for my shift tomorrow from leftovers from our lunch today.
4. Trying to keep 5 items listed on FB marketplace at all times.
5. Went through my subscriptions and got rid of 1.
1. Enjoyed a Mother’s Day brunch made by my son and grandson, and I brought home a slice of French toast and some strawberry topping. They were going to throw it away — and I’ll bet the French toast will crisp up nicely in the toaster oven.
2. Went to Aldi hoping to spend only $20, but I was distracted by a phone call and I ended up spending $30. For this I got an 8-lb. bag of frozen chicken breasts, a 48 oz. bottle of vegetable oil, a pound of butter, a sweet potato, and a 12 oz. bottle of maple syrup. So far I just can’t go back to artificial syrup.
3. Found .11 near the Aldi carts.
4. Decided to donate my seal-a-meal — it’s unwieldy and I never use it — the plastic worries me for health reasons.
5. Watching Outlander on Netflix, which I share with my son (legally). I watched the first season years ago but subsequent seasons were unavailable to me without subscribing to an additional service. I was pleased to find that seven seasons are now available on Netflix.
4.
I’m with you on the maple syrup. My hisband’s sister and her husband had a sugar shack and sold maple syrup. Gave family a discount. My brother-in-law passed away about 14 years ago and my sister-in-law now has Alzheimer’s. Now I have to pay full price.
Re: Outlander, I once saw a cartoon that featured a kid sitting on Santa’s lap. He said “Dad wants golf clubs, I want a video game and Mommy wants something called a Jaime Frazier.” (Don’t we all!) LOL!
Happy Mother’s Day, Katy and all!
Frugal fail: We ended up needing a new well pump. Total cost $4,500.00. Most infuriating is the price of the main part, the pump itself, was 2,800.00. The installer/owner told me the same part in Jan. was approx. 2,000.00 pre-tariff. Enraging!
@Cathy in CT – tariff or not tariff, what a gouge. While I know most of us love where we live, the cost of living still gob smacks me at times.
Back in 2021, we switched our HELOC to fixed rate. Bank only does 5 years, not sure if we’ll renew (variable or fixed). We haven’t used it in a long time, it exists to cover the cost of an engineered septic (which cost ~$25K twenty years ago). Emergency fund will handle it now. And perhaps being in one less computer system isn’t a bad deal these days.
I love that you were able to have your knife sharpened for free. I have had the same Chicago Cutlery knives (I know not the best and not cool/hip) for about forty years. I had to replace the sharpening steel several years ago but I am always happy to have them.
1. We had DD and SIL over for Mother’s Day. DH cooked. It was relaxing and inexpensive.
2. We put tomato plants in a tub last weekend. A few days later the tops were missing and we suspect deer did the damage. While driving to yoga yesterday I noticed a wire cage of some kind by a curb. On my way home I did a U turn to investigate. It looked like something that would go around our large tub so I hauled it home. We’re hopeful it will fend off critters and give the plants a chance to grow.DH teases that “the street will provide”.
3. I borrowed season 2 of the Fraiser Revival on DVD from the library. The first two episodes were entertaining.
4. I went to Costco and stuck to the list except I did buy oatmeal (organic and gluten free) since it was on sale and I eat it all the time.
5. I have been pulling weeds, vines, etc. in the yard. They come in from neighboring yards and provide plenty of free exercise.
I love the phrase “the street will provide.” LOL
I worked in Repair Cafes the past two Saturdays. I would prefer to teach folks how to darn, mend, and hem their things, but it is a hoot to spend a few hours with other frugal sewers.
Even when you’re not teaching specific skills, you’re teaching that these things can be done – they’re not magic, but learnable skills – and anyone watching you is picking up information about the order of things, analysis of repairs, the proper tools and the motions involved. You are always increasing the chance that someone will think, “I can do this.” I kept my last electric kettle going years longer because a young man at a repair cafe identified the problem (a contact point needing corrosion periodically cleaned).
Thank you for your service!
I’ve had good luck finding random replacement cords at the goodwill bins.
My Mother’s Day weekend was one of the best ones yet. We always, ALWAYS, spend Mother’s Day with my MIL, which is okay, but sometimes I want to do what I want to do. This year, my daughter, who is pregnant with her first, had to work on Sunday, so I requested a picnic at a state park we used to frequent quite a bit when the kids were little. We had a little picnic with just the five of us and finished the day with a nap in the backyard. Sunday was a “pizza party” and ice cream bar at my MILs, with each family bringing their own pizza. We somehow ended up spending $50, but I did get $15 back on Upside ($12 on our order and $3 on my nieces – I snatched her receipt before she could throw it away).
My friend from my hometown, which is about 3 hours from where I’ve lived for the past 30 years, stopped by on her way home from her MILs and brought me NINE boxes of kids books. Some will be saved for Hattie Jean, but some are in too rough of shape to be read any more, so I will use them for crafting. I really want to start selling on Etsy, but fear of no one wanting my items is really holding me back.
We were able to help both kids this weekend with some unexpected expenses. They will pay us back, but I was glad we were able to cover them.
Dinner tonight for the kids and us – deer from the freezer and pantry items. Need to make some more tea – these adult children drink a lot, so making tea keeps the costs down.