Five Frugal Things
by Katy on June 17, 2025 · 51 comments
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Someone in my Buy Nothing group was asking for a “spool rack” yesterday and I noticed one in my mother’s basement. I brought it up and asked if I could have it to give away. She was quick to agree and it’s since been picked up! I’m so pleased to have taken an unused basement item and placed it into the hands of someone seeking that specific thing.
It’s like I’m a Buy Nothing middle (wo)man, so maybe I should take a percentage of the profit.
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My husband’s T-shirt drawer had become so overly full that it was difficult to close, which prompted him to pull everything out and make some hard choices. Mind you, many of these shirts were passively acquired as they were from charity or workplace events. Please, for the love of Amy Dacyczyn Pete — event coordinators, stop giving out shirts that no one wears beyond a single day!
I know old cotton T-shirts can be torn apart to make rags, but there are only so many rags a household can incorporate before becoming a dumping ground.
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I donated the T-shirts to Goodwill while running errands and made sure to take a receipt for next year’s taxes. I then wrote down the exact specifics of the donation while it was fresh in my mind, so I can get the full deduction. Lastly I walked around Goodwill, but found nothing worth owning or selling.
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My daughter stopped by the house and I was able to pull together a satisfying meal for her, even though we’re kind of low on fresh food at the moment. (I’ve plenty of ingredients to create full meals, but that takes time and forethought.) I made a quick batch of Deviled eggs, which got served with gluten-free peanut butter toast and raspberries for dessert. The berries were from the garden, the gf toast was from my frozen stash of $1 Franz bread and the eggs were on hand.
I need to make a Winco run, maybe I should add that to tomorrow’s to-do list.
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I stopped into H Mart for furikake and coconut milk and bought . . . furikake and coconut milk. That store has so many tempting fun treats, it’s an accomplishment to stick to a list!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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1. I made a delicious meal of crispy tofu, roasted brussel sprouts and a sesame honey glaze over rice. It was cheap and healthy and I have leftovers for three more meals.
2. I returned cans for a deposit refund. I used that, a $5 reward and a coupon for free milk and my out of pocket cost was less than $3. Most of the savings was from the deposits which I paid for except for a few found cans but still a nice savings.
3. I’m still working on emptying my chest freezer. I found some more blackberries ( I thought I had used them all). I made some refrigerator jam with them. I have one more container full. I think I’ll make some blackberry simple syrup for blackberry mojitos this summer.
4. I shared some home grown lettuce with my daughter. She’ll be making a taco salad for her work lunch.
5 I bought a whole bag of birthday cards at an estate sale. My stash was getting low. I’ve used one already.
I am 0/2 at getting events I’m helping with to forgo shirts and/or make them evergreen so people could use the same shirt each year. But I shall persist!
My husband’s company gives yearly t-shirts to their employees so they have a company shirt to wear on casual Fridays or to casual company sponsored events. They have a rule that unused or unwanted shirts need to be returned so they can be recycled. I love this rule. Keeps my husband’s closet from getting too full of shirts he doesn’t use and if someone’s size fluctuates the clothes don’t get dumped.
I said “ No thank you” to the T-shirt, and suggested a sash as a very reusable option.I was handing out“how to vote”leaflets for our local(Brisbane,Australia)“GREEN““party!
I agree about the shirts! I’ve worked at non-profits for 25 years and no one wants those shirts after an event. Plus most of them now are no longer 100% cotton and as such are not absorbent so they make terrible cleaning rags (IMO). I have a bag full of ready to drop off to Goodwill this week.
I need to cut back on the budget due to unexpected plumbing repairs. So entertainment is now zero (this includes restaurants), I’ve been on a no spend except for absolute necessities for a couple of years, the only other place to make a difference is groceries. I have challenged myself to eat what I have and no grocery trips for a month. Yes, I run out of things like bread and milk…and well, potato chips and chocolate. But I’ve worked around it and for now having cream cheese on sourdough Wasa cracker with tea in the morning, or an egg with leafy salad with berries. I made it through the detox of junk food so now I’m not going to put them back on my grocery list. Win-win! I now have an afternoon snack of fruit, that has been overlooked in the fridge and it’s highly satisfying! Apples and mandarin oranges. I will need to buy dog and cat food but otherwise I might be able to stretch further than a month which is exciting!
OHHH that junk-food detox is much harder when one is feeling the pinch so avoiding the grocery store. Amazing what is crunchy in the fridge (carrots! celery!) and filling and satisfying (eggs!). Just not shopping when hungry and sticking to a list, I am erratic with my savings but these two can make or break a budget – and fill my cart with ‘deals’ that aren’t good for me or my wallet
It really is too bad that 100% cotton is generally becoming rare, but I’ve found a use for a few of the poly/cotton Ts. Since my tomato and cucumber trellises are hand-me-down decorative pieces, I cut mixed fiber Ts into ribbons to keep the plants within bounds. My deck is on the upper floor of a small condo building; my neighbors might not enjoy being bombed with ripe tomatoes!
These days, I almost never accept a T shirt at an event as I wear only plain T shirts except for one from college. I also don’t accept the free water bottles since I never use them. Two swag bags are memorable: one for local media from the area film festival, which included a coupon for a free pair of Blundstone boots, and one from Gwyneth Paltrow’s store with a rather nice denim jacket. Those are worth it. The usual T shirt, tote bag, water bottle, no thanks, just more clutter.
Rose, I would have happily taken a free pair of Blundstone boots too!
My daughter got them and wore them constantly for years and years. They may even still be around!
The Gwyneth Paltrow jacket is a plain charcoal linen trucker jacket. It does not say GOOP on it or I would have given it to the women’s shelter. (Then again, haven’t they suffered enough?)
@Rose – LOL to your last comment!
@Rose (and others) – who cares WHAT a t-shirt says and from WHERE it was source when working in the yard. My wardrobe is for the most part, t-shirts. Some are strictly work in the yard t-shirts (and trust me, plenty of working in the yard here) and the others are outside the house t-shirts.
I care? Sorry. But I do. I have a refined aesthetic sense (which is good and bad–I shouldn’t snap at my daughter for leaving her tea mug on the mantel, but I do. The mantel is for decorative objects only!). Other things I hate: big giant stupid sneakers worn for anything but running/walking. Baseball caps in any form whatsoever. I don’t ask anyone else to abide by these rules so I don’t think I have to apologize for them. (Well, my kids know better than to wear baseball caps.)
Selena,
I understand your point, but between my DH and I, we have WAY MORE t shirts with business logos, etc., than we will ever use up or wear out. I do wear some of them outside the house on occasion, but I have plenty of yard-work/painting/dirty work t shirts to last me for many years. Thrift shops and GW are full of them!
1. I took a nap because self care is important especially after an exhausting previous week.
2. I either ate at home or took my meals to work (sandwiches) which means no eating out.
3. It is hitting 90 here with a heat index much higher. Nevertheless I loathe the local power company and I have been trying my best to use a fan and open my windows (screened because of mosquitoes). I have managed to keep the air off except for maybe 30 minutes a day.
4. My 13 year old fridge has been on its last leg for six months and I keep nursing it along because I don’t want another bill. It, like my even older stove that was given to me, has multiple things wrong with it but I have taken good care of it and it is limping along. To be real, fridge nor its tiny little freezer, has never worked that well, and would randomly freeze things in fridge even when set at the correct temp. Hopefully it will make it to October.
5. I walked in the neighborhood between all the rains.
Hubby and I no longer itemize on our taxes, so there’s no need to keep detailed records of donations, but back in the day I had an Excel spreadsheet on my computer to keep track of Goodwill donations.
The sheet had columns for items, number donated, and value (what it would sell for in a local thrift store). The last column was a total of each row, and at the bottom a grand total. I would print out a page each time I made a donation and attached the store receipt.
I periodically request those tshirts (as long as they are 100% cotton) on our Buy Nothing group — I use them to make underwear as well as work rags for my gardening business. My favorite pair of underwear was made from a Tshirt from a sponsor of a local cannabis festival. It says “go puff” on the derriere, which makes my inner child laugh hysterically every time I put them on!
1) I thawed out a jar of leftover homemade tomato-basil soup for dinner tonight. Present me thanks past me for making and freezing it!
2) I made two loaves of sandwich bread for the week. Four slices will be used tonight for grilled cheeses to accompany the soup.
3) I saved a bunch of plants from the compost pile at my nursery job — two strawberries, two raspberries, two blueberries, three roses, and a foxglove. These are very useful since the garden beds in our new place are nothing but weeds.
4) We took out our garbage and recycling last night as we do every two weeks. We share garbage service with our neighbor, and even with two households sharing a bin we don’t need weekly service.
5) We’ve simply been staying home and finding our own entertainment — we had a cookout with family on Saturday, using food we already had in the freezer. We’ve been walking our own property in the evenings with our own homemade ice coffee. There has also been quite a few evenings playing darts and enjoying a beer at home (a single beer + tip at a pub can nearly buy a sixpack at the store, these days)!
Years ago my DD worked at an auto body repair shop and would get T shirts with their logo cross the back.
I made a pair of panties that said “Collision World” right across the rear.
They were hilarious! When I showed them to DD she just shook her head, she isn’t even surprised anymore with the things I do.
How do make the panties? Please,
tell us!
I don’t have a pattern, I just took a pair of Jockeys , laid them on the T shirt and commenced tracing around and cutting. I used saved elastic in the waist line and a zig zagged hem in the leg holes. It worked fine for me.
The T shirts that I turn into panties are all cotton.
JC
I’ve had a GI test scheduled for a few weeks now at one of our regions “branch campùs” hopitals about 40 minutes from home. Husband had a rush order MRI and we were able to get an appointment same day and nearly same time. Plus, I have a dentist appointment which is on the way home. Three major appointments in one trip! YAY ME!
Brought crocheting (dishcloths) with me to help occupy my time.
Making sweet tea today from tea bags I already have at home.
1. We went to the grocery store to drop off plastic bags for recycling and bought…nothing! We realized we had so much at home – plus a lot of plans this week – that it was time to go home and settle into recipes that used what we already have.
2. I cancelled a camping trip after other plans shortened it to one night. It simply was no longer worth the tolls, expected food bill, and campground fee for a 15 hour turnaround. I’ll stay local and enjoy my neighborhood outside instead.
Frugal fail: NYS campground cancellation fees + processing fees mean I only got about 20% of my campground fee back. Oh well, at least i paid it forward for any last minute campers looking for a space. Maybe that karma will come around for me!
3. Absolutely burning through library books. After hating the first half of The Seven Year Slip, I couldn’t put it down for the second half. Next up: Remarkably Bright Creatures, which I was so pleased to get a “skip the line” notification for on Libby!
4. Letting the rain from this week’s gloomy weather water my little container herb garden.
5. Eating a very ugly but perfectly edible banana for a mid morning snack.
I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures! Inter-species interaction is great. Have been following Sheldrake Trust FB page about caring for infant and young elephants to return them to the wild (especially photo of infant trying to sit on lap of caretaker).
I have a somewhat opposing opinion on t-shirts – I have about six of them that I’ve worn for YEARS after the event. I think the oldest is from 2009! The difference? All of them are WOMEN’s cut with either a pretty scoop neck or v-neck, they all have a run design on the front or back and not just words over the left boob, and they’re all 100% cotton rather than an awful cotton-poly mix. Love all of them. The white, boxy men’s cut Fruit of the Loom 50/50 poly cotton shirts with the corporate logo on the front or back get used for when I color my hair and then tossed aftewards.
Katy, I am surprised that itemizing deductions still works for you! Even when I still owned a home, my itemized deductions didn’t exceed the standard deduction. So I don’t bother saving Goodwill receipts anymore.
Fun fact: I work in the industry that’s behind all of those “giveaways”. As a long-time blog reader, commenter, and non-consumer-minded person, I have a complicated relationship with this work. My true belief is that no one wants or needs 99% of the stuff they’re getting as a promo. However, I have a very flexible job that pays well and allows me to work from home, providing a good income for my family while being present at home as our three kids grow up. Ultimately, I would love to start a non-profit that turns these types of items (t-shirts, primarily) into something useful, but I’ve still got to get these 3 teenagers through high school and college, so we’ll see.
Now, on to my frugal things this week (so far):
1. My mom gave me a Bose speaker that we had no use for, so I listed it on eBay. It sold within an hour and is now on its way to its new owner. This particular speaker had the old, 30-pin iPhone connection, so I was skeptical it would sell easily. But I was clearly wrong! Now, I’m $30 richer (before fees)!
2. My son is attending a lifeguard camp at the beach every weekday in June, where the kids are in wetsuits daily. If you’ve ever changed in/out of a wetsuit, you know there is a need for discretion. Thus, I began a hunt for a used “changing poncho/robe”, which was not fruitful. A quick internet search of “DIY changing poncho” led me to a video instructional on how to create one with 2 beach towels + a sewing machine. An hour later, my son was handed a changing poncho made of nearly 10-year-old TMNT towels! Retail versions of these go for upwards of $70!
3. I gifted my old SodaStream to another Buy Nothing group member yesterday. Upon picking it up, she left 2 bouquets on our porch. This group member must work at TJ’s or another grocery store, as she frequently gives away all manner of bouquets and pots of basil, etc. I was delighted to receive these, but didn’t need 2 bouquets of roses in the house, so I placed them in a bucket of water in front of our little library with a card saying “take a bouquet and make someone’s day — maybe yours!”
4. Frugal fail – I’m writing all of this from Starbucks. When the teens are home in the summer, I sometimes ride my bike over to the local Starbucks to work for an hour or two to get a breather! 🙂
I love your #2. I’ll bet it’s just as nice as the $70 ones.
1) We are going camping later this week. I’m just packing our regular food so didn’t need to buy anything extra, except for chocolate and marshmallows for s’mores (already had graham crackers)
2) Since we are camping W-F, I didn’t sign the kids up for summer camp this week. They stayed home with my husband while he worked at home yesterday, which went well (probably wouldn’t work for a whole week though, they go stir crazy eventually) and my mom is staying with them today while we are both at work. So thats camp cost X2 saved for this week at least.
3) Finished another audio book from the library (Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents) It was very good, the same author wrote The Warmth of Other Suns which is another great book.
4) I remembered to skip the produce box delivery this week, since we won’t be home when it gets delivered. I love this particular service because you can skip whenever you need to and then aren’t charged for that week.
5) Continuing with my free YouTube strength training workouts. Can definitely tell I’ve gotten stronger, I’ve never really liked resistance training but I just listen to an audio book or podcast while I complete the workout and that’s made it an enjoyable experience.
Not sure if I saw this online or in a magazine, but I’ve seen photos of old fun run/marathon T-shirts turned into quilts. Runners use the printed parts on their race T-shirts as the squares, so that they can see which races they were in. The photos I saw of these repurposed T-shirt quilts looked really amazing. I’ve also seen photos of T-shirts repurposed into throw pillows.
I manage a running company. My job requires me to buy 1000s of t-shirts and other giveaways each year, I see and hate the waste but I also know that people love to get the shirts and swag even if they never wear them.
FFT, Travel Planning Edition (simulcast here and at The Frugal Girl):
(1) The planning for my trip to see JASNA BFF in NYC is in progress. To be more accurate, BFF is doing most of it for me! We’re going to do a visit to the Morgan apart from the Thursday evening reception, to make sure we get a *lengthy* look at both the JA and the Julia Margaret Cameron exhibits (which may or may not be possible at the reception). Fortunately, BFF is a member of the Morgan and can get me in for free as her guest. We’ll then have lunch with a mutual JASNA friend.
(2) We’re also going to the New York Historical (formerly the New-York Historical Society; BFF is a member here too) so that I can see the exhibit titled “The Year of Flaco.” Along with a great many New Yorkers and bird fans around the world, I cheered for Flaco (the Eurasian eagle owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo) during his year of freedom, and grieved at his death.
(3) On the Wednesday I’m there, I’m mostly on my own, since BFF babysits her toddler granddaughter in Brooklyn that day. So I’m planning to meet my former managing editor for coffee or lunch and catch up on the gossip from my old workplace. I’m also planning to take a walk in either Central or Riverside Park, and to hit every thrift shop I can find on the Upper West Side.
(4) BFF has reminded me that I left two shirts and a pair of pants at her place the last time I visited, two years ago. So that’s two shirts I won’t have to pack. I may still bring the pants I was planning to bring, in case the left-behind pants no longer fit.
(5) And apart from the lunches out, we’ll mainly be eating at BFF’s place. She is not a foodie, and we’re both more than happy to economize.
I take those t-shirts and turn the unprinted area into a thick cotton jersey yarn by scissoring across the tube part of the torso. YouTube has loads of videos on how to do it. Then the yarn gets crocheted into table mats to use under hot pans or into coasters. It’s a bit of work but pretty satisfying.
Anyone who gardens and needs sturdy ties for their plants could also use that techniquecto make them.
1. I have set aside all items that are reusable from the wedding. I have 3 more children who may marry that I could use the items for
2. My 24 yr dd is moving home. She was home for the wedding and her and my 20 yr old dd went through their entire room! My trunk is full of donation items, many items went back into the house for general use, several bags of trash and a few nicer items to sell. The room is looking great! Decluttering feels so good and it makes me want to do more of it around the house
3. Dh picked up a last minute lacrosse referee job. 2 full days of officiating will net close to $1000
4. We are continuing to plow through leftovers from the rehearsal dinner. Today is the last day to safely eat it so I will freeze the rest after dinner
5. I made homemade pizza for dinner last night to use up the banana peppers and burrata cheese in the fridge. My dd stopped on her way home from work to grab dinner for herself. And took some of the previously mentioned leftovers for her work lunch today. I am on a roll making sure food doesn’t go bad and I am very proud of myself for it
1) Converted some leftover black bean and corn salad into a pasta dish we often eat with a chili like base and elbow macaroni. Hopefully this will help teenage DS’s need for immediately consumable food.
2) We took a recent family trip to Canada and we used Canadian cash I had converted at our local bank to save time and money and hassle on our trip. And I am rounding up the remaining Canadian currency to stash away for “next time”.
3) I hung four loads of laundry out yesterday. That is the max I can do and it only works at this short window of summer – based on daylight hours and position of the sun.
4) DS’s Mother’s Day gift was to clean my car so we went to the car wash place yesterday and he vacuumed diligently and used some homemade cleaner and thrift store microfiber clothes to get the job done. It looks great!
5) I found three pennies on the ground at the carwash. My intensely frugal Nana picked up change her whole life, so I always view these as a hug from her. I remember someone in our blog community had a beloved spouse who died and sent dimes instead? Here’s to the ones we love…
We managed to get a cardinal in the house–not sure how. Anyway, people were telling me they’re messengers from loved ones who passed, etc. (How does the dead message people on the west coast?)
Then the larger pup decided HEY THAT’S MY PREY and it was all fairly traumatic.
1. Used grocery store points to get $0.20 off/gallon. Waited until my tank was as close to E as possible to fuel up.
2. Had a relatively successful no-spend week last week. Only bought the coffee, which I hadn’t thought about, and drinks when I was at the planned fundraiser with my friend on Saturday. But I knew folks working the event, so I spent less on drinks than I normally would.
3. A coworker at my new job was running out to buy lunch and asked if I needed anything. I almost said yet, but stuck with my packed lunch, which was delicious anyways (spinach and strawberries from the market, goat cheese from my partner’s job, and caramelized nuts I bought for this purpose).
4. Spent Father’s Day visiting my family. Brought items we had on hand for appetizers. My partner’s job at a dairy company that regularly gives staff the opportunity to buy cheese and butter at a steep discount has been a huge money saver for us.
5. I’m picking up my wedding dress & my partner’s wedding suit from the dry cleaners later today and will use a $10 off voucher we got a few months ago and saved for this purpose, since we don’t regularly use dry cleaning services.
1. Had quite a time grocery shopping today. I left my phone in a shopping cart, and then I discovered that none of my clipped coupons went through. Both problems were happily resolved, but it meant three trips to the store.
2. I used my UCard which gave me $12.31 credit. Between that and the coupons my groceries were only $17.29, and that included two greeting cards, which I don’t count in my grocery tracking. Otherwise, my groceries would have been $36.76. What did I get? Taco sauce, mayo, street tacos, shredded cheddar, a red bell pepper, mushrooms, prunes and blueberries. And those two cards. So if I remove those from the total, the food was only $14.29. This was at Jewel, an Albertsons store. I only go once a month, to use my UCard. Aldi is my regular store, but their produce is pretty sad.
3. I also stopped at the little free pantry, and got a loaf of whole wheat bakery bread and a can of vegetable soup.
4. All transportation involved was free public transit and shoe leather express.
5. Today is a peak savings day for our electric company. For not using electricity between 11 and 2, I will get a small credit on my bill.
I don’t think I have five items today, but I agree with you on the T-shirts. My husband’s drawer is stuffed to bursting.
1. I baked six big potatoes yesterday, three for dinner and three for lunches and snacks.
2. I rescued half a cabbage and half a wrinkled, red pepper and made a cabbage slaw for dinner.
3. A friend of ours who is a contract painter is doing our living room. He needed the work and we were happy to hire him to do it. He’s reusing some of the plastic and tarps from previous jobs. I will send him home with some eggs as well as a check. Because he lives about 150 miles away he will be staying with us all week. Unexpected pleasure!
4. I mowed the lawn on Father’s Day and accidentally ran over some of the irrigation hoses. I was able to plug the hole so I can still use the irrigation system. I was afraid I would have to do the whole watering by hand henceforth but it was an easy fix with items I already had in the garage.
5. We don’t have air conditioning, but so far we’ve had some cool nights and delicious breezes, combined with windows, curtains, and ceiling fans, so that even though we have hit 90°, we have not felt the need to escalate our cooling practices.
What do you know? I did have five.
Woo-hoo and hallelujah! My frugal win today was at my property tax hearing: I was able to get them to knock off almost $129,000 from my property appraisal. That’s still 95 grand more than I paid for it 15 years ago, but at least they didn’t think my value tripled in price. Their original paperwork admitted that their appraised value was more than 61% of what it was 5 years ago. Uh, no, I don’t think so. And neither did the citizens on the panel. Three cheers for democracy in action!
Good for you! Power to the people!
Congratulations, Fru-gal Lisa!
Update: I just read the news where our not-so-illustrious governor has signed into law a bill upping the homestead exemption discount and also the senior citizen exemption on property taxes. This means that, coupled with the reduced valuation of my home, I will be paying significantly less when the law takes effect. Not sure if it will be in the 2025 tax year, or if I have to wait another year, but either way, this is a huge financial burden that has been lifted from my shoulders. (Even though I realize that I may have to go back and protest my taxes next year or the year after that; this is becoming a regular thing. And it is a pain in the you-know-where!)
Lisa, yay you! Your homework sure paid off in a big way.
Katy, I remember those spool racks, my grandmother had a custom drapery making business and she had several.
1.was able to get some half-priced seedlings for the garden.
2. Found another 8 quarts of strawberries on the markdown rack, cleaned and frozen for jam and smoothies.
3. was able to get some great beef sales on Flash foods.
4. put the last of the beef and noodles and sloppy joes into the freezer for a time when cooking is just not going to happen.
5. used things from the pantry except for cilantro to make a bucket of cowboy caviar. I love it (too much?) and it is supposed to get hot and humid for a stretch so will be eaten as meals or an addition to a cold plate.
JC
I love cowboy caviar. I haven’t made it in forever. I’m going to have to put that on the to do list.
1. Eating berries from our garden. Planted free mint under my fig tree. I know it spreads, but apparently rodents don’t like the smell so I’m giving it a try.
2. Used my FSA funds to buy an OTC medication.
3. Overseeing dh working on the list of summer home maintenance tasks. He’s willing and it’s the right price!
4. Found a brand new specialty game at thrift store for $2.99. Bought it and listed it on ebay right away.
5. Frugal fail: Lost our favorite knife on Father’s Day picnic. Ordered a replacement.
All I can say is your husband is NOT like my husband and myself – free t-shirts are worn for a number of years after said event (I think my record is 24 years and only because the holes around the neckline were a tick invite). But you donated them and I HOPE Goodwill isn’t gouging (perhaps next time scoop out a homeless shelter?).
I get a lot of T-shirts and blouses and other items of clothing from Goodwill, and they are at a reasonable cost. I think various local Goodwills do different things, so ours may be cheaper than what you pay.
Several of those aforementioned t shirts have become pajama tops for me.
Worked in a grocery store for 9 years. During that time, got a 75th anniversary t-shirt. Left there almost 7 years ago. Still wear the shirt for “dirty jobs,” although I have worn it in public – stains and all.
Wearing 2 dress blouses that I bought – 1 for my sister’s memorial service in 2007 and the other for my mom’s memorial service in 2010. One of them I bought in a maternity shop. I’m 61 and, although I have lost over 60 lbs, my portly figure still looks like I am ready to deliver. I find, because of my body shape, maternity clothes look better because of the cut and they cover my belly.
Have an old pair of shorts that I wear to bed. Now loose fitting, since I lost weight, look like swiss cheese around the waistband, seams coming apart, hem around the legs coming out. Wearing them until they completely fall apart.
My main complaint about event shirts is that I like a v neck and most of them are a tight crew neck which drives me nuts. What I do is snip the ribbed neckline off right next to the seam and I get a nice modest scoop neck. (I always have scissors in my car for this and other purposes) . And I don’t like when they are stiff so I just wash them over and over. Hospitals and psychiatric facilities often need clothes for patients that get admitted with not much to wear. So you could donate unwanted event shirts there.