Five Frugal Things
by Katy on June 30, 2025 · 32 comments
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My sister is coming from NYC for a two week visit, which draws attention to our guest bedrooms. She usually stays in my youngest’s old room, but I’m saving it for her son who’ll fly in halfway through her trip. I rebuilt my daughter’s room from scratch a couple years ago, as she took all her childhood furniture with her when she moved into her apartment. With permission, of course!
My goal was to spend $0.00, or as close as possible. It helped that I could take my time with this project, as it allowed for everything I needed to drop in my lap.
Here’s what you’re looking at:
• Bookshelf from Buy Nothing.
• Rug from an after-garage sale “free pile.”
• Dresser was a curb find.
• Bed was something we already owned.
• Chair was a $3 thrifted find from years ago.
• Bedside table from a hand-me-down from a neighbor.
• The bedding was bought from a consignment shop a few years back. I think I paid $9.99 for the duvet cover with matching pillow cases.
One thing that has helped my family in our frugal journey was that we never bought (or garbage picked) furnishings marketed to kids. So no Disney dressers or race car beds that needed to be replaced once when once puberty hit. We outfitted their rooms with quality furnishings they didn’t outgrow. The antique dresser that our daughter uses in her apartment is actually her old changing table, although it no longer has a pad on top!
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I found an abandoned carabiner at my husband’s soccer field and brought it home. These thingamawhatzits are very handy, so it’s good to keep a reserve on hand. I don’t think I’ve ever bought one, yet I seem to always have a couple on hand.
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I boiled the $1 corn from last week, even though three out of the five got immediately demoted as leftovers. Fast forward a few days and I seared the cut-off kernels in a cast iron skillet and added them to our Mexi-bowls. Lastly they made an appearance on tonight’s black bean tostadas. It’s almost like corn is infinitely versatile!
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I sold a pair of Christmas mugs on eBay for $25, which is happening more and more infrequently as I don’t thrift as much as I used to. However, it costs me nothing to keep old listings up and I certainly have the space to hold onto my stale but organized inventory.
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I didn’t push through any legislation to impoverish our most vulnerable citizens, while simultaneously enriching my morally reprehensible friends.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Let me be the first! I love your scavenged bedroom. It’s very inspiring. And it looks the way a bedroom ought — homey and serene!
1. Another day under the heat dome. I managed to do without air for a good part of the day yesterday, but turned it on late afternoon and let it run all night. I’m hoping my electric bill won’t be too shocking.
2. My pot pie topped with pizza dough turned out great. I’ll be eating the other half of it today.
3. Today is my laundry day. I will only be doing one load. My usual is two, but last week I had to do four. The machines I use are small, though, probably half the capacity of today’s typical washers.
4. I’ve been trying to run the dishwasher after 9pm, but I often forget, because I’m busy reading, or even drifting off to sleep. But I’m always up early, so I hope running it before 7am is also cost-effective. I’ll have to check.
5. Huge bill will hit my bank account tomorrow — car insurance. Because of my age (mid-seventies), my urban location, and my accident last year, my rates are high. But I want to keep driving as long as I can, so I will bite the bullet. Glad I have the savings to make it reasonably painless.
Your pot pie sounds delicious.
That bedroom looks so nice. It looks like that rug goes great in there. Good finds all around.
1. I gave my dog a bath in my shower. I had a hand held spray head installed and it has paid for itself. I also clipped her nails.
2. I had a friend over for mojitos made from my patch of accidental mint growing in my lot. First mojitos of the year and they were delicious.
3. I shared half of my Trader Joe’s celery with my mom. There were two heads in the bag which is one more than I need. She was out of celery, so perfect.
4. I’m placing more river rock on the bare spots in my landscaping. Menards has it on sale this week also with a rebate, which makes it $1.50 off per bag. I’ve bought quite a bit so the savings adds up.
5. I purchased gift cards for Christmas gifts at Meijer. They are giving you $7.50 back in rewards points for every $50 spent. I also bought some cards for restaurants I frequent.
Your bedroom looks fantastic! It’s a place I’d be comfortable staying in. So homey, cozy and comfortable! I’ll wager it is much more attractive than anything in Mar-A-Largo’s owner’s quarters. Esp. since it doesn’t have that gaudy gold trim that just screams out “tacky.”
1. Asked around at the block party if anyone knew of a good handyman/home repair service. Got 2 referrals. One came by and gave me a bid of $170 for the ceiling fan fix, saying I’d have to schedule it for a later day. The other said he’d do it for $50; he is up in my attic right now. He came by first thing this morning, since I needed help. The prior “handyman” (using the term very loosely; actually, my former neighbor’s stepson) went up into the attic, has worked on the ceiling fan for over a week, and still hasn’t gotten it installed. So this fellow has to go up in the attic to see what the other guy was doing up there, besides making a mess of things.
2. Cleaning out closets, clearing out clutter and getting donations ready for a local ministry’s citywide garage sale.
3. Researching the bids three roofers made for my house. I have eliminated one company already: they sent some very bad people to my house, people who I suspect are criminals, and when I said I was not comfortable with those workers, the boss sent a flaming email to me. I am not angry he called me names, freedom of speech and all that, but these were borderline threats. I have some buddies on the police force and will be giving them a call when their shift begins later today. Can’t be too careful. Glad they can keep an eye out for me.
4. Not frugal for me, but frugal for others: I’ve been telling all the parents I see about Heart O’Texas Goodwill’s summer book giveaway. It’s for babies through those about to start their senior year of high school. Kids can go to a HOT Goodwill store and get one free book every Friday (only on Fridays) until school starts. In addition to public libraries and Little Free Libraries, this is a free service that encourages kids to keep reading all summer long.
5. I didn’t keep trying to gaslight the public about destroying another country’s nuclear arsenal.
Update on my #1:
The new handyman came, went up into the attic and straightened out the mess, and began installing the ceiling fan. He couldn’t: it appears that the incompetent handyman has lost some necessary parts. We looked all over and couldn’t find the parts (this guy charges by the job, not the hour). So I have decided to “pay” the incompetent by giving him the new ceiling fan as payment, along with all his tools which….are really his stepfather’s. I called their house, the dad said he is asleep (no surprise there) and that a lot of the dad’s tools are either missing or messed up. Anyway, the new handyman was able to fix a warped bathroom window — it just needed more muscle to get it to close — and will return to install another fan as soon as I can find one. He was nice enough to admit he doesn’t do flooring very well, and to decline that job, but he gave me a referral to a professional flooring installer.
Touche’ Fru-gal Lisa. The incompetent handman can enjoy the jacked-up ceiling fan he destroyed.
My goodness you are getting the run-around with your supposed helpers, Fru-gal Lisa! Your new electrician/handyperson sounds like a much better find, however your old one and the roofing bidders both would have me growling at the world for a few days.
I love your purging purpose – having a deadline like a citywide garage sale can put a bit of a fire under one’s butt and get some dawdling jobs finished. I have a few of those, now what can I find to light a fire under my butt?
I just got home from a 2 week visit with my sister, at her house in Alaska. Visiting her is always a humbling experience because she takes the “buy nothing” philosophy to new levels. She makes her own yogurt, bread, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, granola, ketchup, jam, smoked salmon, etc, etc. She has a huge garden in the summer and cans a lot of things for the rest of the year. It’s a 3-4 hour drive to any serious retail, and that provides a lot of incentive to make do and repair things.
Curiously, the thrift store prices in Alaska are better than the thrift store prices in Portland. I wonder if it’s because Alaskans are less likely to resell their thrift store finds? The shipping costs would be prohibitive! I saw things I would have snapped up if I didn’t have to carry them home.
I stopped by Fred Meyer when I got home and saw that they’ve raised the price of “scratch and dent produce” from $1 to $1.50. Nooooo!
$1.50 for the clearance produce?! Why does everything good have to change? Sniff . . .
That sounds like an amazing trip with lots of good inspiration.
I was shocked to see the price increase. It was fun to see that the sale produce was $1 at the Anchorage Fred Meyer. We got cheap oranges to snack on at the airport.
The guest room looks great, by the way. Between that, and the furniture my sister has been using since she bought it in 1990, I am very inspired!
My go to for reduced produce went from $1, to $2 and now $3. Sad.
Wow!! Your sister is quite an inspiration!
I like how the scrolls on the duvet compliment the carvings on the bedframe in the guestroom. The patterns & color are visually interesting & appealing.
Love that wall color! I always think a slanted ceiling looks really nice when paired with a bold paint choice.
We are broke and leaving for Scotland Thursday, which has all our money tied up in enjoying our time away.
1. Was craving something cold for dinner last night and realized I had 99% of the ingredients to make tuna mac. Ran to the store for some frozen peas and a few other sundries for pre-vacation meals and within 15 minutes cooking and 1 hour in the freezer – voila! A big batch of chilled tuna pasta salad ready for dinner and lunches this week.
2. Spent the day yesterday – and Saturday – at baby showers. Ate some really great food at both while showering our friends. Wore clothes we already owned, didn’t make any side stops to restaurants or shopping, and only expenses were a few gifts.
3. Sat at home and ate our tuna mac on the couch while watching The Bear on Hulu – definitely got our money’s worth out of hulu this month! While we pay for a few streaming services we certainly use them.
4. Yesterday’s leftover hot coffee became this morning’s iced coffee.
5. Planning ahead for phone plans in Scotland. Long gone are the days of only using a smartphone on airplane mode or-perish the thought-not having your phone available in another country. Plenty of low cost and easy-to-use options to avoid high out of country bills, and luckily my tech support (aka my husband!) is interested in sifting through them.
Hi
Take a look at this article about eSIMs for your trip to Scotland. I can also recommend GiffGaff, if you want to buy a local SIM card Also, Lebara.
Enjoy Scotland. The UK is currently in a heatwave (well, to us it’s a heatwave! 30 degrees C today (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
I’ve just realised that I always work in Celsius (makes way more sense. Zero degrees C = water’s freezing point, 100 degrees C =212 Fahrenheit water’s boiling point.). Except when we get high weather temperatures and then I need to look at the Fahrenheit temperature to know just how grim it is outside.
Article link
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/esim-cards-networks-price-how-work-use-phone-data-abroad/
Thank you for the info Denise! Always great to get new leads. I’ll pass along to tech support 🙂 Coming from the east coast of the US, a high of 86 is positively chilly. We’re excited to visit.
We go to Scotland a lot. We email and just pay for calls.
Love the room.
We are expecting our first grandchild and will turn our son’s room into a nap room for his baby. We will do just as Katy has done. Looking for furnishings now. An old scrapbook table will be removed and a bookshelf will go in its place. Some clearing out of stuff, some paint, and a crib. Voila!
What a a fun project for such a joyous reason!
Yes, what a good reason to decorate! A designated space at the grandparents’ would be a very loving spot.
Remember to child-proof as you go. As you know, “They grow so fast,” and some day the child will show up at your house walking.
That’s really smart to put it together slowly and from used items when possible.
In a fit of excitement, my mom purchased all brand new baby items for her house when I told her I was pregnant (her first grandchild). She lives about an hour away though so we really weren’t there that much and my second child was born at the beginning of 2020 so we really weren’t at her house at all due to lockdown. She’s still upset that she bought all these brand new items that didn’t get used (she still has them all too, even though I’m done having kids and my sisters have indicated they aren’t having any) I guess she will get to make someone very happy eventually though, passing along used but like new baby items!
Almost forgot my curb finds from my Sunday evening walk. I found a floor lamp on the curb from someone’s move out. I have been wanting one. The base & pole are sturdy metal. The shade is plastic, but it looks good (to me anyway). It even had a lightbulb in the fixture. I also found 2 bottles of toilet bowl cleaner. I was needing some & now I don’t have to buy it. There are many benefits to walking. Exercise is good for you, it does not pollute the environment, and you never know what you may find. Sometimes I top the evening walk off with a free senior soda at Wendy’s which is on my way.
Walking definitely brings more free things than driving down a road!
I’m so glad your site popped up in my Google suggested sites.. I’d like to subscribe but I keep getting an error message.. I’d try to help but we’re trying to get away from tech issues lol. Thanks so much for sharing such great work!! Even if it seems small or incidental, you’re an inspiration and a sister figure imho.. thank you for lightening up the world a bit.
The subscription link is messed up, sorry. I’ve added you to the list manually and you should start received the blog via email.
1. My mom (who lives 80 miles east of me) and I had to go to a memorial service this past weekend. I drove to her place and then we went the rest of the journey together, saving gas. She wanted to stop and buy breakfast, but I brought my own. Also brought plenty of water.
2. I wore clothes and shoes I already own to the memorial.
3. We got sent home with a ton of leftovers, so we divvied them up. I have enough for my partner and I for lunch for the week. Just polished off the lasagna – so tasty!
4. Looking for a specific gift for a friend, so I put an ask out on my Buy Nothing group before I look for where I might buy it used.
5. I have avoided many impulses to buy myself a meal or snack over the past week.
Great job on the guest room refit, Katy!
Now, FFT, I’m Baaack Edition:
I’m back from NYC, with stories to tell. Here’s the first batch:
(1) A classic NYC cab story: Because it was so hot on Tuesday 6/24 that you could have fried an egg in the middle of Broadway if you were so inclined, JASNA BFF decided we should get a cab from Penn Station to her place instead of taking the subway as we usually do. Our crabby cabbie deposited us unceremoniously in front of BFF’s apartment building and then, despite BFF’s earlier reminder to get my suitcase out of the back (he either didn’t hear or didn’t understand; his English was limited), peeled off without getting the suitcase. Luckily, an alert bicyclist saw me chasing after him and yelling “STOP!”, caught up with him at a nearby red light, and managed to get his attention. So I got my suitcase back, with four days’ worth of clothes, prezzies for BFF, and my laptop. Giant frugal win. And although I gave the biker hasty thanks, I wish I could have bought him a latte at least.
(2) Alas, my former managing editor came down with a vicious cough and could not meet me for lunch on Wednesday while BFF was babysitting her toddler granddaughter in Brooklyn. But since it was still hot enough to fry an egg on Broadway, I limited my activities to doing a little grocery shopping (NYC food prices are horrifying, but I did my best) and then curling up under the AC with a selection of BFF’s books. (Like DH and me, BFF and her late husband are/were bibliophiles and Anglophiles, so this was no hardship whatever.)
(3) Thursday (much cooler, thank goodness) was our day for the Morgan Library & Museum, and was a complete delight. BFF and I went there in the morning so we could go through the JA exhibit with a fine-toothed comb. I’ll provide more details on request, but it was everything I’d hoped. BFF wasn’t able to get me in for free with her membership, but I did get my admission discounted from $25 to $10. And I also got a 10% discount on my gift shop purchases.
(4) The Thursday evening reception at the Morgan was also everything I’d hoped for. In addition to being able to revisit the highlights of the JA exhibit (and, in my case, make a fast pass through the Julia Margaret Cameron photography exhibit), we met and mingled happily with both old and new JASNA friends. A particular joy was meeting again with the three children (and their spouses) of my late revered JASNA friend Edith Lank, who lent two items from Edith’s extensive JA collection to the exhibit. (And, finally, given that the price of drinks in NYC is also horrifying, I didn’t regard the open bar at the reception as any calamity. 😀 )
(5) After the reception, several of us were treated to a celebratory dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant in honor of the JA exhibit’s co-curator (one of JASNA’s leading academic lights) and her husband. Although the ambient noise level made conversation a bit challenging, the food was excellent, and I enjoyed my evening with this distinguished company.
More to come in later comments.
1. Borrowing a set of bolt cutters to cut the extra off the clothesline my DH and his brother strung for meon Sunday (one of the lines was metal and rusted – needed replaced).
2. Pickled cucumbers (most people like cucumber and onion, however, we don’t like the onion fixed this way), 2 mini muffins, a handful of pretzel sticks, and a yogurt for lunch.
3. Bought a watermelon for $3.99 the other day, but haven’t cut it yet. That, along with any other treasures we can find in the fridge will be supper.
4. Our Senior Pastor had a pacemaker installed on Tuesday last week. Been scrounging what I have in the house to make to take over for a meal. Wife works full time, his sister just moved in with them. (She and her husband lived in VA, husband died recently, all her family is here. No kids.) Thinking chicken enchiladas. Have most of the ingredients and it will make enough that my husband and I can have some for our meals, too.
Although we’ve only known our pastor for about 15 years, I go WAAAY back with him that we never knew until a few years ago. Come to find out my uncle (my mom’s brother) was my pastor’s high school principal and in the same graduating class as my cousin (uncle’s daughter). And, to top that off, pastor posted his wedding picture on FB several years ago with the entire wedding party. I look at the picture and asked how pastor and one of the groomsmen knew each other. He asked why. He’s my cousin (my mom’s sister’s son.) Funny how the world keeps getting smaller as we age.
5. I bypassed every fireworks display and fireworks sale tent. I’m not going to spend money only to have it go up in smoke – literally!
A. Marie, it’s good to hear from you. Glad you had such a great time.
I managed to come in under budget for June for people food, pet food and supplies, household stuff, and OTC meds. Made a batch of kibble topper to freeze that will last my dogs all of July. Mended a thrifted shirt while listening to public radio. Sewed some leather sleeves to cushion two of DH’s woodworking clamps. Been going to physical therapy all month and doing my exercises at home because it wastes mobey to be a slacker.
1. This week was great for marketplace. Made $170 all on free items: large wooden guinea pig hutch, a computer graphics card new in box, two pair of fishing waders, dog steps, large piece of artwork.
2. Used my Panera sips club free beverage a few times this week
3. Enjoyed our camper for a relaxing weekend. Our campsite is close to home so we vacation but still take care of our pets.
4. Accepted lots of herbs and veggie and fruit scraps from friends for our chickens and guinea pigs.
5. Made lots of egg salad with fresh backyard eggs and dill. Yum!