Five Frugal Things
by Katy on July 7, 2025 · 15 comments
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My sister and I went on a post-supper neighborhood walk and happened upon a garage sale leftovers pile from that provided an empty Altoid tin and a sturdy plastic clothespin for me. My sister scored yarn, art supplies and a couple of books. We then came across two free ceramic flowerpots, one for each of us. My one has the same silhouette as one that already sits on my front porch, which is my kind of frugal serendipity!
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I took that single Altoids tin and added it to my organizational system for tiny items. Keep in mind that I don’t buy Altoids, so these were all scavenged. I enjoy figuring out creative solutions that bypass corporate America, even when it’s just a small project.
There, that’s better!
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I made another batch of chive-y cream cheese to keep in the fridge and spread on Dollar Tree Monet crackers. Cheaper than Boursin and all I added was seasoned salt, chopped fresh chives and garlic powder!
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I dropped People of The Book off at the library and picked up Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler. I love this author and am happy that she’s still writing. I had to wait a long time for this hold to come in and I’m excited to delve into it.
On another note, I really appreciate that Portland’s libraries are open seven days a week.
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I didn’t remove protections for my country’s most vulnerable citizens to benefit America’s most morally bankrupt businessmen.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I found a flowerpot too!
Wait, how are you getting the flowerpot home on the plane? Is it a small one?
(Asking because I will be flying to see Katy in September, and I figured Portland’s free piles will be useless to me. Ha.)
1. One morning while walking we spotted four wood chairs among trash. They were kind of beat up but we drove back and picked them up (oh the thrill of beating the trash truck which usually comes early in the morning). They are IKEA chairs and DH is happy to be fixing them up. He needed a couple of screws so I ordered them from IKEA at no cost. They provide small parts free of charge. We will give the chairs away and be glad they did not end up in the landfill.
2. We had french fries with our lunch. They were free at Giant several weeks ago.
3. I reunited dog toys with our neighbor’s furry friends. There were three dog toys in our backyard, probably courtesy of foxes, so I texted three neighbors and found the owners. I didn’t want to throw the toys away but we don’t see the neighbors often.
4. I continue to give unneeded items away on Freecycle. It seems to be more actively used than it was for a while. I prefer not to use Buy Nothing since it part of Facebook/Meta. I listened to Careless People, about “leadership” at Facebook and it was as terrible an organization as other American corporations when the author worked there.
5. We will probably save quite a bit on federal taxes and I’d rather not have the tax cut given the cost to others and the future of the country.
I prefer Freecycle, too. It has been around a long time and seems to work well in our area.
There is also the Buy Nothing app, which is free to download and use for those that avoid Meta. Whether it’s very active and well used seems to vary across towns.
I start my new very part time job in things from closet.
FFT, July Miscellany Edition:
(1) Great score on the flowerpots and other trashpicks, Katy and Jessica! I can’t remember the last time I actually bought a flowerpot; all mine come from curbs or neighbors’ excess holdings.
(2) The Bestest Neighbors treated me to an evening of baseball at our local AAA team’s park Saturday evening. Also, the designated “Taco Bell K-Man” on the visiting team obligingly struck out for us, entitling us to a free taco apiece on presentation of our ticket stubs at a Taco Bell. TA-CO! (Hey, they’re not as good as the ones Katy gets at her Portland food carts, but they’re free food, right?)
(3) We’re having our first real drought of the summer, so I’m back to being Our Lady of the Perpetual Watering Can. But I’m saving what little water I can by (a) keeping a bucket under the condenser dripline from my air conditioning, and (b) using the water people often leave in the NY State deposit water bottles I pick up. (Double folly: Buying bottled water and then not finishing it.)
(4) And the post-4th of July bottle and can deposits are adding up nicely.
(5) Finally, I didn’t slash the National Weather Service’s budget so badly that people died needlessly in a major flood.
Katy, I just finished Three Days In June. It is a short easy read with humor. And it has a cat in it. I highly recommend it.
I love Anne Tyler, and Gwendolyn Brooks, too! A new book from either of them is a cause for celebration!
1. I bought two big jars of Nice brand popcorn at Walgreens, saving .79 on each jar. Buying food at Walgreens is expensive, but I do find that their Nice brand is reasonable. And I really like the popcorn. It is always fresh. I suppose they have quick turnover on snack food.
2. I found a shiny penny in the middle of the street!
3. I picked up a new book at a little free library, “The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club,” by Martha Hall Kelly. Will return David Baldacci’s “The Innocent” today.
4. Making bean quesadillas for lunch today, using free refried beans. Already have tortillas, cheese and taco sauce on hand.
5. Did not cause the Statue of Liberty to cover her face in shame.
Just a heads up to people who camp/hike. Apparently corp of engineer funding has faced many government funding cuts and is closing a bazillion outdoor sites.
I just drove past 4 sites that get lots of use by locals and vacationers that are blocked off and closed.
This morning, while waiting for the technician from Renewal by Andersen to arrive to do repairs under warranty, I am:
1. Boiling free noodles from Buy Nothing
2. Mending using thread that’s been in my family for decades
3. Making sun tea using free tea from Buy Nothing
4. Cooking brown rice purchased from the bulk bins at the coop
5. Exercising to free videos on YouTube.
Using those kinds of little metal boxes for small hardware-type things is nothing new: I have a tin box, same size/shape as the Altoids, from the 1930s. It was a container for some nails, and the top of the box showed a boy in overalls working in his workshop. It’s just darling! My dad had used the box for many decades. It has graduated out of his garage and into the living room/dining room, on display with other antiques.
Meanwhile, I got a text from my college roommate and she and her family are OK. They live in Hunt, Texas, where it’s flooded, but their place is on high ground away from the river. She didn’t write much but said the destruction is devastating. Pls. keep them all in your thoughts and prayers!
— Workmen are putting in the luxury vinyl plank flooring right now. This is the 15% off sale flooring from Ollie’s. I had them save pieces of the torn-up hall carpet(actually, Walmart throw rugs fastened together for a hallway carpet that the dog chewed). I still have a large throw rug (same pattern, looks like patchwork and is really cute) for the computer room for the center, once it is planked, and will make some pillows or something out of those rug scraps. While I like being a non-consumer whenever possible, this time I couldn’t find anything secondhand so my flooring had to be purchased new.
— Got some latex paint at Walmart for the flooring guys so they can paint the toe holds a coordinating color to match the floor. Frugal fail: I went to Habitat ReStore to purchase the paint I’d gotten before, the recycled Visions brand paint in the color called “Sands of Time.” There was none. Clerk said someone had come in and bought every last can of “Sands” that they had. Grrr!
— After moving 16 boxes of vinyl plank indoors so it could “outgas” prior to the workers arriving, I cleared out the computer room and moved all the furniture out myself. (Just call me Arnold!)
–Someone mentioned water bottles, and when I was at a thrift store that specialized in hardware items (not ReStore, but a similar one), I saw they’d stocked a lot of nuts and bolts, nails and screws and other small items in the bottoms of (individual sized) water bottles. They just cut them in half and used the bottom part for this purpose. Since the bottles are clear, it made it easier to see what was inside. Hadn’t seen that before, so I thought I’d pass along this tip.
— Our July 4 fireworks got rained out but last night I got to watch a showing of another city’s fireworks show that a car dealership sponsored on the local TV station.
Similarly, do you remember metal band-aid boxes? My Dad had one for the Indian head pennies and buffalo nickels he saved from collecting for his paper route.
1. The house next door to us is vacant but while I was outside with my grandson I noticed a blue Ikea bag had blown into the empty yard. I grabbed it. It was filled with trash but after a few washings, it was a. good as new and very useful Ikea bag.
2. I listed some bath rugs on my Buy Nothing group and scored a Fisher Price play castle on the same group.
3. I sold an item on my ebay listings. I used recycled materials to send and printed the label at the library for free.
4. The weather here has consistently been in the 90’s over the last few weeks so we have been taking advantage of our neighborhood swimming pool. We pay for it monthly along with snow shoveling, trash pick up and a small rec center so I’m glad that we can get our moneys worth.
5. Still successfully decluttering, eating down the pantry (and freezer and fridge), reading my library book (West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge) ,watching our 2 streaming services, eating at home and enjoying our patio in the evenings after it cools down a bit. Thankful for what we have.