Five Frugal Things -- A Thrifted Limoges Porcelain Box
1) I stopped at Goodwill before doing my grocery shopping and came out with a $3.99 Limoges porcelain box, that's now listed on my eBay for $100! This'll be for the Goodwill Gift Card Challenge and should help to bolster my numbers for the Oregon Food Bank.
Click HERE to see the listing!
2) I found two nickels at Winco, which is satisfying as I'm finding fewer coins on the ground as this world gets increasingly digital.
So yes, I recently came into some money!
3) I was inspired by the hotel breakfast buffet in Seattle, so scooped up some fun goodies from the Winco bulk bins. Oatmeal is a great frugal choice when feeding a team of people and we now have dried blueberries, raisins, almonds and cinnamon sugar to enjoy with our breakfasts. I was going to also buy shredded coconut, but my sister offered to bring some from her kitchen in New York.
It's the perfect way to use my hoarded stash of Bonne Maman jars that my old neighbor used to put out with her recycling. I sure do miss her!
4) We ran out of dental floss while in Seattle, so I made sure to pop a fresh sample into our travel toiletry kit as a favor to Future Katy. I always ask for extras from the dental hygienist for this very reason.
5) I see that Fred Meyer is holding their Fuchsia Saturday next week on April 11th. This is their annual event where they'll fill your empty flowerpots with free potting soil if you buy even one small plant. It starts at 7 A.M., so I will be setting my alarm for that!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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That Limoges box is gorgeous! It's my 50th birthday weekend, but we are keeping it frugal:
1) I stopped in at Fred Meyer to scour discounts before making the main meal plan and grocery list for the week. I lucked out because they had really stuffed their $1.50 discount produce bags full! Spent $11.75 and left with 6 zucchini, 5 apples, 5 pears, 3 huge tomatoes, 1 Asian salad kit, a loaf of Franz multi-seed bread, and a pack of 6 cupcakes (because it's my birthday AND they were $1 because two of them had smashed their frosting into the top of the container).
2) We needed to notarize something, so we went to our credit union which offers free notarization as a perk.
3) Instead of going out to an expensive birthday dinner tonight, our son and his GF are bringing over Popeye's chicken as their gift, and we are going to have a family feast and game night. I don't really need anything, so when he asked me what I wanted I said "a family dinner that fits into your budget. I'm not picky!" Popeye's is my favorite of the fast food chicken joints, so it's perfect.
4) We had a brief service outage on our cellphones the other day. Not a big deal since they still worked on wifi, and they were only out for a couple of hours. I noticed we were given a $40 credit for the outage on two of the four phones on the plan. I sent a quick email to inquire if the other phones didn't qualify, and they bumped it up to an $80 credit! We pay $25 a line, so our bill is only $10 this month and the kids' are $5 each (they are adults and pay their own phone bill, but we are all still on the same plan).
5) Inspired by Katy, I assembled a birthday day of adventures for my partner and I tomorrow! we are going to go to a local thrift store to spend the birthday coupon they emailed me on some summer shirts I desperately need (it's a 75% off up to $20 coupon, so a good one!), then we are going to use my $5 Safeway birthday reward to pick up one of their $5 deli sandwiches (which are big enough for two), then we are going to a favorite beer garden during $5 happy hour AND they give you a $1 birthday pint AND they allow outside food to have our lunch and enjoy a pint in the (possible) sunshine, followed by the local museum (I have free museum passes from the Library), then possibly a stop at our favorite cafe at the port for my birthday coffee (we'll split it between two small cups) and a walk around the marina, then home for a snacky charcuterie dinner and a few rousing games of darts. I've budgeted $15 for the day, for the discounted pints + tip and thrifting.
Congrats on the Limoges box! Another great thrifting score. I love it when you get your pots filled with soil and come back with a new plants. I wish my local stores would do that! Every year I'm happy when you make that post. Worth waking up on a weekend for!
Nothing too new, but since I'm out here on the patio enjoying our perfect spring weather, I'd like to share some of my long-ago patio/outdoor frugal hacks that have held up for many years. (Just for something different.)
So here goes:
1. My rectangular glass patio dining table+ 6 matching chairs were purchased for about $100 from Salvation Army back in 2010 right before closing on the house. At first I thought the price outrageous but the I started comparison shopping. Similar, smaller, square tables that were the size of card tables +4 chairs were going for $150 or more at the time. Ones that were identical to mine sold for $250 to $300 or even more! So I went back to the SA Thrift Store. I had Mom's minivan so I simply stored the set in the van until after we closed on the house. This is the 16th year I've used this outdoor dining set. I have replaced the cushions once but otherwise the set is as good as new. And I am eating my meals on it this spring.
2. I also thrifted (or garage saled) a metal plant stand/patio side table that did not have its glass table top. I'm sure I paid no more than a couple of bucks for same. Soon afterwards, my ginormous 1980s microwave bit the dust. I salvaged its round turntable and Eurica! It fits perfectly in the side table.
3. I have decorative twinkle lights from Goodwill and Habitat ReStore, bought very cheap, fastened around the ceiling of my covered patio. Makes sitting out there after sunset all the more relaxing. In an earlier incarnation, these strings of clear lights were probably on someone's Christmas tree. I bought them second hand and significantly cheaper than regular patio lights.
4. Inherited my grandparents' heavy iron chaise longer and the cushion is upholstered vinyl with springs and straw inside. Much more durable and comfortable than the flimsy things you buy today. It has gone through many a spray painting and the cushion was reupholstered a few times but it's still a great place to sit and read and text the NCA and similar blogs.
5. Reusing lots of flower pots, baskets and hanging baskets as I do every year. Why buy new when you can replant things? Also I salvage potting soil. Example: The church gave away leftover poinsettia plants in flower pots; so when the plant went kaput, I put the soil in another planting and saved the plastic pot for later. Will likely do the same with any Easter lilies I get. I previously mentioned I clip wicker baskets (bought from garage or estate sales) to plastic hanging baskets to make them a tad fancier. Oh, and since I have an equipment closet door opening out onto the patio, I put one of those over the door metal things (designed for hanging lots of clothes) on the door. I have a lightweight hanging basket on it with a wicker basket on the bottom and a trailing spider plant. Looks almost like a florist fixed it up.
Meanwhile, wishing all of you a blessed Easter or Passover. Please don't forget the true meaning of the season.
THEN I started comparison shopping, not "the". Typo!
BTW, I ran the numbers and using that $100 patio dining set for sixteen years has cost me a mere $6.25 a year. (Not counting the replacement cushions.)
Your Seattle adventure seems to have been just what you two needed – time together in a new place, some fan-girling about a waterfall, a free library tour... What more could a holiday hold?
1. I continue to struggle with online access to one of my Mom's Credit Card accounts. A rough estimate of the number of hours already invested (sunk cost?) is three plus and counting. I need to book an appointment – or shall I say ANOTHER appointment – and take my computer and phone in to solve the problem.
I had frustrations with her bank account, now that I remember, which also entailed a second visit with a computer and phone to resolve. However her bank is actually a Credit Union and the entire experience was friendlier... I shall persevere.
2. I visited my mom and brought her more eggs from the chickens, and helped her with her physical calendar. Her short term memory is getting worse (natch) and her snappyness is noticiable. I came away discouraged but a quick visit with my Daughter before I headed home, and a lovely reaching in phone call from a girlfriend (who knew I was seeing my Mom that day, and who lost her mom 5 years ago after a few years of downward trends) both helped me find my equanimity.
I was tempted to go to Costco on the way home but held off, I will be down again next week and at that time will ensure I have a good list for a fast visit. Otherwise I can be easily distracted.
3. The local grocery store has turkeys for $1.97/lb so I did stop there on the way home, I just looked at the flyer that I had circled and realized that I got EVERYTHING on that list, even though I forgot it. I am doing some judicious pantry stocking, and also indulging in things like the delicious pumpkin pies this grocery is offering for easter.
The turkey is thawing and I will roast it without stress on one of the next couple of days – Some of my family is away, some is sick, and I am being careful of my energy. I have noted here before that cooking the bird the day before an event has been a game changer – just boil some broth and pour it over the sliced meat 10 minutes before serving, reheat in the oven as you are getting the veggies ready. No fussing with carving when there is a 6 ring circus going on around you. I carve the bird, then make the broth/stock, the day before. Presto!
4. I had cooked up some lentils and they weren't getting eaten, so I did a google search and found a squash lentil quinoa and kale salad that I had all the ingredients for. Not usually something I would try but hey, why not something new? The Fibromyalgia is biting my derriere and my wrists are sore, so the peeling and chopping of the squash was a bit challenging, but all was assembled following about ¾ of the recipe (like, use the rice cooker for the quinoa, instead of a pot on the stove!). The dressing isn't a re-do, however the rest of the 'bowl' is satisfying, tasty and certainly nutritious. I took the time to make some notes on the printed out recipe.
My neighbor is cleaning out a house for an elderly man who has moved to be closer to his daughter. She brought me over some greeting cards since she knows I love sending them. In it was a very specific collectible greeting card since from 1989. I searched on eBay, and there is only one on eBay, with no previous sales. The other one is listed at $750 with multiple watchers!!! I listed mine on auction at a much lower price. I can’t imagine anyone paying hundreds of dollars for a greeting card, but I’m willing to give it a shot.
Other than that, as I told someone yesterday, it just seems like we are hemorrhaging money.