Five Frugal Things — Back to Basic Frugality
1) I started reading a library copy of The Measure, by Nikki Erlick. I’m only 43 pages in, but it seems like a keeper. Like many of my library books, I no longer remember why I put it on hold, but trust that past Katy knew what she was doing.
2) I started listening to Road Trip, by the impeccable Mary Kay Andrews. I’m an hour and a half in and actually looking forward to slotting in a few mindless chores that’ll pair well with an audiobook. Raking the backyard, walking the neighborhood, etc.
The library giving free access to the Libby app is exactly how I want my tax dollars to be spent!
3) The weather here in Portland is delightfully cool, (note my flannel pajama pants and cozy slippers!) which is the perfect opportunity to enjoy hearty bowls of oatmeal each and every morning. Which of course is purchased from the Winco bulk bins.
Cheap, healthy, yummy — the trifecta!
4) I sold the $5 Anthropologie “Icon” drinking glass that I thrifted at Goodwill last week. $5 to $50 is an excellent return on investment and reinforces that I continue to get better with what I thrift to resell.
I almost always check Google Lens to identify the item and then eBay “Completed Listings” to see how much it actually sells for. (How much sellers list an item for is almost useless information.) It only takes a minute and ups my reselling game.
My glass still had the Anthropologie sticker on the bottom, so I was able to sell it as “new.”
5) I had my annual physical and left vaccinated against the flu and have booked an appointment for my Covid booster. I tried two different CVS pharmacies last week only to learn that the location that takes walk-ins closes from 1-2 P.M., and the other one I hit that afternoon didn’t take walk-ins!
Hoping to never repeat getting Covid, like my husband, sister and I did back in 2023.
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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I’m with
Thank you for the book recommendations, I’ve put Road Trip on hold. Your oatmeal pictures make me wish I wasn’t allergic to oats. And that I had a Winco nearby.
Worked in our garden today, removing some things, and configuring the drip irrigation to cover the space more efficiently. Focusing on maximum beauty and food production, less work and less water.
Sold a snowboard to Play it Again Sports.
Batched some petty errands and felt great about getting them done. Two were returns, so getting the errands done cleared physical space as well as mental space (the endless to-do list in my head).
Taking a hard look at my projects, current and aspirational. Donated some of the aspirational ones that I need to remove from my life. I’m in a season of essentials and I don’t need a lot of extra projects that feel like obligations. Thankfully one item was within its return window, so money back on that. Finishing 4 embroideries today which will feel great.
I had foot surgery and several pairs of shoes no longer fit. I had pre-purchased my favorite Birkenstocks and Merrells and was able to return both of these (unworn). So that lifts a bit of the black cloud about shoes. That’ll teach me to order ahead of when I actually need them!
I’m clueless about the juice glass and why anyone would pay $50 for one glass
It went viral and sold out. Originally it was $16.
The Anthropologie “Icon” glass are only available for a limited time and are collectible.
1. Husband washed both of our vehicles in the driveway.
2. Used up the remaining amount of ketchup in the bottle by adding a bit of water, swishing it around, and squirting into some spaghetti sauce.
3. Rescued eight boxes of expired mac ‘n’ cheese via Buy Nothing. Tossed the orange dust and decanted the noodles into quart mason jars.
4. Received $3 at Half-Price Books for a book that I acquired at no cost. It was on my way home from another errand and took only 10 minutes out of my day.
5. Received menstrual discs on Buy Nothing that no one else wanted. Donated to a free table of zero-waste products as my menstruation days are long past.
Haha, I hear you on tossing the orange dust!
Your #2…I don’t like to waste food of any kind but never thought of adding the last bit of ketchup with water to spaghetti sauce. Thanks for the idea.
We did covid boosters this week. We had to pay for them here in Scotland, as only a small minority qualify for a free jab. We will get flu for free soon, as my husband qualifies and I do as his carer. Managed to book the shots in our favourite local town, and treated ourselves to a pastry from the bakers on the same street as the pharmacy, for being brave!
He has a couple of out of town medical appointments next week, so I am trying to stack errands around them.
Went to the community lunch today. It’s free, with soup, homemade bread and cake. A chance to catch up with some neighbours in our little village.
I’ve decided not to make hats for the adult kids this year. I am instead going to make giant gnomes. I am sure they will be easy to regift if they decide not to keep them.
Free spinning get together tomorrow, which also promises cake! I will take my wheel and maybe meet some new to me crafters. I am going to have to get some steps in to keep in calorie defecit with all this cake!
Nicola, treating yourselves for being brave was an excellent plan!
Congrats on the sale of the glass! You are indeed good at picking out the winners!
Amen to never getting Covid again.
Today I did some laundry, and I decided to take a walk in between the wash and dry cycles. I went by a LFL and picked up a book. Then I realized that my keys were not in my pocket, not in my purse, not in my bag. I knew they had to be in the laundry room, but that meant I was locked out. I hurried home and called my neighbor. Luckily she was in, and she came downstairs and let me in the building and the laundry room. So good to have a neighbor you can count on.
She shared with me a secret outdoor place where she has stashed extra keys, and that is good to know.
How is this frugal? I didn’t call a locksmith!
I roasted some little yellow potatoes for breakfast, which I had with an egg and toast. For lunch I thawed a hot dog and ate it with sauerkraut. Popcorn for dinner.
I’m reading Richard Osman’s We Chase Shadows. Yesterday I finished We Solve Murders, the first book in the series. I have two more library books with a limited checkout period, so I’m reading like crazy to get it all done in time.
I finally gave up on my crap Asus Chromebook and got a HP Omnibook. The Chromebook would load pages and then after I attempted to read said pages (like this blog) it would go blank. Rinse and repeat and it was NOT my internet access, as my phone and tablet are connected to the same wifi (no problems reading stuff there). I also finally gave up on cheap laptops as you get what you pay for!! I had SIX (yes SIX) dead laptops (mostly purchased from Walmart) so I trotted those things out of my house to Best Buy for recycling.
Still working on emptying out the house in preparation for flooring. It’s going slowly because work wears me the heck out on a daily (six days a week, usually 10 hours or more a day) basis.
Suellen – I’m surprised to hear that about your Chromebook. I’ve worked in tech for ~30 years & typically can order what I want for my work laptop, and Chromebook are, hands down, no questions, my favorite! My current one is at least six years old.
Hope your new laptop lasts & is awesome!
Loved your post yesterday showing your house!
1. Hurricane Isaias dumped a lot
of water but no power outages here, thank goodness. I am so happy! Several years ago, Hurricane Zeta dumped my neighbor’s tree on my roof and I was hoping to not have a repeat.
2. I managed to make it to the laundromat today. $3.00.
3. I have slept most of the day other than my laundromat foray.
4. I intend to clean the house this evening.
5. I pulled frozen catfish and Brussels sprouts from freezer and cooked in crockpot with teriyaki sauce, various spices.
Thanks, it was only 99% motivated by not being in the mood to write a proper blog post.
I think I’d be a lousy reseller because I’d never guess someone would pay $50 for that glass.
1. I drove a friend to the airport and took advantage of the proximity to the bins. It was one of those days where it all looked like garbage. I finally found a beautiful Irish linen blouse.
2. I stopped at IKEA, and considered trying the veggie dog, but the downstairs cafe is now cashless, and I don’t want to charge 90 cents to my credit card. So, I ended up eating at home, and I guess it saved me 90 cents.
3. I got my flu and covid shots at Fred Meyer and got $20 worth of groceries for my trouble.
4. I stopped at an estate sale and bought a “baking steel†for $2. It is very heavy. I can’t wait to try it out on homemade pizza.
5. I went for a walk and found 5 mason jars in a free pile. Score!!
This week I got my Covid and flu shot for free at QFC. Normally, these shots don’t affect me but this time I was wiped out for two days. Back to normal now though.
I ordered a pair of Sketchers from EBay which looked quite new. Saving $20 from the retail price. However they weren’t all that comfortable. I will just give them to the American Cancer Society thrift store as a donation. At least I probably helped a nice person’s EBay store.
Today I made a big pot of an Italian soup utilizing left over chicken sausage plus odds and ends like mushroom, cannellini beans and zucchini. That, and toast, will be dinner tonight.
I finished sewing a tunic which can be worn with a knit shirt and leggings this winter. With my thrift store material it only came to $3.99. My material pile is getting smaller.
At Trader Joe’s I bought a huge kabuchi (sp?) squash for 3.49. I know my neighbor used to grow them and said they are delicious.
I found some Muir Glen jars of organic pasta sauce for $2.49 which they had on close out. Half the price of usual retail.
1) Listed a mosquito “take the sting away” unopened item someone gave us & we didn’t use. Sold on eBay within a few days.
2) Made a dozen muffins with 6 overly ripe bananas from the freezer, as part of the freezer cleanout. I made 3 with chocolate chips for DS20, and the rest without for DH.
3) Considered going to Trader Joes to pick up a few things, but reminded myself that we are leaving for Boulder on Thursday, and we can finish off what we have on hand.
4) Used a $5 off grocery coupon, which I turned into a few things DH wanted: avocados & sardines. 😐
5) Cleaned my Clarisonic face brush, & got it back into action, as well as my hand held vacuum, which needed a good clean out to keep working.
I sold a Halloween shirt that was an impulse purchase LAST Halloween and never worn (turned out to be a bit too small anyway), for $5.00 Crap out, money in.
1. I picked my 2 pumpkins that grew all on their own. They are on my front porch. I also picked several dozen figs.
2. Hubby renewed his library card. We then went out to lunch with a gift card I was given. We tipped in cash. There is enough for at least 2 more lunches.
3. I made a batch of apple carrot juice. All of the pulp went into the dogs food which I also made today. All of the apple cores went into a quart canning jar and I started more ACV.
4. We had leftovers for dinner.
5. Hubby gave the snow blower a tune up and oil change. It is ready for the season ahead. He did a few other chores around that house that he needed to do.
I’m with you I never want to have covid again, shots are easier. Sorry my other comment left, I guess our wifi is wobbling again. Congrats on eBay sale.
I needed to change my shot appointment until after my daysurgery (which was postponed due to the dreadful cold), but I had forgotten about it. I’ve now done that reschedule, thanks to you!
1. My many boxes-o-apples got a lot of attention this week – three nights in a row I chatted with DD on the phone while I used my old fashioned apple/peeler/corer slicer to wing through enough apples each night to fill BOTH of my Excalibur dehydrators – I’ve misplaces some trays but still have 15, so thats how many I filled.
By mid morning the next day I could pull the dried apples off the trays, in preparation for the next night. I now have 4 of the huge (2 or 3 gallon?) ziplock bags of apples, ready to share with my adult kids as they all love them.
2. My second pear tree produced disappointingly scarred fruit. I’ve been letting them ripen, slicing and tidying as they do, and drying a tray or two along with the apples. I must plant more pears as we love them dried and canned. Somehow I keep planting apples, instead. DOH.
3. An afternoon visit from #2 son made a huge dent in the boxes-o-apples supply. He loves to run the peeler/corer/slicer; we got a system going with him washing apples and processing them, me using a paring knife to tidy up and prep. Together we then either filled the dehydrator trays (another 15 trays in the machines!!), or packed (8 cups each) bags for the freezer. We filled 12 bags!
It was quite the production line and lots of sharing happened. I keep learning more about chemistry: I get him going on something I am curious about, he is great at teaching and explaining, even with all the interruptions from my random questions and various apple chores. Win-win-win-win…
4. Before we started the apples, #2 son washed and pulled the stems off the San Marzano tomatoes, 2 flats of which had been quietly ripening under the kitchen table. The tomatoes were sliced in half and spent the afternoon roasting in big roasters in the oven, while we did apple activities. I still need to run the roasted tomatoes through the food mill and can them; I might make another pasta-style sauce or just can straight tomatoes, depends on my energy level after the food-milling.
5. All of the above is a huge relief for me, as the cold that felled me more than 10 days ago has meant my usual intense Autumn food preserving efforts have been shelved.
I am pleased to report that no more than 5 apples were reject-level, partially due to #2 son doing a huge sort of them last time he was down, when he collected a bunch of imperfect apples for a friend. High-grading after picking is highly recommended – he likes to do stuff like that, bless him!
6. I am also involved with both a municipal election campaign (minor role) and at the same time a Provincial election campaign (I’m actually listed as RUNNING in a far northern riding where my chance of winning is nil, but it gives people at least a choice on the ballot).
Locally the provincial campaign is of great interest and I have done what I do best: staying at home and doing phone and computer work. Everyone is happy that I’ve kept my germs to myself. I’m doing the best I can with what cards I am currently dealt.
Thanks for the covid comments – I needed to change my Covid and Flu shot appointments as my day surgery was rescheduled due to my dreadful cold. DONE thanks to you!
1. My many boxes-o-apples got a lot of attention this week – three nights in a row I chatted with DD on the phone while I used my old fashioned apple/peeler/corer slicer to wing through enough apples each night to fill BOTH of my Excalibur dehydrators – I’ve misplaces some trays but still have 15, so thats how many I filled.
By mid morning the next day I could pull the dried apples off the trays, in preparation for the next night. I now have 4 of the huge (2 or 3 gallon?) ziplock bags of apples, ready to share with my adult kids as they all love them.
2. My second pear tree produced disappointingly scarred fruit. I’ve been letting them ripen, slicing and tidying as they do, and drying a tray or two along with the apples. I must plant more pears as we love them dried and canned. Somehow I keep planting apples, instead. DOH.
3. An afternoon visit from #2 son made a huge dent in the boxes-o-apples supply. He loves to run the peeler/corer/slicer; we got a system going with him washing apples and processing them, me using a paring knife to tidy up and prep. Together we then either filled the dehydrator trays (another 15 trays in the machines!!), or packed (8 cups each) bags for the freezer. We filled 12 bags!
It was quite the production line and lots of sharing happened. I keep learning more about chemistry: I get him going on something I am curious about, he is great at teaching and explaining, even with all the interruptions from my random questions and various apple chores. Win-win-win-win…
4. Before we started the apples, #2 son washed and pulled the stems off the San Marzano tomatoes, 2 flats of which had been quietly ripening under the kitchen table. The tomatoes were sliced in half and spent the afternoon roasting in big roasters in the oven, while we did apple activities. I still need to run the roasted tomatoes through the food mill and can them; I might make another pasta-style sauce or just can straight tomatoes, depends on my energy level after the food-milling.
5. All of the above is a huge relief for me, as the cold that felled me more than 10 days ago has meant my usual intense Autumn food preserving efforts have been shelved.
I am pleased to report that no more than 5 apples were reject-level, partially due to #2 son doing a huge sort of them last time he was down, when he collected a bunch of imperfect apples for a friend. High-grading after picking is highly recommended – he likes to do stuff like that, bless him!
6. I am also involved with both a municipal election campaign (minor role) and at the same time a Provincial election campaign (I’m actually listed as RUNNING in a far northern riding where my chance of winning is nil, but it gives people at least a choice on the ballot). Locally the provincial campaign is of great interest and I have done what I do best staying at home and doing phone and computer work. Everyone is happy that I’ve kept my germs to myself. I’m doing the best I can with what cards I am currently dealt.
sorry for the double post
It was a frugal day. Most of the day I was home recovering from my lousy head cold.
1. Called the salon where I just had a cut. It was not good. Needed a tweak. I called and went in for the fix. Frugal because I got the haircut I paid for and didn’t go somewhere else to pay to get it fixed.
2. Used tons of leftovers for meal prep. The end of some crock pot chicken was used with the end of a jar of velveeta, green onion, cilantro and some refreshed chips for nachos. The chips expired today and were getting stale, so I popped them in the air fryer and voila, crispy chips! It was delicious.
3. A scrap of pie dough from the freezer was the base for 2 tiny pies and a streusel topped no crust pie. The peaches were too bland to eat awhile ago, so I cut them up and froze them. Tossed them in the crock pot with some spices and sugar and made my own pie filling. Added some streusel and yum-peach streusel pie and less junk in my freezer!
4. Walked my dog on the local trail in the sunshine.
5. Waxed my own brows.
6. Relaxing in bed with a movie and some reading.
7. Thanks for the book recommendation. It’s now on hold at the library. 🙂
1. Katy, when you mentioned Libby it reminded me how much I love having access to the New Yorker magazine through it.
2. DH and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I wasn’t even past the house next door when I found two quarters in the road.
3. I found another deposit can.
4. I hung two loads of laundry outside yesterday and one load today.
5. I pulled out my Halloween decorations and I won’t be buying any new ones or used ones. I have enough to make the house look festive.
Katy, I just yesterday signed up for Libby. But I don’t quite understand what “hold” means. Is that for a physical book, not a a download?
Gosh getting old is a pain!!
It also said a terrible long wait time
Hello Marie,
Yes the Libby app lends you a digital or audio copy of the book.
Your library will have physical copies of books and you will borrow physical books at your library. You can still borrow sometimes books on cd at your library also.
Thank you all. I did finally figure it out
A “hold” is a digital book or audiobook that I’ve put “on hold,” but have to wait for. You can always scroll through books that are immediately available while you wait.
Hi, everyone. I’m just checking in to let everyone know I’m alive and well. I’ve been dealing with a major personal crisis this week (I’m over it now, thanks), plus a major influx of JASNA journal papers for editing, plus the necessary work involved in putting NDN1’s house up for sale (the listing will be going up on Tuesday). More details on the next FFT, I promise.
A.Marie,
Hope everything has settled down and that you are OK.
A. Marie, thanks for letting us know how you’re doing. I’m holding you close from afar.
Thanks for checking in, you know that you’re everyone’s favorite commenter!
A. Marie, good to hear from you. I’m happy NDN1’s house will be on the market very soon. It sounds like you just about at the end of that journey. I think you need a breather! Take care.
1. My amazing husband got us a quote to fix our front patio that was in the thousands of dollars, but he figured out how to do the same fix for $300 in supplies. He also borrowed our neighbor’s power washer so we didn’t even have to rent one!
2. Just completed perhaps our final “real†grocery shop for the month. The freezer is full and we have plenty of snacks, coffee, etc so we will likely only need to go back for fresh fruit and soy milk in 2 weeks from now!
3. We reused the same fall decorations that we have used for at least 8 years and the house looks great. We will add to those decorations with Halloween stuff that we have used for 14 years.
4. My son just got into skateboarding and the garbage picked one he has had for a couple of years just isn’t cutting it. I found a brand new high quality one at the local pawn shop for $116 and ask if they would take $100 cash for it. They did! It’s usually $180 to buy from the store so this is an amazing deal. My son was happy to save his allowance money on this deal too?
5. It’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and we took a family hike to the local Provincial Park. We got the annual pass which means we can go as many time as we like for free.
Tiny mundane frugal things: cut off the top quarter of a well-squeezed tube of toothpaste to get the last out of it. It’s being held shut with a binder clip. Sewed together some fabric scraps to make a cleaning rag.
Took a bag of five items to the homeless aid thrift store and brought home a heavy cotton J. Jill shirt for $4. Had one of my homemade Lean Cuisine-style meals from the freezer for lunch. Made cinnamon toast as a sweet snack.
Made cookie bars for the church youth group. It was a box mix I bought at the cheapo store. I won’t be buying them again; it would’ve been less trouble to make from scratch. Such is life! I will use my dumpster find cake carrier to transport them. I’ll also buy dog food while in town.
Bought Ds a winter coat that looks new from the thrift for $10. He also got a pair of inline skates for $3.50
Vaccinated a group of calves myself. Saved a vet call and hauling them to town.
Began working on a cattle waterer. It’s basically a large concrete box below our pond. It operates by gravity flow via a service line with a float. The trough is now clean, but I bought the wrong fitting for the pipe. I’ll have to return it, bleh. But I have the float! Hopefully, soon we will have a functional water trough again. Ive just got to unclog the service line. The former owners hadn’t used it in years.
Cooking from scratch, composting, and line drying 🙂
woah, look at all the ranch stuff you are taking on – Vaccinating and plumbing, who knew? Isn’t it all just petting cute calves and sometimes doing some haying? LOL
I don’t think the Covid shot will
Keep you from
Getting Covid. I’ve had it twice and have had two shot and a booster. If it keeps me out of the hospital, I’m all for it.
Still in total shock that people pay $50 for that glass! Good for you for grabbing it!!
It’s so funny to me when I visit your site and get an ad for luxury handbags. I realize you probably have no control over what the ad network serves up, but it’s a chuckle. It’s a Rebag ad, so at least they are used luxury handbags.
The Measure was probably my favorite read when it came out – it led to great book club discussions.
I couldn’t stop thinking about The Measure once I finished it. Incredible book!