Five Frugal Things -- Brass Candlesticks & Spelling Frustrations
1) I watched an Architectural Digest YouTube video on How a Photographer Designed His Dream Long Island Home and although 99.372% of his home was laughably out of my financial reach, I noted his collection of mismatched brass candlesticks.
I recently picked up two different brass candlesticks on two separate occasions from the Goodwill bins. My plan had been to lot them up for an eBay listing, but I now might just enjoy them for a bit. I don't actually own any taper candles, (Fire = bad!) so I might ask for some in my Buy Nothing group.
I watch these videos not only for their entertainment value, but also because they inform me on style trends and brands that might not be on my radar. They help me to be smarter with what to I pick up to resell.
2) I completely forgot that I started a pan of oatmeal until the burnt scent wafted through the entire house. Cooking oatmeal for one happens in my ancient Descoware enamel saucepan and I wasn't going to let stubbornly baked on oatmeal be the end of this sixty-year-old pan.
I did a couple rounds of boiled baking soda, followed by an old fashioned scrubbing session with a brillo pad. Which of course I cut into four pieces as there's no reason to waste an entire pad for a small task.
What am I, a Rockefeller?!
The pan is now back to normal, which I celebrated by cooking up a batch of oatmeal, while puttering around the kitchen to keep a sharp eye on its progress. Lesson learned!
3) I sewed the appliquéd skull back onto a cushion my sister made for my daughter back when she was a teenager. The wool stitches had somehow disintegrated, (the answer is moths, but I don't want to think about that -- blegh!) and it was a matter of five minutes tops to fix her back up again.
These kinds of tasks will never top a reasonable person's to-do list, but I like to add random little chores that pad my overall sense of accomplishment. Yes, I need to take the car through emissions testing to get it reregistered, (big picture important) but I also need to take down the kitchen lighting shade to wash off that revolting greasy layer of dust.
Not that you asked, but you can see the schmutz from the underside of the kitchen light. Plus, eww . . . hair! How?!
Also I just noticed that a bulb is out. At least it's is a groovy vintage light and worth the effort!
4) My youngest got a package delivered to the house, which came in an ingenious adjustable shipping box. I narrowly stopped them from flattening it, in order to set it aside for an imaginary future eBay sale.
Not that it matters, but why is "genius" spelled with an "I-U-S" at the end, but "ingenious" is spelled with "I-O-U-S" at the end? It means that I rarely get the spelling correct on the first try, which doesn't exactly make me feel like a genius.
Another example of this is how "refrigerator" doesn't include the letter "D," but "fridge" does. I will forever and always attempt to include the letter "D" in "refrigerator!"
5) I set my alarm for 11:55 PM on May 31st to check if the library releases any new cultural passes on June 1st. These can be free museum entry, theater tickets or even concerts. Unfortunately it's highly competitive, which is why I check at the stroke of midnight most months.
However, I'm not gatekeeping this technique, which makes me feel slightly less guilty with how I successfully score so many free passes.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
I cut the tape on the bottom and flatten boxes for re-use all the time.
And I love that pillow.
1. I cooked baked chicken legs from my freezer, made a turkey meatloaf, again from my freezer, tea I made from a bag of 100 tea bags for a dollar on top of the stove in a regular saucepan bc I don’t have a tea kettle and I am not buying one, snipped green onion from my outside little garden, made a salad from my lettuce outside and tossed in some wild dandelion greens from my yard for nutrition, made a homemade salad dressing which always tastes better than store bought, and various other things I can’t think of from the top of my head.
2. I walked for an hour early this morning in my neighborhood so did not have to drive and pay for a gym.
3. I trimmed my own eyebrows outside so that I didn’t waste electricity bc I hate our power company.
4. I am reading a library book for entertainment this weekend.
5. I plan to stay home until Monday although gas prices were down this week in college town to $3.51 gallon, and $3.99 south of there.
Oh, and my regular disclaimer that I cannot spell nor type well so I give everyone grace regarding spelling. Also, my semi regular comment that I cannot stand Amazon’s Bozo and his bimbo fake looking bride. Corporate corruption at its finest!