Five Frugal Things -- Design by Committee
1) I sold the shiny orange pepper grinder that I thrifted a few days ago. I paid $2.70 and will receive $21.29 after eBay fees. Not as newsworthy as the Wilt Chamberlain jacket, but I still made money doing something I enjoy.
How did I know to buy this item that sat on a shelf amidst hundreds, if not thousands of random bits and bobs? It stood out. High end items generally aren't designed to appeal to the generalized masses. You go to Wal-Mart or Target and you'll note that their mass produced merchandise isn't taking a risk. Think design by committee instead of a single person's vision. This shiny orange pepper grinder was unique.
Does that mean that everything unique is worth buying? No, but that item is worth the 60 seconds that it takes to check Google Lens and eBay's "Completed Listings." I'd estimate that I look up at least ten things for every one item that I actually buy. Especially when I shop at the Goodwill bins, where there are thousands upon thousands of items for sale.
2) I turned a pair of secondhand mailers inside out to package up my eBay sales.
My printer seems to have reached the end of its life, as the "support code" is indicating a mechanical issue. Neither my husband nor I were able to remedy the problem, so we've started to browse Facebook Marketplace for an exact replacement. This printer worked great for a full ten years and this part is important -- accepts off-brand ink! I just bought a big box of replacement ink three months ago!
3) I have more than a single page to print, so I went to the library's website to upload documents into their system. I can now stop by my branch and print everything out for free.
I feel okay mooching off friends to print the odd thing here or there, but I need to print two eBay labels plus updated insurance ID cards. Too big of a favor.
It's worth poring through your library system's website to discover free services you might not be aware are available.
For example, I just now learned about my library has something called "Buckets of Books!" These might be designed for home schoolers, but my kids would've been elated to receive an entire bin of books on subjects such as Insects and Spiders or The Solar System and Space!
So cool!
4) I remembered that we had a pair of Trader Joe's hotdogs leftover from 4th of July, so I paired them with my $1 buns from the Franz Bakery outlet. Piled high with homemade sauerkraut, they were the perfect accompaniment to a World Cup soccer game.
5) I recently rediscovered a needlepoint piece that I made as a teenager and decided to display it on the mantle. I'm not looking to hang it on the wall, so the easel thingy came in handy. I got it plus another one from a free box last month, thinking they's be a useful tool for photographing flat things for eBay.
I like the pop art quality of the graphics and am looking back fondly to fifteen-year-old me.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
For mailing things, it is very helpful that they now offer a QR code that you can scan and get a label printed at the post office! Obviously does not help for needing to print other things…so good luck with the printer search!
That is great to know, thanks! I rarely go to the post office as I just arrange for mail carrier pickup through the USPS website, but I'm going to tuck that bit of information in my back pocket.
Love the needlepoint!
Our library charges 50 cents a page to print in back and white.
1 I found a pre pandemic box of hair color and decide to use it. It was still good and it worked. It was also $2 way back then. But I have no idea how much it would cost now.
2. I walked an hour this morning.
3. I made an egg roll in a bowl using a coleslaw mix and bologna that needed using plus spices.
4. I am still eating on my mackerel salad for sandwiches with my Aldi onion garlic sourdough bread.
5. I worked from home so didn’t have to drive anywhere. I also watered my roses, have the air still off and I am trying to make it to 4 pm today.
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I love your small framed needlepoint piece. That is a perfect use for a small easels/plate stand. I use them often to add color and texture to my seasonal vignettes. They are great for displaying small pictures and decorative plates.
FFT, Sometimes You Have to Spend to Get Edition:
(1) On learning that a local furniture chain will be closing its original store after 99 years in that South Side location, I got myself down there bright and early on Saturday for the "We're closing our doors" sale. Both of the recliners in my living room are in horrendous condition, especially mine (which was a hand-me-down from my in-laws' house after my MIL was moved to institutional care in 2006). So I'm now the proud owner of a spanking new rocker-recliner with dark brown leather upholstery (about the same color as my sofa). The cost was a cool grand, but that seems to be about the minimum one pays for new non-crap furniture these days. Everything I've been looking at online under that figure looks like cheap junk to me--and, alas, I can't afford even Stickley's sale prices (although I live in Stickley's home town). And considering how much time I spend in my recliner--watching birds and traffic on the street, cruising the internet, etc.--I think it's a good investment. My "good juicy rationalization" for the purchase (to quote the Jeff Goldblum character in The Big Chill) is that I'm buying a chair this year instead of going to the JASNA AGM.
(2) The chair will be delivered on or about August 1. Free delivery if they can just drop it at the front door and let me worry about getting it into the house. I'll see if I can enlist one or two of my guy friends to help.
(3) On the way home from the furniture store, I made several stops. The first was at one of our Rescue Mission's Thrifty Shopper stores that I haven't been to in ages, where I found a great pair of sandals (like Keen's, except that the footbed is less rigid and thus more comfortable for my bad knees) and an enchanting book titled "Capt. Cook's Cat," written and illustrated by Robert Lawson--who did a similar book called "Ben and Me" about the relationship between Benjamin Franklin and a mouse, and who also did the illustrations for "Mr. Popper's Penguins," with which my fourth-grade teacher bored everyone but me during read-aloud hour.
(4) I also hit two garage sales after this. At the first, I bought a large and dusty but interesting basket for $1 (which cleaned up nicely under my garden hose) and a Calphalon sheet pan with some baked-on crud (suggestions for removing the crud are welcome). The pan was originally priced at 25 cents, but I only had 22 cents in change on me. The sale's cashier chuckled, "You drive a hard bargain!" 😛
(5) And I'm not opening fire on everyone around the Strait of Hormuz and still claiming that there's a cease-fire in effect. (Must top off gas tank tomorrow before the prices go up again.)
I have so often used that phrase about a juicy rationalization. For the pan, Barkeeper's Friend to the rescue. You might make a paste of it and cover it with some plastic wrap to keep it damp while the acid in it works on the crud,
That's a good price for a real leather rocker recliner. I gave in a few years ago and got one because getting up from our low sofa was hard on my knees.
Alas, the Calphalon pan is non-stick, so I'm afraid that BKF would scratch it. I'm going to try some old expired cream of tartar that I saved out of NDN1's house for experimental purposes.
And the title of the book is actually "Capt. Kidd's Cat" (the alleged pirate, not the explorer, was the cat's owner). My bad.
Google Calphalon cleaning as well as their replacement policy. I got a screaming deal on a frying pan when I worked for their parent company back in the day. Alas they no longer make that "make and model". So now it is related to oven use only and Dawn Power wash after soaking in water and Dawn detergent.
Your number 5, AARRGGHH.
My housecleaner swears by the ammonia on pan into garbage bag in the sun approach to crud. Not sure the relationship between ammonia and non-stick, but worth a google search? Ammonia isn't my favourite thing but it does wonders on greasy things that even dawn soap won't get clean, in my world. Like a dishwasher filter... GUHHH
You might want to try sprinkling baking soda in the cruddy pan and then pour in boiling water. Let it sit overnight. Works on lots of things.
Robert Lawson is a teasure! I LOVE "Ben and Me," and my daughter just read it as part of her 4th grade literature course this year. We also found it on the Libby App in ebook and audio, but printed is simply the best. Lawson also illustrated "Ferdinand the Bull," another delightful read.
If you’re looking for a printer, I got one of those ones where you can refill the ink rather than is a cartridge. I’ve had it five years so far and I use it quite a lot and the ink is really cheap and lasts a loooong time. Cannot recommend it enough!
I just did a big purge of my photos on the cloud. Since I’m paying for storage I’m trying not to be a digital hoarder! Was fun to see photos of the zillion things we gave away on our Buy Nothing group before our move to Canada. I had forgotten about most of the stuff and missed none of it, which is a great reminder to anyone struggling to declutter.
I have been going through a real resting jag of late. It’s almost been a full year since we made this huge move and what a year it’s been! I’m totally to-my-bones-and-soul wasted and am giving myself some time to sloth. I never take time off ever and it feels really weird to spend an afternoon listening to podcasts and coloring/napping but I was really getting close to collapse. I hope I get my mojo back.
I admire your success because I absolutely need to do the photo purge thing! For some reason I have always despised dealing with photos. Even back in the day when one received developed film photos in envelopes? I would just leave them in the envelope. Just can't stand the sorting and arranging in albums, either physically or electronically. It's like a phobia of mine. Or extreme laziness in this specific chore.
Love your needlepoint piece! I did counted cross stitch in my younger days and also have a framed piece on a small easel like yours.
This is only my third time posting here, but I really appreciate everyone on this forum. My elderly parents are going through some stuff, my 84 year old mom has a new diagnosis of colon cancer which requires surgery (CT scans of abdomen and chest are clear otherwise), and she's my dad's caregiver and he's legally blind, almost deaf, has a PEG tube due to aphasia and can only have clear liquids by mouth.
1. Have spent time filling out forms for DHS assistance because Dad has a skilled need, and the only way he can stay in the house is with assistance. This is frugal because they don't have finances for other arrangements
2. We got unexpected storms overnight which resulted in 1.6 inches of rain! Free water, always good
3. Took advantage of the wet ground to pull weeds for two hours, sorely needed as always
4. Picked more pole beans and tomatoes, including a 1 pound 5 oz Carbon tomato
5. Stemmed, snapped, blanched, cooled and froze three 14 oz bags of tomatoes for the freezer
Sheila G, I'm so sorry about your parents. Too often, it's the caregiver member of a duo who develops a life-threatening condition, and then there's a scramble to find other assistance as you describe. I hope that your folks can get the help they need, with you lending a hand to get it.
Thank you. Yes this is how it seems to go Fortunately I have a friend who is a retired case worker and she is helping me out some.
Your Mom and Dad's situation is challenging for you, for sure. as A. Marie says, often the physically healthy half of a duo gets sick, then everyone around suddenly realizes how much they were doing to keep their partner at home. I hope for you that the right people show up to assist, and you get the financial supports you need.
Scary for your Mom to have to have surgery at this stage of her life, too - and not minor surgery, so she is going to need support at home, too!
Congratulations on the gardening successes! That tomato sounds wonderful, and getting some into the freezer with everything else going on deserves a gold star.
I want to make a quilt out your needle work, same colors. Great design.
You're right about stand out colors as I glare at my boring stainless steel grinder.
Potted up my 6 nicely rooted hydrangea starts. Most of the clippings come from my brother's yard as he has a large collection of hydrangeas.
Picked beans, cabbage, kohl rabi, Walla Walla onion and 2 slicer tomatoes. family dinner tonight: Brisket sliders, veggies and dip, homemade zucchini tots and ice cream soda floats.
Your fifteen-year-old self had better taste than my fifteen-year-old self. Somewhere in my archives, I have a watercolor painting of a unicorn prancing in a field of bluebonnets. Embarrassing!
I was near Franz bakery yesterday afternoon, and tried to drop in for some bargains, but something was going on and there was no parking! Maybe next time.
You should keep your eyes peeled for a used laser printer. I bought one used and my ink woes are a thing of the past!
I always tell people about the free printing at the library. Such a good deal.
Haha, I wrote some embarrassing poetry for our literary magazine when I was in college and it's on the Internet now -- forever, I guess. Cringing.
1. My dad and I stopped in to check out a free Latin festival - free to park, free entrance, free music. BUT, all of the vendors wanted $10 for a lemonade (served in a quart container, but still!) - we wanted one, but we did not buy one, as that price is crazy.
2. We then went to the grocery store, where they had Arizona Arnold Palmers for $0.66 for a 16-ounce can, so we split one instead.
3. My mom, who has been in a nursing home/rehab for the last 2 months, said that she was finally tired of institutional cooking, and she wanted steak with salad with blue cheese dressing. My sister's house is 12 minutes away, so we bought the ingredients, grilled the steak at her house, and used the 12 minutes for it to rest. We brought all of the dishware and a cutting board to the nursing home, and they have a lounge where we could easily set up for a meal: steak & salad, I also made esquites, which is one of my mom's favorites, and watermelon for dessert. The steak was not cheap, but all together, I think it was about $40 for the 4 of us, and my sister brought home enough leftovers for dinner for 2. (And dad paid for all of the groceries).
4. Dinner tonight is zucchini and corn fritters (produce from CSA box) and sausages. I'll make enough that we can have some more tomorrow morning, before heading downtown to visit the Tall Ships, which are in Boston this week. We'll take the T (subway) into town, so no parking, and visiting the ships is free, but I'm sure we'll eat lunch out.
5. I really like Superga sneakers, but they sell for $54 new. I found a slightly used pair on Depop, which someone here suggested (as they had a weekend that was free shipping), and I treated myself to a pair for $9.00, so cheaper than a fairground lemonade!
Having trouble posting -- forgive me if this is a duplicate.
I listed two items on eBay today and one sold almost immediately. I underpriced it. For some reason I didn't check outside of eBay for prices and the one they suggested was too low. Lesson learned.
I was going to go to the library and also pick up a few groceries today, but I'm glad I didn't, now that I have another errand to add on -- the post office.
I am struggling through without AC today. It's hot, but not as hot as it was last week. Fans are helping.
I made Welsh rarebit for lunch. There's a bit left over so it will go into sausage-potato-cheese soup tomorrow. I'll throw in some leftover grilled mushrooms, too. Not soup weather, but I don't mind having soup in summer.
1) Started cleaning out my car and it turned into a whole family car clean-up. We got three vehicles spic and span--vacuumed, waxed, even small repairs done, all in a few hours in the driveway. All with supplies we already had on hand. Now my formerly filthy car looks new on the inside.
2) Realized DP's car is older than the youngest child. All of us drive paid-off cars, with the youngest's being over two decades old and has been driven by two cousins and two siblings before it reached her. Toyotas and Subarus for frugal, long-lasting cars.
3) Tried the store brand of my favorite diet soda and like it better than the name brand. A 12-pack costs half as much!
4) We got a bunch of rain so I cleaned up the garden without having to water.
5) Made dinner entirely from the garden except for the seasonings and the Aldi clearance pasta. I love finding recipes that use up those bits and bobs plus the garden surplus. There was enough left over for two servings, so DP and eldest's lunches tomorrow.
1.We're camping for $30 tonight instead of paying for a hotel. We're driving to camp with family, so we had all our camping gear anyways.
2. We had frozen Aldi breakfast sandwiches for breakfast. Homemade empanadas for lunch and sandwiches for supper. So that kept us out of fast food joints.
3. I brought water, coffee, sun tea and juice packs.
I love your idea of inside out bubble wrap packages!
1) I don't have the energy for hardcore couponing, but there were some good loss leaders and a full cart of clearance condiments at Kroger, most with Ibotta rebates more than the markdown price, and a few freebies from SN and so on. The final tally was $55 off a $70 bill that was already all sale items.
2) A bevy of payments arrived from surveys, shops, and a settlement - over $1K all together. I don't usually see it all in one place like that, but it does add up.
3) Still buying possibly too much clothing on Vinted, because the free shipping deal is still going on. I'm wanting to change my wardrobe signficantly, am hard to fit and my thrifting spoons are rare and minimal, so I'm buying everything that looks good, quickly vetting when they arrive, and collecting the strong maybes for a big review/sort before my upcoming birthday. Pricing is mostly thrift-level, and I should come out ahead by reposting/consigning what doesn't work. I've also bought a few things to flip, and stocked up on several of my favorite discontinued mug style, which breaks easily and has become scarce at the thrifts (maybe impractical, but makes my neurodivergent brain happy). They're offering $15 for new sellers with referral: https://www.vinted.com/invite/revisionist
4) For J's birthday, we went to a fancy restaurant and had whatever we wanted, but the bill was acceptable, if not obviously frugal, because we ordered just enough. I brought a custom cake from a friend's new side hustle baking business for about 10x what it would have cost to make myself, and consider the money well spent.
5) I didn't spend a billion taxpayer dollars on a plane I can't use.
That is an amazing discount on your grocery bill! Congratulations!
What are the companies that you do surveys and shops for?
What is the exact model of your printer that uses off-brand ink? I’ve been looking for one for YEARS. The toner cartridges my printer uses cost more than the printer!
It's a Canon MX922.
The Youtube channel Tech4Baba recommended soaking the print head in water and alcohol which cleared the B200 error code on that same model of printer.