Five Frugal Things -- Free Salad Mix & Vacuum Cleaner!
1) I sold the Ikea curtains for $60 that I just thrifted the other day for $13.49. I blogged about them in this this blog post.
You can see in this photo why they grabbed my attention. A welcome shot of color and pattern in a sea of blandness.
The buyer had been looking for these exact curtains, which pleases me to no end.
I renewed all my Facebook Marketplace listings and now have TWO other items that people are supposedly buying today. (Any Marketplace seller knows not to count their chickens before they hatch!) It's always satisfying when I've made the right choices about what to buy for resale!
2) I curb picked a free vacuum cleaner, which looks to be in good condition and not missing any important parts. (Yeah . . . I've made mistakes in the past!) I'll clean it up and order new filters and bags for my youngest, whose crappy Amazon vacuum has multiple issues.
If they don't want it, I can always sell it for a few bucks.
3) I pulled one of my handmade pizza crusts from the freezer and broke it in half. I then topped it with stuff I had on hand and cooked it in my preheated air fryer until the cheese started bubbling.
Tasty easy frugal dinner!
4) I took the wire hangers from my recent closet reorganization to a nearby dry cleaner and they were happily accepted! I was unsure if they'd want them when I first walked in, as their hangers seemed much nicer, but she cheerfully took them.
Pleased to put them back into circulation instead of a landfill!
5) My neighbor got extra salad mix in her CSA (community supported agriculture) box and brought a bag to share. No shame is letting people know that you're the kind of person who happily accepts excess food. It means you're the kind of person to receive random excess food! Of course, I do nice things for her as well.
Salad with dinner tonight!
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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Yay to a quick, satisfying and money-making sale, as well as a free vacuum.
Picked up from a free pile today:
-- Squeegee, the kind with the mesh head like at the gas station
-- Windshield scraper/brush combo, nicer than my current one
-- Garage dustpan to replace our current one held together with duct tape
-- One-gallon water jug, rarely if ever used. Used Goof Off to remove the previous owner's name written in Sharpie.
-- Kid's giraffe plush toy for our dog. I pulled out the plastic eyes so my pup wouldn't choke on them in her mission to tear its head off.
-- Large plastic tote with lid. Found the lid first. Since the homeowner was outside, I asked about the bottom and she said it was too icky to give away, with mouse droppings and all. I told her I didn't mind cleaning it out myself. One less thing for her dumpster and one more useful container for our travels this winter.
-- MY FAVORITE FIND: A paperback book titled "Why Trump Deserves Trust, Respect & Admiration." I took it, planning to recycle it and get it out of circulation. When I got home, I just happened to open it and discovered ALL 206 PAGES ARE BLANK! Hilarious! The back cover says "Drawing upon exclusive interviews and exhaustive research, political analyst David King has compiled a complete and brilliantly accurate account of Donald Trump's virtues and qualities. This is a refreshingly different biographical masterpiece." Still laughing. I'm keeping it now for kicks.
Hilarious!
Wow, I would nominate that for a Pulitzer!
Oh MB! Your favorite find is too funny. I didn't see the end of that coming. What a riot that must have been when you discovered the blank pages! Brilliant of the person who thought that up!
That is hilarious..I also love all your free finds.
We went to our city reuse bazaar today (free drop off of absolutely anything, they sort and set out all the things that are usable in a Walmart sized hall, and we can shop for free in the afternoon). We picked up ramps for working on a car, several things to resell, and a couple things for us. I picked up 2 pairs of cleats that Play It Again Sports gives me $5 cash for, right on the spot. I also picked up many used swimsuits as J. Crew has a recycle program that gives $5 credit for each swimsuit piece.
I continue to purge in my house, keeping a running "to list" pile. I list something every day. I'm also using up foods that were aspirational purchases (for example Teff flour). A common theme in my reading is simplifying choices. I really don't mind eating the same rotation of meals, with the occasional variation to use food we've been given. It is definitely most cost efficient.
I picked up only loss leaders at Safeway, which I find very satisfying.
Washed a pair of winter gloves ready to list them. Too small for both of us and quite a few years before they'll fit grandson. These are the decisions I dither about-keep the gloves because eventually they will fit grandson. But what is the cost to me in the space to store them and the brain space to remember where they are 5 years from now. But part of me things there are hard times ahead. I don't know... Any thoughts?
I'd say donate them now. The task of keeping up with them vs finding another pair in five years is too great. Worse case scenario is being forced to buy new in five years but unlikely.
Re: gloves: Something like a high quality jacket or pants or snow boots (note I am in a colder area) might be worth the space to save them for a future size. But not gloves.
On the other hand, gloves don't take up much space, though are readily available and inexpensive.
So I am not helping here! I understand your thinking!
When I have items like that where I can’t make up my mind, I think about how useful they will be to someone now. Then I trust that I will be the recipient of someone else’s kindness down the line when I’m in need of something. 🙂 It’s like paying it forward…thrift style.
I like this and that is often how I think of it. Thank you for reminding me. Someone can have many days of warmer hands
Stayed home today and made a mashed potato-topped fish pie with lots of vegetables. Cooked a big pot of homemade dog food for my pup who can't eat chicken or corn. Making her food used up a bag of frozen green beans and frozen carrots, two pounds of diced very lean pork, and the last of some rice. The fish pie used up a long-frozen bag of fish filets and the last of a bag of grated cheese.
Those two projects cleared out some space in our small upright freezer, making it a good day to defrost that freezer usingvthe low energy method of pointing a fan at the open shelves. Once it was ready to be restocked, I put all the opened bags of frozen veggies in one shelf basket so that they will be used first.
Dried a load of laundry on a rack on the back porch. Hand-washed a mountain of dishes because our old, small dishwasher takes two and a half hours to run a load.
So nice that the IKEA curtains went to someone who was looking for them.
It was beautiful weather today, so I took a walk to the train station and returned a book to the library. I found a dime! And I checked out two more books.
I sauteed one of the chicken patties from Aldi, and I was surprised to find that it was a tomato parmesan chicken patty. It was really good. I even burned it a little, and it was still good. I'll have another one tomorrow, because I had to thaw two (stuck together).
Breakfast was blueberry pancakes. I will probably have a bowl of granola for dinner -- with blueberries.
I watched All Quiet on the Western Front on Netflix, because I saw that it won several Oscars. Well-deserved, but boy was it depressing.
1. We regularly give food away to friends and neighbors - produce from CSA boxes that either are not to our taste (or that we won't get to) and food that we have to buy as part of mystery shops. We are often given something back at another time. It feels good on both sides - 1. I don't feel guilty about wasting food and 2. it costs me nothing to be generous and 3. When I am given something (like last week's bougie chocolate bar), it is a total treat and, ultimately, it will save me money (the chocolate bar went into the Christmas gift box).
2. We were invited to a party by a neighbor. I was under the weather and so I didn't go, but my partner did, and he brought a jar of the strawberry-balsamic jam that I canned last week. Since I had the strawberries, balsamic, vanilla, and jar (all free), all I had to pay for was the sugar and the canning lid, which came out to about $.47 for the 1/2 pint.
3. Listened to free spotify podcasts on my long commute yesterday, after trying 2 books on Hoopla (audiobooks) that I just couldn't get into. Bummed that I have listened to all of the books in the Gemma James/Duncan Kincaid series, and need to find another that I enjoy as much.
4. Nor'easter is HERE in Greater Boston! A great reason to stay in my jammies and binge my subscription to BritBox ($4 a month). I love a good rainy weekend day.
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Frugal fails:
1. I was overtired and unwell for my drive home, coupled with lack of planning, so I ended up spending almost $7 on a donut and an iced tea at Dunkin Donuts!
2. I had to buy ground beef for a mystery shop, and I left it for my partner to eat while I was gone to work (I work in a different state, so I am gone Tuesday-Friday). He did not eat it, and I looked today and it was 3-days past its use-by date, so a complete waste there. He isn't great on details like looking at the dates of the chicken and beef that I left to see what needs using up, so I should have just frozen it. Lesson learned.
I think it's okay to splurge on a treat every once in a while. Especially when your body or your psyche is telling you it needs a lift!
I'll recommend a couple of older book series that I really enjoyed along the detective lines, not by detectives, that don't get mentioned a lot were by authors Monica Ferris (knitting/embroidery related titles) and Sister Carol Ann O'Marie (convent sleuths). I was very sad when that nun series ended too early 🙂 Also the earlier books in the Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson featuring a midwife who works with a police detective in New York City starting in 1896 - they seem to be very well researched. I have not read her lady counterfeit novels yet. Thank you for your series suggestion!
Nice how quickly the shower curtain sold. It really had a pretty pattern. I can see why someone was looking for that specific one.
1. Friends had us over for dinner. Delicious cheeseburgers, fries and salad. Nice to not have to cook.
2. I went to the indy bookstore today and kept myself to a cup of jasmine green tea. Some days I give in and order a pastry but I stuck to just tea today. My waistline and wallet thank me.
3. I attended my book club's movie night at a member's house. Once a year we read a book that has been made into a movie, then we watch the movie. We all make or bring a snack to share. I made a Swedish Almond Cake which everybody seemed to enjoy. One member brought Halloween candy which was a real hit. The book and movie was Fahrenheit 451. Pretty good.
4. I'm cleaning out a closet and also switching my summer clothes out for my winter ones. I found things on both counts to consign.
5. I love scented candles in the cool weather. I found three of them from last year that still have a long way to go until they're used up. Two of them were gifts and one I purchased at a Harvest Fair at a deep discount.
I just saw the IKEA curtains were curtains... not a shower curtain. Saw the grommets and just kind of assumed. In any case, they're pretty.
Friday night, I attended a game night at the church. Only 3 of us showed up, but we played a form of dominoes called chicken feet. I brought chips and dips and another fellow brought tacos and the third guy brought potato salad and chicken nuggets, so we had a free meal and a rousing game. Old fashioned fun!
After butchering a hunk of St. Augustine grass in the back yard last week, and not being sure if the riding lawnmower is working correctly, I got out the little electric lawnmower Saturday morning. It was stored in the back of the shed. It appears my former yard man "borrowed" the cord for it. ("Borrowed" as in Huckleberry Finn's Pappy's definition of the word, aka stealing.) Earlier, I'd gone to the thrift store and bought a long cord for $10. Tried using it today: not only was it not long enough but the lawnmower plug didn't fit it. So I ended up at Harbor Freight and got a 100 foot long cord for $44, and they threw in a free gift -- a big shopping bag that supposedly will hold 50 pounds of stuff. Anyway, after all that, I was able to mow the front yard. Afterwards, I came in and had to take a shower and wash my hair -- I was drenched with sweat in all this heat and humidity. Will try again with the riding lawnmower some other morning.
Went in to eat lunch. Was planning to have some cornbread and black eyed peas. It appears that a very naughty dog beat me to the cornbread -- the pan was on the floor and all that was left was crumbs. Grabbed some leftover chili instead. Snuggles was sad that I didn't give him any.
Free entertainment: binge watching reruns of Dark Shadows, the ghoulish soap opera from the 1960s. It's free to watch on my Walmart Vizio TV.
Funny - when l was a kid l used to go to a friend’s every day after school and we used to sit in her basement den and watch Dark Shadows. I had forgotten all about that.
I've been on a bit of a shopping binge of late, which is not very frugal. Although a lot has been on Vinted so could be worse!
I have had to buy a lot of new shoes as my feet are wierd but I have been EXTREMELY (and unusually!) diligent at sending back the ones that don't fit and to get free shipping and returns so a lot of the money is now coming back. Also this splurge has enabled me to finally find a brand that fits my square, narrow, high instep, straight heeled feet (lol) so going forward I can buy high quality shoes that fit me easily, rather than going through a lot that don't. So overall probably a good idea.
More frugally, I've been using my bike more for local journeys rather than taxis and buses. Health and frugality!
My mum has also given me 4 bags of frozen blackberries for my cereal bowls that she foraged (she would have given me more but I don't have the space, I'm going to do a freezer clear out!).
I also bought 4 pots of yoghurt to see which I like best (I have food issues and yogurt makes me nervous despite being healthy). I now know I like natural (runny) best and my partner can eat the rest (greek style, proper greek and Icelandic) and I also made some delicious flatbread from them which was new, exciting and frugal!
Glad you found a home for the hangers. When my kids moved out, they left theirs behind. Fast-forward 10 years: I had never found anyone to take them, and Goodwill wouldn't accept them. However, after an apartment fire, a local church was accepting any household items and was happy to take them to offer to those who lost their homes. Around 10 apartments had burned literally to the ground. Thank goodness no one was hurt.
My youngest daughter and I met up with my oldest in Delaware for a mini girls trip. I drove. My oldest owns her own business and works weekends. https://contentbyliz.com/
I cooked chicken and rice plus I made hard boiled eggs. My youngest brought us cold cuts and GF bread. My oldest made GF muffins. We ate breakfast and dinner in our room and had lunch out 2 days. The room came with a stocked mini fridge of soda and waters(6 of each) that were included. It also had a Keurig and tea bags. I brought everything home with us that we didn't use. I treated the girls to the room I got a mid week special. In the lobby was a Keurig with more pods and tea bags, fruit and chocolate all day. In the morning there were muffins. I took some muffins since the girls are both GF. We spent a day at https://www.winterthur.org/
It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We played games, talked for hours and did diamond art. It made my heart happy. All of the dogs were taken care of by their fathers. We dropped my oldest off at the train station with a cold cut sandwich and her reusable water bottle filled and my youngest and I headed home. Our lunch was packed too.
My neighbor gave me a 5 pound bag of potatoes that her BIL gave her. They won't eat them. I made some potato salad and gave them some.
BJ's is celebrating their 42 anniversary and is having some good sales. I stacked them with coupons and Ibotta offers. I used a $50 gift card from when we went on our cruise to pay for most of it.
Hubby brought home lots of leftovers. He worked late all week and all day Saturday and it was just him and his boss. His boss gave him a case of beer that was leftover from their last BBQ as an extra thank you. He brought home 1/2 tray of black beans, hard and soft taco shells and spotted bananas. I brought him Panera Friday night and ate dinner with him. I used part of a gift card I was given for my birthday. I made banana nut muffins this morning. I am going to make loaded nachos with the beans and tacos.
I did several library classes. Christmas gifts are underway.
Stop n Shop had some good sales. I got Entenmanns for BOGO, 5 sharp cheddars were marked 50% off and they were having $1 sale so I stocked up on peanut butter and fresh pasta. The freebie was cold brew coffee. I gave it to my son with some of the sale items.
Doing all the usual things: cloth napkins and rags, running dishwasher and washing machine during lower cost hours, entering receipts to earn gift cards, listing things on FB, eating leftovers.
Does anyone use Copper? I keep seeing ads for it. Also does anyone use walking apps that pay you? Just looking into them. Thanks.
Frugal rainy Sunday
1. No driving for either of us today
2. No heat or air conditioning needed
3. Daughter walked the one block to the 7/Eleven for a free Slurpie on my rewards card.
4. Watching the Phillies game at home and made meatball subs with all ingredients on hand!
5. Did one load of wash and hung it up indoors.
Wow, quick sale!
Random question, do you have that dial phone in the background hooked up, or is it for decoration?
It's just a decor piece, although it does work.
I sold a Donald Trumb board gave to some sucker for $75. Sold this spring and I felt like I stuck it to the man. Unfortunately many people were interested in it.
Tomatoes,peppers and flowers are being given away with great abandon. Have some roasted tomatoes ready to process. My February self will thank my October self.