Five Frugal Things From The Goodwill Bins
I stopped into the Goodwill Outlet bins yesterday and although I didn't walk out with a priceless piece of artwork, I still picked up some nice items.
1) Let's start with this 100% cotton tablecloth. It caught my eye as the fabric looked to be good quality and the polka dots were cute and cheerful. Our dining room table is round I only own one tablecloth that isn't square or rectangular.
It being a designer label is neither here nor there, although it's likely why the quality is better than what you'd find at Target.
It does have a yellow stain, but I soaked it in Costco knockoff Oxyclean which helped and currently have it on the clothesline. I smeared a hydrogen peroxide/baking soda paste over the stain and will see if this, plus UV light helps to remove it. I'll keep you posted on the success of this method.
2) Speaking of stain removal, I also grabbed this Land's End Wanderweight packable down jacket. No need to circle the stains in the above photo, as they're quite noticeable. This puffer jacket sells new for $185, although it's currently 40% off. It weighs almost nothing, so was worth the gamble.
My worry was this was an oil based stain, which would make it difficult to remove. It went into the wash with the tablecloth and came out looking absolutely perfect! I guess the previous owner didn't bother trying to to clean it up.
It does have a unraveling seam that's visible in the above photo, but I can hand sew it, although it'll go through the lining. It shouldn't be too noticeable from the outside.
I like to rescue high quality items from the bins that other people bypass due to the necessity of a small repair or mend. Very satisfying, plus it provides blog content. Sadly it's not my size, so I'll put it up on eBay.
3) I may have squealed when I found this cooling rack, as I'd just been thinking about how I'd like to start keeping an eye out for this precise item.
Why?
The Frugal Girl recently published a blog post on how she makes her Butter Chicken and utilizes a similar rack to broil the chicken. Thus began my quest to add one to my own kitchen supplies. (Turned out to be a short quest.) The one she linked to in her blog post costs $18 which makes my one extra thrifty.
This is Kristen's one. I guess it's a sign to whip up a batch of her butter chicken. Thanks, Kristen!
4) This "Full Focus Planner" is actually my favorite find of the day. You already know I geek out over a good planner, (click HERE to see my bespoke date book) and this one was 100% brand new without set dates.
The cashier charged me 49¢, which is their price on paperbacks and I've already listed it on eBay for $30. I'd be tempted to keep it, but it was physically too heavy for my taste.
Me? Picky about my belongings? Never!
5) This colorful leather wallet caught my eye and again weighed almost nothing, so I added it to my bag.
It sells for $39 new, so I listed it on eBay for $20.
The best part is that I discovered an unused Forever stamp inside the wallet, which brings whatever I paid down an additional 78¢! So . . . maybe free?!
I paid $13.46 for everything, which includes a few items I didn't include in this blog post.
- A travel hairbrush.
- A stuffed animal to resell.
- A Trader Joe's tote.
- A pair of Levi's jeans for my youngest.
Worry not, the brush has no nooks and crannies and I put it through my dishwasher.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
My husband bought a new bicycle (not cheap) but to help offset the cost he will be selling two of his other bikes and the bike shop owner took $200 off for some components from another old bike husband had taken to the shop to get an estimate on repairing. Frame was completely broken so there was no easy or cheap fix.
We went to Mellow Mushroom for some pizza and used a credit card that had a $5 back offer.
While my husband was at the bike shop, I went to a thrift store. I wanted some shorts that were a little longer than the ones I have, and I was lucky enough to find 2 pairs. There was a 3rd pair I liked but I wasn't sure I could get the stain out, and wasn't willing to waste $5.29 to find out. One pair I got from the men's section. I have probably 4 pairs of men's shorts that I wear and they are so comfortable. I also found 3 needed nightgowns for $2.99 each.
On a previous thrift store trip I found a like-new dish towel, summer shirt I love, a king sheet to use as a cover for the dog's chair, a burlap-like pillowcase which I cut up and put inside an old embroidery hoop and am using to display all my souvenir pins from vacation.
I bought a large hanging basket of flowers at Lowe's. The lady at checkout decided I should have it for 50% off since there were a few dead bits. It just needed a little clean up and it looks great hanging from my front porch.
Those are fantastic finds! I've been able to resuscitate stained items based on what I've learned from you and Kristen.
1. Donated blood and enjoyed the complimentary snacks.
2. Received a gentle, unexpected rain that we needed. Mother Nature watered our plants for free.
3. Friend drove me to Book Group, the first social event outside my home in six weeks. Using a toilet other than my home commode proved challenging as I had a hard time getting up from the very low biffy, even with a walker. Until my leg immobilizer comes off and I'm able to bend my knee, it's best that I stay home.
4. Created my own daily calendar pages using the blank sides of used 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper.
5. Made braided rope toys for our dog from cotton textile scraps.
Do you know the trick for using a walker to get up from a toilet? Put it all the way to the tank so it behind you when you sit. The arms will be on your sides. It is so much steadier this way to get up. Here is a video showing you.
https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+using+a+walker+to+get+up+from+toilet&rlz=1C1QCTP_enUS1149US1149&oq=video+of+using+a+walker+to+get+up+from+toilet&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigATIHCAYQIRirAjIHCAcQIRirAjIHCAgQIRiPAtIBCjEzODc5ajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBcgbRyzslJK68QXIG0cs7JSSug&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a4cffc7c,vid:YY-I_1jNsSw,st:0
The trick for stairs is to shorten the front so when it is on the stairs it becomes level. It is best to have 2 walkers so you have 1 for regular walking and one for stairs.
Here is a video. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSxLoQCjdcz/?hl=en
I do elder care so I have learned lots of ways to do things safely with a walker.
Katy,
Based on what I see at school MANY people don't think to wash coats. If you're a parent reading this please wash your child's coat regularly! And gloves/mittens too!
I find your repairs/cleanups very satisfying. It’s not something I have time to do in this season so I enjoy it through your posts!
1) I don’t live somewhere that it ever snows but we do one trip a year in the winter to a place where it snows. I had some very old, cheap snow boots that finally broke apart on our last trip (the sole completely detached). While I don’t use them a lot, they are useful to have for those 3-4 days each year. I decided summer was probably an optimal time to get a deal on some used ones. My husband has a good quality brand so I did a search for the women’s version on eBay and found some for $12 plus $10 shipping.
2) I have had terrible luck on Etsy lately, with sellers never sending my item (in one instance the shop shut down after I placed my order?) Etsy fortunately is very quick to refund me. I had ordered a sweatshirt and it said shipping label created and then nothing happened for weeks and nothing from the seller. Once it got past when it was supposed to arrive I contacted Etsy and they refunded me. The sweatshirt then arrived today though! I feel bad for the seller although they also didn’t respond to my messages and explain it was delayed or anything so I guess not too bad.
3) My MIL took my kids out for the day (school year ended yesterday and camp doesn’t start yet so we also saved money by her providing us free childcare!) and I packed them each a lunch to bring so she wouldn’t need to worry about finding food while out and it saved money. Plus, she wanted to take them to a nature park that isn’t near any easy food options.
4) My husband doesn’t use gift cards, it’s baffling to me but I think he just forgets he has them. He has told people this but he continues to receive them as gifts. I do periodic sweeps of his desk to collect them and make sure we use them. My recent finds were a gift card for a local breakfast restaurant and a Taco Bell gift card.
5) I was reflecting today on how much I love my kids’ school. They have had the most wonderful teachers, have learned so much and we have a great community there. It’s a public school so it’s not costing us tuition (we do pay with our taxes so I won’t say it’s free but still a bargain in my mind!) I know public school quality varies greatly in this country (our district is actually the lowest funded in our county so as great as it is, imagine it could be even better if it was properly funded) and it doesn’t work for everyone, I am so glad it is working for us right now though and will do all I can to support it.
My grandsons don't use gift cards. My son finally confessed that he uses any gift cards they get and puts the value on their debit cards. I wish I had known! He says they're not much good at using cash either!
When I worked in retail, a girl (about age 16) asked me if we took cash. I thought maybe she meant due to Covid, which was over. So I said, Yes, of course. She then said she'd never used it before in her life, but her mother wouldn't let her have the card so she had to use 'cash'.
Your #5 brought me to tears. As a public school teacher, thank you for your sincere appreciation!
1. I went to CVS to pick up a couple of prescriptions. While there I picked up a BOGO50% off deal on the sunscreen my dermatologist told me to apply every time I go outside. I also had $5.35 in ExtraCare rewards to apply toward it, plus for purchasing two sunscreens I earned another $10 in rewards to use in the future. And the cashier who was new forgot to take the $2 physical coupon off one of the sunscreens. She called the manager who came over and asked me if I would accept $5 in ExtraCare rewards in lieu of the coupon. Yes please. I now have $15 off to use in the future.
2. DH's prescription was free, as usual. I'm on the same one which is always free too. The only thing I can think of is that staying on it keeps us out of the hospital so it's cheaper for our insurance to just give it to us. But I'm not complaining.
3. We keep the shades and curtains drawn on whatever side of the house the sun is beating on. We've had a bit of a heatwave so we try to use what we have to fight the heat. We have A/C when it gets to be too much.
4. Thunderstorms are supposedly heading our way for tomorrow so I'll have a break in watering the pots of outdoor plants. I do not water the lawn. Besides cutting it, it's on its own.
5. I did not fall asleep at important meetings or any meetings for that matter but if I did I would depend on the people around me to not be too afraid to tell me about it.
Such good finds at the bins!
I went to the branch library this morning and picked up a book on hold, as well as another that looked interesting, and also took a 20-minute walk around the adjacent indoor track. 20 minutes seems about right now with my level of hip dysfunction.
I then went to Valli Produce for lactose free milk. I found a couple of receipts to scan.
I brought up more clothes from the car. I am basically performing triage now -- ready to sell/into the hamper to wash/try on for myself. I'm wearing leggings today that I thought were keepers, but then I noticed there were side cutouts on the calf, and I don't like the slight bulges they create. So I will wash them and add to the sell pile.
I'm still managing without AC, but it is getting warmish. Still, the fans are helping. I will try to convince my son to install my units this weekend, because I think we will have temperatures in the 90's next week.
I got an $8 class action settlement payment from Yahoo, and a notice that another is on the way from Facebook.
One phenomenon I have noticed at the goodwill bins is some people are able to wear t-shirts until they are threadbare and faded and not get a single stain on them! I have never worn out a t-shirt. I am such a messy eater that my clothes are discarded because of multiple stains before they ever wear out.
I buy some of these soft well worn t’s at the bins and love how they are so light weight and comfy. The same with jeans….no stains and as soft as pjs. I would have to wear a tarp every time I ate to achieve this. Thank you to people who always get their food in their mouth and don’t wear their sandwiches. I love your discarded clothes.
And I found gas for $3.47 a gallon.
LOL. Same. I can't eat without getting something on me.
I wore a new t shirt and stained it. Today. I can NOT eat with dropping food.
Without
I love it when things come good just with a run through the washing machine!
Dh was in another neighborhood picking up an appliance box that was offered on buy nothing. We're making a little playhouse for our grandchildren with it. He saw a little wooden drawer unit on the curb and picked it up. I listed it on Facebook marketplace and sold it within 15 minutes.
We're eating berries from our garden as well as massive amounts of kale and arugula. It's a good problem to have.
Nice job at the bins!
Went on the grocery run today. Dropped off our sheets at the laundromat. Slid across the street to dollar tree for bar soap and disposable cake pans. Took wet laundry home to line dry.
Hit cheapo grocery store. Got an 8 pack of yogurt cups for 1.40. Everything else was ho-hum. Went by All-dis for the usual.
Still putting together the family's clothing for my brother's wedding. Bought Dh a pair of Hagar dress pants, myself a pair of pumps, and a pair of boot cut jeans to farm in. The pumps pair well with the pant suit I bought at gw earlier and now I don't have to hem them. 25% off the shoes and jeans, so woot-woot! Now we need suitcases!
I made two discount cakes in the disposable pans. They are for a local fundraiser. I will make frosting tomorrow and run them to town. Washed and stuck my cast iron pans in the still hot oven to dry and cure. Dropped my harvest gold hand mixer and broke off the selector knob, grrrr! It is now glued up on the kitchen table.
Helped my Dad repair a flood damaged fence. We removed all the flotsam, picked up the wire with a loader, and straightened the posts. Then we pushed them back down with the loader. All the cows and calves were safe and sound. I have a few broken trees but nothing too drastic. He has around 40 down trees. Can't say I'm looking forward to cleaning that up.
Our cauliflower is ready to harvest (:
Sounds like you are doing great finding wedding attire. Any chance you could borrow suitcases? Most people's sit in storage.
I was going to say the same thing. We needed 2 big ones for our cruise so I borrowed 1 from my daughter. We already had 1. She has borrowed ours before too.
I love your bins posts. I usually feel a bit of envious glee. So cool to find useful things to put to use, even if they are to entertain (looking at you, bobble head horse sitting in my kitchen). Everyone neeeeds an agreeable horse.
Cheering you on with your GW challenge.
I promised mom a trip to the bins next week, if it rains. Crossing fingers.
I'll cross my fingers for rain then as well!
Happy Butter Chicken-making to you! You're gonna love that rack for butter chicken and also for cooling things like a loaf of quick bread. No more sagging between the wires!
I feel like "No more sagging between the wires" has some kind of double meaning that I'm missing.
1. I sold another item on Ebay and listed another. I had a chemical dosing pump that my husband had tried to use on our sprinkler system to treat the rust in the water which was unsuccessful. I had my handyman remove it from my basement wall before he painted. I looked it up and they sell on Ebay for decent money. I cleaned it up and listed it.
2. I mopped my floors with my estate sale purchased O'Cedar spin mop and Murphy's oil soap.
3. I ate my dinner last night on my deck. I made Trader Joe's ravioli and a salad with the remains of farmer's market lettuce. My salad dressing was olive oil and estate sale purchased sherry vinegar. It was delicious.
4. I'm reading a library book on my Kindle.
5. Frugal but a fail. I purchased a new Kindle from that guy I don't like. I took advantage of a sale plus the discount given to me for the unsupported Kindle I own. I got $20 in Kindle book credit and three months free of Kindle Unlimited. I've purchased one book that was unavailable through Kindle at my library and read two through Kindle unlimited that were unavailable at my library. I'll cancel before it renews. At least I know he won't be making too much money off me.
If all of us put effort into not supporting "that guy" the world would be a better place. I hate him, but even I have started a little bit from Whole Foods.
I haven't given "that guy" a single penny of support in six years. Maybe $100 before that. Anything he sells is available elsewhere, often cheaper. It just might take a day or two longer to arrive. There is no Whole Foods here and the local farmer's market seems primarily priced for tourists, so most of my groceries are cherry-picked from other large retailers owned by people I find hard to respect. None of them are making much from me.
One of those billionaire retailers here recently faced severe customer backlash, when it was discovered that ICE was about to purchase a warehouse the billionaire was selling. Within days, the sale was cancelled.
Katy, adding Dawn dish liquid to the peroxide and baking soda mix and scrubbing with a soft toothbrush will remove almost any stain.
1) I made a loaf of bread and 6 hamburger buns for the freezer. This is 12-14 meals for the two of us — the loaf bread is used for hot sandwiches and toasties, the buns for tuna burgers and chicken sandwiches. I also made a loaf of NYT bread — it’s our daily bread loaf for cold lunch sandwiches and breakfast toast, so I make it a couple of times a week.
2) New hamburger bun hack! My buns always spread in the oven and end up kind of flat, so I use metal egg rings to hold the shape while they bake. Problem is I only have two egg rings. It hit me yesterday — the egg rings are the same size as wide-mouth canning rings. Coated them with a bit of oil and they worked perfectly! I set aside a half dozen to only be used for bun making (no canning), since they may deform slightly in the oven and affect the seal when canning.
3) We spent a lot of time cleaning up weeds and debris, mainly bird-planted blackberry vines, in the orchard, We uncovered a young cherry tree, complete with a few ripening cherries, from beneath a blackberry bush that had overtaken the tree’s protective cage. We were thinking of adding a cherry tree, so this saves that expense! All the trees look better, are easier to tend, and will perform better now that they aren’t being choked.
4) Met a friend for coffee/tea at a local shop. Not necessarily frugal, but I combined the coffee date with a trip to the library (a block away from the coffee shop) and with my Friday violin lesson (halfway between my home and the library), thus using less gas than if I did these trips separately. I also found two books, one I had been hoping to add to our library, on the “free book shelves” in the library basement.
5) Free Friday fun night, per usual! Darts, adult beverages, and charcuterie plates (actually, odds and ends snack plates, but charcuterie sounds fancier). An adult kid and their partner joined us for the fun.
Bonus: Overnight rain was expected, so in the evening I rearranged my deck planters and pots to maximize rain exposure. Woke up to find that Mother Nature watered all my plants for free.
When I do something similar to your canning lid buns, mine ALWAYS rise up over the top and look like deformed popovers. I can't seem to make buns that are not oversized and puffy. DH and end up sharing my oversized buns.
Can you clean something like tuna cans enough to work?
1) Leftovers from dinner, part one of many
2) DH & I hung out & chatted around our pool before dinner, for an at home date night style feel
3) I opted to pack what I already own for a work event, instead of panic buying a bunch of clothes.
4) Made lunch out of fridge leftovers
5) Wisely did not sign up for a workout class yesterday, as I ended up working about 10 hours to get everything done for my crazy packed week ahead.
I've heard lemon juice and salt, out in the sunshine, is good for white cotton items.
I think it is an old fashioned remedy they used 100 years ago.
We had a heavy rainstorm last night and Snuggles went into his doggy hysterics, crying and whining and nosing me out of a sound sleep. (It was after midnight.) I got up and somehow got that Thunder Shirt on him (he was wiggling and it was hard to put it on him). It seemed to work; he calmed down considerably.
I put up a pocket shoe holder on the closet hallway wall, and put all my sandals in it. Lots better storage, and I already had the shoe holder so nothing new was purchased. I found some screws that fit perfectly in the holes to hold it up. They were in one of those multi-compartment boxes of picture hangers that you buy, and I'd gotten the box back when I was hanging art in the living room. So again, nothing new was bought. I use this closet hallway as a dressing room, and have the doorway frame (no door) blocked off with a floor-to-ceiling curtain. Much like what you did with your daughter's closet, Katy.
This old house has some weird oh-ohs. One is if you use the bedroom light switch, the circuit breaker blows. (And that turns off all the electric lights and electric plug sockets in the master bedroom suite.) So we turn on the ceiling fan and its overhead lights with the chains attached to same. I had some tape on the light switch, to keep people from using it, but wanted something prettier. Finally had an inspiration: I tacked up a folded pillow sham, which matches the bedspread and curtains, over the light switch. It looks like a little quilted tapestry, a bit unusual, but it does the job.
I’m on my way to Toronto for work for a couple of days and I decided to take the train rather than drive. This reduces the use of insanely expensive gas and the chance of parking tickets.
Our groceries from last week are holding out well and so far I only picked up bananas as a fill in.
Now that summer has started and my son is hanging out with friends, I am trying to stock up on food deals whenever I can. I am keeping my eyes open for deals on Lunch meat, snacks like crackers and chips and juice boxes/pop/popsicles and cereal so I can feed who ever is around. Yesterday my son and two friends had sandwiches, chips and two pops shared 3 ways. I also found the cheapest pizza deal in town so we know where to order from should a crowd show up. It’s priceless for us to get to know his friends and be able to keep our eyes and ears on what they are up to!
I’m staying in Toronto with a dear friend who is a great cook and is also gluten free, so we will eat many of our meals at home. I will still splurge on a couple of restaurant meals!
Looking forward to having a few days away from my family and to have some time to walk around with my thoughts.
I just spent $45 at our local ARC store - think of Goodwill's competitor, like Target is to Walmart. What did I find? Lots of office supply items that will come in handy for my home. The money that I spent at our local ARC store goes to help out local individuals with physical & mental disabilities.