Five Frugal Things -- Goodwill Bins Finds
- I stopped into the Goodwill Outlet bins to scout inventory to sell for my $100 Goodwill gift Card Challenge. (I'll share what I picked up to resell in tomorrow's blog post.) I only bought four items to sell, but I did pick up a few items for myself.
- The sweetest cotton dishtowel.
- A pair of joggers/sweats with nice deep pockets, which must mean they're a men's design. The tag was cut out, but they seem to be good quality.
- A single vintage hexagonal glass drawer pull.
- A small carabiner.
Total Spent -- $3.35 - I returned a bag of Granny Smith apples to Trader Joe's, as they were inedibly mealy. I got a $2.99 refund and then splurged on a 23¢ banana. The store was on my route to Goodwill, so I didn't drive out of my way to complete this task.
- I cancelled a dental appointment early enough to avoid being charged a "missed appointment" fee. The timing would've meant my husband and I had to rush home from our mini-vacation, which kind of defeats the purpose of vacationing! I was able to grab someone else's cancelled appointment for next week, so I'm still on schedule.
- I laundered and then carefully removed the stitching that held the insurance company label off a trash picked knit beanie. No one wants to give free advertising to a multi-billion dollar insurance company.
- I repaired my indoor clothes rack with a pair of lil' zip-ties that I already owned.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Bins for the win! I love that dish towel! Looking forward to your post tomorrow. Thanks for being a soft place to land in these troubling times.
Today I exercised along to 15 year old workout DVDs. They still work/no skips & are an incredible workout.
1. My husband walked out daughters to the park to play since I'm under the weather.
2. I ordered some over-the-counter medicine using our HSA account. Running out of Tylenol when sick is almost as bad as running out of coffee. Almost 😉
3. Neither I nor my husband really want to cook dinner tonight so he's making breakfast for dinner.
4. My oldest daughter said she needed me to mend a hole in a cushion she uses for her forts. I'm glad she sees the value in repairing what we already have, even at such a young age. I told her it would need to wait until I'm feeling a little better. Free lesson in patience for her, less chance of sticking myself with a needle for me.
5. I used my scrap yarn to teach myself how to do a new crochet technique from watching videos online. Once I played around with it and got the hang of it I undid the stitching and will save the yarn for an actual project in the future.
Today I unloaded and stacked 95 square bales in the barn. Sent my pasture rent to the landlord using one of the stamps I found in a puddle last year. I've listed a couple of random items on eBay. Hung up some laundry. Found a pair of too small carhartt coveralls of DHs. I plan to list them as well.
My last trip.to the cheapo grocery store yielded .69/qt Greek yogurt, 5# Tillamook extra sharp cheddar for 13.99, 1.50 salsa, and two Lendor chocolate bars for 1.50 each. ( I meant to gift one, but ate it instead.)
We have a 25 year old Kirby vacuum that was my mil's. Ordered vacuum bags from skeeze-os. Kept the mailer for (hopefully) future ebay sales. Mended a sock and a pair of gloves.
Wore old clothes, ate at home, and composted.
1. I went to Aldi this morning and bought more than I intended to. I had two heavy bags to take up the stairs. It was not easy -- I have three flights to climb, and I am no spring chicken. But I should not have to shop again for a good while. I splurged on a quart of chocolate milk that was only $1.91. That was probably my best buy.
2. I stopped at the branch library and checked out two books.
3. I made banana bread with my free bananas, and I had some for breakfast.
4. I made a special trip out in the rain to move my car after unloading my groceries. I was afraid I was too close to a fire hydrant. It's not worth taking a chance. Tickets are expensive and getting towed even more so.
5. I ordered a bag for storing my artificial Christmas tree and it arrived today. I had a credit so it was less than $7. And I ordered the gray bag instead of the lovelier red or green, because it was a dollar less. Tomorrow the tree goes down and I will be finished dismantling Christmas.
I stopped at post office and picked up
a priority mailing box FREE. I’m out of plain boxes after mailing holiday gifts. I packed the box using odds and ends papped mailing envelopes. The buyer paid postage so
I packaged up a number of other sales..so off to post office tomorrow
Ate from the pantry and a friend gifted me a bottle of wine
In the spirit of make do and mend, also known as Give The Billionare Bros No Money in 2026, I mended a wash cloth, two hand towels and a dish towel. The sewing machine sounded a bit off, so I took the bobbin case apart, cleaned it, and that did the trick.
My food budget has been cut to the bone this month. I spent only $26 on people food at the grocery store, where a digital coupon knocked $1 off cereal. Another $12 was spent at Dollar Tree on almond milk, juice and Monet crackers.
I inventoried the upright freezer and the fridge freezer and determined that we can easily get through the month without buying any new stock and I have plenty of stuff to make soup and casseroles for my lunches. A pot of minestrone has been calling my name with this gloomy weather.
I've had a catch-up day, I've been feeling incredibly weary.
1. Worked in the garden which is uplifting to me. It was sunny as well
2. Washed 2 loads of laundry and got both of them dry on the line though our high temp was 57°. I didn't turn the heat on inside the house until 4pm, it was 59° in the house all day. I wore the free-to-me Smartwool shirt and it kept me warm.
3. Listed 6 things on FB marketplace/eBay.
4. Ate leftovers for dinner. You know things are tight when our vegetable was a helping of pickled carrots.
5. Filled in the warranty to have my Darn Tough socks replaced. They haven't worn as well as if hoped, but they do have an awesome warranty!
That’s a cute dish towel. There’s no need to ever buy a new dish towel when there are so many nice ones at the bins.
I found some clearance “Christmas tea” today, which is really just spiced tea that I’ll drink year round. Every January, I scrounge around the clearance racks and scoop up some nice tea!
Speaking of tea, I spent the morning at a conference. I thought I was being dramatic when I brought my own tea in a thermos, but it turned out to be a very good idea since the venue provided no tea whatsoever! Not even a thermos of hot water and a box of Lipton tea bags! Nothing! The coffee drinkers were taken care of, which is annoying. (Grumble.)
1) My produce delivery box comes on Wednesday nights so I am always very motivated to use up what’s left of the previous weeks produce on Wednesday to make room. So yesterday I roasted a kabocha squash, puréed it and made bread with it. I also made a cauliflower and potato soup and chickpea salad for sandwiches.
2) Was looking at lodging for a short trip we are taking and by shifting the trip by one day, the nightly rate dropped by a lot, luckily we had the flexibility to do that.
3) Sewed a hole in my son’s pajamas. I believe he cut them with scissors(on purpose, to see what would happen) which is frustrating but at least it doesn’t really matter what pajamas look like (I am not very skilled at sewing so the repair looks a bit rough)
4) Checked out some more easy readers from the library for my daughter. She doesn’t like to read the same book twice (even though at her reading stage I think repetition could be helpful) so I try to keep a fresh supply of books here.
5) Found a nice dress shirt my son had outgrown, it’s a really good brand and is in great condition, so I’ll bring it to my friend when I see her next weekend, as her son is about 2 years younger than mine and she appreciates hand me downs (especially dress clothes, which are infrequently worn)
@Reader Lisa … retired teacher, here. You might try having your daughter reread the books by having her read to a pet, stuffed animal, sibling, or friend. Reading the same book for another reason is not the same as simply reading it again. You are on the right track.
1. DH and I walked a couple of miles around the neighborhood. It was almost 50 degrees here. We're thinking it's the proverbial January thaw.
2. I sewed a button on my pajama top which was missing two buttons. I didn't have another button of the size needed for the second one so I sewed it shut. No one sees it anyway.
3. Leftovers for dinner.
4. After lamenting I once again didn't win the afghan my friend crochets and donates every year to our church raffle, she went and crocheted me one! I cried at her kindness.
5. Finished the library book "Paper Girl" by Beth Macy. Excellent read.
What a pretty towel!
Our twenty-five year old oven stopped working. The new one will hopefully last nearly that long. It is the most no-frills we could get, bought locally, and the appliance store has always been very good on repairs in the past.
Unfortunately, it gives off a LOT of heat. I will appreciate that in the winter and be very frustrated in the summer.
I made soup with clearance wild rice, onion, celery, carrots I had shredded and frozen when I bought too much, garlic, broth, can of chicken, milk. It was very good, enough so that I might splurge on full-price wild rice some day.
The grocery store put Christmas clearance in an unexpected place, and I found my seasonal favorite-- the Ghirardelli dark chocolate peppermint bark in bags, for $3.24 instead of 10.99!
Local community theatre got a state grant to do a Shakespeare workshop. It is good to use my mind a bit and go somewhere with my husband.
1. I fell on Saturday and broke my arm. Luckily it was Saturday and luckily it is my left arm and luckily my son was home. He took me to the hospital and I got a temporary cast, and I returned yesterday to get surgery. They had to look around for a titanic plate because I'm allergic to nickel.
Also luckily I have a roommate right now, so she has been helping out with the farm animals. I'm feeling rather sorry for myself.
In Canada we do not pay for this kind of surgery = or this kind of hospital visit – so I'm only out of pocket for some “better living through pharmaceuticals” drugs which I am very glad to be taking.
2. My roommate wanted to cook a meal to help out, (mostly because she and my son opened the refrigerator and realized there wasn't any cooked food! One of the consequences of my broken arm is that I'm not gonna be able to do much cooking for everyone, so I am glad she is stepping up to fill in the gaps!)
After she told me what she wanted to cook I let her know that I had everything we needed so she didn't have to go shopping. She made a really nice red lentil carrot yam soup that we are all enjoying. I have to admit it's kind of nice to see her understanding how much time it takes to plan, make a meal, then do the dishes. I'm having to work on accepting the assistance - that is good practice for me!
3. Even before I broke my arm, I was already madly reading books. I've already read five books this year, all from the library. I have a few more that are my own books, picked up from the used bookstore or gifted to me, so I'll be all right for entertainment as I heal.
My thrift store buddy is a mad library person, and already has her name on my library account, so she has picked up the books that I had on order, and is happy to help me out anytime I ask.
4. I called Duracell and jumped through hoops in order to get a coupon for some AA batteries that were corroding. The poor woman I was speaking to was a little uninspired, but I got the job done.
5. Speaking of batteries, I just had one of my smoke detectors start warning me that the battery needed to be changed - and when I pulled it down and wrangled it open (with one hand) I discovered the batteries were marked 2020 (!!!). I tend to write on a battery when I put it in the smoke detector and clearly I have been lax in replacing the batteries.
Now I am going to have to ask #2 son if he would be willing to replace the batteries in the remaining six smoke detectors in the house...
Ecoteri, so sorry to hear about your fall and broken arm. Sending healing thoughts your way!
I'm so sorry to hear about your arm. Feel better and take care.
1. I continue to sell some larger items in my Ebay inventory. The money is nice and I'm happy to get rid of things, even if I bought them to resell.
2. I walked with a friend twice this week for free exercise.
3. The repair shop had my car for three weeks instead of the one week they originally quoted. Luckily my son-in-law let me borrow their extra car, so I didn't have to pay for a rental.
4. I picked up a $5 rotisserie chicken from Costco which will be used in several meals.
5. I'm reading a library book on my Kindle. My mom and I were talking yesterday about the amount of money we've saved by not buying books. Neither of us re-reads books so owning them doesn't make sense.
I'm looking for jogpants, too, alas, no luck so far!
1. Saved over 6 Euro with the Lidl app on my latest grocery shop. The elderly lady behind me asked if I could scan my Lidl Plus app for her shopping as she doesn’t have it (she didn’t manage to download it) but she wanted to avail of a Lidl Plus discount. Done and the lady saved a whopping 23 Euro that way! I offered to help her download the app but she didn’t have her phone with her.
2. My loyalty card for the local butcher was full and I got 12 Euro off my purchase there. I am very grateful that we still have a local butcher, they seem to be a dying breed. We buy all of our mince there, it tastes a lot better than the supermarket one. However, there is no difference in taste for free range chicken so I buy that in the supermarket, it’s a lot cheaper there.
3. Recent favourite library read: The good husband of Zebra drive (Alexander McCall) - I like the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books, they are such calm and simple stories
4. The weather has been cold but dry and I was finally able to catch up with my laundry which had been piling up!
5. Ever since I saw my grandma do this in her little notebook I have tracked all my expenses by writing down what I spent every single day in my diary. Once a week I totalled up the grocey expenses to keep track of our weekly expenses and once a month I entered all expenses into an Excel file. At the end of the year I totalled it all up. I have been doing this literally since the day I started earning money. It has served me well as I have always felt on top of my spending and knew excactly where every cent was going and how much was coming in - but I decided last December that it is time to stop. I was spending too much time on this and time is very precious to me at this stage in my life. I have noted down my account balances on the 31st of December 2025 and will write them down again on the 31st of December 2026 to see how much I was able to save. I already know that it will feel very strange not to track everything because it is such an ingrained habit but I am looking forward to being able to spend the freed up time doing more of what I love.
Also wanted to add:
Not really frugal as such (I guess frugal in the sense that hopefully my future grandchildren will still have fresh air to breathe for free!) but important to me and part of my New Years resolutions for 2026:
I have resolved to use Ecosia as my browser/search engine as much as possible this year. They plant trees for searches.
I will also continue to plant trees through the free tree app (not sure if it is also available in the US). I will try to watch an ad on the app every day (well, I ignore it, really , I just leave it to play while I do other things) and they plant a tree for this. Realistically speaking it will not be EVERY day but I will try and do it as often as possible.
Chat GPT is very useful sometimes but I will also try and use it as little as possible in 2026 as it eats up huge amounts of resources.
The Number One Ladies Detective Agency books are my favorite cozy mystery series. Like you, I feel they are calming and at the same time interesting. I absolutely love his characters, especially Precious Ramotswe.
1. Schedules a usps pickup for two online sales. Saves me driving to the post office which isn’t on a typical driving route.
2. I’ve been sick , so toddler and I have been home the last few days, not spending anything.
3. I was tempted to door dash yesterday in order to stay alive , but dug out a frozen pizza to make for lunch.
4. Have a list of insurance agents to call next week when I’m better for new home and auto insurance quotes.
5. Trying to set aside some money for next month when I have surgery for a deep clean and inevitable increase in takeout. I am going to try to meal prep some freezer meals as well.
Feeling a bit of frugal defeat being so sick the first real week of the new year!