Five Frugal Things -- Library Books & The "ICE Out" General Strike
1. I logged into the American Red Cross website and scanned through the area where I've earned "points" which can be redeemed for their branded merchandise. I've never been interested in these items, but saw that I had enough points to redeem a $10 gift card. I'll use it for Fred Meyer, which is our regional Kroger grocery store.
It looks like these points expire quickly, so I'll make sure to use them as I earn them in the future. It looks like I've been leaving them on the table.
2. I stopped by the library to pick up my hold copy of The Book of Lost Hours, by Hayley Gelfuso. I don't remember putting it on hold, so it must've had a long wait list. I've fallen out of the daily reading habit, but this book should give me the nudge I need.
3. My friend Lise texted me from Winco this afternoon to ask if I needed anything. I had her pick up a can of the blue cap oven cleaner, as it's apparently the magic solution to clean the baked on crud from my thrifted Wagner Ware pan. (At least that's what all the YouTube dudes claim.) I saw that online prices were all over the place, but Winco seemed cheapest at "four something," which is what Lise paid.
I was able to clean the lid using Barkeeper's Friend, but it didn't work whatsoever for the bottom of the pan.
As a reminder:
4. My husband stopped by with a co-worker and I served a packet of biscotti from my recent Red Cross donation.
Who me, cheap?
5. Today is the national "ICE Out" national strike and I plan on supporting it with no shopping. Not even Goodwill.
However, now that I think about it, I may walk over to spend money at the neighborhood taco truck that's been struggling lately. I read that their core customers aren't taking the risk to be out and about. These are the businesses I care to support.
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."
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
1) Also called my representatives & they are also similarly aligned, but expressed support.
2) Used a $10 CVS reward to purchase some Valentine's Day cards + treats for the teens.
3) Dug around & found a stamp in our stationery area in the hall closet. Walked to the mailbox to drop off DS18's Valentine's Day card. I have previously done fun treats + a small Starbucks gift card, but given the cost of mailing said treats, I opted for a small check instead, with a note to buy himself dinner.
4) For DS19's birthday gift, wrapped a couple of things in re-used gift boxes that have probably been used 10+ times for various events. They are really nice boxes from "Birch Box", which I received as a gift during COVID.
5) Once again made dinner without a plan, which is not a frugal endeavor & I don't recommend as a standard practice, but this has been a week & I managed to get everyone fed with four freezer meals, plus last night's salmon (freezer) for DH & TJ's ravioli (picked up a couple of days ago) + meatballs (freezer) for myself & DS19. Bonus that we used some of the leftover cheese from the Costco street taco meal on the ravioli.
We are also supporting our local taco truck tonight.
What a good thought -- support businesses that are owned by Latinos (or other targeted ethnic groups). In this horrible climate, they must be struggling mightily.
1. I pulled a package of Italian sausage out of the freezer this morning and I saw by the label that I got it in a BOGO offer. A gift from my past self! I made and cooked some patties and scrambled the rest. I had one patty with my breakfast and the rest will go back in the freezer -- except I will make sausage gravy out of scrambled bits.
2. I was planning on going to the DMV yesterday to sort out my license. I am supposed to have a Real ID but that's not what I got. Anyway, it was too cold and I was too tired, and then I remembered that the DMV is always packed at the end of the month, so the trip is deferred until Monday. So I saved some gas, and, hopefully, a little hassle.
3. I noticed that the top I was wearing yesterday had some flecks of paint on it, and then I noticed there was a hole near the hem. I think that top has seen better days. I decided to save it, however, for future painting and dirty jobs. It is nice and loose and will make a pretty good smock.
4. My sister is moving into her retirement community apartment today. She is many miles away from me, and the weather is horrible, so I can't help. I will send her a monetary gift to help with the transition. Non-frugal, but something I want to do.
5. I don't have anything stashed away to celebrate "it." I do have some pecan pie in the freezer. I have to admit, though, it will probably get eaten before "it" happens.
1. Converted my Prolific survey money to Paypal – over $70 CDN, and I have been picky about the surveys I do. Whoot.
2. The riding lawnmower [that we (mostly Wonder James) also use as a tractor to pull a trailer] has two tires with slow-getting-faster leaks. James took the front wheel off. and I took it to my tire place for a new tube, which they have done. However, when I asked for a quote for the rear tires, the tire folk recommended I go to Princess Auto – since they were going to cost $115 PLUS installation (each !) to replace.
Princess Auto had the entire tire/wheel assemblies on super discount sale for $53 each!! I finally got there, en-route to my Mom's, and wisely also remembered to get windshield wiper fluid.
3. Mom continues to not do well. This included a trip to hospital in ambulance (her choice, so she would be in a stretcher not sitting in a chair in the waiting room). She checked out all clear – her heart in fabulous shape, nothing in her blood tests, lungs x-rayed clear.
She still feels crappy, though. I had a frantic 45 min when the hospital misplaced her. They had parked her in a hallway after her x-ray, and then couldn't locate her when I asked after her. They told me that she probably had left.
I got steadily more frightened, while calling all the cab companies and the people in the building where she lives. Finally I PHONED the hospital (from the parking lot), and got put through to emergency. I asked them what my next step should be, calling the police? Because mom has beginning signs of dementia, and is 95, and it was 4:30 and starting to rain They finally took me seriously enough to REALLY look for her. I carefully described my Mom, and they took another turn through the halls, and voila!!!. GAH!
Deep breaths. Many many deep breaths. I got her home and went back to visit her the next day as a nurse was coming to see her. HE figured out she also has an ear infection (besides being weak from becoming de-conditioned from lying in bed for much of each day this last month). He gently lectured her about walking short distances frequently every day (thanks for backing me up, Nurse Mike!) and they'll keep an eye on her.
She did do some walking for me prior to the nurse visit, although I know she was swearing at me under her breath as she stomped from one end of her apartment to the other for several trips.
The care people and my daughter are on the roster for the next couple of days. Mom is sick of having all this company, and it is clearly necessary. With luck I won't have to go over that foggy highway until next Wednesday.
And thanks to all who are recommending she go into a home – her family doctor is strongly recommending that she stay in her own condo for as long as possible, and he does not feel that it is anywhere near time for her to need to move. It just is time to rally the troops and also hire some help to come in every day, partially to avoid what has just happened. I knew this time was coming, when we needed to have more eyes on her to do wellness checks, and the time has now arrived. Today she turns 96. Happy Birthday Mom!
4. My Daughter came to the rescue on the hospital day, bless her! She did the bit of grocery shopping that was on Mom's list (I had cleverly taken a photo and sent it to DD). She arrived with fast food burgers and fries when we got home from the hospital. Watching mom tuck into the food was wonderful to see.
I was equally famished and so grateful to have the rescue hot food delivery, after a VERY trying afternoon. We are using Mom's bank account to cover things like this, so I got the receipts for DD's shopping and fast food and will reimburse her in the next couple of days.
Ecoteri, yikes, I'm sorry to hear about the scary situation(s) with your mom. Sending you hugs across the miles.
I'm sorry to hear about your mother. While her doctor may be urging for her to stay in her home, if it becomes unfeasible for your family, and a routine she can no longer really keep up; there is no defeat in having her move into assisted living. I'm sure the doctor is thinking the move would be a lot of stress on her, but truthfully her becoming so ill it leaves her unable to recover is not a great fate.
The hospital losing track of your mother reminds me of when my son was in elementary school the school bus never dropped him off one night. There was no one answering calls at the bus depot, and no one at the school. I called the police, I wasn't the only parent to call...
You are a wonderful daughter and leading by good example. Taking care of elderly parents is not for sissies! My mom suffers from dementia, too. I get it.
1. Friends that stayed with us for a few days treated us to dinner (twice), gelato and a lovely box of chocolates.
2. Went to a lovely hummingbird sanctuary in Patagonia, Arizona. Gave a freewill donation.
3. While our mail is being held while we're away, we know what mail we've received because we are long-time users of the USPS's free Informed Delivery service in which we get daily emails with images of our mail. Since the USPS only holds mail up to 30 days (anything beyond that requires forwarding), we will have three separate holds to get around that requirement. After each hold expires, my sister retrieves our mail for us. One year we had it forwarded to my sister's condo and we had several delivery (more like non-delivery) issues with that approach.
4. It will be interesting to see what our utility bills will be for the months we're gone. The water is completely turned off, the thermostat is set to 60 degrees, and we unplugged lots of things before leaving.
5. Other savings will come from suspending garbage pickup and housecleaning.
I haven't left 5 frugal things for a while because I haven't had any fresh ones.
1. not spending today is not a hardship....still too cold at -7 wind chill and way too much snow.
2.cooking a lot on my woodstove, slow cooked soup and stews.
3. used my aging potatoes to make a huge batch of mashed potatoes and froze the leftovers in silicone muffin cups.
4. using my frozen "egg pucks" in cooking, too many eggs this last summer so I froze them in silicone muffin pans. 4 whole eggs per puck.
5. Laundry washed and hung around woodstove to dry, any humidity that can be added to the inside air is a good thing.
JC
I am also taking part in the national ICE Out strike today. The one exception may be a stop for a "cuppa" at my politically like minded friend's indy book store. This place is the heart and soul of our community and deserves to be supported.
1. I made gift tags for next year's Christmas gifts from Christmas cards we received this past December. I use a pair of craft scissors I found in the street during my mail carrying days to make fancy edges on the tags. I learned this as a child from my frugal grandmother who did the same with her cards and a pair of pinking shears.
2. Just saw on the news the frigid air we're experiencing here in the Northeast may stick around until mid March. I hope that forecast is wrong but my heat will stay set low with the help of layers and blankets.
3. I invited some friends over for my annual potluck but instead of a chili cook-off we're doing Italian food. This is always lots of frugal fun and we get to try each other's creations. This is a group of about fifteen people so there will be lots of food to sample.
4. I was craving a cherry pie but was horrified at the price of a can of cherries of which I need two for my recipe so opted to make a pumpkin pie instead. Cheaper ingredients and I love it almost as much as cherry pie.
5. I did not order the arrest of any journalists who are just doing their jobs.
Christine, I appreciate your restraint in #5. What's next for this rogue government? Storming newsrooms for reporting fake (not fake) polls? Arresting postal carriers for delivering whatever material doesn't suit the government? Removing medical licenses of doctors who treat Democrats? Seems outlandish but look where we are.
I believe the Oxford Dictionary is going to have a hard time not choosing F--K as the word of the year.
I'm with you MB. At this point, nothing would surprise me with this administration. Fascism has arrived at the hands of the voters who put him in the White House.
I visited Minnesota in 2018 and stayed in Minneapolis. I remember it as a beautiful, peaceful city and could put my head down and cry over the death and violence ICE has brought to it.
Dollar Tree has canned cherry pie filling for $1.25. I was surprised when I tried it finding tons of cherries and it tastes good.
Good to know! Thank you. I will check it out today.
I was going to suggest the same thing! I was also pleasantly surprised at the taste and amount of cherries.
1. The mud room/closet reorg continues - found the shower curtain hooks I wanted at the discount store down the street along with a handy hanging organizer. I was sparse in my purchases until I know what we really need.
2. The discount store did have our guilty pleasure snack - ritz peanut butter crackers - at $1.50/12 pack. Worth it.
3. Also participating in the general boycott today; any shopping or pickups can be delayed.
4. Burning a gifted candle down to the bottom - it smells great!
5. Appreciating my routine - drinking coffee from my kitchen and eating my preferred yogurt bowl for breakfast.
Slow & steady work to get the frying pan cleaned up.
1. I found a pair of thick plaid socks w/ a fleece lining on my walk following the big freeze. I washed them w/ other items and they came out nicely. It has remained cold so they will be a good addition to my sock drawer.
2. Does it count if you bought something today if it was free? I had a birthday offer soon to expire. I got a free breakfast item at McDonalds.
3. Found 25 cents in the McD drive thru.
4. Found 2 large plastic planters on a curb during my drive home from McD.
5. I am watching Session 6 of All Creatures Great & Small on PBS. Sometimes PBS will allow you to watch this show for free so I am taking advantage of this.
It doesn’t count because cashing in on your free birthday reward does not give them any new profit.
FFT, Keeping My Chin Off the Floor Edition:
I won't kid you, friends: My mood's at rock bottom today, for multiple reasons. Still, here's what I'm doing to keep my chin off the floor:
(1) The local activist Catholic church has set up an "Immigration Defense Fund" to help parishioners and others who have been targeted by ICE, as well as family members left behind. I've donated to that fund.
(2) Grad School BFF has a friend in Minneapolis who's written a heartfelt Substack post about what's been going down there. I've also just donated to one of the two charities mentioned by the author in the post.
(3) Other than those donations, I'm not going anywhere or spending any money today--and I wouldn't even if we weren't under a "cold weather advisory" from now till Sunday morning.
(4) My spirits have been lifted by Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Minneapolis" on YouTube--which not only is the anthem we need at this time, but reminds this old warhorse of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth."
(5) And just for fun, I cut a clementine that had become too hard to eat into tiny bits and put it down the garbage disposal as a deodorizer. The kitchen now smells beautifully of citrus. (You can tell I'm a little desperate for fun these days.)
Having something nice to smell sounds like a wonderful additional to any day.
It's so wonderful to hear of churches actually being Christ-like!
Oh, A. Marie, I'm down there with you and am doing similar things to keep myself from sinking further (or is it farther? I used to know this but don't know up from down right now) in sorrow, bewilderment and anger. My friends in Minnesota say that the continued occupation of our beautiful state is stressful beyond belief. I'm heartened but not at all surprised that the support from within and outside of the state has been extraordinary. Stay strong, my friend!
I saw that Hillary Clinton tweeted a list of legit organizations that one could donate to. I messaged cousins in Minneapolis who confirmed the list was a good one. They suggested Second Harvest, a food bank in the Minneapolis area so I went on line and donated. I am looking for other suggestions too.
Jean, here are some additional worthy organizations:
https://havenwatch.org/
https://www.everymeal.org/adapting-to-urgent-food-needs/
https://arriveministries.org/
Originally mom asked to go "anywhere but here" but then made a good decision to stay home and "chill" next to the fire.
Note to Shyla, every time when I've lost a job or when we were struggling to keep our businesses afloat, a better opportunity showed up. Share with everyone you know, look at assistant programs and do not be afraid to use Goodwill's job connections. Praying for you and your family.
I think I'll hire my favorite taco truck to make carnitas for Sunday family dinner. Their Abuelo and "Cita" had the best restaurant 30 yrs ago and he taught me so much.
In between rain storms today I need to clean out the hooped raised beds that had broccoli and romaine lettuce. Our 20 F temps killed the poor things. I have starts in the greenhouse, so I will plant them tomorrow during our full moon and Spring like temps. My Alaska cabbage and kale did fine.
Everyone in the path of the next cold snap and nasty weather, please be safe.
The word "Alaska" in your post caught my attention. If anyone lives in Alaska, is moving to Alaska, or knows someone in Alaska...a friend of mine wrote a book several years ago: "Alaska Gardening Guide Volume 1: Alaska Vegetables for Northern Climates" --Ann D. Roberts. She was ambitious, but never got to writing subsequent volumes.
Personally, I feel like Alaska and Pennsylvania have swapped places at the moment. Our morning temps are in the negatives (-6 F this morning). I've often said that when the temperature hits 32 F in Alaska, Alaskans are breaking out the bikinis, speedo's, and suntan lotion.
Yes, the taco truck would be a good thing to do. As long as you don't wear a ski mask going near it.
1. I am mucho upset with the roofing company. As Feb. 1 is this Sunday, I wanted to make my payment on time. Which means today! So to do that, I had to go to the credit union and the bank and give my checking account a money transfusion. That's because the pension $$ doesn't go into my account until the first. So then I drive clear across town to give them my check. The building is all locked up! I came home and phoned and got their new Artificial Intelligent Robot answering the phone -- a real AIRhead! (Emoji of steam coming out of my ears, I'm so mad!) Left a message and the owner called back and said "I'm here now, y ou can come this afternooon." "No, I can't, I have to go to work." So he said it's OK to mail the check. I reminded him of how slow the mail is since Trump installed that idiot as Postmaster General. OK, I will mail the check and it may not get there for three weeks, but that's on you, Mister. Ugh.
2. Returning from said errand, I happened by an estate sale. Resisted the temptation to get a DVD of "The Manchurian Candidate" with Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, and a VHS documentary of the Apollo missions (I still have a VCR that works!). Would've been $10 for both, but I'm betting the library has at least one. Would rather check it out and return it. Bought something more practical, which I need -- a big roll of dark black window film for that pesky west window. Designed for privacy + keeping out the sun. Only six bucks. Will install it before summer.
3. Yesterday, I went by the hardware store to get another long plugger-inner electric extension cord that had 10 outlets. They were out of stock. Instead, I found a heavy-duty plugger-inner thing with 6 socket plugs and 2 adapters for cell phone recharging. It was white and it has two heavy-duty non-scratch magnets. I put the thing on my metal Ikea bed to compensate for the fact there's only one wall socket on that side of the bedroom. (Remember, I moved the bed away from the window and over to the interior wall, due to cold air seeping though.) It solves the problem better than I could ever have imagined!
4.Wifi works (installed yesterday) and I found an old Kindle. Guess what? It still works! Will get the public library code and start reading for free now!
5. This is where I'd make a lame joke about Trump, but I'm about to be late for work. Refer to Kimmel or Colbert for a proper wise crack about him!
Thank you for NOT being one of those bloggers who are keeping during these horrendous times. "Today is the national "ICE Out" national strike and I plan on supporting it with no shopping. Not even Goodwill.". So appreciate this!
A usual Friday post office to mail
a sale, Walmart and then a hair cut.
Due to the arctic storm I missed work two days last week. I was able to pick up extra hours yesterday.
Planning on using my birthday freebies strategically next month
I didn't use any of my birthday freebies this year, but it's mostly because my area of town has almost no chain restaurants and it makes no sense to drive a long distance for free food. However, I love that all the restaurants in my area are locally owned.
My daughter sent me this a couple of weeks ago. It accurately describes what is happening here in the US. (Sorry, Lee Greenwood, given the current state of affairs, "I am NOT proud to be an American...God SAVE THE USA!"
"Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find their parents have disappeared."
Sounds pretty accurate, right?
What comes around goes around. This quote is from THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, JANUARY 13, 1943.
OMG! I guess we need to start hiding folks in attics now.
I've seen this too and it made me realize it's time to reread the Diary of Anne Frank.
I have points with the American Red Cross but I thought you could only order one gift a year. I will look at the rules a little better and use mine up. Gotta love free stuff.
That may be so, this is the first time I've used my points.
The ICE out thing gives me a good excuse to use some of the things that are crowding my freezer. It’s chicken soup night!
I feel sort of powerless, and like “ICE Out” will do nothing. Everyone will go back to the stores tomorrow. Maybe if more people made an effort to buy nothing new, that might have an effect? I don’t know. When I donated blood a few days ago, I thought, “This will be handy when the civil war starts.” Hey. I’m discouraged! America is over.
I’ll keep an eye on my Red Cross app and see if I get any awards. So far, there’s no sign that I ever donated!
I found many cans when I went out walking in the rain today. I guess all the competition stayed at home.
I finished a book on Libby and started a new one. I overindulged on hoopla and have to wait until next week before I can check out new content.
Frugal fail: I stashed a fancy chocolate bar from Christmas, and I can’t remember where! I feel old. Sigh!
With my luck, I'd find it just after buying Valentine or Easter candy 😉
Maybe you can reframe having misplaced the chocolate bar as "doing a favor for your future self!"
Let’s just hope that future me doesn’t find it at the end of an ant trail!
1. My husband and I deleted our tiktok accounts. The company was recently sold in the US to a company that heavily sells user data. We maybe had 5 posts on them between the two of us, but we don't need anyone collecting and selling our data habits, thank you, so we deleted the content and then deleted the accounts.
2. Took a seam ripper to an expensive coat from my husband's former employer. They said to just throw out his logo'd clothes. Not on my watch! There are a few golf polos he would like to save if possible and the coat. Helped blow off some much needed steam. It's a big project though, they have a complicated logo.
3. My husband had a dentist appointment yesterday morning and came home with a goodie bag of dental supplies, and it was a 100% covered visit so no deductible or copay!
4. I scanned a receipt into Ibotta today, only $0.10, but every penny counts.
5. I completed my daily Microsoft points and am closing in on a $25 Kroger gift card soon. Maybe by the time I'm ready to cash out Ibotta will actually have some good rebates again
Complicated project = more satisfying in the end!
Learning new frugal habits from you all: I unpicked my husband's company's logo details from an expensive name-brand coat which meant that my son was happy to use it (he wasn't happy to use it before with the company logo on it). A new coat for my son and an item which would probably just have gone into landfill before.
We see you holding the line, Minnesota and pray that it will not be necessary for much longer.
I love this! So much perfectly good stuff is unwanted due to being needlessly branded.
My husband has successfully cleaned baked-on crud from my Revere ware pans with a fine polishing brush attached to a drill. He also used this to polish our tea kettle. It looks fantastic and did not scratch.
Send your husband over!
I’m planning to try The Pink Stuff on a similar-looking pan exterior. Haven’t personally tried it yet on cookware, but have read of others who reported good results. I love it for my shower and bathtub.
Ooh . . . let us know how it worked!
1. I took care of my in-laws cat and checked their mail while they were gone for a week. In return they will drop me off at the airport in a couple of weeks.
2. For Lunch I ate leftover Cobb salad that I made for dinner last night.
3. I got my flu shot done at cvs and received a $5 off $20 coupon to use later which I can stack with other coupons.
4. Stuck to making the meals I had planned for the week even though my daughter asked for Culvers and my husband wanted to order pizza. Instead I made her a cheeseburger and my husband and I had a frozen pizza he likes. I told them we could get food out on Sunday for 1 meal.
I would be hard pressed to turn down Culver's but then again I hardly ever have it due to the fact there are none in my area. Maybe it's a good thing. DH and I indulged at one while in North Carolina attending Grandson22's college graduation last May so I
can't say it's been forever since I ate at one.