Five Frugal Things -- Minotaurs & Talking Sheep
1) I sold the above four mythical creatures on eBay for $19. They were the last items from a pair of random animal bags that I thrifted at Goodwill a few months ago. Google Lens was very much my friend when it came to identifying them.
This is what the bags looked like on the Goodwill shelf. I paid $12 for the two bags, sold everything for $104, minus around 15% for eBay's fees. The adds up to an approximate $73.40 profit from what I did to keep my hands busy while watching TV.
Click HERE to see the listing.
2) I sold the wall map quickly on Facebook Marketplace, as I'd only asked ten dollars for it. It wasn't actually vintage, although the graphic was. Since I paid by-the-pound, I likely paid around 50¢ for it. This single sale paid for everything I bought the other day.
3) I spent a couple hours sewing burlap into one of my wire hanging plant baskets and did burlap-plastic-burlap layers. (Worry not, I made sure to have open areas in the plastic for drainage.) It turned out super ugly, as I somehow thought it would be a good idea to have the inner liner be the orange color. However, that part shouldn't be too visible once it's filled with plants.
I wasn't kidding about the "ugly!"
I'm now propagating dozens of spider plant babies to fill it up, which I should've started a couple weeks ago. Oh well, it's like the saying, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now," but with spider plants.
3) I browsed the library's cultural passes website and found an offer for a pair of free movie passes for next Saturday. It was for a movie I hadn't heard of, (The Sheep Detectives) but my willingness to see a random movie is pretty open when the price is right!
4) I got an email from the Supercuts training center asking for hair models and I quickly responded as my hair has once again reached that wraps around my throat while I sleep length. I haven't heard back, but am crossing my fingers that I snagged a free haircut for next week.
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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I am quite looking forward to "Sheep Detectives"!
I have never seen the Minions movies but find the little bits I've seen charming, and Sheep has some of the same production teams, or whatever those people are called.
1) I have not had the best experience with the Great Clips here and we don’t have a Supercuts. I did find a salon near my house where the stylist charges $30 for women’s hair cuts and $20 for kids which is pretty good for around here. My daughter and I went today for cuts. We also don’t go very frequently, maybe twice a year, so that saves money too. I temporarily gave home hair cuts to my family during 2020 and 2021 and hated it so worth the price!
2) I prepared some Buddha bowls to bring for my lunches this week. I already had cooked beans in the freezer that I defrosted, then I made a mix of grains (quinoa, barley, wild rice) in the instant pot, roasted some sweet potato cubes in the oven, and steamed some beet greens. A lot of work but it does make several bowls. Right before I eat it, I then add salad greens, avocado, kimchi and a peanut sauce I make in the blender. One of my favorite meals!
Lisa, your Buddha bowls sound so delicious and healthy!
Hated doing haircuts? It it something I actually enjoy doing. I cut my husband’s hair and trim his beard for him. I don’t have a regular schedule, I just notice when his hair starts getting over his ears and then I tell him I need to cut his hair. He is happy with my work, so I think I do a pretty good job. He trims my long hair for me. He likes it long like I do, so I don’t have to worry about him cutting it too short, like the salons always did. He does a great job every time and I like avoiding the hassle and expense of going to the salon and getting a haircut I don’t like.
These all happened before my fall four days ago - yes, I'm counting every day until recovery!
1. I picked up some wonderful things from Buy Nothing: a brand new king size mattress topper, outdoor dining table, and both melatonin and iron supplements.
2. Overhead light downstairs in our rec room went kaput so I purchased a replacement at Menards but didn't install it right away. Took the globe part of the old one to Habitat ReStore as the main part of the light was a complicated LED thing that died (or so we thought). When the second overhead light downstairs went out the following day, we realized we had a larger electrical issue, so we'll need an electrician. In the meantime, I went back to ReStore and bought back the globe! It was only $1. I'll wait to return the new fixture to Menards until the electrician sorts everything out.
3. The saga of the gas stove burner is over. The first fix did not work consistently so a different new part was ordered and the repair company agreed to cover the cost of the installation and technician.
4. Husband subscribed to Sling TV on a month-to-month basis to watch NHL hockey playoffs and Stanley Cup.
5. Completed a Comcast class settlement form after receiving a notice in the mail. Will receive identity theft services and may receive upwards of $50.
Hope you're feeling better and better MB! Same goes out to A. Marie!
Thank you, Christine! I have a lot of support and am as comfortable as I can be. I hope A. Marie is doing better, too. As the saying goes, we're in a club neither of us signed up for.
Healing prayers for all. Being unwell is always a bummer. Am in the process of starting a terrarium. Glass container, moss ,charcoal all free from my cabinet. Sent DH outside lol moss not in cabinet. We have a lot of small plants to use. Only cost will be charcoal. Trying to I keep myself busy to ward off 'the blues' from being in bed.
Linda B, I'm sorry to hear you're laid up, too. Also sorry if I knew that and had forgotten.
1. I volunteered at the fundraiser for the garden. I came home with all the leftover coffee, 4 pints of half and half (unopened and good until end of June), 1 slice of GF pizza, and 4 slices regular pizza. No one else wanted them. Literally no one. I think I'm in a different income bracket than most of the other volunteers.
2. That was my work and fun for the day. I'll stay at home and rest now, so no money spent on gas or anything else.
3. Began watching Ladies of London, which isn't totally my thing, but I'm from England and it holds some nostalgia. Our $2.99 a month peacock subscription is almost ended, but I can renew at the same price since I'm a student at the community college. She watched English football on peacock most every week, so it's a subscription that has value to us.
4. Happy for the hand-me-down Smartwool shirt I'm wearing on this unseasonably cool day .
Kara, that's a fabulous haul of leftovers! I always take them, too. I sometimes think (to myself, thank goodness): "What is wrong with you people? It's free food! It will go to waste otherwise!" Of course, I understand they have their reasons just as I have mine.
Thank you so much for reminding me of The Great British Sewing Bee. I watched several episodes a few years ago, then lost the link. I just found it on Roku, and I'm reminded why I like it better than the British baking show. Unfortunately I can see my productivity is about to dive for several days. Thanks again!
*Also I've seen the trailer for Sheep Detectives and it looks wonderful.
Your plant basket turned out kinda artsy. At a garage sale, I bought some hens and chicks from the cutest kids. They gave me a plastic animal to put in one of the pots. I have a soft heart for sweet kids. All three littles had their own tables (of course). The oldest was 7. He wrote me a crayon receipt, told me to pay for my plant and then i could pick it out. I tried not to giggle. His little siblings picked out my plants. The middle sib, she colored fairies and glued them to popsicle sticks to decorate her plants. So stinking cute. Spent $6. Totally worth it. I packed us a lunch for today's college baseball game. I won a t-shirt as we entered the stadium. I also won a voucher for a free hot dog for showing my antique student id from the 80's.
We came early to watch the Polynesian dancers. OSU is playing Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Go sports!
I just started reading The Sheep Detectives and could identify a few of the sheep in the ad. I'll have to go see it.
Your library has good passes! I looked and The Sheep Detectives starts May 8 at our local historic theatre where you can have dinner served at your seat. We've never been but I put it on the calendar.
1. Got a refund from the DMV for the licensing fees we had paid in advance for a car we no longer have.
2. Got an email saying it was time for my annual physical. It will cost me nothing so of course I will schedule it.
3. We continue to do really well with not throwing out any leftovers and almost never any produce. Slowly getting the Spring pruning and clean up done.
4. I volunteered to pass out "Vote Yes" materials for funding for a new library. I love getting my reading material from the library and this city really needs a modern one as a replacement for the tiny one built 76 years ago. Fortunately the lending part is county wide so many other materials available.
5. I didn't lie to Congress or otherwise break Federal laws.
1) We sanded the deck rails today, and will paint them tomorrow. This is a free facelift project, since we already owned the sander and painting supplies.
2) Tonight is a bonfire at a friend's house. Instead of buying something to bring, I made cherry slice (kind of like lemon bars, but cherries). I canned the cherries last summer and had everything in the pantry to whip these up.
3) lots of baking this morning. Along with the cherry slice, I started a loaf of NYT bread (I'll bake in the morning) and I made ham, swiss, onion, and zucchini pocket sandwiches (kind of like hot pockets, but can eat hot or cold). I take these with me for lunch everyday instead of paying to eat out. I actually use the NYT bread recipe for these, except I up the flour to 4 cups, the yeast to 1 tsp, use lukewarm water, and only rise for an hour or two until doubled. Roll out 7 circles, top, fold in half and pinch closed, poke holes to vent, then bake 25 minutes at 400 F.
4) Grabbed 5 lbs of apples, two bags of raab, and 1 dozen bakery donuts from the Fred Meyer discount shelves. Spent $7.50. The donuts were a happy weekend treat for the household.
5) Saved the cherry juice from the home canned cherries. I'll use it to make cherry lemonade tomorrow, because we are planning to grill outside for dinner.
I am very much looking forward to see The Sheep Detectives as I adore Emma Thompson. Typically I can't see a movie with animals. I spend the whole time worrying about them (despite checking out the movies on DoesTheDogDie.com - I worry that something truly happened but someone forgot to post it! Haha)
Enjoyed a surprise dinner with our grandkids and stepdaughter yesterday. She texted how about getting together for dinner and I know she always means to go out. I replied that we can eat here. She's like great! She loves roasted veg but says it's a lot of prep...so I made roasted carrots and sweet potato cubes, corn, strawberries, grapes, diced apples and rice etc. Then found out she went by McDonald's on the way. I was irritated but at least the grandson ate well. Next time I'll just go with simple pasta and salad. This happens too often.
Our newish LG dishwasher has proven itself to be a junker. I'm so annoyed since the last one was original to the house and lasted 30+ years. What is also bugging me is I can't find the receipt. I keep looking. Time to ask St. Anthony.
A friend gave me a bag of new high end hair care products that she does not use but received from someone selling/sharing them. I use a shampoo bar or Suave (autocorrect kept changing this to shave and I'm glad I caught it bc I don't shave my head) that I had stocked a whole back, so will take to my sister's the next time I visit to see what she may want. Very kind.
Kudos on your eBay and FB sales. I have slacked a great deal on listings this year, but am trying to get more disciplined with it.
Bonnie, to quote a local appliance installer: LG stands for Lousy Goods.
Exactly!! I had such terrible experience with our new GE stove that replaced the old one so I said no more GE appliances and others had terrible luck with Bosch so we went with a consumer reports rec for this model i believe...
This planned obsolescence drives me bonkers. We still have a Frigidaire brand fridge that's only 24 years old and dh used to want a fancy fridge with ice maker and water dispenser. Every time we'd leave my brother's home, where he had one, my husband would point out how much more water he drank. I had to remind him how many times my brother had to repair that crummy fridge - sometimes with a repairman and other times via YouTube repair videos. Oh, yeah.
Our store sells both high end hair products and the cheaper priced ones such as Suave, White Rain and Tresseme. Honestly, as far as good- looking hair goes, I cannot tell much difference between the customers who use the pricey products and those who buy the more economical brands. Both groups have equally pretty hairstyles. So why some are paying 14 bucks or more for Kenra hairspray when they could get some Tresseme for half that price, or White Rain for even less, remains a mystery. Maybe we need to ask the sheep detectives to investigate!
Something new that I will be attempting is making French baguettes from my husband’s sourdough discard starter. Then I will cut thin pieces to make bruschetta as a cracker substitute. Crackers seem to be getting fairly pricey and I have seriously failed in my attempts to make them. I think that bruschetta toasts should work out great.
We needed to run some errands into town today and took a combo of light rail and bus - saving money and, hopefully, helping the environment.
I went to the Daiso store to buy two small picture frames. I don’t know if Daiso (a Japanese store) is nationwide but we have them in the Seattle area. Everything used to cost a dollar. Now the cheapest items are $2.25. I was able to get the all wood frames for $2.25 each. I found some art board in my craft pile and will be doing two paintings for the Little Free Art Gallery.
I can do basic crochet but want to learn granny squares. There was a class at our local community center for this but the two sessions came to $80 so nope. I bought a kit at half price books that has yarn, hook and instructions for 7.99. Just didn’t catch on along with trying two different YouTube tutorials:(. My husband tried, too! I am not going to give up however. Maybe there is some nice person somewhere I could enlist for help. It would be such a great way to use up yarn scraps.
Is there a tutorial on YouTube for that? Surely someone has a video on Granny Squares. Maybe even a granny!
Hey Beth,
I can highly recommend Erica Arndts tutorials for granny squares on Youtube. She explains it really detailed, when you slow down the video speed, you can work right along with her. Her tutorials got me through a long time of surgery recovery.
Thank you! I’ll try that one:)
I go to a Great Clips in a wealthy neighborhood and it makes all the difference. The stylists are really good and the price remains affordable. However, I have cut my own hair for the past several months while getting over an outbreak of psoriasis, which is probably a break-even situation: free haircuts but $86 to see the doctor and fill a prescription.
I sleuthed out a match on eBay for the perfect slacks bought at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago. It's $24 total for the two pairs, which would have cost $108 new.
My son gifted me a case of cat food after he found me looking at the dwindling supply on the pantry shelf and muttering that the thrift gods needed to send more coupons. Last month I got very lucky and did not pay full price for any pet food.
The grocery store green onions I transplanted to a big pot after resurrecting them from being forgotten in the fridge are growing like crazy.
Sewed the arm back on the pup's dinosaur toy after she neatly amputated it.
I had gone the route of DIY haircuts for a number of years. I put my hair in a high ponytail and sawed off a couple inches. When I met my husband, a week after we started dating, he noticed that I had a crooked V shape in the back of my hair. I asked him to cut my hair to fix it as I was due for a haircut. He did a fantastic job and he continued to cut my hair for me ever since. I know he does nice work as a couple close friends of mine asked my permission to let him cut their hair. I cut my husband’s hair and trim his beard, so we take care of each other’s hair and we enjoy the bonding time. Great results every time without the hassle and expense of the hair salon.
How fun! The movie looks very cute, might have to check it out if it comes to streaming or to the library.
1. I took the kids to Fred Meyer (Kroger) yesterday and did a fair bit of meandering with them. They had a great time and they enjoyed getting out of the house for a while. It was 4x points day and we got enough fuel points from our previous purchases to earn $1 off at their gas station! I decided to hold off though and only take the $0.03 off per gallon since we only needed about $12 to fill the tank and my husband will begin long commuting soon and we want to save the $1 off for when we need to fill up the whole tank.
2. I went to bed with a tickle in my throat and woke up feeling pretty poorly so I've been resting today. I caught up on a TV show I've been wanting to watch and am counting this as frugal since we want to cancel this streaming service soon and I wanted to watch it while I still could.
3. My husband made leftover rice and chicken for dinner. I wasn't very hungry but it was tasty!
4. I finished reading another book on Libby. Wasn't something I normally would have picked but overall I enjoyed it! I have a few more holds but I'm still pretty far down the list for them.
5. My husband and I each ordered two pairs of Levi's recently as they were having a sale and our jeans have very obvious thigh holes. I mis-measured myself and mine didn't fit. We were able to send them back and exchange for the correct size. I got them today and they fit perfectly! I looked them up to check the washing instructions and saw that they were no longer on sale, luckily we didn't have to pay the difference as it would have been somewhere between $10-$50.
Bonus! I found a dime on my seat when leaving the store yesterday! Either I found some lost change or I'm pooping dimes, but regardless I came into some money 😉 I moved it into a cupholder where I wouldn't lose it again.
My son is visiting from Oregon. He is still looking for work, with no luck, and his wife asked if his dad (my ex) could fund a Midwest visit for him. He has been pretty down, and she felt a visit with his mom and dad and brother would lift his spirits. It is great to see him. He actually seems pretty upbeat, but until we talk alone, I won't know how he's really doing.
Anyway, we played games today at my ex's place and many snacks were provided. My ex was also generous with me. He gave me a stadium seat, to support my back at volleyball games, and a jar of popcorn kernels, which he won't use, but I certainly will.
Tomorrow I will do the hosting. They suggested tacos from a place that sells them for $2 on Sundays. It's a good idea, but I might make stir fry instead. I have most of the ingredients.
I added some cash to my Ventra card, in case my son wants to get around on the trains. He has other friends and relatives he hopes to see.
In other news, I called the hospital this morning and received verification that no one has turned in my lost ring. This spurred me to look for another ring that I stowed away for repair some time ago. But where? I can't find it anywhere. However, I found other jewelry I had forgotten about, and I think some of it might do well on eBay, when things settle down again.
I read the book The Sheep Detectives is based on and it was delightful. The book is Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann.
I'm with you & hate it when my hair gets too long. I had to reschedule my cut, and it's driving me crazy.
1) Changed the rate on a CD, from 1.5% (it somehow always defaults to the worst possible rate) to 3.7%. We need quite a bit of cash on hand for college expenses, so this works well.
2) Drove to Pinnacles National Park (the youngest national park, anointed - or whatever the correct word would be President Obama in 2013). It's also the closest national park to our house & we'd never been there. Spent $30 on parking + the cost of gas to get there, but brought our own snacks for breakfast & lunch + water, and spent $0 otherwise. We had a banana & apple for breakfast, and nuts, a protein bar & a turkey stick for "lunch". It worked fine.
3) Used electrolytes purchased for a hiking trip months ago in my water. If you bring electrolytes for a long hike, you need to carry less water, which is helpful. Especially as we had a bit of a snafu & our 6-7 mile hike ended up being 11 miles. I should never be in charge of the map.
4) Got home & DH made a mini Philly cheesesteak dinner out of a small bag of leftovers I'd found in the freezer during my inventory/excavation. He added peppers & onions.
5) Cashed out $10 in Fetch awards for an Amazon gift card (sorry about supporting Schmeff. We try hard to avoid it, but there are a few things we buy that are only available there.)
I am SUPER excited to see The Sheep Detectives! It just looks like rediculous good silly fun.
Ha! I had seen a trailer for it, and that Sheep Detectives movie looks kinda silly and cute. You'll have to report back how you like it. 🙂
I saw ads for The Sheep Detective. SO Kitschy but it'll likely be a cute film that'll leave you smiling after! I was very surprised to hear that Hugh Jackman was in it (albeit for like 15 minutes...).
This is frugal in the sense of being prudent: We decided to go ahead and replace our roof this year (28 yrs old; 25 yr rating) instead of trying to wait it out for a couple more years. We weren't having problems YET but if we'd waited, the state of the plywood clearly shows that we would! I tried really hard to do all the smart stuff in terms of getting estimates and looking up reviews. And lord knows the cost of materials is not going anywhere but up.
My sister is visiting soon, and rather than have her rent a car, she'll borrow mine. It's a good excuse to wash and vacuum the car. I watched a YouTube video on how to clean the inside of the car windshield and it does indeed seem to be much cleaner. See ChrisFix on YouTube.
I did not buy anything at the thrift store yesterday when I stopped in. I KNEW I was stopping for entertainment and did not need anything, so yay me on that.
I cooked a bag of kale and stuff that I'd picked from the garden last week BEFORE it went bad.
I have several pairs of pants that are a bit too big for me. I simply added another button to take in the waist a trifle. Much better!