Five Frugal Things -- Shelves!
1. My husband and youngest had plans to build a shelf yesterday and I happened to come across these ones at Goodwill, mere hours before they were about to buy the supplies! Priced at $3.99 and $4.99, I didn't hesitate to bring them to the register.
I stand by my belief that anything that has ever been manufactured is already at Goodwill.
2. I was super tempted to also grab this IKEA "Tullsta" armchair, priced at just $16.99. It appeared to be in excellent condition, but I wasn't feeling up to schlepping it home to ready it for resale. I've done well with reselling mass market armchairs in the past, so this was probably an error on my part.
I offered the project to my kid, but they weren't up for it either.
Here's the current version that's still sold at IKEA.
3. You know it's true spring season when "free piles" start popping up in the neighborhood. I pulled the car over to peruse this one, but didn't bring anything home. I was tempted by the OXO brand steaming basket, as my one is glitchy, but realized that mine still works and I didn't need anything here.
4. My husband and I washed and vacuumed out our cars yesterday, even though it was only mildly warm outside. They were both genuinely filthy and starting to grow moss, so it was due time.
My husband and kid also replaced a burnt out headlight bulb. My own minimal research found that it costs at least $150 for a mechanic to replace a Prius bulb and we spent $25 to buy one at the auto supply store.
5. I sold a washing machine motor for $25 that didn't work with our model, and had sat on my eBay shelf since December. We paid $37.50 for it last year, so the loss wasn't too bad. The best part is that it's out of the house and will be put to use.
Click HERE to see the listing.
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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This blog post contains an eBay referral link.
The interior of my car is disgusting. But I have not thought it worthwhile to clean it until winter ends. Winter seems to be still hanging on.....
Yesterday I went to a memorial for a close friend of my DIL. My DIL was one of the eulogists. Her talk was inspiring, heartfelt, and moving. I was proud of her.
Afterwards, our family went to a favorite casual eatery. I was in favor of getting refreshments at the church, but this is what the others wanted to do. I ordered my usual -- half of a barbecued chicken, coleslaw, garlic bread, and a baked potato. Today I made lunch from the leftovers, and there is still another piece of chicken for tomorrow. I had the potato for breakfast, with some added cheese. The garlic bread went into freezer to become pizza in the future.
At the memorial, friends had laid out many skeins of yarn, because the woman who died was an avid knitter, still in the middle of many projects. We were encouraged to take some and make something as a remembrance and to share with someone else in her honor. It was a nice idea. I didn't take any, because I don't knit.
Today I'll be going to my grandson's volleyball game. It is free entertainment, and loads of fun to watch.
This morning I washed my hair, using ordinary shampoo with a dot of purple shampoo. My silver hair started becoming too purplish, so I have to cut down on its use, but I still want to use it up eventually.
I made a triple batch of all purpose cleaner today, which cost 15¢
I continue to make my little dog his “pâté” style dog food by grinding up kibble in a 1980s era food processor (not the one we use for human food) and rehydrating it with water overnight. He’s older and was having issues with kibble, even rehydrated, so the pâté style was recommend by his vet, but that stuff is pricey! I grind enough for two weeks and then make a fresh batch of wet food each night.
I’ve been sick with a massive kidney infection, so I pulled a loaf of homemade bread from the freezer — current me is thanking past me very much.
Laundry is hanging from the line, as usual — free drying is best and we don’t even own a clothes dryer anymore.
Oh no. Feel better.
1. I took some egg salad sandwiches and homemade tomato soup to lunch at my MIL's house Sunday.
2. I had lunch with a family friend Saturday. I shared an entree with my mom since neither of us was very hungry. I drank water with my meal.
3. I walked with a friend for free exercise this morning.
4. I'm sorting through some of my old Ebay listings and putting a few in the garage sale pile. I fixed one listing that was incorrect. I found some Jim Shore items that need to be listed. I had bought 10 and listed them one by one as they sold and apparently I forgot about them.
5. I started watching the last season of Alone on the Roku History app for free.
We love Alone! Although I am quite judgy of these people who go home after a week because they miss their people for someone who drug their emotional support daughter to every social occasion until she got married.
The shelves are a great find. Wish we had a Goodwill close to us but we do have a Salvation Army Store in town where I've had good luck.
1. I got the 10% senior discount at the veterinarian today. It saved me $14. We're down to one cat and we decided he's going to be an only child at this point.
2. For the first time, I got in the drive thru line at the pharmacy. This was due to the cat in his carrier in the back of my car. The person in the car in front of me was taking a longer time than expected, so I put my car in park and turned off the engine. Since she took longer than 5 minutes, I saved a little gas.
3. DH has promised to put my umbrella clothesline up by April 1st. He's tall and it's easier for him. He said he'll be putting out the deck furniture at the same time. I'm really looking forward to reading my books out there after this never ending snowy and freezing winter we've had here in Massachusetts.
4. Stepson49 gave me a cute Valentine gift bag he received at an event with socks, a deck of cards, a crossword puzzle book and a day planner in it. I'll use the first three items and the day planner I cut up into papers the perfect size for grocery store lists. Plus it's lined on one side. I recycled the cover.
5. I watched the season opener of Call the Midwife last night while enjoying a bowl of popcorn I made in a pan with oil and a little butter. Add a sprinkle of salt and it tastes to me like movie theater popcorn which I love but haven't had in years.
1) I had tried the Too Good To Go app in the past and didn’t have much luck, not a lot of options and when I did buy something, it didn’t seem worth the money. My neighbor told me a really good bakery in our town is on there now though so I downloaded it. I didn’t try the bakery yet but I saw our favorite bagel shop is also on there now. I went yesterday and got a dozen for $11.99 (normally are $25/dozen, we’re in a high cost of living area) and immediately sliced and froze them. My husbands birthday is Wednesday and he loves bagels, I wasn’t sure I’d have time to pick some up Wednesday morning with getting ready for work and kids for school, so now I have them ready to go for his birthday, saved time and money.
2) I had half a head of cabbage to use from st Patrick’s day. I actually like cabbage but there’s so much of it when you buy it, it just seems to expand! I made a coleslaw last night but it wasn’t particularly good, it was a vinegar based dressing, not mayonnaise, so I sautéed it today and will put it into tofu and bean burritos I’m making later. I plan to make several and freeze them for later meals.
3) I know Libby has magazines available but I never really looked at them since I don’t have any magazines I read. I decided to browse though and found the Forks Over Knives magazine with a ton of plant based recipes. They all looked really good so I bookmarked a few to try. The first is the above mentioned burritos, I also bookmarked a potato and roasted radish soup since I have a lot of radishes right now.
4) The magazine also had a story about an 80 year old vegan who still completes ultramarathons. He made ultramarathons sound pleasant rather than grueling (not sure if that’s accurate) so it piqued my interest in them. As I was walking past the little free library by my house, there was a book in there about ultramarathons, short stories of people’s personal accounts of preparing for them and completing them. Such perfect timing! I’ll read this and decide if this is something I want to possibly do in the future.
5) I cooked a pot of beans on the stove today since I worked from home. They take about 3 hours so it’s a good task for work from home days.
Thanks for telling me about the magazines I hadn't realized they have them on Libby. I have also checked out the forks over knives magazine. I'm probably going to try the orange apricot jam in that magazine.
tammy,
I read Cooks Illustrated on Libby, as well as Bake From Scratch. I take screenshots of recipes I want to try.
Reader Lisa,
I had had a similar experience with Too Good To Go.....often, the deals I'd be interested in were sold out.....THEN a local bagel shop joined, and they offer a "baker's dozen" of bagels for $6.99 (it's usually closer to $12-14/dozen). The offer is available in the late afternoon/early evening, so stopping by after work is perfect for me. They are the closest to NY bagels I've found in the Midwest.
Better half steamed what was left of the cabbage we didn't use for CB&C in the oven with leftover apple juice in a covered casserole dish.
The shelving looks so good!
Wonderful find for you!
1. The quite filthy water table that I was given from buy nothing scrubbed up just fine and provided several hours of entertainment for my grandchildren this weekend. The toys I put in it were leftover plastic from various foods-Costco cinnamon jar, yogurt pot, plastic scoop, corks, etc. Not a penny spent.
2. Schlepped over for my monthly bloodwork, and just didn't have the energy to do anything else. I did list an item on fb marketplace. Sold 2 items over the weekend.
3. Sent all the snacks home with the grandchildren, as well as some kids clothes I'd picked up for free, newly hemmed shorts and jeans for DIL and altered pants for son. And swiss chard from the garden. We have plenty of leftover food for the next few days, so a cooking holiday for me!
4. It's warm enough to dry a few loads of laundry on the line in one day, so I'll work my way through the bedding that needs washed from having people stay.
5. Dh is getting rides with friends or riding ebike 20 miles round trip to work to minimize our use of gas.
Congrats on the motor sale! Last fall I bought 8 sun dresses at GW bins, freshened them and took to the consignment store. I received notification that the store deposited $100 in my bank acct. Holy moly! That money will go to the kids food pantry.
I changed the oil, air filters and blew out the engine area on the riding lawnmower. It's going to get a workout this Spring.
My friend bought unsweetened flaked coconut by mistake. I bought 4 lbs from her and threw them in the chest freezer. I used a cup in the cookies I made this morning.
Spring Clean and Spring Fling over the weekend. Sold an item on Poshmark plus 3 small things from the estate in liquidating
Have 3 shirts from Amazon to return tomorrow. They were ok I just wasn’t thrilled with them.
Every mat, throw rug, throw blanket, bed spread and linens washed. The mats and rugs were put out in the sun to air dry.
Organized all my protein powders,
to start using them for meal replacement. Organized all my meds and supplements to make sure I’m taking them
OMG I LOVE the chair!!!!I would keep that!!
1. I managed to walk 30 minutes before work today. I am going to do 30 minutes this evening bc it is HOT!
2. I made chicken fried rice with cabbage using a leftover chicken leg for supper.
3. I packed my breakfast and lunch and took it to work, as usual.
4. I had the windows open. I swear I am trying to make it to June 1st before I turn on the air but I think this year will test me.
5. Despite cutting my yard a week ago, it looks like an overgrown haircut with possible critters lurking in the weeds. How is this frugal? I am glad you asked. I am not cutting it this week!! I am trying to hold out until the weekend. Snakes be dam&@d!!!!
I have a couple curb-found shelves that I’m still waiting for my husband to install. The price was right!
1. I ran an errand that was near a Safeway, so I took the opportunity to run in and buy some half price Tillamook ice cream.
2. It was a Safeway with metered parking outside, so I made the frugal choice to not pay for parking. Yes, this could have ended up being a big frugal fail. I ran in and purchased the ice cream as fast as I could, and there was no ticket waiting on my windshield when I got back to my car. Hooray!
3. I went for walks yesterday and today and found 16 redeemable cans overall.
4. The last time I took a bag to the bottle drop, I somehow got credit for two bags instead of one. I don’t know how it happened, but it’s free money, so I’ll call it a frugal win.
5. It’s my daughter’s birthday, and I have a scratch made chocolate cake in the oven. Not only are homemade cakes frugal, but also they are better!
1) Inventoried my freezer, and decided I'll pick one "odds & ends" type item to use each week. This week was shredded zucchini, from last summer's garden. I found a recipe for zucchini casserole, which also used up the end of a bag of cheese, more of the cottage cheese I'm trying to get through, and is topped with green onions - which are multiplying out there in my garden.
2) Arranged for DS20 to drive me to & from a medical appointment next week.
3) Went through my clothes & socks & pulled out 23 items I don't need. I got rid of a pair of uncomfortable shoes & have a bunch of no show socks that I no longer need. I'll give everything away on Buy Nothing. Less clutter for me, saves someone else money.
4) Reviewed our car insurance & sent DH a few questions on how we want to proceed. Based on that, I'll call around & get a few quotes. We have a 19 & 20 year old driver, so it's never going to be cheap, but I at least want it to be competitive.
5) Sent DS19 to the airport with a bagel & a banana. He ate that on the flight, and then took the bus from the Denver airport to Boulder, which is free with his student ID.
While it was a bit of a pain, when the kids were at college they were on a different auto insurance plan (same carrier) and were covered on breaks. When home for the summer, back to the other plan, same carrier. It did save us a few dollars. Not sure if available these days.
Those shelves are wonderful and so timely!
We had two days in the upper 80s, which is crazy even for the deep South. We did not turn on the air conditioning but kept the house cool with strategic window opening and fan placement. I also put the screen in the bottom of our security door after mending a small tear in it with nylon thread and a screen patch.
My best friend invited me to a ladies' tea party next month and I honestly had nothing to wear as there are very few dress-up days for me in retirement. Went to Goodwill and found a perfect floral dress, a big straw hat, and a skirt suitable for less festive occasions, like the frequent funerals one attends at this age. The dress needed new pink buttons and I made a pink ribbon for the hat out of a piece of Dollar Tree crafting fabric and secured it to the hat with a big button. All buttons from my sewing stash.
The skirt needed a new hook, which came from a vintage package in my sewing box. I also gave it a proper hem, as it had one of those weird overlock edge hems.
Made a clean-out-the-veggie-drawer sheet pan dinner for lunch today out of six chicken drumsticks, the last three carrots, the last big potato and the last two green onions. It was delicious.
I am "reading" an 18 book series as audio books free on Hoopla, and just started the 13th book.
Don’t you love it when you find a series you like with a lot of books!?!?
The shelves were a lucky find at Goodwill - and reasonably priced, too.
1. Grateful that we had some food in our freezer when we returned from Arizona. I had forgotten that I had frozen three kinds of homemade soup and had a pizza, egg rolls, veggies, and bread, too. Next year I'm going to take pics of our freezer and pantry to help plan meals for the first few days back home as life returns to normal.
2. Husband found a huge plastic bag (for paper towels) on our street. Will use it to line our kitchen trash can.
3. Found a Nerf dart on a walk. Will slice open and use it to cushion a noisy metal piece on our dog's portable crate.
4. Walked inside the shopping mall on a chilly day. Being able to fit in my clothes is frugal, and I dislike clothes shopping (actually all shopping except groceries).
5. Went to Tare Market, a zero waste store in the Twin Cities. Bought some sesame oil in bulk. I learned that I can donate five containers each time I'm there, such as plastic yogurt containers, takeout containers, glass jars, pill bottles, etc. that they sterilize and offer to customers for bulk purchases. They also have large receptacles where I can bring hard-to-recycle items such as toothpaste tubes, floss containers, plastic cards, razors, snack wrappers and sneakers.
Another episode in my saga of sick cats - my Trixie had not been herself but seemed to decline much more over the weekend. She had just had a well kitty check up and vaccines after we lost our other cat, but I was terrified she had what he had. I called my vets office crying this morning, asking to be seen ASAP. They could not get her in until 1:30, and I live in a small town with the closest emergency vet over an hour away, and I wanted her to be seen by the vets who had seen her last week. I honestly told her goodbye before they came back to get her. Thankfully, she only had a severe upper respiratory infection. Three shots and some IV fluids later, she is home. She is still sick, but is at least 25% better than she was this morning. Not frugal, but I’m grateful we had the resources currently to take care of her.
My mother-in-law worked at Wendy’s restaurant for over 30 years. She asked my hubby if he knew anyone still working there who would want some of the things she had from her time there. I offered to list them on eBay for her. There is a surprising amount of lapel pins that have sold on there so I am hopeful that I will be able to sell hers and make her a little bit of money.
I sold my last batch of bookmarks that I had listed. I have quite a collection of vintage children’s books that I am tempted to list, but must get through my MIL’s stuff first.
I do have another order for my paper roses.
I didn’t feel like cooking and asked my husband to just pick up some fried chicken. Thankfully he just grabbed some hamburger patties and some canned pinto beans. Even though he did purchase these, the burgers were on markdown, and our meal was probably at least half what KFC would have cost.
I’m reading Furious Hours, about a trial of a man who shot a serial killer. Harper Lee had followed the trial and wanted to write about it like In Cold Blood, but never did. It was a book I got years ago in a swap, and I thought HL factored into it more. I’m on page 94 and so far no mention has been made of Miss Lee, even though she was in the description. The book is still fascinating though.
1. I pulled out my much loved jean shorts today. They have an annoying crinkle in the back where the fabric was folded but not properly pressed. I finally (after probably 5+ years) got around to taking a needle and thread to the offending spot and forced it in place. It's not too noticable of a fix and frankly I'm so relieved to not be fiddling with it evey few minutes that I don't think I would care if I came with a number sticker that said I fixed it.
2. I've nearly shredded the thighs in one pair of pants and have nearly done the same thing to my only other pair, clearly my thighs are too powerful for Old Navy's denim. So far I've been limping them along but I know their days are numbered. I'm now on the hunt for some denim that I can use to patch the areas, and for my husband's pants as he has a pair that's suffering from the same problem. Until then I'll have to wear my shorts and a skirt more often.
3. I finished the Silo series on Libby! It was fantastic. Now I'm bookless but there are some projects around the house that I'm sure will be happy for my renewed attention.
4. My husband reached a sad looking half full bag of potatoes and made mashed potatoes. He added a bag of frozen cauliflower for some extra nutrients. Our youngest gobbled it up, always a win.
5. I woke up with a headache so I treated myself to a spa day: a heaping amount of lavender Epsom salts in a hot bath, a tall glass of water, and hot coffee. Ahh, luxury.
Ooh . . .I need a spa day!
Shyla, I love your luxuriously simple spa day!
1. No Starbucks for me! I drank coffee from my own kitchen and had breakfast on the patio this morning. It was so chilly that I put on a sweater.. very unusual for my neck of the woods. Otherwise it was very nice. Did Wordle and my cumulative score is 93%.
2. Yesterday I brought a (thrifted) wrought iron hanging basket out of the garage where it's been stored for 2 or 3 years and planted it full of blooming flowers and a trailing ornamental potato vine. The little plants came mostly from Walmart, but a couple were from the local mission's garden store. I used potting soil I already had, along with some soil from old empty flower pots, such as the one which held the Christmas poinsettia. Hanging from the patio ceiling, it looks a lot fancier than the price I paid. Tomorrow I will plant the 2nd one.
3. Trash collectors took away the rest of the little branches from our unfortunate knocked over tree.We stuffed them in the garbage cans thus avoiding being charged extra.
4. Also found a wall clock at Walmart to replace the clock from Goodwill that (several times) stopped running; tried fixing it and it didn't stay fixed, so now I know why it was donated. . Used its battery in my new clock so I didn't need to buy a new battery. New clock has a one year warranty so I'm saving the paperwork and the cash register receipt just in case
5.Took my taxes in to the accountant and it appears I made more moola than expected. If we do the short form, I owe Uncle Sam a pretty penny. So I'm going to get some more documents together and see if itemizing will save me some serious cash.I don't want my hard-earned money to be funding a war. Or a White House ballroom!
Yeah the "biggest refunds ever" is a joke. And even if your refund is slightly more than last year (read: seniors who get an additional exemption), increase in the cost of fuel eats it up post haste.
1. Well..speaking of chairs at Goodwill...my son's been wanting a comfy chair for his room, and today my husband found one at Goodwill. He even used a coupon, so it ended up around $20.
2. We had a cheap, but filling supper of baked potatoes with beans as the main topping.
3. I planted some pumpkin, cantaloupe and lemon grass. And transplanted a tomato plant and Serrano plant.
4. My ebay sales are up now that I've started doing promotions again.
5. I packed my husband lunch. This saves money, his time while he's busy at work, and healthier. Wins all around!
Great manifesting on those shelves, Katy! and already installed, go team!
I am also impressed with your light bulb changing - it is something I have taught my daughter to do and she felt like a rocking mechanic when we were done (not a simple change on her older car).
I wanted to say thank you to you, Katy, and the commentariat for all of the kind encouragement that happens in your blog. I come here with all of my angst and aches, and read how everyone is pulling on the threads they can pull, finding ways to celebrate all the daily small wins, and it makes me much happier with myself and the world. So carry on, everyone, I'm relying on you all!!!
1. The big block of arugula continues to grow like stink however I have harvested and washed a bunch more, and am working my way through enormous bowls-full, adding a handful of random fridge goodies including the lentil experiments and some feta cheese in need of use. I love a huge salad and when the garden complies it is a pleasure to indulge. Particularly since I didn't actually plant this, it grew as volunteers.
There are several clumps of new volunteers showing up in the cleaned up greenhouse beds, my gardening friend knows to leave them and we will see what else has decided to grow for free to us!
2. Fun for me, frugal for #1 son and my Daughter Out-law – I got their son for the afternoon and they got their packing done for a holiday they're going on in a couple of weeks. I know my DOL worries about things so this has done future them a huge favour. Then they actually went on a date to that Ryan Gosling move – where DOL had a bunch of good cries and they both had a great time.
3. Meanwhile, my Thrift Store Buddy came over to be Second-Granny and we had a fun with my grandson – no babysitting cost to #1 Son and a huge joy for us. GS came without a change of clothes so when he turned out to be very damp I managed to create a onesie for him out of a teeshirt of mine and three safety pins. Good thing he still had his winter snowsuit for our outside time, though, as my ad-hoc outfit wasn't really fit for prime outdoors time.
4. In the sprit of using what I have and ensuring there are options for the eaters, I cooked up green lentils, black beans, pinto beans, brown rice, and chicken drumsticks. I used my rice cooker for both the rice and lentils, and my instant pot for the beans times two and the drumsticks. By the time the chicken was cooked I was pooped, so the pot was put into the downstairs fridge until the next day, when it was picked off the bones. Bones and broth plus more frozen bones from a rotisserie chicken got put back in my busy instant pot to make more broth.
5. The garden has produced some lovely soft kale and some of the plants are bolting, so I've washed up a bunch of different styles of greens, collected with GS and TSB during our outside adventures. These await my culinary enthusiasm – ie, googling what to do with what I have.
1. I won a free hotel stay and stayed overnight with my sister for some quality time. We walked to a nearby restaurant to enjoy the happy hour specials and then watched a movie together and slept in!
2. Made my own instant coffee latte, packed lunch and a snack for work.
3. I used a 40% off cvs coupon to buy a huge variety bag of candy. I used it to fill 75 eggs that have been passed down to me by my mother in law since I’m hosting Easter.
4. Gifted my nephew Minecraft Lego sets I purchased on clearance after Christmas for his birthday. He is obsessed with Minecraft and legos.
5. Every 3 weeks I go and donate platelets or blood depending on what I’m allowed to do. Tonight I’m donating whole blood and each time they email me a code for a $25 gift card of my choosing. I find it so rewarding and relaxing so it’s a win win.