Five Frugal Things -- Space Needles & Baked Potatoes!
1) I stopped at Goodwill to donate a few things from my mother's house and stopped in for a few minutes. My eye was drawn to this Space Needle pepper grinder, as A) hello . . . Space Needle! and B) it looked brand new and was priced at just $3.99.
There are no other ones currently listed on eBay, but similar (but branded) ones have sold for $45-$60. They only sell for $40 in the Space Needle gift shop, so I priced mine at $30.
It's goofy and I love it!
Click HERE to see the listing.
2) I planned another Family Dinner Night and although it ended up just being our daughter, I still went all out. Someone at the Timbers soccer game from few days ago was eating a fully loaded baked potato and it both looked and smelled amazing.
A plan was concocted.
I made a batch of black bean chili from scratch and splurged on big "baker" potatoes from Winco. (As opposed to the randomly sized potatoes you get in a bag.) I oiled and salted those taters and even wrapped them in foil. As I said, I went "all out!"
There are enough leftovers for multiple more meals and I'll doubtfully ever tire of this dish. Frugal, tasty and delicious -- the trifecta!
3) I woke up to the eBay sale of this vintage peignoir nightgown that I listed back in 2021! Easy to pack up, it was in the hands of my trusty mail carrier within hours of selling!
Slow to sell, fast to ship!
4) I somehow missed listing the black puffer coat that I bought for the Goodwill Gift Card Challenge. Remember, It's one where I removed a corporate logo? Anyway, I finally pulled it out from the closet and got it photographed.
It's not a known brand, so I listed it locally through Facebook Marketplace instead of eBay.
My thinking it that someone in Portland is more likely to want a nonspecific coat, rather than someone far away scrolling for an upmarket brand. Plus Marketplace takes zero fees, so the entire amount can go to the Oregon Food Bank.
5) The glass screen protector on the bottom right hand corner of my phone is cracked to the point where it hurts to run my finger across it. It's not a spot I'm looking at all that much, so I cut a piece of clear packaging tape to cover it up/protect my precious digits.
Is it pretty? Who cares, it's a cheap fix!
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.
That potato looks delicious!
My husband and kids love a baked potato bar for dinner, and it's in regular rotation when the temp in Texas is not a thousand degrees. Hard to justify running the oven for an hour when my AC is running nonstop, and while you can make them in a crockpot, my crew doesn't like the texture.
Twice baked potatoes are also a hit around here- I think we're all part hobbit.
I love loaded baked potatoes. Because I live alone I do mine in the microwave.
I put a lot of things on them, leftover broccoli and cheese and bacon bits are one of my faves, but just about anything will work.
JC
I'm avoiding caffeine on work days and since my caffeine source was Dutch Brothers I am saving anywhere from $6.00 to $9.00 5 days a week. Added benefits are sleeping better and fewer "calls of nature" ROFLMBO.
Preparing for the great flooring experience soon, freecyled a metal TP holder (1 of 2) a 2 drawer metal filing cabinet, and 2 large cat carriers. Still have a lot to do but every little bit helps. I may just shove everything into the kitchen and office areas as they already have flooring.
I love a baked potato bar!
My mom used to wear those peignoirs and somewhere there is a picture of me wearing a baby blue one safety pinned to my t shirt as a super girl cape! I was 7. So silly!
After morning yoga, neighbor picked apples and plums to make plum jam and freezer apple sauce.
I purchased a wool runner, steamed it, set it out on the picnic table to air and sold it for $45. I got it out of a free pile.
picked zucchini to shred, squeeze and freeze.
Pickled 6 quarts of spicy dill beans.
Got permission to pick a small patch of wine grapes. It produces a very dark fruity grape juice.
Hemmed 3 pairs of jeans for my mom.
Aluminum is a heat sink. Wrapping baked potatoes in foil just makes them soggy.
Oiled and baked in a pan works well. A nice crispy bottom.
To each their own. Everyone likes their food different
1. For my birthday last month my husband bought me a meat and bread slicer. I've had a bread slicer on my gift list for quite a while since I make bread 2-3 loaves at a time and slicing it is always a pain. I didn't expect an electric one that can also slice meat! On Monday my husband cleaned it for its inaugural run. I'm in love. It's so fancy but only cost around $60-$65 I think. I can't wait for the holidays when ham goes on sale so we can get cheap meat!
2. I listened to "My Husband's Wife" by Alice Feeny on Libby. It was a great read! I've started on "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann but I'm not sure how I feel yet, it's a slow start but I can be patient!
3. I found a dime! I'll try not to rub my new found cash in everyone's face 😛
4. I managed to stick with my self imposed schedule of 'Toilet Tuesday' and cleaned the bathrooms yesterday with a spray bottle of vinegar and Dawn and some bar mop towels and hot water.
5. I walked with my kids to the playground this morning. It was 1/2 a mile each way, not including the two flights of stairs to get up to our apartment. On the way back, I ended up doing the stairs twice since my youngest was too tired to go up alone. The added weight of our wagon and the toddler absolutely counts as my exercise for today ha!
“Killers of the Glower Moon” is so good! And eye-opening!
That packing tape/phone hack screams Bradley on a Budget. Love it!
Not going to lie - I wish that you (or someone) would make a documentary about the people who buy some of the items that you have for sale. For example, the nightgown - who bought it? why did they buy it? what will they do with it? What other interesting items are in their possession? I have so many questions!
For Ecoteri - my book: From Garum to Mole: Sauces and Identity in the Western World (Oxford UP, 2026).
Thanks for the book name. It looks RIGHT up my alley - now on order at my local bookstore...
Not a documentary, but I owned an antique/vintage shop for many years. A lot of my vintage things sold to movie makers ..college and professional in Wilmington NC. They needed to recreate certain decades.
We eat baked potatoes once a week all winter long. We're from England, jacket potatoes are a staple.
I brought home 2 figs, 5 damaged pears, 3 unsightly peppers, 3 unsightly tomatoes and a grocery bag full of lavender from my volunteer gig. I ride my bike there and enjoy free exercise, good friendships and some free food (usually). The peppers and tomatoes are already chopped, I will cook them tonight. Produce that is damaged has to be used quickly.
I have 2 pending fb marketplace pick ups today.
Attended my online Spanish class. So far I haven't missed a week. If I attend all 10 classes (I've done 6 so far), I get a refund of $30. I paid $79 for the set of 10 classes. I thought that was a bargain, money back is a bonus! I'll sign up for the next level after these 10 classes are done. I've learned so much and it's a really low-key environment. I've wanted to learn Spanish for a long time but the classes I've looked at always seemed to stressful. I'm thankful to have found a good fit.
I sorted through all the books we've read in the last few months and have 10 set to go to Thriftbooks tomorrow. I'll get around $10 added to my account, which will come in handy either at Christmas or if I want to buy myself a book in the future. Three others I will put on eBay, and the rest are going to the animal shelter for their yard sale.
I redeemed my Purina points for a $10 coupon toward a bag of cat food.
My 14 year old dog has some mild cognitive issues but he was pacing and panting more than usual in the evenings so Friday we took him to the vet. Turns out he had a softball-sized tumor in his spleen and surgery had to be done ASAP to make sure it didn't blow. I got a look at the whole spleen the next morning when I picked our dog up and I cannot believe he had been living with that. The Spleenless Wonder is now on a new OTC pill that isn't cheap but since I added it to autoship at Chewy, I got 35% off the first shipment. I went through Rakuten for 2% back and earned a few points through my credit card.
I sold an item on eBay and I'll make $12.69 after fees.
I'm glad your pup is feeling better. Sometimes I wish animals could talk so they could tell us if something hurts. Poor sweet angels! At least yours was panting and pacing...his own way of saying "Hey Mom, I don't feel so great!"
Thanks Christine! We feel very lucky to still have Milo at the ripe old age of almost 15. He's 62 lbs and at that size is considered to be equal to about a 93 year old human. He came to us as an older puppy, about 8 months old, from our local humane society.
I remember when dresses and nightgowns were super short like that. Late 60s?
Yesterday, I visited the bins and found a nice big plain white corning ware covered casserole, an unworn-looking pair of super cute Dansko sandals in my size, a melon baller, extra large ramekins, an Irish linen tea towel, and a throw pillow cover that is sold online for $60. It was a good day! On the way home, I went to Walmart to peruse the back-to-school clearance items. There were some plus-sized flowy skirts on sale for $1, and I was *this close* to buying a couple 4Xs to turn into curtains.
Today I’m canning pears from our tree, and I have soup in the crockpot. The soup was made from a Costco chicken carcass, dried beans, mirepoix, garden tomatoes and garden rosemary. Homemade rolls will accompany the soup, along with homemade jam, and we will have homemade pear crisp topped with freezer filberts for dessert. I’m practically a “homesteader” (except for some philosophical differences)!
Your meal sounds fabulous!
1) Sold a book on eBay
2) My frugal fail is that I bought lunch at work today, but did get free breakfast & snacks, as well as 3-4 hours of free car charging.
3) We had leftovers for dinner (that's a standard hack at our house)
4) Drove my electric car to the office to avoid paying for gas
5) Picked free seats for DS19's trip home for winter break. He doesn't care about sitting in the front, and prefers a window seat - so he can nap. 😉
Those baked potatoes sound absolutely amazing!
1. I worked my volunteer shift at the library putting returned materials away. While there I found 3 thin books of poetry, titled 3 Deckers, a type of house very popular in my hometown (city). I leafed through the books which appear to hold poems all about the city. I can't wait to dive in.
2. I also took out The Calamity Club, True Crime by Patricia Cornwell and Hard Times by Studs Terkel. It's about people surviving the Great Depression and includes interviews. I'm always interested in ways to survive on very little, if need be.
3. I found Pumpkin Spice creamer at Walmart so no need to stop at Dunkin' Donuts for my fall fix.
4. DH is hiking New Hampshire's White Mountains this week so no cooking for myself unless you want to call heating up a can of tomato soup cooking. Also throwing cheese on crackers and melting it in the microwave. Lots of cereal, popcorn and fruit for meals.
5. Not frugal...how can anything associated with his name be frugal with gas over $4 a gallon and everything else expensive too...I'm feeling stunned by Trump's claim of being hauled out of the rubble of 9-11 by two big firefighters. No one but him seems to remember it. I'm so embarrassed for our country and feel bad for the real victims and sad for the folks who came to the rescue that horrible day.
Re your #5: It does make your head explode, doesn't it?! Regular unleaded gas is $4.99/gal here most places and diesel is $5.99 (it was over $6). Unbelievable.
Yes, just over $5 here!
I miss Studs Terkel as well as George Carlin and Tim Russert.
So do I, Selena, and I wonder what all 3 would say about Trump's 2nd term bizarre behavior.
I bet Molly Ivins is spinning in her grave, too.
1. I won a book giveaway of the brand new book by one of my favorite authors. It arrived early, so I read it even before publication day. Will probably read a second time then gift it in my Little Free Library.
2. Our storm door has two panes of glass. The top one slid down and wedged itself between the lower one and the frame. Turns out several of the metal clips had broken off. Husband found replacements at the hardware store. Repaired for a few dollars.
3. It's cooled down enough overnight that we've basically turned off the AC, even though it's still hovering near 90 during the day.
4. Downloaded a free 7-day trial of AMC+, binge-watched the most recent season of Dark Winds, then canceled the subscription before the week was up. I love this series, but love it more when it's free!
5. One of my main hobbies is genealogy. Took advantage of Ancestry's Labor Day 50% off sale to get a new 6-month subscription. It required me to cancel my current subscription which had a couple weeks left, but the customer service person offered to refund a prorated amount. Yes, please! The other bonus is that they've made this a Friends and Family plan so I can add my cousins at no extra charge to me or them.
Bought an uncut, complete Simplicity sewing pattern for a robe and pajamas, a length of curtain material, and two heavy duty clip hangers for a total of $3 at the homeless aid thrift shop this morning. Dollar General on the same block charges $5 for one of those hangers! These are heavy enough to hang up a winter coat and clip the hat and scarf to the hanger.
This afternoon I washed and ironed the fabric bought this morning and then sewed it into a curtain for our bathroom's tiny window. It's a medium teal blue with a white design. Pretty fabric and I wish there had been a lot of it. The project used another spool of thread given to me many years ago by a neighbor.
A few days ago I made a delicious fish pie, the kind with a mashed potato topping, by combining two Jamie Oliver recipes and some ingredients from the freezer. Ate the next to last serving of fish pie for lunch today and packed the last one up for the freezer. Also put tape stickers with the name of my homemade frozen dishes on the cartons already in there, so that I don't have to guess what's about to be lunch.
1. Coworker has a "boyfriend"-- an elderly customer flirting with her. He brings her soda pop she cannot drink due to an allergy/health condition. She doesn't want to hurt his feelings. So she accepts the gift with a "thank you" and doesn't tell him she can't ingest the soda. So far I've gotten 2 of those sodas passed along to me!
2. Reworking some political yard signs. One says "Vote for Democracy instead of Dictatorship, Vote Harris." I'll cover up the word "Harris" with "Democrat" to reuse it. Doing similar things on the other signs.
3. My 55-inch flat screen TV came with a very sturdy cardboard insert (same size as the TV). Getting out some stencils to make a big sign for the midterms.
4. Bought some soon-to-expire snacks on sale. The sell-by date isn't the same as the "eat by" date and these candy bars will still be good many weeks from now.
5. Thawed some milk I had bought on sale and put in the freezer months ago. Saved a trip to the store and freed up some freezer space.
Love your signs!
Baked potatoes are now being added to this weeks meal plan.
1. I am going through all of our bookshelves and sending in a bunch for credit. I will use it for Christmas presents. I asked the kids if they wanted any and they all said no. Stuff out.
2. Library registration was this morning and I got a bunch of good classes. Looking forward to them.
3. Waiting for someone to come get an item from Facebook Marketplace.
4. Hubby has a work BBQ tonight so I will eat leftovers. He helps do the BBQ. Hopefully he comes home with leftovers.
5. A friend was splitting bulbs in her yard and offered me a bunch. I gave her some tomatoes from my garden.
Not frugal - my partner and I are thinking about buying our first house.
Frugal!
1. He is a veteran, so we will definitely be taking advantage of the VA home buyers program, which adds up to a lot of savings over time.
2. Made lunch from leftovers that were languishing: an open bag or tortilla chips someone left behind after a cookout we hosted on Monday, an opened package of cheddar cheese my partner got at a massive discount from his job, and leftover chicken fingers friends gave us after we went out to eat before their very long drive home (and they didn't have a way of keeping the food cool).
3. Wearing pants I thrifted and a top a friend gave me to work today, along with shoes and a blazer I have had for years.
4. Donating blood this afternoon and will be sure to grab the snacks and juice. But will likely leave the hello kitty x red cross keychain gift behind as I don't need more clutter.
5. Received an email from my local united way that they are giving out "disaster relief kits" for free on Saturday, and it includes some sort of radio which has been on my disaster shopping list for a bit. I shared the email with some neighbors and we'll carpool together to all get ours.
your #4, thanks for donating. I donated yesterday locally and they were giving away a voucher for a free pizza from a local food truck plus a huge tumbler with straw which I took for hubby who doesn't have one like that. I donate regularly and try to recruit others to donate. I know how important it is.
I saw this in the NYT and thought of you:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/opinion/new-york-fashion-week-fast-fashion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AFE.dz3C.U_rK6pMaskKV&smid=url-share
Baked potato, yummy! I must be getting my appetite back.
I took my last dose of Paxlovid last night. I am starting to feel better, but I am clearly wiped out and it's going to take a while.
I did one load of laundry -- the gross and smelly things that had to be washed. It was a big effort, since the laundry room is three floors down. But it's dry now and waiting to be folded.
I took out smelly garbage, too. Getting back in frugal mode, I used a large Amazon bag that my supplies came in.
My free Britbox trial is over, but I am enjoying reading Caroline, by Sarah Miller -- Little House on the Prairie from the mother's perspective.
I'm still eating sparingly from the freezer and pantry. It's a good thing I was well stocked before this happened.