Five Frugal Things -- Wastefulness
1) I stopped by the Goodwill off S.E. Woodstock Blvd. to scout for stuff to resell.
I looked up this Mr. Rogers mug, but they only sell for ten bucks or so on eBay. Still unlocked some memories though. My dad was from Pittsburgh and Fred Rogers lived on my grandparent's street, so they literally lived in "Mr. Rogers' neighborhood!"
I also looked up this eye catching set of $1.99 glassware. I looked them up on Google Lens and learned that they're Mikasa Cheers cordial glasses, but only sell for around $30, which is not enough of a profit margin for how much of a pain they would be to package up and ship!
I've sold this Ikea DUKTIG kids' play kitchen a couple times in the past and know that it sells well. (Locally.) It was priced at $12.99, so there was enough profit to make it worth picking up.
Unfortunately the bottom of the tag was already torn off, which means someone got there before me. Drat!
I walked out empty handed, which is not all that uncommon.
2) My neighbor brought over a handmade round loaf of challah, which is the traditional shape for Rosh Hashanah/Jewish new year. The round loaf is specific to the new year and symbolizes "the continuous cycle of the year and our hopes for a year filled with wholeness, joy, and renewal." I have the best neighbors!
I added an apple and our mangled bottle of honey for this photo, which are also traditional to this holiday. Apples and honey symbolize hope for a sweet new year.
3) I listed the Introduction to Knitting book/kit that picked up at the Goodwill bins the other day. I'll try and sell it on Facebook Marketplace, as it's big.
4) I sold the Hydroflask lunchbox that I thrifted from the bins when my sister was in town. I'd initially listed it at $20, but had no interest so I dropped the price. Happy to get it back in circulation and help Portlanders choose used over new.
I mostly bought it as it was at risk of being sent to a landfill if someone didn't scrub it down. So many consumer goods are abandoned due to being dirty, despite things being easy enough to clean.
This made me remember a Built lunch bag that I pulled out of the hospital breakroom maybe fifteen years ago. It was super grubby, but a simple trip through my washing machine made it look new! I just checked and they sell new for $27.99.
I still have that lunch bag:
I observed over 24 years that many nurses tend towards wastefulness. Probably a combination of germ phobia and being well paid.
5) I did some boring grocery shopping, which was uneventful. Zero incredible deals, but I did grab a discarded parking lot receipt, which I later scanned into the Fetch app.
I spent $53.87 on four bags of groceries.
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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We filled up the car at Costco this morning. Gas is over $6 a gallon here. It makes every trip on the regular bike, electric bike or motorcycle a huge frugal win. Costco is the cheapest place in town and my husband had to go at 7:30 am on a Saturday in order to not wait in a half hour long line.
Prepped a veggie bed ready to plant kale tomorrow. Due to the fact that I'm stretched very thin right now, I bought starts at a local farm stand instead of starting from seed. We do have 2 volunteer kale plants that are producing well and my collard trees came back after a very hard pruning. Still have tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. Only veggies I purchased were a cabbage from Trader Joes (picked the biggest one) and a pound of carrots.
The weather here is absolutely glorious, clothes dry quickly, there's a cooler breeze. All windows can be open and much time can be spent outside. I'm hoping the fling the garage doors open and have a bit of a tidy this afternoon.
Used store credit to buy slippers at a local shoe store. It's always frugal to use up store credit and gift cards before they get forgotten.
Brought home a tea bag and a cup of coffee from my mother's assisted living.
Used up the last of the less-than-desirable noodles purchased a while ago.
Sold 3 things on Vinted today alone!
I love the little kitchenette set-- too bad you didn't get there first!
I took a walk today, trying to get back into my routine. It's a rainy day, and I walked between showers, but it was very humid. I stopped and sat a little while at almost every bench I passed. Let's see, that was four! The only thing I found was a Chipotle receipt, and I'm not sure it will be legible after it dries out. I checked three LFL's and the little free pantry, but didn't pick anything up.
I had a second serving of my leftovers soup, and there is still enough for a small bowl tomorrow.
The $75 Walmart Healthy Living gift card arrived today. I read over the rules and restrictions, and it looks like it will cover most foods, so that will be a nice boost to my grocery budget. I also have a $25 Kroger gift card, and a $25 Visa gift card, so I think next month's groceries are covered.
I hope you recover quickly!
My friend, a emergency room nurse says covid, and the flu are the big thins now.
Thanks! I seem to be on the mend now. Covid was a bad experience, though!
1. I had a pound of strawberries (had to buy for mystery shop last week) and I get another tomorrow. The ones from last week were looking like the end of their life and our freezers are FULL, so I made a single jar of jam.
2. We received more plum tomatoes in the free CSA box, so I'll make sauce and can tomorrow. Someone didn't pick up the corn and fruit share, so I cut the corn off 8 cobs and froze.
3. Friends had asked if we wanted to go with a concert, and my partner said yes, but didn't ask the price of the tickets. When I asked how much we owed them, they said that they were paying. (We'll buy them dinner tonight in exchange, but they picked a food hall, so I think/hope that it won't be too expensive. We'll take the T (subway) and save a bunch on parking.
4. My partner is going to visit his brother, niece, and nephew, so I'll make a batch of mac n' cheese, as the cheese and milk are free from a mystery shop, and the breadcrumb topping is saved stale bread.
5. Partner ended up with ANOTHER free corn and fruit share, so we gave it to our neighbors, and they gave us a very expensive chocolate bar (it retails for $18!!!) and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts (retails for $22). The products are their cousins, who own a farm in Hawaii, but still....
Bonus 6: At my partner's work, it is a town festival, so the owners put out some inventory from last year, which includes pricey Paddywax candles, and is selling them for $5 and giving the $$ to a local charity (retail is $18-24 each). I asked him to pick up 4 to use for Christmas gifts.
I just love reading about your food - mystery shops, free CSA boxes and more!
Same here!!
1. Bought two white pillow cases to have as spares in my rental cottage for $16. Used a gift card I was given in November, still has $10 on it.
2. Bought another case of pumpkin puree for my dogs. The six 100 oz. cans were quite badly dented. I let the company know, they responded quickly, thanking me, and have offered me a discount on my next order. How much remains to be seen.
3. Cousin came to visit for a couple of days, and we went to see my 91 year old Dad who is in long term care. He insisted that he pay for our lunch afterwards, even though he can't join us. He says that it's the only thing he can do for us these days, and it is much appreciated.
4. Still giving out cucumbers to whomever will take them.
5. DH has done some cabinetry work for our kitchen, savings us a lot of money. He's done an amazing job.
When my kids were at the age when toy kitchens were a thing, I found a cheap free pile end table with a door and made four “burners” out of craft felt to put on the top. They loved it! They even used a couple of my smaller pans to “cook” with. They never noticed the difference, and when they grew out of it, I removed the “burners” and donated it to goodwill!
We did something similar out of a curb picked tv cabinet, only I painted the burners and screwed in cabinets nobs. Later same cabinet turned into a Barbie house and then a make up station. Now it is used as quilt storage.
That's a lot of use out of the same cabinet! How creative you are to keep remodeling it for a new purpose. Nice to keep it out of the landfill/incinerator.
My next door neighbor and his wife very recently moved to California (and good riddance to him, he was an a$$ of immense proportions) and apparently he left several things behind. The new owner set these things on her driveway with a free sign. I grabbed 2 sets of very clean wood shelves and 4 glass/wood panels (possible cabinet doors, me and my contractor will figure out how to use them in my house).
So weekends are my time to be a caffeinated squabbit (cross between a squirrel and a rabbit ROFLMBO). I'm on my second cold brew of the day (not to mention the Pepsi that I drank at work) and am cleaning, tidying, and decluttering as well as doing laundry.
I took advantage of the free massage I won at county fair last week. Tipped the therapist $10
Attended a plant fair today and won a plant which I’ll pick up tomorrow
Sold my old Fitbit which I’ll put in mail on Monday.
$35 from two resale shops. 11 trashie bags on their way tomorrow
Listed a few other items online
We finally had real rain today after a month with barely a sprinkle and scorching temperatures. This did not save me from watering because I pulled up the last of the garden's depleted plants this morning and transplanted two pots of herbs.
Got a library book from Hoopla. Made a pitcher of iced tea (the original energy drink). Tried out a recipe for a homemade protein smoothie using ingredients from the pantry (powdered milk, instant oats, peanut butter powder) and it was quite good. Used some leather conditioner on my old sandals. Did the daily health chore of toothbrushing for my old dog, who is a good sport about what it takes to stave off another very expensive dental cleaning.
Ruby, I brush our dog's teeth daily, too. What do you use for toothpaste? I'm getting to the end of a tube that I received from Buy Nothing and wondering if there are other frugal options - even making my own.
It's a chicken flavored one I bought on Chewy. The brand is something like "Cvet." It's what our veterinarian recommends. She is such a sweet dog and so good about it all.
Nurses always used to remark on how cheap doctors are. I suspect it's because we were poor for seven or eight formative years.
1. Batching—the Mister thought he had election judge training from 1-5 on Thursday in the old hood. To take advantage of the drive I made us late morning vaccination appts at Costco (no membership needed for Pharmacy services). Turns out the training was 3-5. For the hours between we bought mezze for four at a local Lebanese café and took it to friends’ house. They supplied decaf iced tea and dessert. We shared a leisurely couple hour lunch on their porch.
2. Last Sunday was the fall festival for the Greek Orthodox church near us. I spent $120 on fabulous food that almost fed six of us for dinner. The spread looked a bit sparse, so I added some cabbage salad. I don't feel bad about spending this money, because we haven't eaten in a restaurant since 2020. (Feb 28--an Indian buffet)
3. A neighbor going to the library offered to take back books and check out my holds. Gas saved.
4. I have been freecycling for my neighbors here in senior housing. Also loaning out our fabulous ladder.
5. Substitution rules. Have been using vinegar for lime juice. Tonight I made a Southwestern black bean and corn salad. I hadn’t enough black beans, so I subbed in some pintos. Tasty. The recipe makes a big batch—dinner tonight and five lunches (for two) individually jarred.
6. Found a fun website/youtube channel-- Dollar Tree Dinners—that will resonate with Nonconsumer advocate readers. Not so much for my vegan self, but she is very practical.
I have a different theory about nurses. So much of what they come in contact with is disposable. They throw so much away (in the name of good safety protocols) every day that they just get endured to the waste.
I think one of the things I miss most about Oregon (shopping wise) is WinCo. I haven't discovered an equivalent in Ohio yet, but if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!
1. I finished "A Witch in Time" by Constance Sayers. I loved it. It was such a fun read!
2. We went to the library today as they had a costume swap happening! But also, library yay! It was a free event and no donations were necessary to participate. We didn't find any costumes that worked for the kids (or us) but we did find a bag with a Daniel Tiger themed cape and two headbands with tiger ears in it, and our oldest found a faux flower lei that she had to have.
3. My husband found a few movies that have been on our rewatch list for a while for the kids, we no longer have any streaming services other than YouTube Premium, and a movie for us that we haven't seen yet.
4. This caused an impromptu movie night. We pulled out the picnic blanket and had popcorn and then dinner in the living room.
5. We treated ourselves to lunch out, the kids had a packed lunch since they aren't big fans of the food we picked, and it was enough to have leftovers with dinner AND will feed us lunch tomorrow too. We checked the clubhouse at our apartment since sometimes there are snacks or treats there. The kids each got a Reese's cup and my husband and I each got a free coffee from the Starbucks machine in the lobby.
The bread looks delicious!
1. Went to Aldi and purchased 97 cent hot dog package, deluxe sliced roast beef for $3.09, frozen broccoli $1.14, frozen Brussels sprouts and frozen Edamame. I don’t have the nerve to eat raw lettuce/greens. I also spent $1.49 on flatbread sesame crackers.
2. I went to Costco plus grocery store and bought locally grown catfish nuggets $3.97 for 2 lbs. and mayo for $2.95.
3. Gas continues to rise and is between 3.76 and $4.14 gallon, the higher end being rural places.
4. I walked an hour while washing my clothes at the laundromat for $3.00.
5. I cleaned my house.
That is Cost plus grocery store. Not Costco. That was a 2 lb bag of locally grown catfish.
The challah looks delicious. Not only do you have great neighbors, looks like one of them is a great baker. Happy New Year!
1. Speaking of good neighbors, my sweet neighbor came over with another egg carton full of tomatoes from her garden. Two big slicing tomatoes and a lot of cherry tomatoes. So generous.
2. I bought pads at CVS. Using coupons and my ExtraCare account I got them free.
3. I walked up to my friend's house to take her some newspapers we share instead of driving. I then continued walking around the block for some free exercise.
4. DH found eight golf balls while walking near the golf course.
5. I'm doing pretty well with eating down the freezer and pantry. I'm defrosting a package of four chicken breast, two for a meal and two to make cranberry chicken salad with. The only thing left in the freezer is frozen vegetables and a rotisserie chicken carcass which be turned into chicken rice soup later in the week. Then it will be time to shop.
Question about the GW bins - would they a good place to find towels? I want to get a pile of used towels to make kennel pads for a cat rescue. Doesn't matter about their condition because they'll be the padding in a quilt. Do you think the bins would be a cheap source for this?
Yes! Another good place is estate sales. There are some ladies here who frequent estate sales to get towels and blankets for animal rescue and I think there are sale runners who give them a deal on the towels and blankets that are in rough shape.
Emily, if there's a Buy Nothing group in your area, you could request towels and pay nothing. In my group, there's often someone looking to unload old towels.
I saw some were curious why drug pens would be something people would want to buy. In 2008 the pharmaceutical trade association issued a “voluntary code of conduct” that prohibits drug companies from giving out freebies with their logos to health care professionals. Since they were never sold to the public and aren’t made anymore, they have become collectible. We still have some refrigerator magnet clips, notepads, a clipboard, and definitely some pens going back to the 90's when my husband was in school.
Frugal things:
Sold 2 books on eBay for a total of $87.
Got $3.86 reward credit back on my credit card for our vitamin delivery from iHerb.
I got my free covid vaccination yesterday, along with my husband and his mom. My mom is about to start a new cancer drug that can affect her immune system and all 7 of the family members are now covid-vaccinated. Flu shots will be finished for the lot of us within a couple weeks.
Still getting sweet and hot peppers from my little container garden on the deck.
I received 6 packets of free seeds from TDOT, which includes 4 packs of milkweed seeds and 2 packs of a pollinator blend.
1. I used discounted gift cards to buy my daughter lunch and coffee at a local coffee shop. Costco sells these gift cards for 20% off.
2. We stopped by her favorite book store that sells used and new books. Also a local business. She bought a used book.
3. We also stopped into Goodwill where my daughter bought a Thermoflask insulated good jar or $5. It was new and I see they sell at Target for $30. She will use it to bring hot meals to work.
4. I picked up a Lululemon crossbody bag at Goodwill for $5. It's the perfect size for traveling.
5. I made plane reservations for my families vacation in January. I used credit card points for half the cost.
We are on an anniversary trip (Utah hiking, followed by a long weekend in Las Vegas before we fly home). While a vacation is never as cheap as staying home, here's what we are doing:
1) Taking advantage of a few leftover items my friend (condo owner in Utah) left for us. They didn't want to throw them out, and they were here right before us.
2) Staying at friend's condo. I treated her to a couple of trips to Las Vegas & she offered the use of her condo. I offered to pay, and she said no, but we will leave a grocery store gift card as a thank you, and ensure we've stocked up the supplies before we leave.
3) Used a Lyft credit of $25 to offset most of the cost of a ride to the airport, as DS20 had to be at work early & couldn't take us.
4) Filled up water bottle for free at the lounge, and DH took advantage of eggs & coffee.
5) Picked up groceries & wine at Costco before leaving Nevada. We picked up 3 prepped meals for dinners (fingers crossed they are okay), because my friend doesn't like to leave condiments, spices, etc at the house & cooking a full meal would have been challenging & not frugal. We also bought some other supplies: coffee, apples, protein bars, eggs, wine, & a tray of prepped sandwiches. The prepped sandwiches will be easy to pack for hiking.
We have that kitchen set, my son got it for Christmas when he was 1 and both kids still occasionally play with it now that they are 8 and 6. Good to know we can sell it when they are done, although I often just gives things like that away too.
I was sick for most of this week so I’m a bit behind in using up produce. I did appreciate having all the frozen meals I made in the past so I didn’t need to worry about cooking while sick. I’m going to try a new recipe for an eggplant and tomato gratin since eggplant and tomato’s came in our produce box, it’s vegan so it’s made with cashew cream, not actual cream. I also have some Russian banana potatoes which I’ve never used before, I’m going to make a potato salad with those. Then I’ll likely make my usual Buddha bowls to use up all the greens (kale, chard, collards) and sweet potatoes.
1. I found 2 quarters!!
2. I made cookies using some of the misc. things in my cupboard
3. I'm getting a little bit of produce from the garden
4. And my daughter bought her first car! She got it used, paid cash and it has great gas mileage.
1. I’m dog sitting at my house this week. The owner pays me $50 a night for her dog to come to “camp.” I have two dogs and they spend the whole week playing.
2. DH brought 2 tomatoes and one zucchini home from work. Tomatoes went into last nights grilled cheese sandwiches. Zucchini will become bread this afternoon.
3. Made what we call Grandma’s Casserole for dinner. 1/2 pound of burger from the freezer, 1/2 bag of pasta (I just use whatever we have), 3/4 of a leftover jar of sauce, and a handful of whatever shredded cheese we have. I have a few slices of Texas toast in the freezer and will also serve steamed broccoli.
4. I did an event yesterday and made $50. I met a lot of new people and also got to attend a free clothing swap two businesses down. I picked up 2 dresses and a skirt. I packed my own food and water for the event. I had a blast.
5. I rescued a beautiful wreath with white flowers moments before the trash truck could take it. I’ll sell it for $10.
I work with nurses and can agree.