Five More Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on July 3, 2025 · 90 comments
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My husband bought a replacement shower head for our bathroom, as the last one was spurting water in a illogical manner. We both love the new one, but it unfortunately doesn’t work with the previous organizer caddy. I walked into Goodwill hoping to find a better solution and somehow found exactly what I needed! Priced at $2.99, minus my 10% senior discount, we now have a shower storage solution without supporting corporate America!
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The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group bypassed 100,000 members today, which is a huge milestone. I never paid a dime to promote the blog-adjacent group, which makes this an extra satisfying achievement. It’s a great resource for people looking to find like minded non-consumer folk.
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My sister is now visiting from NYC and we survived day one of her trip without hitting a restaurant. We’ll certainly eat some meals out, but we’ll try to keep it under control. Our meals today were:
• Breakfast — Spinach frittata.
• Lunch — Bean and bacon soup with tortilla chips.
• Dinner — A huge green salad with garbanzo beans, crumbled queso blanco, cucumber, avocado and pickled red onion. Of course the salad was topped with my homemade Tea Towel Salad Dressing!
• Dessert was Tillamook ice cream, which is currently on sale at Safeway for $3.99/half gallon.
All of these meal were prepared and eaten at home, despite being out and about for much of the day.
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My sister has a Britbox subscription right now, so the three of us watched a couple episodes of the TV show Death Valley before heading to bed. Highly recommend!
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I knew my sister would be hungry when she landed last night, especially as her six hour flight had been delayed for an additional three and a half hours! I went ahead and cooked her a bean and cheese quesadilla, which I brought to the airport. Cheap to make, satisfying to eat!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 90 comments… read them below or add one }
I will vouch for Katy…the food was all tasty and delicious! “We have food at home” DOES need to get embroidered on a pillow here : )
Good morning. I hope you have a nice visit with your sister. It’s rough to go from a different time zone. I can never adjust. I’m always up before anyone else.
Katy must be the “hostess with the most-est” to think about bringing tasty, delicious food to the airport! Helping you avoid the mega-expensive, almost inedible slop they sell at most airports.
1. I sold a small wire shelf that I’ve had since I was a child. It’s gone back and forth between my house and my mom’s. Now someone else can get some use out of it. Crap out, money in.
2. I’m eating oatmeal for breakfast.
3. Dinner last night was a BLT made with a bacon from Costco, a tomato my mom gave me, lettuce that I grew and bread from the day old bread store.
4. I sifted some dirt out of a small area of river rock. I maybe saved a half a bag of rocks but every little bit helps.
5. I shopped around for the best price on a hotel for a short trip up north.
I’m in Dallas until Saturday am working at my clubs dig show. Nothing frugal about $30/night parking at the FREE hotel stay. We’re in walking distance of the show site
What show? Also in Dallas
Being a tightwad and steward of my $ is sometimes emotionally difficult. Have been invited to a wedding in Detroit first cousin’s daughter. We are in Maine and for a day and a half it would cost over $2k in air, hotel, present, car rental, car boarding. I have the $ but can’t justify it. While he is my favorite cousin we won’t be doing any visiting as he and wife are the hosts. But I am sideways with this…
Will send regrets and while I know it’s the right thing to not spend $2k for a day and a half I still feel guilty. I know we all have these events that we need to navigate this one just feels hard. And we have run prices from 3 different airports so it’s not for trying.
Sympathies to you Jann. These decisions are hard.
Is Amtrak an option? It would take a day to travel, (not that airports don’t take a lot of time), but coach seats might be inexpensive.
I so feel your pain! My husband’s Neice decided to have her wedding in Aruba in July. It would have cost just family of 3 around $4000 to go and it really irritated me….because our entire family lives near Rockaway beach in Mew York. She literally could have had a beach wedding for free!!! We skipped it and ended up going to Europe instead, which cost us less than the wedding would have. No regrets! Weddings are nuts.
It is hard when a wedding costs the guests so much, I hate to say it but I have never really understood the need, but hey, that’s coming from someone who never married.
That being said, $2K and really sounds like only going to show your face isn’t really the best use of your time and $. Instead, perhaps plan to either visit or host that cousin when all the wedding madness is over, do the same with the newly married couple, send a bit more $ their way, and call it a day.
They are going to be so involved with each other that other than maybe clocking that you are there, you aren’t anywhere near the top of the list of importance to them.
Consider yourself honoured to be invited and take a deep breath <3
One of my cousin’s children got married in a beach resort destination wedding during the Great Recession. I still get kind of dizzy thinking about receiving an invitation for something that was “only” $2800 per couple at a time when our church was letting people traveling to find work sleep overnight on the church grounds.
Though in this case, and even though there has been a lot of renewal and growth in the city, I kind of doubt that Detroit is a “destination” wedding spot. More likely a place where the couple lives and has the most family and friends.
Jann in Maine, I know how you feel. For me, it was my high school class’ 45th year reunion. I haven’t seen any of my high school friends in at least 35 years, though I’ve reconnected with most of my friends and acquaintances through social media. I really wanted to go, but to fly me, my hubby, and our son, plus hotel, car rental, cost of the reunion, meals out, etc etc. for what would basically be a weekend trip, I could not justify it. Hubby did not want me to go alone, and our son was not old enough to stay by himself for a weekend. (I realize, a wedding is different than a class reunion, but similar thought process in terms of being frugal and realizing the cost is just too high).
@Jann in Maine (BTW, ME is a beautiful state, would be on the very few of I’d live there states), one makes financial decisions that aren’t always easy. Send a nice gift with a nice card. I don’t doubt you’d be able to see some video of the wedding/reception.
Katy, do you have hard water? The shower head might be furred up with minerals.
Other than that, I got nothin’.
We don’t have hard water here, the last shower head was always kind of a dud.
Katy
Your “Tea Towel Salad Dressing” (where does the tea towel come in?) reminded me of my mom’s homemade salad dressing. The recipe has traveled the world with foreign friends and missionaries who visited our home through the ’60’s-’80’s (mom passed on 2010…she would be 102 today). My late sister not only put it on salad, she also put it on things like lasagna and meatloaf.
I have to explain something first for this to make sense: My daughter couldn’t say my maiden name (Phillips) when she was little. My mom’s first name was “Elma,” so she became “Grammy Elmo.”
Grammy Elmo’s Salad Dressing
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder OR approximately 1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Mix all ingredients until sugar is thoroughly dissolved.
Mom grew up during the depression (born 1923). At 14, as the oldest girl, she had to quit school and take care of a household of 10 (Her dad and stepmother, an uncle, herself, and 6 of her 7 younger siblings. Her youngest sister wasn’t born until after my parents were married, and my 2 sisters were born before my aunt.) As a result, mom was frugal to the core. My dad used to say that mom was so “tight” (with money), she could rub 2 nickles together and get a quarter.
Point of clarification…my mom’s mother died when my mom was 6 (spring of 1929), hence no mention of bio-mom. Grandpa was left with 3 little girls (6, 2, newborn), so my bio-grandmother’s sister took care of the kids so Grandpa could work and provide. Mom’s Aunt and Grandpa ended up getting married and they had 5 more kids. The woman I knew as “Grandma” was actually my Great Aunt.
Can you say, “I am my own Grandpa?”
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/cheap-eats-katys-tea-towel-salad-dressing/
It really is good.
Your story reminds me of the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Act of 1907, in Britain. Before that, you weren’t allowed to marry your sister in law. The Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt was one of the ones who pushed for the law to change; he married his sister in law in Switzerland in the late 19th century after his wife died. (You’ve almost certainly seen some of his paintings, especially “The Light of the World.”) https://www.stpauls.co.uk/light-of-world-by-william-holman-hunt
I will try Granny Elmo’s! No oil, huh?
As a total salad lover, I really enjoy making all kinds of homemade dressings, especially vintage ones.
@Rose – Nope. No oil. Will keep.in the fridge 4-5 days.
@Rose…and, BTW, my grandparents 2 weddings (my mom’s bio-mom and mom’s stepmom) were both “shot gun” weddings. The 3 of them are buried together with Grandpa in the middle. I actually have a picture with all 3 of them together, too.
Ha! I always refer to my parents’ wedding as the Wedding of Shame. Apparently Mom and Dad (both from NYC) drove upstate in search of someone who would marry them, given Mom was underage. They finally found someone in Watkins Glen, which is wayyyy up there.
Rose, my father called my wedding “The last, greatest miracle of Jesus.” He raised me to be very independent but told me years later he thought it ruined me as wife material. Before my wedding, my I-had-never-heard-him-swear-father took me aside and said, “Don’t fuck this up.” In English, no less. I nearly fell over. And my grandmother had long before decided I was gay, so when the husband came along she became convinced that a good man could convert a lesbian into a heterosexual, given enough time. To reward him, she waited on him hand and foot, making him foods that were too much trouble to make for me. (Please don’t judge Grandma, she was born in 1899 and lived to 1998 and 11 months. For all that she was remarkably liberal. I adored her.)
She sounds completely adorable, Lindsey.
My dad, apparently, never doubted I’d find a husband, since my mother was a total ball breaker too, and it didn’t hurt Mom was stunningly beautiful. I made Dad happy by getting into a seriously snooty college and marrying my college boyfriend a year or so after graduation. (Let’s ignore the part where he asked my boyfriend if he had any brothers or best friends at Yale, because he had my sister to marry off too.) I miss Dad so much. I was so, so lucky to have the parents I did.
I could not love this story now!!
@Lindsey- I meant to say I could not love this story more!!
My great aunt was my grandma, too. She raised my mother, who was only 7 when she lost both her parents. I never called her Grandma, though. We called her Bobbie.
Let’s hope the days of a male with children having to (usually desperately) find a female to marry are over (doubt it, organized religion is not quite dead yet).. I can assure you the father of my children could a) change diapers, b) cook, c) grocery shop, d) clean, e) do laundry, and f) buy feminine hygiene products. In other words, he’s not a small r republican.
I too had a rare thrift store moment the other day! I needed new work pants, as one of the knees of mine is starting to give out (I work at a library and spend a lot of time crawling/kneeling on the floor to shelve; I’ll mend these pants and wear them as not-work pants), so I hit up the local thrift store to find some new jeans. Pants shopping usually involves tears and swearing, but after pulling three pairs off the shelves and going into the fitting room, the first pair fit like it was tailor-made for my own body. I couldn’t believe it. (“What’s the catch?” I thought. “Are these pants cursed???”) Anyway, they came home with me for seven dollars and that’s one fewer thing to hit the landfill (two, if you count the pants I’ll be mending!).
Happy thrifting!
If the maker’s tags are still in those pants, you can do a search on eBay for them. I have found great-fitting clothes that way.
Ruby, you’re a genius! Thanks for that brilliant tip!
Thank you. A fair number of eBay sellers of clothing will include the RN# from the maker’s tag, which also includes where and sonetimes when it was made. This is how I found out that my favorite Bermuda shorts are 15 years old.
Absolutely. It’s so hard to find things that fit beautifully and last that I will search out my favorites and pay a little more to have multiples from eBay and Poshmark. My favorite discontinued Birks almost never come up in like new condition any more, though.
I found my favorite pair of jeans at a thrift store. They fit great and are so comfy. I just found another pair in my size at a garage sale for 50 cents. I was very happy with that find.
1) Really didn’t feel like cooking after my last call yesterday, but chatted with DS19 & made frozen samosas (second night in a row ;-)) & served that with egg sandwiches & fresh fruit. It was an eclectic & lazy collection, but he loves the samosas & it got us fed without takeout.
2) Ate a ton of strawberries that a friend dropped off + those from our garden, and froze what we couldn’t get to.
3) Baked a ton of chicken on Monday, so I’d have easy salad toppers available for lunches this week.
4) DS19 asked to go spend a week with my parents this summer, once school and work ends. I booked his flight on Alaska, using miles & paid just $25 out of pocket with fees.
5) I figured out it how to set up my 401k, and set it up to contribute the max this year!
I used to resist all those frozen snacks, but they can hit the takeout spot better than most takeout.
Frozen food or generally prepped food available at the grocery store tends to be a lot more than whole foods you prepped yourself, but also a lot less than takeout, so it can fill a need for sure.
Wow, 100000 members, that’s fantastic!
I had to give up on shower organiser caddies, the metal ones go rusty, the plastic ones break. We now keep shampoo etc on the window sill that can be reached from the shower.
* We are currently able to harvest a small bowl full of raspberries every day. The yellow ones are always first to ripen, those are almost finished now but already we are also harvesting red ones so there is no gap! Raspberries are my favourite fruit.
* We are also harvesting salad greens and blackcurrants every other day or so. The apples are starting to turn a little bit red and almost immediately the crows have started to eat them. So I had to put organza bags on some individual apples already, otherwise the crows would eat them all. I had to order more organza bags, usually I use the ones we use to protect the raspberries for the apples once the raspberries are finished but for some reason the apples are early this year and now I do not have enough organza bags.
* Paying it forward – gave a ukulele that has been gathering dust in the living room for years to a friend’s daughter. That same friend will be one of several friends feeding our cat when we are on holidays (They will take turns. I have great friends!). I have also been giving jars filled with fresh blackcurrants from our garden to various friends as we have lots and lots of them at the moment!
* Got a jar of homemade pickled kohlrabi from a friend. Delicious! Reused the pickle juice to pickle radishes that were going spare. This tinted the pickle juice red for extra special effects 🙂 Also delicious!
* I put up a few items for sale on Vinted. Fingers crossed.
Truly tiny frugal things today since I just posted the bigger ones!
1) Oatmeal for breakfast, oats, soy milk, walnuts and chia seeds were purchased in bulk at Costco (seems to be the best price around here, don’t have Aldi or winco) Peaches were the free frozen ones that had been given to me. This is my breakfast every morning, I just vary the fruit and/or nuts based on what I have available.
2) Bring my travel mug of coffee into work each in-office day, stops me from being tempted by the Peet’s next to my office.
3) Going to the library on my lunch break today to pickup my next book club read and some books in a series for my son.
4) I’ll be cooking some food tonight for our 4th of July bbq tomorrow so I didn’t want to cook dinner as well. I pulled soup out of the freezer to defrost for dinner tonight. It’s soup weather year round where I live on the coast (high today is 59 degrees with heavy cloud cover)
5) My sister recently moved back to the area. She sent me a message letting me know that she’d love to babysit for us anytime, for dinners or even overnight. She missed out on aunt time since she’s lived across the country from the time they were born until now so she wants to make up for it. Such a kind offer and a win for everyone (even though they didn’t see her much, she definitely made a strong impression as the fun aunt whenever she visited so my kids love her)
Mostly just the usual going on around here.
1. found peaches on markdown rack, 2 recipes of jam made and 2-quart bags in freezer. about 3 cups in fridge for smoothies.
2. made 2 recipes of strawberry jam…I had the mess made from the peach jam so figured why not.
3. made dishwasher tabs, they are drying for use now.
4.all meats for Saturdays BBQ bought on sale and burger patties made. frozen for use.
5. talked myself out of a trip to the GW….need nothing and we have a thrifting trip planned for later in the month. I also had peaches in the car trunk and didn’t want them to wait.
* didn’t flip flop on a several trillion dollar budget that only benefits the wealthy while saddling our kids and grands with Federal debt. What a bunch of waffling assholes.
I love to combine preserving projects and order them so there’s little or no cleanup between batches. As soon as the heat breaks I’m doing all fruits in the freezer from light flavors to heavy – syrups, liquers, fillings, jams/jellies.
A touch of raspberry never did fig jam any harm.
*liqueur
FMTFT, Eating Weeds and Making Pickles Edition:
(1) In my garden, it’s that happy time of year when my three favorite tasty weeds are coming out: wild amaranth (aka redroot pigweed), lamb’s quarters, and purslane. All three are highly nutritious (the late Euell Gibbons had tests run on them all). I’ve just gone out and cut myself a salad spinner full of the pigweed and lamb’s quarters for a stir-fry I’m making tonight.
(2) And I’m contemplating making a gumbo over the holiday weekend, with purslane as an okra substitute. Hey, what’s more American than a good gumbo? And the 4th of July here is predicted to be one of our rare recent cool days, so I’m willing to relax my summer moratorium on soup making for this one.
(3) I went to the Thursday Farmers’ Market at the Regional Market this morning and picked up assorted local produce, including snow peas for the stir-fry.
(4) I also bought two quarts of early cucumbers, since the dill blossoming in my garden beds (I never bother planting dill; it plants itself) is my signal that it’s time to start making refrigerator dill pickles. The recipe I use is Andrea Chesman’s, which is most easily accessed here (https://ediblevermont.ediblecommunities.com/recipe/recipes-refrigerator-quick-dills-0/).
(5) And I have enough respect for both human life and the fragile ecology of the Everglades not to stick a concentration camp for undocumented persons in the middle of the Glades.
I could not believe that there is Alligator Alcatraz merch on Etsy!!!!!!
Lindsey, I believe it and wouldn’t be one bit surprised if it were yet another side hustle for the Trump family.
I spent hours last night reporting Alligator Alcatraz merch as offensive content on Amazon while watching my murder show. Impotence in the face of not just the concentration camp but the bill funding a whole new fascist police state is so overwhelming. All people had to do was vote.
It it appalling as to how stupid this administration is – Dems cannot inspect because it is “too dangerous”. Perhaps Botox/Silicone Barbie should no be there.
There’s Alligator Alcatraz merch on the official Florida GOP website. We are doomed
That’s disgusting! What kind of a person would do that!?!
Hotter than the place where many politicians, judges, and government officials with orange hair and tiny hands (and a whole lot of other people) will be “living” in the afterlife. Despite the temperatures, I have a pint of black bean soup and a pint of my DH’s “not for the faint of heart” chili thawing for tonight’s and tomorrow night’s supper. Ate the last of the strawberry shortcake and some watermelon for brunch.
Wanted something sweet but didn’t want to bake. No-bake cookies to the rescue. I had the ingredients for those. I was a tad short on oatmeal (about 1/2 cup) but I think they will be ok. The main mistake was making a double batch. Not enough trays or space to lay them out to set. Ended up lining 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and pouring the batter in the pans like a bar cookie. Will cut them into bars once they set. If it works that way, I will make them that way in the future. Beats dropping globs of batter onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
Went to my BIL’s to fill our water jugs. His water is good. Ours smells and tastes like sulfur.
Taking it easy today. Reinflammed my hip last night sitting on a hard chair for too long (baking and bills on computer). Dousing it with pain relieving cream and taking tylenol today.
Melissa N… when I make no bake cookies, I just put wax paper or open up a large brown paper bag and lay it on the counter. I also use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop.
The no-bake cookie recipe was one of the first recipes I made allergy-friendly. I use coconut oil instead of butter and then use a plant-based milk, preferably oat or coconut (beverage). This version is definitely a family favorite!
Katy,
All your at-home dining sounded very tasty! I’ve been trying to eat at home as much as possible, while at the same time using up my “forgotten freezer and pantry foods.”
Arranged to have the Ollie’s Outlet vinyl planks installed this coming Monday. The installer came out today. I’m spending today taking stuff out of the computer room.
The roofing guy came out. He’ll start as soon as the check for the down payments comes in. Then, as long as I still have Social Security coming in, I will be able to cover the monthly payments for the rest — and I’ll be done paying in a year. They have a 30-year warranty on the roofing materials. I laughed when he told me that: by then, I’ll be 100 years old, so I don’t think I’ll still be living in this house, LOL! (Or anywhere else, for that matter….)
I broke out in a rash, and a nurse practitioner told me that live-active cultured buttermilk has the same goodie in it as live-active cultured yogurt, but it gets absorbed by your system a lot faster. That and OTC Benedryl usually takes care of the problem. Neither Aldi nor the store where I work stocks buttermilk. Had to go to H-E-B for a LOT of store-brand buttermilk.
Meanwhile, I walked by H-E-B’s bakery and made an impulse buy. Our church is going to have a cold potluck lunch — we are not to bring anything hot or that needs heating bc the commercial stove in the church kitchen makes the building too hot. I know I’m getting a bad reputation for bringing chips and salsa, so when I saw a box of 24 red, white and blue-with-white-stars cupcakes arranged like Old Glory (that’s a name for the U.S. flag, for you folks out of the country…), I splurged on them. That’ll be enough cupcakes for the kids. But when I got to the checkout lane, put ’em on the counter, then was trying to put ’em back in the shopping cart, I spilled them and they got all messed up. Icing was on the floor, the shopping cart, my purse and my jeans. At least half were ruined. The cashier called a supervisor and they said since the lid obviously wasn’t on right, they’ll bring me another box of cupcakes.(I wasn’t complaining, I was apologizing! Thought it was my fault, not theirs…) So I paid for one box of cupcakes and they (very kindly) made up for the disaster. An employee helped me get the new box out to my car, to avert another mishap, and the box is now safely resting on top of the washing machine. Where Mr. Snuggley-Wuggley Dog can’t reach them. (The laundry room door is staying shut!)
There’s buttermilk and buttermilk. It’s harder to find live action cultured buttermilk in my experience, but much taster. Oatmeal also soothes skin problems BTW.
Glad the store made up for the cupcake disaster!
I found an eighteen pack of mini-cupcakes decorated for Father’s Day, on clearance for $2.99 instead of $10.99 a few days after the holiday. They were the kind where the frosting swirl is almost as tall as the cupcake. Husband suggested cutting or breaking them through the middle and then putting the bottom on top of the frosting, like a sandwich. Saved a bit of mess that way.
I was trying to find something cold and savory for a potluck two weeks ago. I had small plastic glasses purchased years ago. I made a salad of tiny cubes of cucumber, cherry tomatoes sliced in half, and feta cheese cubes. Added some Caesar dressing and portioned that salad out into the little cups, calling them shooter salads. I also provided a box for the cups to be returned to me. It was a huge hit, there among too many sweets.
Lindsey, that’s a brilliant idea for a salad and reuse of the cups.
Sounds just brilliant and delicious @Lindsey. I have a selection of plastic cups that might be just the thing, if I were ever to go to a potluck. However I might fill them with my shredded carrot salad with the coconut/pecan/pepita etc topping as that would also appeal on a table full of sweets.
Watermelon goes beautifully with feta and veg, plus is obviously cheap. Mmmm I barely even like watermelon but watermelon salad is delightful.
Must say that shredded carrot with coconut/pecan/pepita also sounds off the charts good. I also love Indian carrot salad with mustard seeds. Yum.
if you google “THE BEST CARROT SALAD EVER” you will find something along the lines of what I make. my secret is to make up the topping in quantity, then whenever I put a salad together I don’t have to measure all the bits. I sub pecans for walnuts (except now I actually have some walnuts so I do both). I also just wing it for a dressing – usually use some kind of fruity vinegar and ensure I make it sweetish with maple syrup. huh, think I will pull out the old shredding machine and put some shredded carrots in the fridge – they last beautifully when undressed.
I like pecans better than walnuts myself. BFF always referred to walnuts as “Yankee nuts.”
@Rose – damn right walnuts are Yankee nuts – black walnuts. My instructions to the restoration company is “don’t touch my walnut trees”. I shall be fighting with the squirrels this year. They’ll get most of them but I really like black walnuts.
In preparation for July 4th, I made a gluten-free apple pie from scratch and have burger patties made from a pack of discounted Aldi ground beef thawing in the fridge. Watched several YouTube videos to figure out some adjustments to our antique Norpro apple peeler. I put a new peeling blade on it last year but could not get it set just right until watching the videos.
Did some grocery shopping yesterday to combine sales and coupons on cheese, ziplock baggies, cereal, eggs and ice cream. DH got the computer screen in his car replaced free under warranty this week: it would randomly perform functions by itself when the car interior was hot, a condition called “ghost touch”! He also received two parts for woodworking equipment under warranty this week.
Always jealous of how cheap your Tillamook ice cream is. While you have access to your sister’s BritBox, watch Ludwig. I really enjoyed that series. Happy Thursday everyone!
My frugal happens every day here. I raise goats & chickens on my farm, plus a garden. So I milk everyday, drink it raw. Also make cheeses, yogurt, butter, & soaps. Some is canned for winter cooking. Veggies & meats are pressure canned. Wild blackberries & elderberries are foraged and processed. At 79, I still work a PT job and handle farm chores. Yes, I have a small tractor to help manage my 15 acres. Eggs are everyday events, broody hens give me youngsters for replacements & freezer fill. Young goats are sold for income, occasionally one is processed for meat plus a pig will be also.
It’s a beautiful thing to be healthy, happy and pretty self sufficient. I enjoy reading what some city folks consider frugal. There’s so much more people could & should do. Thankfully I do live close to large cities, where anything I need or want is available. Staples like flour, salt & coffee are my big buys. No soda, chips, processed meats. Living well, I might add.
Bessie, I love reading about your life!
Me, too! Please talk about your life more often!
I third the motion, Bessie!
Calling a 4th on the motion if that is even a thing! Great stories, keep them coming. I love the minutiae of a life lived deeply and well, in a simple space
Congratulations on hitting 100K on Facebook, Katy!
1. It is suddenly hot here (mind you, hot for me is 23 C, 73 F for you folk). I am wilting as I am not a hothouse flower, even though it is not humid just finally warming up to seasonal temps after a cloudy and coolish Spring. I have the fan running to pull cool air from the basement up into the rest of the house, and have two house fans running upstairs to push the hot air outside. Downstairs doors are open to encourage a cross breeze, which is happening due to the ongoing light wind, thank heavens.
I do have Air conditioning as part of my heat-pump, and since I have solar panels I could run it without feeling a financial hit, but I don’t require it yet, so why bother? I will simply feel wilty and carry on. All of you who are struggling with much higher temps have my condolences.
2. Needed something fast for dinner and rummaged through a freezer, finding some pre-cooked chicken legs that simply needed to be re-roasted. Put a pot of rice on and called it a day. #2 son continues to slog away at his paper, and he took the last of the spaghetti leftovers (earmarked for his lunch but he didnt’ know) for supper last night, so this morning it felt good that there was chicken and rice leftovers.
Planning for his meals is so very helpful for my healthier eating – he was away for two weeks and I noticed an immediate decrease in my own self care when it comes to meals. This is worrisome as often can indicate a deterioration in my own mental health, so I will be talking to a few of my support team (AKA friends and AA sponsor) to help stay on an even keel.
3. Inspired by someone on this blog, I entered my pantry and took a look ’round. Using Tuna and noodles from the pantry, peas from my bursting freezer, and (thanks for the term, @Kathryn) “other fridge dwellers”, I assembled a cold tuna macaroni salad. Somehow these things take a life of their own, so I have a LOT of tuna macaroni salad. Good thing both #2 son and I like it, a lot.
4. Frugally enjoying some “exercise snacks” at home, as advised by my trainer.
Instead of travelling to the gym and doing a full ‘workout’, when I am too busy to leave home, I am fitting in simple quick movement throughout the day:
– Short 1500-step walks – essentially ‘around the block’, although just up the lane across the road.
– Hanging from my hands, working my shoulders (with the long-term goal of doing a pull-up).
– Kettle bell swings in the living room.
– Wall pushups, body-weight and weighted squats, agility and stretches, step-ups, etc
– Dumb bell ‘Arnolds’ (a combination series that is challenging, for sure; however if I want pipes like Arnie, I gotta put in the work).
5. I finally washed a large and lovely creamish coloured wool square poncho – because we have weather hot enough to dry it on the line. My #1 son gifted it to me ,probably 15 years ago – he thrifted all the gifts that year, and this poncho was obviously unworn. I get complemented on it every winter when I pull it out.
There is a black grease (maybe) stain on one bottom edge, which I was hoping would become less but it still is there. Once the whole thing is dry again, I will contemplate options to deal with it
6. Alongside the exercise snacks, I am adding “git ‘er done” snacks. I have, under the weight of depression, allowed a lot of simmering piles to turn into serious fires. Recognizing I can’t do it all, I am now doing some. Progress is obvious to me, even though at the moment it looks like my bookshelves have exploded over the floor. One box of books already to the used bookstore for credit, more boxes going out to the car in a moment.
The car also has a bag for the homeless shelter, and a bag and a box for the thrift store I support. Practicing the discipline of taking things right out to the car not only gets things out of the house, it increases my step count (at least, that’s what I am telling myself as I shove my feet into shoes, AGAIN, with a bag or box in my hands)
I like the term “exercise snacks” That’s what I do on my in-office days. I raise my desk to standing level and then do something for stretches, squats, high knees, push-ups using the desk, calf raises. I do this a few times a day and it does feel good and seems to help keep me going at work!
Might I suggest using a q tip dipped in ammonia and test if it will remove the black stain.
Or a Q tip dipped in acetone nail polish remover.
If either works you would know and could blot the stain away slowly and carefully, rewashing just that area when stain is gone.
I wish you well on the stain removal.
JC
Ecoteri, kudos on your self-awareness in #2 and #6.
@MB in MN – thanks so much for noticing.
I am determined to not ‘hide away while depressed’, which can be deadly for a recovering alcoholic.
On the same note, my counsellor, after I brought her the results of the depression test that I had done with my doctor, asked me what the results would have been BEFORE I quit drinking (almost 6 years ago) and even when I was in my 30s and 40s.
I had a HUGE epiphany that I would likely have had similar answers even decades ago. (!!!) The counsellor gently suggested that perhaps I could come to terms with the depression, rather than always thinking I had to ‘fight it’.
So now I am practicing considering my depression to be like the grumpy houseguest, who has moved in and will never leave.
Since I am stuck with her, I am just going to figure out how to live my life AROUND her. And do it as graciously and gently as I can.
All the best. You seem like such a wise & lovely person
Ecoteri,
I love your characterization of your depression as a “grumpy houseguest”. So good that you are recognizing your need for self care, and managing your mental health. I, too, suffer from depression (and anxiety), and find it waxes and wanes. I tell myself, and anyone who will listen, that depression will tell you lies that you believe. I try to recognize those lies for what they are.
That was so very nice to bring a snack for your sister. I’m sure she was hungry!
1. My BFF mentioned she need a few more plants for her terrarium. I dropped off two that I had separated a few months ago. Frugal for her!
2. Found a two shelf cabinet storage thingy in the trash. Scrubbed it and so excited to put it under my bathroom sink. Free organizing stuff is always welcome! Those under the sink organizers are expensive!
3. In the same trash pile I saw what I thought was a big candle with a lid. Once I picked it up I saw it was a nice storage jar with lid! Yes please! It had flour in it so a good wash and it’s ready to hold some of my dried herbs.
4. Sold a thrifted shower curtain on marketplace. Only $5 but more than I paid for it and one more thing out!
5. Attended a political round table yesterday. They had fruit and veggies for snacking. Hardly anyone ate any. I took a small bowl of fruit home for hubby and a big handful of cauliflower which I roasted for my DD. I’m not proud.
1. Checked out the little free pantry, and the fridge section is back in business. I took a sealed container of cream cheese — past the “use by” date but still good according to Google. I also took a bag of baguette slices, but I should have squeezed the bag. They are very stale. I put the bag in the freezer, as I think I can come up with ways to use them.
2. Went to the community center to walk indoors; it’s just too hot to walk outside. Returned some library books as there is a branch location within.
3. Used up some of the clearance-shelf holiday M&M/sprinkles on top of yogurt.
4. The bladder-leak pads arrived so I’m done with the jerry-rigged washcloths. The pads are surprisingly small and thin. Supposed to be “moderate.” It’s hard to order things like that when you can’t see or touch the goods. Still, free is free. Will probably be changing more often.
5. I had also ordered some Beano and it came in a tiny bottle. But it will be good to carry in my purse.
@Beth W: stale baguette = homemade croutons OR bread pudding.
Stale baguette slices can also be resuscitated in the toaster oven and used in tomato/bread salad.
re stale baguette – you can also try quickly drenching (in and out) in water, putting into a paper bag, wetting the outside of the bag well, and putting the bag into a hot oven (watch carefully as paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, according to google and Ray Bradbury). The bag will steam the baguette as the water evaporates. test after the outside of the bag appears dry.
Thank you for the suggestions! I will try resuscitation when I feel brave!
You could also make the Pioneer Woman French toast casserole. I have made it several times with dried out bread. It is tasty & good!
Re black grease on white wool poncho
Black on white marble, white carpet, light floor tile all came clean with damp surface heavily covered with baking soda. Then let it dry and vacuum away. Repeat as necessary. At worst it will not damage anything
I shall investigate cleaning options suggested here – Baking soda, ammonia and acetone (nail polish remover).
First, though, I need to find the almost white wool that I used before to repair some of the collar – the poncho is woven, and has a knitted collar that really ups the elegance. unfortunately the knitter didn’t tie off very well so holes are appearing, luckily the collar folds over itself and the repairs are hidden by the fold.
Wanted to add if you think the stain may be ink, try hair spray & let it sit for a while before you wash it. Good luck!
1. Brought sandwiches to my daughter’s instead of grabbing something out
2. Remembered to bring water for car
3. She forgot water bottle but the mattress store had a water dispenser rather than use vending machine
4. Reused a much used car carrier to transport her cat for the weekend.
5. Thawed free picked cherries, nieces tree, to make a crisp the in the morning for a party
Congrats on 100,000!!!