-
I picked more wild blackberries for the freezer. I know this a repeat “frugal thing,” but I’m determined to get my lazy tuchus over to my secret berry patch once a week! I plan to take full advantage of this brief seasonal opportunity. Free amazing food that’s easy to either freeze or transform into jam? I’d be a fool to ignore this nonconsumer opportunity!
-
Someone in my Buy Nothing group offered up a baking sheet for my friend who needed one. I then thanked them by walking over some propogated pothos starts, as they’d asked for some a couple months ago.
-
I stopped at Trader Joe’s on my way home from berry picking. I bought the one thing on my list — six of their 23¢ bananas. Nothing more.*
-
I made my own salmon schmear using some leftover salmon. I simply mixed it into cream cheese and then added lemon zest, garlic powder and salt. I didn’t have any bagels, but it was rather tasty on crackers. Eating whole leftover cooked salmon would’ve fed a single person, but mixing it into cream cheese expanded it into something to be enjoyed by multiple people.
-
I didn’t cut funding to health care, public radio, medical research, education, national parks and LGBTQ+ crisis lines in the name of fiscal responsibility; and then build a vulgar $200 million ball room.
Five More Tiny Frugal Things
Previous post: Five More Frugal Things
Next post: Five Tiniest Frugal Things
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
According to the npr article you linked, Trump and other donors are paying for the ballroom themselves. Not using government funds. While I am not a Trump fan, you missed the mark on this one. Erecting tents for larger gatherings that include chandeliers certainly has a significant cost. This ballroom would negate that.
I guess I did, although there is a pattern of Trup donors getting significant favors in return, so it’s hardly benign.
Kelly and Katy,
In my mind, funding a 200 million dollar fancy-pants ballroom after making the dreadful cuts they have to all the organizations Katy mentioned – yes, I understand it was with their own money – shows a complete lack of compassion for those who have or will suffer from the stroke of their pens. Like dancing while Rome burns.
Building something that monumental even with private funds, still requires maintenance and operational expenses that will be publicly funded. Seems pretty tone deaf to create a huge expense drain when more critical funding is being mindlessly cut (medical research, scientific research, consumer protection, IRS staffing, healthcare, medicaid, etc.). Such a facility will not be used frequently (yet will still requires operating and maintenance expenses). I call it wasteful.
Yes, exactly. They don’t get a pass just because it’s being paid for by private donors. What we’ve seen time and again is that those wealthy donors–whether they give a million bucks to his “Inauguration Fund” or help build an unnecessary ballroom–always get some sort of preferential treatment down the road. Also, let’s not forget the White House is the People’s House, not just the Wealthy People’s House. It’s not supposed to be just for the benefit of the person who currently holds the office.
Building something that monumental even with private funds, still requires maintenance and operational expenses that will be publicly funded. Seems pretty tone deaf to create a huge expense drain when more critical funding is being mindlessly cut (medical research, scientific research, consumer protection, IRS staffing, healthcare, medicaid, etc.). Such a facility will not be used frequently (yet will require significant operating and maintenance expenses). I call it wasteful.
Even so, the WH is our house and this should have included a public commenting period for support given the temporary status of these politicians and the interest of the donars. Making significant changes to a structure paid and supports by the American people for our employee who should only have 2 terms should be considered highly suspicious in my book.
*donors
Gina in NY: Yes!
Some people call them donations, other people call them bribes. It will be interesting if a list comes out with the alleged donors and can be matched up to what they receive in return for their supposed gifts. Just like the “free” airplane given by Qatar, likely filled with spying devices, which the taxpayers will pay to have upgraded, and which will end up in Trump’s hands when he and if he leaves office. Putting lipstick on a pig, even donated lipstick, still does not make the pig look attractive. With apologies to pigs everywhere.
The government needs to get the money upfront. Trump doesn’t pay his lawyers. Why would he pay for a ballroom that won’t be finished until he’s out of office. He also disturbed the rose garden
Wondering about the timing of said donated monies, interesting how the tariff update announcements coincide with huge movement in the stock market, gotta wonder who’s profiting, gotta be those said private donors! When you look at it like that 200 MILLION is a drop in the very large buckets of these “private donors”, just saying….
I am very depressed to hear the Corp. for Public Broadcasting is quitting business, mainly bc the result will be our news is getting more and more censored. Already, our weather forecasting is not as accurate and now the economic news from Federal Reserve will be falsely reporting how great Trump’s fiscal policies are, thanks to his firing the lady who came out with less-than-stellar statistics this time around. I no longer watch CBS News (I haven’t been happy since they demoted Nora O’Donnell) and I am only watching Colbert on CBS. After he leaves so will I, since I figure 60 Minutes is going to have to muzzle itself. We’re seeing Goebbels’ methodology of telling the big lie applied here; Trump, the Republican party, conservative radio commentators and Fox News have been doing it for quite a while, but now it’s spreading, and it is very scary and depressing. Even worse are the naive people who swallow these lies hook, line and sinker. Please pray for our country!
OK, off my soapbox and on to my frugalities:
1. The contract for my electric utility provider expires in October, so I have begun researching electric rates of all the different retail utilities. Here in my state, we have the “power to choose” electric companies and their rates vary widely. (Oncor provides the electricity from the generating station to the power line but different retail companies sell you the electricity from the power line to your home.) I found out that the ones offering “free nights” (where they don’t charge you for power after a certain time) also charge 19 cents a kilowatt hour; other companies are as low as 9.5 cents per kwh. (See? I knew there was a catch!) I’m also going to ask if the city is negotiating a wholesale group rate I can get in on; that’s what I’ve had for a few years now. It’s just like health insurance: group rates tend to be cheaper than individual rates. Which company you go with makes a HUGE difference as to your power bill!
2. Now that the roofers are finished, I gathered up the soda cans they left and put ’em in the recycling bag. Checked the going rate for recycling cans: it has already risen from 29 cents to 34 cents in the last couple of months. I expect metal recycling rates to skyrocket thanks to the Felon-in-Chief’s tariffs. So I am collecting aluminum cans in a contractor’s bag and hope to get some fairly good $ when it’s full.
3. Found some leftover roofing screws, which match the color of the roof. Put them in the garage, in case they are needed later. Ditto, 3 caulking guns.
4. Began boycotting Walmart and Lowe’s as per the national movement. Continuing to boycott Target, Home Depot, and Hobby Lobby. It’s frugal not to go into those stores!
5. Took some items to Goodwill for another 20% discount coupon.
The Federal Reserve has been screwed up since 2008, to be honest. It controls too much of the money–it used to control about $19 billion or so prior to 2007, but now it controls $3 trillion. Why does this matter? It affects how banks can give loans to customers via the federal funds rate.
Also I get no choice in electric providers. And it’s 25c a kWh here.
Well, now I feel cranky, and it’s a beautiful day here. Ha! Maybe I’ll go get some solar antidepressant and Vitamin D later. And at least Contender, the 14 foot great white, hasn’t pinged near LI lately; apparently he’s off Nantucket. So hopefully not eaten by a shark today. It’s the little things in life to be grateful for.
Let me clarify my comments: I was not referring to what the Fed did, Rose, only to the fact that their reporting is being silenced because it does not fit Trump’s narrative.
Per Wikipedia article on “Big Lie”:
“A big lie (German: große Lüge) is a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth primarily used as a political propaganda technique. The German expression was first used by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf (1925) to describe how people could be induced to believe so colossal a lie because they would not believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously”.
Wikipedia goes on to say the technique currently is being used by Trump and his cohorts on everything from “rigged” elections to crowd sizes at his parades and rallies and from Jeffrey Epstein to the economy.
“Scholars say that constant repetition across many different forms of media is necessary for the success of the big lie technique, as is a psychological motivation for the public to believe the extreme assertions.” (Ibid)
Fru-gal Lisa,
If you haven’t yet, read or listen to the book On Tyranny. The author (Timothy Snyder) draws many parallels between the current Orange Reign of Terror and Nazi Germany. It’s interesting and horrifying at the same time. He also has a free substack.
Do you follow Randy Blazak on instagram or Substack? He’s a Portland State professor with an expertise in fascism and authoritarianism. He did chapter readings of On Tyranny. His reels are great. Very informative and delivered in an even keel kind of way that keeps my head from exploding.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is not the Federal Reserve! It is 100% data-driven and not political. The reports that come from it will continue to be factual because surreptitiously changing a kabillion data points to flatter a whiney-baby is just not feasible! Trust the numbers!
Trump’s claims about the fired “Biden appointee” (who was overwhelming approved by both parties) cooking the books to make Harris look better are pure nonsense. Even the timeline is all wrong. He gets dumber every time he opens his mouth.
Yes, the Federal Reserve uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics along with other pieces of economic information to assist in making decisions. Of course, anything Trump does should be suspect.
Don’t forget Chic-Fil-A.
The 2 million dollar ballroom is unbelievable. What next?
1. I made some blueberry muffins with the last of some frozen blueberries. I’m still working to empty my chest freezer.
2. I cut open a tube of aquaphor to get the last of it out.
3. I bought two partial boxes of zip lock bags at an estate sale for a dollar each. They were a size I didn’t have.
4. I helped my daughter renew her passport online. We took our own photo. They crop it for you. This saved the $15 photo fee at Walgreens.
5. I sold another item on Ebay. Sales have slowed down again. Time to start listing.
2 million is bad enough but it is 200 million which is insane.
We recently renewed our passports and did them online too. It was nice to save some money with taking the photos ourselves and being able to do it when we were free. Last time we had to make an appointment and take off of work and go to the post office.
Oops. Yes 200 million. Even without taxpayer money. It’s definitely tone deaf. You can see the priorities.
1. Did my $20 shop at Walmart, which turned out to be $28 because I bought some clearance items: pumpkin spice flavored Dunkin coffee for 5.50, a large bag of sea salt for .50, Townhouse crackers for 1.75. A regular sale item was double-size creamer. I bought two loaves of French bread for 1.47 apiece. Used to be $1! That was the reason I went to Walmart, but, oh well, it’s still a good price. Also bought eggs, butter and LF milk at regular price.
2. On the way to the store I looked in at the little free pantry and scored a large bag of Gold medal flour! I was getting low; this was great serendipity.
3. I made bread pudding from free stale French bread that’s been in the freezer for a while. Yum! I estimate there are three more servings, at least.
4. Bought gas, using Kroger loyalty card, saving 3¢ per gallon.
5. Earned $3.40 credit from ComEd for turning off electric items on peak savings day.
Wild blackberries are also starting to ripen in Ireland, we have some in our rather overgrown garden but I will be foraging for more, too, as the ones in the garden get eaten straight away! Blackberries are indeed great for freezing for future use in porridge and yoghurt.
* We’re just back from holidays and I have a huge pile of washing to get through. The weather is good and the first load is drying on the line as I’m typing this.
* Thankfully water refill stations are becoming very common now and we were able to avoid buying plastic water bottles at airports.
* Our carry on backpacks were quite full (due to unexpected gifts from family members) and we were a bit nervous that one or two of us would be charged for oversized cabin bags (Ryanair is notorious for this!) but all was well, they didn’t check the bag sizes in the boarding area. We got lucky there!
* We did not eat out once during our holiday. We stayed with family and enjoyed cooking and eating together at home.
* I sold some items for an elderly family member on FB marketplace while staying with them.
* There was a stack of requested library books waiting for me when we got back – looking forward to reading them and will of course be posting my favourite reads here 🙂
1. I was awarded a grant through work this week, which means my plane ticket, and 9 nights in France (along with food) will all be paid for. I will pay for an additional 5 nights myself, and we will stay with my partner’s friend the last night, but for 15 days in France, it will be really affordable.
2. I taught my last class before my sabbatical begins. This means 14 weeks of not having a 3.5 hour commute each way, and about $800 savings in gas.
3. To celebrate this, I wanted to go out to eat but I came home last night and ate toast and caponata.
4. The caponata was made with eggplant, zucchini, and onion (from free CSA box), raisins (that had been given to me from mil before then downsized) and olives (a giant jar given to me from Buy Nothing from a bar that was closing). I ate it for 3 nights.
5. I picked up another mystery shop for a grocery store and, after combining the shop money and coupons, I bought 4 pounds of bacon for $.49 each. BLTs, here we come!
Oh boy, I love caponata. Thanks for reminding me–gotta make some soon.
With our cool summer, I might have to buy eggplant this year.
My sister grows adorable little eggplants, and they’re a very pretty amethyst color, as are the flowers! She doesn’t much like eggplant but her husband does, and I get extras. I think they’re called Jewel.
Wow, kudos on the grant!
Great job with the grant. I have eggplants almost ready and my friend gave me a big zucchini. I think I will make some caponata. Thanks for the idea.
1. We are eating almost entirely at home. No interest in going out right now.
2. I painted a Goodwill frame and inserted a gifted print.
3. I am in the process of lining fridge shelves with $ Tree vinyl place mats. It will be much easier to remove the mats for cleaning than to remove the shelves.
4. I got 25% off total purchase at my favorite craft store in their 3 day promotion.
5. My husband said he was giving me a bottle of shampoo because he didn’t like what it did to his hair. I said if I didn’t like it as shampoo, I would use it as shower gel. It WAS shower gel.
@Ava: #5 – thank you for the morning laugh!
What a good idea lining fridge shelves with vinyl placemats from D Tree. Thanks for the idea.
lol
The national parks have a sign on the bathrooms that they are conducting a study on lighting. In short, the lights are off. It is very hard to find an unlit building in a large wilderness like campground after dark. The stars are beautiful, but is the heavy breathing next to me another lost camper or a bear?
>^..^<
Picking blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & blueberries for the freezer. Making gravenstein apple cider vinegar, have 4 gallons started.
Made 12 pints of pickled carrots. I am the auntie who always gets asked to bring my pickle plate to family potlucks. My sweet & spicy pickles are a begged for gift. My mom was famous for her salsa. All of my cousins received cases of salsa as new home gifts (even my cousin in Hawaii).
Harvested shallots, have them drying on racks.
Can hardly believe it’s August!
AAA does free passport photos with membership.
Blueberries,beans,zucchini and a few other things coming ripe so I am using those as a base for meals.
Saving gas by parking my vehicle for days at a time and batching my errands.
Put my remaining coffee in refrigerator which served as a second cup. Can only drink so much in the AM and I refuse to use a smaller cup.’ I’, salty!’
Did buy a 25 pound bag of flour and rice to have “on hand”. Pantry is pretty full and I am grateful for that.
My AAA charges $7 for passport photos (Northern California).
1. Signed up for a rewards program that gave me a $5 discount on a needed purchase, then cancelled the program before the trial period ended. (When I sign up for such programs, I immediately calendar the cancellation date so I don’t forget.)
2. Hemmed a shirt with my 20-year-old sewing machine that paid for itself about 19 years ago.
3. Scored free bougie pasta through a grocery rewards program.
4. Found a sealed, packaged loofah sponge in a free pile.
5. Enjoyed fresh salads with Katy’s Tea Towel salad dressing, my favorite frugal recipe EVER, three times this week.
1) I picked up 12 ears of corn from a neighbor’s driveway farm stand for 50 cents an ear! I blanched and dehydrated all but two, which we had for dinner last night. I love having dehydrated corn on hand to toss into winter soups and stews, or to use in zucchini-corn casserole — I also dehydrate some of my garden zucchini for winter use.
2) I finished canning whole plums and plum jam from the orchard. Once the apples and blackberries come in (they are just starting to ripen), we will have enough fruit preserved to see us through winter.
3) I picked up a small Bluetooth speaker from a Buy Nothing person. My ’92 Kei truck only has an AM stereo, and my last speaker died, so it is nice to have music when I am working again.
4) A friend gave me two elderberry bushes she had started off of her bushes. A few weeks ago I had given her a couple of raspberry bushes I saved from a nursery compost pile. Plant friends are the best!
5) We are going to a free Pirate/Maritime Festival today. We are bringing a picnic lunch, but I have budgeted a small amount – $10 each – for treats for the four of us, in case something tickles our fancy. We’ve learned $10 goes a long way if you aren’t paying for admission or meals.
Jenny, do you have a dehydrator? or do you do it in the oven. I’m very curious about dehydrating.
I mistakenly posted under a different name — my legal name as opposed to my nickname. It hasn’t appeared so I’m reposting in a shortened version. I apologize if it ends up I’ve posted twice.
1. Did my weekly $20 shop for groceries — Walmart this time. Ended up spending $28 because I got coffee, crackers and sea salt from the clearance shelf.
2. Made bread pudding from free bread.
3. Got a bag of flour from the little free pantry.
4. Bought gas with Kroger loyalty card, saving 3¢ per gallon.
5. Earned $3.40 credit for limiting electrical usage on peak savings day.
Oops! I see the other post did appear. Sorry about literally TMI!
FMTFT, We’re Into August Edition:
(1) The Bestest Neighbors and I did do our electronics recycling run as noted in my previous comment. I got rid of a dead printer, two dead battery backup units, and a bagful of miscellaneous cords and chargers out of DH’s area of the basement. Crap out of the house, at least.
(2) A new neighborhood association in my neck of the woods will be sponsoring a multi-household garage sale next Saturday. I am posilutely, absotively burned out on garage sales. But my neighbor on the other side of NDN1 says he intends to put out a free pile and see who bites–and I may add to his free pile. More crap out of the house.
(3) I just planted my old Easy Washer tub with fall greens: a mix of Red Russian kale, Black-Seeded Simpson lettuce, and mache, all from seeds saved in my freezer. And, as usual, I’ve covered these with my trashpicked fire pit lid to keep passing critters out of them.
(4) I’m continuing to enjoy the goldfinches in my sunflowers, the hummingbirds in my red monarda, and the dragonflies and damselflies that are starting to come out. And my buddleias (butterfly bushes) are starting to bloom, so I should have more butterflies soon.
(5) Finally, I’m 100% behind Fru-gal Lisa’s preamble above. Down with tyranny!
(3)
Thank you, A.Marie! At the rate everything’s going, we may end up as cell mates in federal prison just for speaking our minds! (funny. Not funny. Sorry.)
Well, Lisa, perhaps our prison van will collide with a cement mixer, and then we’ll be a couple of hardened criminals. (I adapted an old joke from the BBC 1970s series The Two Ronnies for this one. 😛 )
1. Attended an open house at a new animal urgent care facility near our home. I normally don’t take a swag bag, but this one had many useful items: 4 bags of dog treats, roll of poop bags and holder, collapsible water dish, and tennis ball.
2. Finished a restaurant gift card that I had purchased in December during a promotion to buy a $100 gift card and receive a $20 bonus gift card.
3. Was finally able to turn off AC and open windows and doors for three days and counting. The weather had been beastly humid and hot with AC running all day every day for what seemed like forever.
4. Spent $6 on coffee and a scone for a lunch outing with sister. Had a healthy meal when I got home.
5. Taking cooler, shorter showers.
1. The mangos are dwindling here. I got a few and I think that may be the end of free mangos.
2. I got a box of pumpkin spice pancake mix. The taste was overwhelming. When mixed w/ 1/2 plain pancake mix it tasted much better. I got the boxes on clearance for 48 cents.
3. Agreed to a Zoom interview with an educational company. Earned a 75$ GC. I plan to get a GC for gas.
4. I am enjoying my 10$ haircut from Great Clips. Some franchises are sending “Back to School” offers in the mail. I am actually going back to school in August but as a teacher.
5. Found a coupon for 6$ off a purchase on dental items at Walgreens. I am getting low on dental floss so that was a coupon I needed.
6. Got paid July 31 for work done in June. So grateful for a paycheck! I haven’t had one since Dec. 31, 2024. I also have work lined up for the fall term.
7. I have been cobbling together an income w/ part-time work. Soon I will file for SS. It will be nice to have a monthly income. If benefits are cut, then I can always work part-time. I have always had a side job or a back-up plan. I see that many of the peeps who post here do the same. When you spend carefully the money goes further (as we know).
1. Used my $5 Michaels reward.
2. Got supplies for outdoor hand rail from salvage yard.
3. Gave a friend rhubarb and received several pounds of blackberries in return
4. Picked several pounds of green beans in my garden, and all the pluots. Delicious!
5. Received a piece of cotton gingham fabric from Buy Nothing.
Not to shabby for my first day home!
1. My 5 year niece requested a tea party and I managed to pull the whole thing off with items we already owned (twinkle lights, tapestry hung for ambiance, household china, cloth napkins, tea, etc.) and only purchased a couple of special food items for the event. We all got dressed up and had a lovely afternoon for less than $20. Not bad for a party of 4! It was quite a bit less than the local tea house would have charged one of us for much less than we had on the menu.
I feel like I *need* some new clothes, but I don’t want to spend money or purchase anything new so I’m challenging myself to wear everything I own (in season) first. This way I can really assess what is actually *needed* and plan to purchase second hand. I have a pretty minimal wardrobe already so I’m wearing, washing, and hanging on one side of my closet so I can see clearly what has already been worn and what hasn’t. So far I found the challenge fun.
Instacart offered me $40 off an of $80 purchase w/ free pickup. The prices are higher but this promo combined with Ibotta cash back and BOGO deals scored me a nice little savings.
Used a Fetch gift card for my dogs food this week.
A friend purchased some drinks that her family doesn’t like. I’m picking them up on my way to get my grocery order and my teenager will happily drink them.
1) Rediscovered $.82 I had left in the pocket of my shorts when I empty the washer.
2) Had about 3 cups of diced onions left from DH’s family reunion. Dehydrated them down to about 1/2 cup. Saves freezer storage space.
3) Went to visit DH’s DS yesterday at the assisted living facility she recently moved into. Had a nice visit. She mentioned her DD planted a peach tree in her yard. DD also has an apple tree in her yard. Both produced an abundance of fruit this year. I texted my DN (dear niece) and asked if I could get some. She said, “Come over and help yourself.” She lives about 45 minutes away from us…going to make the most of it. I’ll bake her something in exchange for free fruit.
4) There is a tiny, and I do mean tiny (about 1/3 – 1/2 the size of your average convenience store) produce store near us that, while it doesn’t have a huge selection, it does have some good deals. My DH bought 4 pints of blueberries at $1.99 each. $5 each in the supermarket. I forget who lives in Bloomsburg, but I’m talking about Briar Creek Farms.
5) Today is take my sister for groceries and errands day. She always takes us for either breakfast or lunch, so free lunch today. Also found $.01 in the Walmart parking lot.
BONUS: Lost 5 lb and hope to never find it again.
1. Searching for a recipe that will use the 6 overripe bananas I
froze a week ago
2. Put my washable shoes ie sketchers, bezees in mesh bags to wash and air dry over the weekend
3. Revived some online listings
4. Watched an older movie on Amazon prime
5. Doctored dog wounds with medicine on hand
I’d make 2 loafs of banana bread. They freeze well.
We love banana pancakes and they also freeze well.
Katy, do you wash your blackberries before freezing them?
Yes, very gently and thoroughly.
Thanks!
We love free berries. Enjoy every one.
1. Hubby and I went to my favorite thrift store this morning. It is for a church and is run by volunteers. It is only open the first Saturday of the month from 10-2. We try to go since we can never get there during the week because of work. We got 2 Lodge cast iron pans(different sizes) and 1 had a handle cover. I got a brand new bathing suit. I got a brand new Sequence game. My oldest got me into this game. She lives in Maryland so I was happy to have my own. I got 8 other used games for the lady I take care of. I will be reimbursed for the games for her. Total for everything. $20. They always round down. All of the money goes to the church’s food pantry. They have more than double the families seeking assistance than last year. Scary times.
2. I worked 12-4 today. I don’t normally work weekends but I had nothing important going on so I was happy to do it. It was a beautiful day out so we played some of the new to us games in the backyard. Her daughter surprised us with Carvel sundaes when she came home.
3. I ran straight to the library after work. It is on the way home. I returned last week’s items and took out more books and magazines. They had had a puzzle competition in the morning so there were lots of copies of the same puzzle available for free. I happily took one. I will pass it on when I am done. I love my library.
4. I hit a little free library on the way home to put some books in. They had 2 books on my list that I wanted so I grabbed them. I will return them or pass them on when I am done. I never take library books to the beach or traveling because I don’t want to damage them. That is why I also go to free little libraries.
5. There was a yard sale on the way home so I stopped to look. I got a brand new Ticket to Ride Amsterdam game for $1. We have the original and all love it. This went into the gift closet. I got Guess Who and flash cards for the lady I help, $1 for both. I also grabbed a paint by sticker book. It was marked a quarter but she gave it to me. Someone did start it but for free I am happy to finish it. It also keeps money out of JB’s hands. The daughter of the lady I help is amazed at how many games and activities I get for us at the thrift stores and libraries. She tells me I save them a small fortune.
6. I finally got home and my wonderful husband had done laundry and was cooking dinner. He was using string beans from the garden because we are overflowing with them.
7. I collected parsley seeds. I collect lots of seeds every year so that I don’t have to buy them. I also picked 10 figs.
It was a long busy day but a really good one.
Those blackberries are so amazing! What a score!
1. Now that I am an “empty nester” I am realizing my partner and I do not eat a lot (and he travels often for work). I had accidentally set up subscribe and save on Quaker Oats and ended up with three very large boxes (8-lbs with 2-4 lb bags in each box). I finally admitted to myself we cannot eat them before the BB date (or even after which I have no issue doing) even if there is an apocalypse. So, I offered 1.5 boxes on Buy Nothing and had a lot of interest. I ended up giving 3 bags away to people who needed them. Maybe this is not frugal, but it does save food from waste.
2. This morning, because it was on my mind, I made a big pot of oatmeal. I put in some fresh apricots I needed to use up, the rest of a mixed nuts-cranberry mix, coconut milk, spices and a bit of sweetener and it’s delicious. I will take the leftovers to work this week.
3. I am cleaning out my junk for a possible move (due to work-mentioned that a few days ago). I have a box full of weird stuff to list on eBay. It’s been a couple of weeks since we had a sale, so a refresh of items might be helpful.
4. Line drying clothing, sheets and blankets.
5. Garden is offering up veggie goodness regularly now: Zucchini, summer squash, herbs, tomatoes, turnips, kale, beans.
Meant to note I am no longer a Prime member since beginning of year, so oatmeal was ordered late in 2024 over a span of months.
NO ONE WILL PROBABLY READ THIS. Lol. Too many comments to read first. I just wanted to thank you for making me want to look up all the cuts the Trumpster made. And reminding me to try to eat up stuff before buying more. Oddly I don’t…
Cheri, I read it!
1) I found 1c this morning.
2) Im using everything in my fridge that needs used up for the next few meals. Leftovers and bits/ bobs.
3) working thru my linens to space bag what im keeping, cutting rags out of the worn ones and donating the rest.
4) have my bedroom almost completely cleaned and organized. I do sleep better with a very organized and downsized room.
5) I joined aetnas medicare payback as my medicare kicks in in September. Its a ppo so I can see any dr. It gives me a free gym membership, which I desperately need.
6) im washing laundry and hanging it out before the rain hits this week. ( Venice, Florida)
7) I didn’t allow a vicious child molester and sex trafficker to be moved to a cushy minimum security prison so she won’t talk. Wondering how long until she’s unalived…
8) I didn’t plow over a beautiful and iconic rose garden for a very expensive vanity project. Grrrrr…