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My husband and I recently bought a new-to-us car, which means that our 2005 minivan sits idle more than normal. Specifically throughout a four day heatwave that apparently conjured the ghosts of all stinks past. This prompted me to take an hour or so to wipe out and sweep all inside surfaces and finish it up with a mesh bag of coffee beans over a vent. I’m not sure if this’ll eradicated the stench, but the car is certainly cleaner and who doesn’t love the smell of coffee?
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You may notice that I attached the coffee bag using one of the Command Strips that I thrifted last month. (Sixteen for $3.99.) I finally found a use for one of them!
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Of course the “Check Engine Light” reared her ugly head in my clean car, so I stopped at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts to have them plug in their free sensor. While there I noticed that they have a free loaner tool program, which is good to know for the future. What was wrong with my twenty-year-old car? This and that, but nothing dire and still quite drivable.
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I donated a small bag of random items to Goodwill and got a form for my taxes, making sure to fill it in as soon as I got home. There’s a 0% chance that I’ll remember this information when I sit down to do my taxes next year, so this is a favor to future Katy.
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My sister and her family are in the middle of a long awaited trip to the United Kingdom, which I’m so happy about. (Our family lived in London for a number of years throughout our childhood.) I’m also happy to enjoy her cranberry orange marmalade on a freshly baked scone.
Five More Tiny Frugal Things
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Stumbled on this article. May be helpful those of us who need to do a serious declutter.
https://www.cpr.org/2025/08/12/how-to-declutter-your-home-to-downsize/
As a person who has been decluttering for at least 6 years, I really enjoy. Dana k. White. She has a no mess decluttering system that actually seems to work for me. I know, 6 years! But I had started before my husband and then my father died. It is getting better!
Proud of you! Decluttering – especially after the loss of family members – is no joke. It can feel utterly overwhelming. (Speaking from experience here.)
1. Used $5 reward to buy a 3 pack of socks for me.
2. Used United rewards to get “survival” groceries aka proteins to get us thru this past week
3. Sold number of items for friends and a couple of mine too
4. Inventoried everything non perishable:plenty of paper products, cleaning supplies, skin care, cosmetics, personal care and detergents.
5. Discontinued HBO and Disney plus
1. Had to drive downtown to take my CLEP test (which I passed, thus saving nearly 900 bucks on a class I won’t have to take!). Batched this driving with hitting the grocery store, where I curbed my natural inclination to celebrate with fancy snacks. Instead I stuck to my list.
2. Inspired by this blog, I snagged a discarded receipt in the parking lot and scanned it into my Fetch app when I got home.
3. DH made tuna burgers, using the aquafaba from a can of chickpeas instead of an egg for a binder. He roasted the chickpeas for me as a treat when I got home. I’m allergic to nuts, so it’s nice to have a crunchy little snack now and then! Cheaper, too.
4. Biked to the library for my library books.
5. Our cat pulled a feather out of his feather toy, but didn’t chew it up. I taped it to a wire toy that he’d gotten bored with, and suddenly what was old is new again.
I never find spare change but I find spare receipts all the time! Sometimes I even shamelessly grab a handful of them at the check out recycling bins !!
I love this journey for you! 😉
You asked who doesn’t like the smell of coffee, so I’ll step forward and say that I don’t like the smell of coffee. When I first saw your photo, I thought that was a baggie of dog poop. Coffee beans are better!
Li: I will halfway agree with you. I like the smell of coffee, mostly, but wouldn’t drink it even if someone offered money.
We have a small paper towel sachet I made with coffee in our newest-to-us vehicle, to take out a cleaning product smell.
1. Yesterday I drove home after spending a few days with a friend in another state. I brought home a pizza for my son and three bags from Goodwill (who gave me $5 off because it’s my birthday month). On the way I stopped at a Taco Bell, mainly for the bathroom break, but I also bought an iced coffee and cinnamon crisps. In the parking lot I found 7¢ and a receipt. I have downloaded Fetch and today I’m determined to figure out how to use it.
2. My insurance company rewarded me with $39 for my safe driving.
3. My condo was hot and stuffy when I got home so I turned on the air, but I turned it off again at bedtime, and was comfortable enough during the night. Still haven’t turned it back on, but I will when it gets uncomfortable.
4. Although it is hardly soup weather, I’ll be making soup today to use up vegetables.
5. After I made coffee this morning, I put the grounds in the fridge to use again, with a little fresh layer of grounds on top.
1. I nagged an organization on behalf of my son’s girlfriend in order to finally get the paperwork she needed to qualify for financial aid for college. She has a difficult situation and they were giving her the run-around, but weren’t ready for my (polite yet firm) mama bear interference. Now she qualifies for grants, which will save her thousands on her tuition.
2. Canned 14 pints of tomatoes, which were gifted to me by a friend a couple of weeks ago.
3. Picked up a library hold (Ruth Goodman’s “How to Be a Victorian”). I also grabbed two magazines and another book from the free give-away stacks put out by the Friends of the Library.
4. Scored a roll of free window screen material from the dumpster behind one of my worksites. The package and one end of the screen material was slightly damaged. Now I have enough screening to repair the last two screens in our home!
5. We spent a lazy afternoon and evening at home reading, knitting, enjoying the summer rain, and being cozy. Although I am usually a summer child, days like this make me long for the quietness of our PNW big dark season!
Hooray for Mama(-in-law) Bear interference! I have zero tolerance for college bureaucrats who make it difficult for the students. Glad you could help your son’s gf. You’re gonna be a great MIL some day!
My now husband went back to school in his mid 20s and his university was giving him a hard time about some classes and what order he had to take them in after an advisor had messed up. Long story short , it took my 115 lb butt yelling at some grown old men and threatening to stop paying (I wasn’t even) for them to be whipped into shape.
I’m sure she appreciates you advocating. What is with higher education and their bs?
I’ve returned home from getting a caregiver started for my mother, which has completely flattened me. So this is the money-not-spent edition.
1. I’m overwhelmed with free apples and berries and my own grapes. We will eat these 3 fruits only until they are gone, or decreased to a more manageable volume. So no money spent for produce.
2. Received a random $20 off $20 from Soma and bought a pair of no-lines panties for $0 out of pocket.
3. Enjoying my gleaned sunflowers for zero cost cheer.
4. Watered our entire property with the last of the stored rainwater.
5. Brought home a just-right sized basket from my parents house. It was bought in England before they moved here.
For those who dislike the smell of coffee, you can also use a scented dryer sheet in your car. Or a bar of scented soap. I hide mine underneath the seat. Baking soda in the ashtrays (assuming you’re a non-smoker; need to leave ’em open) also helps remove stinky odors.
1. Took those 18 closet doorknobs to Re-Store this morning (didn’t get around to it yesterday) along with some discarded regular doorknobs that match the design. Got the receipt in case its needed for income tax.
2. Took an unneeded/never used small appliance and wrong-sized phone holder to Goodwill for 20% coupon and receipt.
3. Checked out a farm and ranch/feed store (located in our CITY, not out in a rural area) that an animal rescue activist recommended; they said you could get some good prices on dry Purina One. Knew I was in enemy territory when I pulled in the driveway and there were all these Trump and 2nd Amendment and NRA (Ntl Rifle As’sn) bumper stickers on the dirty pickup trucks driven by even dirtier-looking men. Who appeared to be from Duck Dynasty. Inside the store, I looked around and enjoyed seeing their live chicks and ducklings for sale. Bought Snuggy some dog biscuits and toenail clippers (products meant for large dogs) and got the heck out of there! (Quick before they see my Democrat stickers!) Figured I didn’t really need a 60-pound bag of Purina One; it’s not worth throwing my back out to save a few bucks. (Oh, and the bones at Ollie’s Outlet are cheaper.)
4. Have been staying out of big box chain stores — Walmart, Target, Lowes and Home Depot. I believe they are all on the boycott list. Even if they’re not, it saves me some serious $$$$$.
5. We’ve been seeing a lot of squirrels around the house. Even on the porch and patio. Mr. Snuggles to the rescue! Meanwhile, that’s a sign we may have a colder-than-usual winter, and it may start early. I think the Farmer’s Almanac is also indicating that may be the case.
Years ago, DH was standing in line to check out at the independent farm supply store, and a woman walked up to him and said, “You’re a liberal! You got on those little glasses!” Both of those statements were correct, but it was a strange correlation to make.
We quit shopping there after that because the cray-cray level of the customers was just a bit much.
I don’t think I’m going back in there, Ruby. You’re right about cray-cray conservatives.
But where I work, some of the customers are just as bad. This p.m., one told me she thinks Biden didn’t follow the Constitution at all — but Trump is doing OK. (Beam me up, Scotty! There’s no intelligent life down here!)
Yes, but what about Roger Stone?
Artifically scented products are what would be the issue for me, I hate those smells. I don’t even like natural strong floral smells like daphne and roses.
Me! I find the smell of coffee revolting. Grew up with my dad making coffee every morning and I still hate it. I can’t even go into a coffee shop like Starbucks because I can’t breathe. One time, talking with a colleague, I was about to let her know her breath was utterly horrid…but then I realized she was drinking coffee.
Lol
You must be a “super smeller.” Your super power!
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/what%e2%80%99s-your-superhero-power/
I lived in Jacksonville, Florida for a number of years when the Folgers coffee plant was in production. I never liked the smell of coffee, and on some days when the air was heavy, that’s all you could smell … It was overwhelming to me and others absolutely loved it.
Not in my neighborhood but others near where I grew up were near the Upjohn Pharmaceutical plant and on certain days the air just reeked of penicillin. Driving through it was bad enough.
There is a medical marajuana production facility in our town. Pretty colors of the kaliedoscope (sp?) and everyone is high.
I grew up in the 60s & 70s in Akron, Ohio. So many days we had the putrid smell of all the rubber factories making tires. Disgusting. In 1990, we moved near the Schwebel bread factory in another town. I have to say the fresh baked bread smell was a definite improvement!
I grew up in Battle Creek Mi, ” Cereal Capital of the World” and sometimes they burned the corn flakes, sometimes it was a really sweet smell, just depended on what was being made. Sadly, cereal not being made there anymore.
When we were first married, we lived in Omaha right across the railroad tracks from the potato chip factory. It’s a great smell, but anything can get to be way too much!
Eons ago,I worked in the A & P as a cashier.
Those who purchased their 8 o’clock coffee could get the beans ground right there.
It took me years to not gag at the smell of coffee and many customers would say,” doesn’t that smell great”.
After 8 hours,nope.
Not a smell, but my DH grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, which used to be a big paper producing town. He has said on more than one occasion that you could tell what color paper the mills were making that day, based on the color of the Little Miami River that day. (The Little Miami runs through Hamilton, obvs.)
The Little Miami has cleaned up significantly! Still on its way but significantly better than before.
1) DH and I cut each other’s hair. Maybe not perfect, but definitely frugal.
2) Used our filled punch card today to get free oil change and tire rotation.
3) Had a simple lunch: 1 very ripe plum. Still full from breakfast.
4) Shopping the “pantry” (well, grocery tote) of the stuff we got from DBIL. Have to get that stuff used up first. There is a tuna can size can of salmon. DH is getting salmon cakes this week.
5) Got a big package of baby bella mushrooms from the food bank a week ago. Still good, but needed rescuing – FAST. Cleaned them (used a new toothbrush – have lots of those) and threw them in my dehydrator. Just enough room for them. Going to try grinding the dried mushrooms into a powder to sneak into meatloaf, lasagna, stroganoff, etc.
6) Anyone know if this might work or have another idea how to use them. Bought a box of Hostess Cinnamon Coffee Cakes (pkg of 8) that were on the clearance cart. We each tried one and didn’t care for them. I thought about dehydrating the remaining 6 cakes, grinding them up, and using them as a substitute for some of the flour in banana bread or zucchini bread. Thoughts?
Maybe make them into some kind of bread pudding?
Bread pudding, yum! Mixing pieces of coffee cake with other bread might help in either bread pudding or a French toast casserole. I’ve never dehydrated anything on purpose, but that would be amazing if grinding it worked. If you like oatmeal, you could add some pieces of finely chopped coffee cake for extra sweetness. “Could” being the operative word as you know I love odd combos!
Oatmeal – YES!
Bread Pudding –
That was supposed to be Bread Pudding – gag me with a fork!
I have never had bread pudding, just know others eat it. Sounds too much to me like Glorified Rice, which I had at a friend’s house when I was little. Cold rice with sugar, cream/milk, and raisins– put me off rice and raisins for years.
I wish my husband would let me cut his hair, although he objectively looks much better when he gets a store bought cut.
1) My husband and I had severe sticker shock when we found out what our renovation is going to cost. We immediately went into NCA mode and went through the plans with a fine tooth comb to enlighten us and our builder about where we can compromise/save.
2) We will be eating at home as much as possible which will save about $250 a month. Starting a list of quick meals to make or freeze for future me. Also, this week, I duplicated a wonderful restaurant meal I had a recently. Made a blueberry bbq sauce and pickled some red onions which I canned for future use.
3). Altered a shirt given to me that did not fit. Now it does! Also adjusted the fit on a dress I had made and now I am inspired to alter another top. New clothes without spending more money! And using what I have instead of hanging them in the closet thinking about why I dislike them.
4) Rolling coins I have had in my closet for years.
5). Contacted Hulu and got a refund on my credit card for charges made without service. It took an hour on the phone and did not happen until I threatened to dispute it with the credit card company. Worth it even though it was only $3.20. They would have kept charging even though my subscription had run out.
I love “NCA mode!”
Good for you for standing up for $3.20!
Thanks for posting so regularly. I enjoy reading this blog for inspiration and motivation.
1. I rode my bike to work 4 out of 5 days. That’s 14 miles round trip each day. Not a problem physically, but I have to brace myself for the speeders and distracted drivers!
2. For food we have been shopping the property… pantry, freezer, garden.
3. Borrowed a pass to a local museum for my husband and brother-in-law from the library. Saving them $30!
4. Co-worker gave me some extra veg from her garden, and unopened facial wipes. Weird combo but I can put both to good use.
5. Waited for Ohio’s tax holiday to buy a pair of running shoes.
Thank you for your kind words. I often wonder if I can find fresh content, but somehow I mostly do.
That is an impressive amount of cycling, well done!
If you know anyone who likes to read on their Kindle between 13-26 years old in the US they can get a free digital public library cards to use in the free Libby app (you can have multiple library cards in Libby) through the Books Unbanned program.
Cool!
Put some diluted white vinegar in a spray bottle and mist all the surfaces. If it is a sunny day leave the windows down for a few hours afterwards.
The problem is that our minivan has leather seats, so it would just sit on the surface.
1. My recent trip to the GW outlet was absurdly crowded and lacking in exciting finds. I did manage to find about 8 clothing items for my oldest nephew, including a paw patrol tee (his favorite), to add to his birthday gifts. Instead of mailing them/paying postage, I’ll force my parents to shove them in their luggage to bring back when they visit next week.
2. I gave away kohls cash and old navy super cash in our BN group for those needing back to school deals. My little one is pretty set on clothes for a while.
3. I spent most of the day yesterday hand scrubbing floors. We cancelled our cleaning crew when I decided to quit my job to be home with my little one and find floors are what are hardest to keep up with.
4. Put together a thrifted gift for a 1 year old party. Ended up having to miss it due to a fever , but a nice fat Brain toy, Hannah Andersson Pjs and a “never touch a “ book, all thrifted for around 7 dollars. Retail would have been 50 at least! And my friend is happy to receive second hand items.
5. Grabbed some marked down steaks, revived old wrinkly peppers for veggie flat bread, used leftover flat bread spread for cucumber sandwiches, told my husband (lovingly ) to suck it up and eat some leftovers , trying to keep our grocery bill as low as possible.
Bonus: I have a full week planned with my toddler of free activities in the area including splash pad, a free museum, and a “beach” day at a state park. Now that kids are back in school, my 14 month old won’t get clobbered by older kids running around everywhere!
Not everyday can be an “exciting finds” kind of day.
You’re right and I need to get better about remembering that. I think it frustrates me right now because I will use my husbands off Fridays (every other week) to go camp out there and hope to find items to flip. Our regular goodwill and arc stores have gotten crazy with prices. So when I have a “bad” thrift day feels like I wasted the day/opportunity to be kid free lol!
Many coffee haters posted their loathing. I never liked coffee. No one in my family drank it except my mother. During COVID Starbucks ran a promotion for one year. Healthcare providers got a free small hot or iced coffee each day. I thought I’d try an iced coffee. I got one w/ flavoring & actually enjoyed it. Now I like iced coffee. I make my own from the husband’s leftover coffee, milk, sugar free vanilla flavoring, and Stevia. In winter, I’ll go back to hot tea. I still don’t like hot coffee. Who knew I could like coffee!
I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but I do love the smell.
Coffee beans! I’m always learning something new here.
1. Donated a box of items to Habitat Restore.
2. Received from Buy Nothing: cream for coffee, two steel hooks, and two 1/2 cup scoops for dog food (one for home and one for travel).
3. Helped a Buy Nothing member who requested items for her Montessori classroom.
4. My sister and I attended a picnic/shredding event at our financial advisor’s office. Enjoyed free food and music.
5. Received an unexpected $11 refund check due to overpayment at eye doctor.
Free food and free shredding?! You know that’s my dream!
That’s a great idea for the car freshener – I recently read that the store-bought ones are full of toxic chemicals that you are breathing in so it’s a win for health and frugality.
1. Currently on a house sit that includes chickens, so we have free fresh eggs every morning in return for collecting them.
2. The house also has a pool, so we spent the morning cooling down from the 100+ heat. Our local HOA pool is always full of children as it only opens when they are out of school (crazy rule) so it’s great to swim in private
3. Brought lots of produce and salad stuff with us to eat here rather than drive to restaurants. DH has always been a bit “but we are on holiday” and wants to eat out, but I have gradually converted him
4. Gone through my bag and scanned receipts to Fetch, CoinOut, Ibotta and Google Rewards. I’m sure there are more but it’s hard to keep track of them all. Used my free time here to do play some games on Fetch as well, which earns points too.
5. Picked fresh mint to put in my free green tea (from bags given away in DH’s work hotel stays). Will take a small rooted sprig when I leave and plant it in my own pot as my mint at home is looking very sad.
I love this house sit, it has everything!
Many years ago, our cat managed to fear-pee through the cat carrier door and down the side of the seat in my minivan. We cleaned it, but in hot, humid weather the car smelled of Eau de Kittycat. I would make up sachets of whole cloves wrapped in a paper towel and put them in discreet spots around the inside of the van. It helped a lot.
Poor kitty, poor you.
Just the inspiration I needed for the car freshener! I tried this a few weeks ago with dried lavender which smells heavenly. Unfortunately, I found out it sheds lavender dust…even through the barely there mesh holes. So I put it in my sweater storage. I’m going to try your coffee bean idea! Also inspired to make some scones tonight! They freeze really well, which will make for delicious homemade treats to enjoy with my tea during my afternoon break!
1. The Celebration of life that I took my mom to was really lovely, and although mom had been losing sleep about her speech she did a wonderful job. I stood up with her as ‘backup’ which did make me laugh a bit, as I cry at the drop of a hat when things are emotional – however she got through all but the last two sentences. She turned to me to help her out and I had to really GULP before I could squeak out the next line. In the end we read the final sentence together. She got applause, which they weren’t really doing for the other speakers.
2. At the celebration we feasted on a great spread of sandwiches, warm finger food, lots and lots of fruit, and sweet desserts, as well as good coffee. I made a point of eating and enjoying a meals worth of sandwiches, as did mom – they had enough food so we didn’t skimp, although we also didn’t pile our plates.
3. Mom was given a lovely lovely bouquet of flowers by the daughter of the man who had died – it was in water, in a plastic pail from the florists. The daughter knows my mom is a fabulous flower arranger so it was a bunch of flowers rather than an arrangement.
Mom was so pleased with them, and quickly cut the ends and got them into a vase when we got home.
Mom’s short-term memory is failing, however it was kind of sweet, for one, because she told me 5 times how beautiful the flowers were and how much she was going to enjoy them. I’ll take that kind of repetition ANY day!
I got to keep the plastic pail, which I covet for my property – I sometimes can get the pails from our local florist, and they are so very useful for everything when we harvest. I also use them when sorting bulbs or collecting seed.
4. Frugal win – I returned the oversized underwear for a credit, as part of my errands after the celebration of life. The store didn’t have the right size so I just got a credit.
Frugal fail/kind of win? – I was in the store with my mom, and the lady ahead of us had a complicated purchase – the teller was really gracious about playing the ‘discount’ game with her, although it was going to take longer. Mom was happy poking around the store, and I am always into seeing someone cash in points with creative purchases, so it was a while before I got to the counter.
I did my credit, and turned around to find my mom with some 60% off items that I have actually been looking for.
Yes, I know, not used, but finding my size and colours in the thrift stores hasn’t been happening. I ended up making some serious purchases of items made of linen and cotton that I will likely wear for 20 years, and my receipt listed the savings so I could see that I spent about 40% of the regular retail. My mom was having a wonderful time chatting with the ladies, and then I convinced HER to purchase a new (discounted) Tee-shirt (for all of $16) – she was saying that she shouldn’t buy anything any more as she is “so old”, but the ladies did remind her that she could sometimes get something nice for herself.
5. An ‘oops’ that won’t be a long term problem – I loaned one of my cars to an acquaintance. As we were taking the forgotten power washer out of the trunk (still there from when I loaned it to my son), she handed me a huge package of toilet paper that I had clearly also forgotten about.
BOOM – I am now feeling Lindsey-rich in TP, as I had just purchased another big package. Oh, well, it’s not like it goes bad!
Hi Ecoteri,
I’d love the name of the business where you scored the linen items. I have an 87 year old friend who is such a classy dresser. She wears linen items dating from her youth regularly. Oh my does she look great!!
@Momma T, the business is Northern Reflections – in Canada. they sell a lot of things online, free shipping over a certain price. The sizes are fairly true/middle of the road. the quality of most items is good, their teeshirts are less so although they aren’t thin cotton. I do have to carefully check the ‘ingredients’ of the material as they sneak some polyester in.
I remember being really thrilled for you when you found that bag of Command strips, Katy! LOL It’s because I have become almost addicted to finding unusual things at Goodwill that people might not think to look for, but that over time save you crazy amounts of money.
When I recently found a package of expensive envelopes at Goodwill for $1 I was pretty excited. I just don’t think people think of office supplies when they head into a Goodwill.
You are, obviously, the queen of this! Haha (Giggling, but it’s still true!)