Five More Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on April 20, 2025 · 14 comments
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My husband and I took a nice long walk through the neighborhood today, which included the library, Fred Meyer for work lunches supplies and H Mart for steamed bao. The weather was perfect and since my ideal date is “errands with a snacky ending” I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.
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I scrolled though my stagnant eBay listings and lowered the prices on almost everything. I’m thisclose to donating everything back to Goodwill to in the name of getting my downstairs spare bedroom back, so hopefully this’ll prompt at least a couple of sales.
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I hung out with my youngest at their apartment last night and treated us to takeout. However, I kept it on budget by choosing “kid’s meals” for both of us from a nearby burger restaurant, which brought each meal down from $13.20 to $7.95! It was probably fewer fries, but that’s probably for the best anyway. We then watched an episode of Black Mirror through my Netflix account to complete the evening.
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I brought home a small carabiner that someone put out in front of their house. They’re very handy to keep on hand, but I’m pretty sure that I used the last of my stash of random carabiners when I hung my backyard string lights a couple years ago.
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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1. Used Hallmark rewards to get two free cards
2. Did our big Costco and grocery store shopping. Did not have our usual lunch out
3. Did not buy chocolate bunnies or eggs for Easter
4. Signed up for free herb growing class
1. My youngest daughter moved to a town two hours away. My daughters and my son-in-law helped with the move. We did have to rent a moving van unfortunately. We got a 20 ft Uhaul because it was on special vs. a more appropriate size for her small amount of furnishings.
2. My mom watched mine and my daughter’s dogs for us. It was a very long day of moving.
3. My daughter’s box spring for her bed didn’t fit up the tight stairway. Fortunately there was a platform of slats that came with the bed, so it was unnecessary. Unfortunately we didn’t just leave the box spring behind when we realized that. Fortunately we found a recycle center open on Saturday and we were able to dispose of it before we returned the truck. It did cost $40 so I guess it’s a win, lose. She also didn’t need to buy a bed skirt (she didn’t like the old one).
4. I made two pans of chicken, sweet potato and black bean enchiladas the night before to feed everyone helping with the packing up and moving. This used up several things I had on hand.
5. I gave my daughter her dad’s old drill. I have his old cordless one and he had two with cords and other miscellaneous old drills. One more thing out of my house and saved her the cost of buying a new drill. My mother gave her some of her grandpa’s old hand tools. Now she has a set of essential tools. I put the hand tools in a small wooden tool box from a toy tool set I had bought for one of my daughters when they were little.
1. Brought home rice from a Thai lunch out and made delicious rice pudding with it.
2. We had a guest for movies and dinner. I was cooking anyway so no money was spent for a very entertaining afternoon.
3. I found 4 Sumo oranges for .99 on the reduced produce rack. These were much smaller than most Sumos, probably the reason they were reduced.
4. Frugal for someone else- I had a grocery coupon for $17 off a $170 purchase. When I did a big shop, I came in $20 short to be able to use the coupon. It was about to expire so I asked the cashier to use it for someone else.
5. Used $10 off in Walgreens points on a tube of expensive muscle rub.
1. Built a new garden bed out of old lumber
2. Washed some large sized soup cans to use as scoops for bird seed and chicken feed.
3. Pulled weeds and gave them to my chickens to eat. They love dandelions.
4. Saving banana peels, coffee, grounds, and egg shells in different jars to use in my garden.
5. I didn’t get rejected by the Pope at Easter because I’m a cruel, capricious idiot.
Julia, I found a gallon size vinegar jug works perfect for feed
Marie, did you make a scoop out of the gallon jug for chx feed?
1. I found a quarter while walking to the library to return a book.
2. I used a gift card to buy an archival box to store old photographs.
3. I used my ride-free card on public transit, even though I now have a car at my disposal.
4. Made French toast sticks for breakfast out of bread heels.
5. I didn’t destroy any federal agencies that were working just fine, thank you very much.
ManyFT – the saved-up-due-to-travelling version
1. Turned off the heat!
2. Visited my dented vegetable store, got $20ish of veg at their usual great prices, including extra discounted celery and cucumbers and green onions from the marked down shelves. My fridge was almost empty of vegetables before I went on my trip to Turkiye, so I am needing to do some crisper stocking up.
3. I visited my local grocery store on the last day of their flyer. I went for cream, and ended up purchasing a fresh turkey (as all the discounted frozen ones are gone). Being away, I have missed the lead-up to Easter, so feel a bit frazzled about doing a dinner, however will get the bird roasted and we will have dinners the easy way when I get the bird cooked – never again will I roast the turkey on the day of the family feast!
Whole fryer chickens (twin pack) were on sale, and as it was the last day there was a package with two $2 discount stickers, so I made out like a bandit.
I also picked up a few boxed items that I usually don’t have, but the price was right and #2 son and I will enjoy them.
4. I was called in for last minute grandbaby care: my daughter-outlaw has been struggling with sciatica and wasn’t comfortable driving due to the meds she is on, so my son took her to her acupuncture appointment.
Before I left my house for theirs, I prepped for dinner – one of my discount chickens went into an Instant pot container with a coating of BBQ sauce – covered and in the fridge. Basmati rice was set to soak, and broccoli was cut up and put back into its bag, ready to steam.
When I got home it was so fast to set up the Instant pot, start the rice in the cooker, and put the broccoli on when everything else was cooked. I was thanking past-Ecoteri – knowing that the food was ready to start meant that ‘eating out’ alternatives didn’t even occur to me.
The chicken has been picked, the meat is in the fridge, the bones are in the IP. I will cook the second chicken with a different flavour profile, and put those bones into the broth-pot for increased umami.
5. Frugal owie is that the little car my daughter returned to me seems to be having some kind of engine trouble. I have a testing device, but #2 son had it so I haven’t yet run the diagnostic. I am planning to take the insurance off this car, however #1 son needed to borrow my other car while I was away, so I am not sure what I am going to do. I do want to address the mechanical issue, though, before I park her for a while (if that is what we end up doing).
• update- we used the plug in cheapo diagnostic and apparently one cylinder isn’t firing . Darn. Will take it in for a look-see on Tuesday.
6. I thought I was out of chicken feed, so was going to purchase more yesterday, but of course it was Good Friday, so no luck. Turns out the kids put the feed into my truck, when #1 son borrowed the car where the feed was originally stored. I discovered this when I jumped into the truck (not driving the little car until diagnosed and fixed) to go vote at the advanced polls. Yay, there is lots of feed left so that expense can be delayed.
7. Many of the seeds I planted before I went on holiday have begun to come up – I have my work cut out for me, as my raised beds need some TLC and I have so little ‘spare’ time. I do, however, really desire to get an excellent garden planted and thriving, so planning my days seems to be in the cards. Not over-doing it will be possible only if I do a bit every day.
8. Now that I am home from my expensive and fabulous holiday, I am going to need to tighten my belt a LOT. I made an investment in a lovely Turkish knotted rug, which wasn’t in my bingo card, yet is something I have wished for for over 30 years. It was discounted due to us being there during the off-season, but it WAS a few bucks – we were at the actual factory/ training facility and got a super lesson in how rugs are made and what to look for.
I so rarely purchase things for my home, and am excited for when the rug shows up at my door; although I will be financially tight for a few months, I know that I will appreciate the rug for the rest of my life.
My best buddy is an interior designer, and we have occasionally spent time in each other’s homes working on sorting out rooms or cupboards. I have asked her for some ‘together’ time in my living room, as I need her discerning eye to help me divest myself of ½ the things in here in order to open things up. I imagine I will be moving furniture around, and probably will be passing on some pieces that I no longer need. The joy of doing this with my buddy is that we usually end up laughing until we cry – there is so much inner growth and soul searching involved, always easier with a friend.
9. I got a phone message from my local pharmacy – I won this month’s gift draw! I was away when they left the message, but they said they would hold it for me. I just picked up the basket, and it contains useful things like glycerine soap, pump hand soap, shower body wash and a poofy, (do they think I am dirty? LOL) plus toothbrushes and various grooming items, and other random things. Free is always appreciated – although I will likely pass on to someone the ‘personal lubricant’; there is no need for THAT in my current relationship-free lifestyle!
10. Hung the first load of laundry – yesterday was warm, so I also had the front door open for a while, which can be tricky if the chickens are being inquisitive as they sometimes enter the house.
No chickens today and the house smelled divine. As does the laundry.
11. I thought my recently purchased headphones (Shokz – they fit in-front of my ear and I ‘hear’ through my head-bones, leaving my ears open to hear other things) were kaput, as I was unable to get them to connect to my new phone when I was on my trip – a pain as I couldn’t really listen to some things I wanted to as I was sharing a room with my sister.
When I was going to see my grandbaby yesterday, I remembered to take the headphones, as I wanted to ask my very technical son if he had any ideas. He was, of course, able to make them work while doing EXACTLY what I had been doing. Annoying, yet also YAY, as I don’t have the hassle of trying to get them replaced.
12. After a (thanks jetlag) interrupted sleep night, I now have cooked the second discount chicken in my IP using fancy spices from Turkiye, and have even stripped the meat from the skin and bones. I got all the previously cooked bones and stock cooking again with the newly freed skin and bones, and that broth is now strained and cooled and stored in the fridge in canning jars. The dog got a lot of ‘kibble topper’ from the waste skin and the bones were crumbly so she is able to eat those, too. Happy dog.
13. Sleeplessness also had me picking through black beans and setting them to soak, they will be instant potted a bit later. I know I can just IP dry beans, but this batch of black beans are much older than they ought to be, so a long soak can only help – and a very long pressure cook
1. Last week I got a little “creative” with additions to a meat loaf, rendering it tasty but decidedly “unloafey”. My first rescue attempt was to stick it in the freezer, because everything knows if you freeze a mistake it fixes itself. Well, no… So I pulled it out along with a tub of leftover rice I had also frozen, then raided the fridge and freezer for bits and bobs to create a Universal Casserole, which is baking as I write this. Meat “loaf”, rice, homemade taco sauce, leftover pot roast gravy, green beans and sweet peppers still good but going, a sad square of cheese, 1/2 cup of panko: it smells great in the oven. Life is too short to eat soupy meat loaf.
2. In the spirit of something from nothing I’ve mixed up a huge batch of Frugalwoods’ pumpkin bars. I add dried cranberries, flax seed, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and chopped nuts to her recipe to create a breakfast bar that could sustain life on its own. I have a slab of this every morning, and one batch lasts for a couple of weeks (I freeze it in a week’s portions). As soon as the outmeal finishes soaking I will add it and bake 18-20 breakfasts.
3. Haul outside the glass bin at recycling yesterday: someone set a box to the side with 1 dozen Bon Mamam jars with lids, all clean and nice and boxed up ready to go!
4. Not frugal for me, but I collected and passed on a bunch of good boxes and clean bubble wrap to a friend who is moving. I also passed on a large amount of very expensive dog food that my dog has become allergic to, to my brother and SIL for their dogs, who can eat anything. (My dog is 130 pounds and theirs are 7 and 12 pounds respectively, so a serving of his food goes a very long way.)
5. Went to a rally yesterday. Didn’t get arrested (actually nobody got arrested) so I didn’t need bail money.
1. Received a ham (pork shoulder) from the local food bank on April 12 as well as some green beans. Made ham, string beans and potatoes for an easy Easter dinner. Reaped 7 servings. Also made broccoli salad with broccoli florets and chopped up the stems to use in Wisconsin Cheddar Soup (broccoli cheese soup that also has carrots and cauliflower in it).
2. Husband went to church (same church that does the food bank distribution). Food Bank Director announced they had a surplus of eggs…help yourself. My husband grabbed 2 dozen!
3. Have a load of laundry out on the clothesline an a second one about finished to be hung.
4. I drive a school van (special needs students and “out-of-district” students). Among the 10 kids I drive; 6 are Amish (2 families, 3 kids each). One of the Amish mothers gave me a loaf of homemade bread and an amaryllis bulb with planter for Easter.
5. Yep, winter is over for most of us. However, here’s a frugal tip for next winter… Our former landlord told us to get WATER SOFTNER CRYSTALS (not the pellets) to use instead of Rock Salt or Ice Melt. Works the same and significantly cheaper.
1, A young woman came to the door whilst I was unpacking some items. She wanted to sell us some sore of water treatment plan. She said our city water was on the level of swimming pool water. I replied I was going to the local water dept. this week to set up an account. I will ask the Water Dept. if we are drinking swimming pool grade water. (The young saleslady was nice but “no” to the water tx plan.)
2. Treated the man who helped us do some moving for a dinner out. I had a BOGO coupon. My husband & I split a meal. The helper got his own meal. Plenty of food. Even had enough for a take-out box. Hubby ate leftovers the next day for lunch.
3. Our Easter meal will be leftover pasta with sauce.
4. Saw a toaster oven at Habitat store. Appliances are 25% off this Wed. Will go buy it then, It was tucked away in an odd place so I don’t think anyone will snag it.
5. We wore things we already owned on Easter for church. Hubby wore a pair of dress pants I bought at a garage sale for 1$. They are his all occasion dress pants when needed.
If you’re ever curious about the quality of your local water, jump online and look at the CCR report. It is an EPA mandated report that condenses your community’s water treatment tests results on an annual basis.
Most of the folks selling water systems are salesmen and not capable of treating drinking water. Your city cannot distribute water chlorinated to the level of a pool, it simply isn’t permitted.
1. Husband and I moved large boulders that we inherited with our house and used them in our landscape. (They were piled up in the backyard where the previous owners were planning to build a water feature but never did.) We used a dolly, a crowbar and sheer brute strength to move those boulders. There are three massive ones left that we can’t possibly move without a skid steer, so they’re staying out.
2. Made a dip out of sour cream, mayo, zesty cheddar popcorn seasoning (received in a gift basket) and black pepper. It’s great on crackers – tastes like cheese and crackers! Also good with raw veggies.
3. Continue to benefit from my Buy Nothing group. Last week, I was the lucky recipient of a file organizer, peanut oil, picnic basket, windbreaker for husband, and more river rock. I also listed several things so the circle continues to go round.
4. Due to foot issues, I soak my feet every day. I’ve started saving the water to water plants or boil it to kill more weeds. I also use the boiling water left after steaming veggies on the weeds.
5. Saved aquafaba from a can of beans and used in place of eggs in banana bread, although I think eggs are still a good buy even at their higher price.
1. Bathed and brushed my dogs myself today and will use the little grinder on my old dog’s nails tonight. A few seconds per nail twice a week keeps her in good shape.
2. DH and I did a huge amount of yard work ourselves to clean up our side yard after having a potentially trouble-causing tree removed. The extra rocks I dug up were a nice addition to our flower bed wall.
3. Ate leftover soup from the freezer for lunch while my laundry was drying on a rack in the sun room. DH ate leftover roast chicken and salad.
4. Bought a bottle of window and screen cleaner that attaches to the hose to clean the windows I cannot remove from the frames to wash, and was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. There’s enough left to do the windows in the fall as well.
5. After these Herculean labors, beer and pizza out was mighty tempting, but I bought just some beer at the grocery store instead and saved about $50.