Five More Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on May 1, 2025 · 30 comments
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I set an alert on my iCal calendar to see if any library cultural passes were made available on May 1st at the stroke of midnight. I was able to check out two passes for both the Portland Art Museum (normally $25 apiece) and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. (Normally $10 apiece.) These date specific passes won’t gain me admittance until mid-July, but that’s okay. It’s a favor to my future self.
I’d hoped to score theater tickets, but those are only made available “every three months.” Maybe June 1st will be my lucky day? Either way, I’ve set an alert to check at midnight.
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I didn’t leave the house yesterday, unless you count taking out the trash. (Still a bit sick.) However, I did a deep clean of the kitchen and caught up on laundry. There really isn’t anything much more frugal than staying in the house we’re still paying for.
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I brought up another $1 loaf of Franz Organic 24-Grain bread from the freezer this morning. (Currently selling for $7.99 at Safeway!) Just a reminder to Portland folk that the Franz Bakery Outlets sell their day-ish old bread for a buck apiece on the first Saturday of each month!
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I flossed and brushed my teeth using products from Dollar Tree and then washed and conditioned my hair using White Rain brand shampoo and conditioner from Dollar Tree. Nothing wrong with being unabashedly cheap. I’m even thinking I should probably stock up a bit before tariffs hit.
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I’m loaning a library book to a family member as there’s a still a week before it’s due.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
You may remember that I got the Jewish museum passes earlier in the year, but I returned them for someone else to use as my schedule changed.
1. Leftovers for lunch, coffee at home, suntea out of the many teabags stocked up in my pantry.
2. Solar Power laundry line, chickens eating up our food scraps, including the cat food that my picky cat won’t eat.
3. Swarmed by mosquitoes and bitten, so I used the natural remedy of apple cider vinegar on a reusable cotton pad to wipe down the bites and take the sting away. After you scratch them, this is not pleasant, but if you haven’t scratched them yet this is super helpful.
4. I got decent steaks marked down 30% so we had that last night, plus the root vegetables made into hash. That turned into steak and hash for breakfast.
5. I’m focusing on giving the hens more calcium (crushed egg shells), and more protein, from our dinner scraps as well as whole sunflower seeds. They get plenty of fresh greens from our meadow/law: burdock, Clover, and native lettuce and grass. Yesterday I was rewarded with an egg! May it be the first of many.
Cats are such weirdos!
Hooray for THE EGG!
1. I ate dinner from the freezer again. I’m trying to clear it out. Since it’s just me here, I may just shut it down completely.
2. I gave myself a home pedicure. This is a time saver also. I’ll continue to do this as long as I can reach my feet.
3. I received my payout from Ebay. It’s not much, but was just enough to pay my electric bill. Every little bit helps.
4. I walked in my favorite place with one of my favorite people yesterday. Free exercise and amateur therapy. The weather was perfect and really lifted my mood.
5. I spent the day at home getting caught up before a weekend trip. No money spent.
Hooray that whatever you sold paid for electric bill, nothing to sneeze at!
Check this out
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/apr/24/how-to-not-buy-new-things
Rose, I saw something online from the Today Show. Their consumer reporter was also reporting on being a non- consumer. Katy, I’m surprised they didn’t interview YOU! We’re suddenly in fashion again!
They did, but it’s been awhile.
https://www.today.com/video/woman-buys-nothing-new-in-five-years-44558403909
Thanks Rose. Those are sobering statistics, especially the one stating about 80% of us having some type of consumer debt. And also the one about each of us spending $18,000.00 a year on non-essentials! Wha…???
1. Husband installed storm door I got free on Craigslist. It is sand colored & matches the brick on the house. The person we got it from thanked us for removing it as she could not put in bulk pick up trash.
2. Husband installing 2 ceiling fans. One I curb picked (new in box) and one from Next door Neighbor ad.
3. I needed some outdoor chairs. On my walk Tuesday evening I found 2 nice metal lawn chairs on a curb. One was a bit frayed at the top. I used a carpet needle and dental floss as thread to secure the canvas.
4. When setting up my water dept account I got a 100$ discount on the fees when I made my bill pay direct debit from my checking account.
5. I got my BFF a bagel for 1.00 at Panera for driving me to a destination. (The bagel discount popped up on my Sips Club account.)
Katy, I saw one of the cafe chairs you found last week was missing the back support. I wondered how you will repair it. (Always gleaning knowledge from this blog.)
I’m not sure that I will repair the back, I might just leave it the way it is.
I’m impressed with you and your husband’s projects!
Hope you’re back to feeling 100% ASAP!
1. I also didn’t leave the house yesterday – or today- which saved us significantly in some way- I’m sure!
2. I grabbed that free 8×10 photo print from CVS you shared (thanks again) and will pick it up the next time I leave the house.
3. Used all leftovers to create different meals and let nothing go to waste.
4. I’m currently reading a non-fiction book on Hoopla, listening to another non-fiction audio book on Libby and reading a novel – all thanks to our amazing public library. I’m also tracking my reading on the Beanstack app to be sure to contribute my participation in their Spring reading challenge. For participating I earned a free goody bag I picked up last week. It included a bottle of hand sanitizer, an eyeglass cleaning cloth, a bookmark, a pencil, a phone holder and a key chain that says I Love My Public Library.
5. I watched some YouTube videos for inspiration and then used materials I had around the house (a cracker box, fabric from an old shopping bag, scrap paper and glue) and made myself a summer junk journal.
Yay, I’m so happy you used the CVS coupon!!!
Hope you feel better fast, Katy. Summer colds are no fun!
1. Put 2 already-read books in the Little Free Library near school, and got me 2 new-to-me books.
2. Got a free house key thanks to an Ace Hardware coupon received in the mail.
3. Put the key on an advertising keychain I got free.
4. Cut open an “empty” tube of makeup foundation allowing me to use it a few more times. As others have noted, it is absolutely amazing how much “goody” is still in those “empty” tubes.
5. Did not buy the handcrafted jewelry I saw online at Etsy, but I sure wanted to: it was a bead bracelet that spelled out, in Morse code, an insult to the 34x Felon currently occupying the White House. There are also some T-shirts that have similar hidden messages in them, such as 86 #47. (86= Fire and 47 for him being the 47th president, God help us all.) While I am mightily tempted to buy them all, I think my $ would be better off going to the Democratic National Committee and similar non-Trumpy causes.
My ex husband is a bit of a big deal in the DNC. Believe me, they spend their time discussing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. I am sure the other side is basically the same. I personally can’t stand it.*
*Years and years ago I and some friends were watching the movie Time Bandits. (Which I love.) Fidgit, the main Time Bandit, had his authority questioned. He said, “Do you want to be the leader of this gang?” The others said, “No!, we agreed: NO leader!” Then Fidget retorted, “Right, so shut up and do as I say.” All of my friends pissed themselves laughing. I said, “Uhh, what?’ and they said that we me in a nutshell.
Don’t forget that you van use a Starbucks stir stick as a makeup spatula, like this:
https://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/five-teeny-tiny-frugal-things-2/
Hooray for a free key, I need a coupon like that.
1. Listed three things on Marketplace.
2. Brought my MIL to her MD appt. and we did errands and a thrift store stop. She paid for my thrift store finds ( two books) because I drove. She stayed for an early dinner with us and I sent leftovers fron last night’s dinner home with her.
3. Trying to run my dishwasher every other day to save electricity. I cook at home almost exclusively and I seem to use alot of dishes!
4. Working a shift at my sub job tomorrow and I will pack my lunch.
5. Re- reading the Mitford series by Jan Karon. Their folksy charm is soothing to me. Checking them out at the library.
Have you ever read anything by Miss Read, a British author? Simple but very soothing books. I think there were two series–it has been a long time since I read them but now might be a good time for me to dig them up again. She also wrote for Punch magazine.
I love Miss Read!
Actual cooking from scratch uses a lot of supplies.
I stocked up on my favorite shampoo when I noticed that it’s made in Canada. I have very fine, very fair hair, and I can’t get away with super cheap shampoo.
I brush my teeth with little tubes of expired toothpaste I got from my dentist. Also, tiny containers of expired floss. How floss expires, I don’t know.
I’m with you on the “How would floss even expire?”
I’m fully stocked on Dollar Tree toothpaste, but always accept the dentist samples for traveling.
1. Dinner was very easy (and cheap) as I was going to a protest at our state capitol this evening. Ham from the free Easter ham I froze, 1/2 a sweet potato, leftover broccoli and a cook in the pouch rice mix I bought for 60 cents.
2. Dropped my daughter off at karate early, left my car there and walked to the Capitol for the rally/protest. Rally ended just in time for karate pick up. Had a great time meeting up with friends, meeting new people and protesting the oligarchs.
3. Caught up with a friend when she dropped some plants of fir me on her way home from work. Saved me the 20 min drive to her farm to pick them up.
4. The chickens are now laying eggs in the rabbit hutch. Yea for eggs! And laughter at the very annoyed rabbit. Silly chickens.
5. Was gifted two trash bags of purple nettle, wild mustard and chickweed for the guinea pigs and the chickens. My friends know to save their weeds for me lol.
I did not kidnap anyone.
I love that your friend is saving her weeds for your creatures!
I hope you feel 100% soon Katy.
1. I got paid for working two days at my old job. I was also sent home with a free large sandwich and soda each afternoon. I’m happy to help out this family owned small business when I can.
2. The library notified me I’m off the stand-by list and on the list to attend the floral design class. All materials are free and we go home with an arrangement.
3. A friend gave me a bottle of non-alcohol wine. This friend likes the real stuff but knows I can’t drink alcohol due to a medication I’m on. She’s a peach!
4. Finished reading The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan PhD. A like minded friend lended it to me. It explains a lot although it still is hard to understand the blind devotion to him by SO many of our fellow Americans.
5. Katy, our patio set is a mish mash of pieces too. I never think about it when I’m out there with a library book and an iced tea in hand or chatting with friends and neighbors.
A free flower arranging class where the everything is supplied? That’s so cool! Your patio sounds perfect!
Took some of my husband’s old shoes, which were cleaned and polished, to Goodwill to donate today, and I found a perfect three-season cotton sweater on the racks for $6.24.
It was hot today and the grocery store that houses our insurance-preferred pharmacy has ultra-cheap soft drink machines outside. I tried to buy a drink after dropping off a prescription, but the machine dispensed the wrong flavor. The store gave me back my money plus 5 cents when I let them know it was stocked incorrectly.
Also went to Ollie’s Outlet (waves hi to A. Marie!) and bought greatly discounted trail mix, tea, canned tomatoes, shampoo, Reeses’s Big Cups candy clearance priced at 25 cents each, and an adorable stuffed tiger toy for Demon Puppy, who is growing up and does not rip up toys like she used to.
My husband requested that I sew him a shop apron, but my sewing stash had an old denim apron and magnetic snaps given to me long ago, so it was just a few minute’s work to put on the snaps and give him the apron.
Highly recommended frugal adult snack: the Monet crackers from Dollar Tree with Aldi’s $4.29 Winking Owl sangria. Very tasty if you like a sweet red wine.
Glad to read that I’m not the only fan of the “Monet” crackers! Hooray for a “three season” sweater, I’d never thought of it that way.
Feel better soon!
1) My daughter came over today to borrow beach chairs for a beach camping trip. While she was here I asked what else was on her list. She ended up borrowing a cooler, my portable compressor and hoses (to reinflate the car tires after driving on the beach) and I gave her 3 gallons of water from my emergency stash (I try to rotate out the water every other year) I also gave her a lunch out of the freezer to take to work.
2)I altered a dress that I already owned to wear to my niece’s wedding.
3)I used some left over rice to add to some Trader Joe’s fried rice to stretch the amount so we can have it for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.
4)I transferred some tomato seedlings to larger pots that I grew from free seeds.
5)I picked up a new book from my favorite author from the library
Thanks, I feel pretty much back to normal self today. Mostly.
I transplanted a tomato seedling today as well, twinsies!