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My husband just repainted our front porch, which means that everything that normally sits out front is currently residing in our back yard. Including this welcome mat, looking entirely worse for wear. Mind you, this was a curb find to begin with, although any wear is our own. You can see that it’s molting a fair amount of coconut “coir.”
My first thought was to find a used replacement mat, but then I began to wonder if it’s repairable. If I can darn a sock, then I can surely darn a welcome mat!
Do you have any ideas on how to keep this still functional item in use?
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I had my friend Sue over for a visit and assembled a small apple crisp for us to munch on with our tea. (She also brought bakery items, so we were fully set for sweet treats.) She mentioned how she never gets to go to other people’s houses, which reminded me that most people meet up in coffee shops, not one another’s homes. I prefer visiting at someone’s house as you get to linger without worrying that you’re loitering in a business. Just another benefit of extreme frugality.
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My friend who visited last week accidentally brought our spare key back to North Carolina. I might’ve told him to not worry about it, but it was on a special keychain. Today I received it back in the mail, although in an mysteriously lumpy envelope. It turned out to contain an additional three tea bags from hotels he stayed in after visiting with us, plus a handmade card from his wife. Perfect frugal gifts!
For those keeping track, this was one of the three keys that my sister just mailed back to us from NYC, as she repeatedly absconds with our spare keys! This key is having more exciting adventures then we are!
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I tried out a newly opened Popeye’s Chicken location to redeem a code I’ve been holding in my wallet for at least a year. For those who may not know, Popeye’s has a survey link at the bottom of every receipt, which then earns you two free pieces of chicken plus a biscuit with the purchase of a large drink. The drink alone is $3.79, (weirdly expensive, but I never order drinks so how would I know?) which balances out to a decently priced meal. I chose a lemonade/water mix, which was perfect for yet another hot Portland day. Cheap quickie food hack to keep in mind.
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My youngest’s partner keeps getting their deliveries stolen, so I told them to start ordering items to our house instead. Not only does this accomplish a safer landing spot for their packages, but it means I get to see both of them more often, so win-win!
Five Tiny Frugal Things
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Your ever-traveling set of spare keys reminds me of those old motel keys: they were always on a plastic keychain that said, “Drop in any mailbox. We guarantee postage.” Too bad you can’t have one of those made for your house! 😉
Funny frugal fail: I filled up a tall metal travel mug with coffee and added some milk as my “creamer.” Had it in my car Friday morning to take into the school where I was subbing. Left it in the car, and couldn’t go back out to get it. It was so hot Friday that when I got back into my car, the drink was still nice and warm. However, the milk had soured so I ended up having to pour out all that coffee. Yuck!
Using coffee grounds in my compost pile. If I just want one cup at home, I’ve been using my Keurig-like single serve maker, but for the larger travel mug, I got out the old 5 cup coffeemaker. (The single serve maker doesn’t brew enough for that purpose.) Anyway, in addition to java, the coffeemaker is churning out a lot of grounds and they’re all being used.
When I bought my little portable oven, I qualified for another 10% off coupon at Ollie’s Outlet. After the flooring and this, I should be buying stock in Ollie’s, LOL. But I can use that coupon for groceries!
Listening to radio over the computer. They’re doing a program about Paul McCartney! <3 ("Paul McCartney: Beatles and Beyond," produced for the BBC World Service. Not sure if it's online or not, but certainly worth the listen.) Sir Paul founded the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, which is housed in Paul's former grammar school — so cool! What a legacy: He saved the 1825 school building while giving the next generation of musicians a fantastic gift. I'm getting to listen free (OK, except for what I pay for internet), without paying for streaming or anything.
Did not turn the Center for Disease Control upside down by firing the person I just recently hired, thus causing unsolvable problems for the scientists and doctors, and no doubt horrible working conditions for the employees left behind. Another sad chapter in the seemingly never-ending saga of how the 34x Felon and his gang of idiots are ruining our country. (Get your vaccines ASAP before they're outlawed!)
Not sure I would want to be up close to that mat before a thorough washing. But for repair, maybe twine and a crochet hook? My mat like that simply rotted. I now use one of the recycled tire types. Bought new unfortunately.
We have also been meeting friends at cafes and restaurants. Splitting a meal with dh and drinking water keeps the cost down. I do like supporting our local small businesses, even with our cheap date tab. During covid we made a list of a few locally owned restaurants we hoped wouldn’t go under and would order a pick up from them every so often. They are all still in business.
Part of being frugal for me is just staying out of stores. I don’t really like shopping anyway. But happily spent hours with my niece wandering around while she shopped fornher birthday. I didn’t buy anything but lunch – another shared meal!
I mended two of my stash of grocery bags. They were swag gifts from a conference, but have the layer of insulation inside. I wasn’t sure they could hold up to the sewing machine, but figured it couldn’t hurt to try. We’ll test them out at the farmers market today.
I did redeem my red cross coupon for this last donation. In the past I donated them back to the red cross. The options did not overwhelm me. Mostly stores and restaurants I never go to. Redeemed for a hardware store, but I think I’ll go back to donating them. Not sure if the options are different in different parts of the country. I found the same at the coin machine. I used to be able to get a grocery store card (no fee), but that wasn’t an option anymore. Guess I’ll just be more intentional about using coins when paying with cash.
I will be very interested to see if that mat can be refurbished. No one would fault you if it had to go in the trash (gasp!) I would use lots of rattan cord and do a sew job along the edges. I would then get my paints out and freshen up all the flowers (are they flowers?) on it. Years ago I bought a welcome mat made out of some hard material like rubber or plastic. Every year it gets a spray paint job which makes it look brand new again. Shock and pleasantly surprise me with an improvement on this one.
And just maybe put it by the back door?
Also- if it can’t be saved, I bet it would make a pretty good weed barrier for a small area (covered with mulch, of course)
Ooh. That’s a good idea. I also feel like since it’s a natural material it would break down and not be so bad for the environment.
The weed barrier is a really good idea. I was about to suggest composting it, but Katy may not have a compost heap, so the weed barrier is better.
Or just cut off the damaged parts to make the side and bottom straight, just a little smaller.
I saw something about using acrylic paints to update a rug like that.
Cutting off the damaged parts was also my thought.
Maybe seal the edges with paint?
Try jute cording or twine…both neutral colors. I also like the idea of repainting the flowers. Please show us what you do with this mat.
Haha! Until you made this comment, I thought the green bits were moss. It’s Portland, after all…
I’d try adding some sort of heavy fabric binding to the mat or reweaving that section with cord. I guess you would trim it first and then glue a binding down before sewing it on by hand with an upholstery needle. Maybe a product to stop fraying could also be used? Seems like a lot of effort though.
Good morning. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone.
1. I am dog sitting today for my daughter and son-in-law while they visit a little beach town nearby.
2. I cut up some hairy carrots, a sad onion and some celery my mom gave me and portioned it for future soups. It’s in my freezer. A gift to my future self ;).
3. I roasted vegetables I’d cut up and froze a couple weeks ago. I added crispy tofu, rice and some homemade peanut sauce and have enough leftovers for a couple more dinners. I’m still getting the hang of cooking for one. I used my airfryer/toaster oven for the tofu and veggies instead of heating up my large oven. Since most of the ingredients are cheap and some free this is a great savings and when I compare it to the cost of eating out it feels like an even bigger win.
4. I transplanted a few volunteer plants to other areas where I’d like plants/flowers to fill in for the weeds. I’ve done this for a couple years now and weeding is becoming less of a burden.
5. I found a penny on the ground at the grocery store. Yes, I’ve recently come into some money.
I’m working again this morning, so that’s frugal. LOL
My husband and SIL had a golf event last night, so I got to watch the baby. My son picked up dinner supplies for me – for less than $20 I made dinner for my son, myself, and my daughter to have when she picked up the baby. So much cheaper than ordering something for all three of us, and it was delicious, if I do say so myself. And I do.
I agree with you, Katy, about certain foods being for certain meals being hogwash. My hubby’s event was catered by a local Mexican restaurant, and he brought me a serving home, which I had for breakfast while working. Delicious! And free, which always makes it tastier.
While watching the baby, she needed an outfit change. We have a large bag of hand-me-down baby clothes in different sizes, so it was so nice to just be able to grab her a cute outfit out of there.
Oh, I thought of another long-standing frugal thing. I like to listen to music while at work – I have tinnitus, so the background music drowns it out somewhat. I use my free Pandora station all the time and also use it in the car. (I also listen to Christmas music year-round as I find it soothing and beautiful, plus it is not distracting to me, and you can’t find that on regular radio or on the Sirius for which I used to pay.)
I like the idea of using that mat as a weed barrier under mulch — once a new free mat comes into your life.
1. The little free pantry had great supplies yesterday. I brought home two loaves of raisin bread and a bag of frozen broccoli florets. I think this is my free pile.
2. I am finally starting to make noticeable progress on my free jigsaw puzzle, but I still believe there are pieces missing. If that turns out to be true, I will take it back to a little free library with a warning message on it. If all the pieces are there, I will donate it to a senior residence.
3. Today I will chop and freeze two and a half green peppers. Should have done that yesterday, but I forgot.
4. Sharpened my chef’s knife and it is quite a weapon now! It will be up to the job!
5. Found another receipt which I scanned to Fetch. Also saw that the one that was under review was accepted. I see that Fetch pushes lots of activities, but all I plan to do with it is scan receipts. I assume the accumulation of redeemable rewards will be slow, but that’s okay.
We just got home from 2+ weeks in the Baltic states, and so limited frugality…
1. In Vilnius, we took the bus to the airport, despite it being 5:30 AM. Based on my research, this cost €1.25 per person rather than the estimated $45-60 for a rideshare or taxi. We did, however, take a taxi back home in Boston….
2. While on our trip, one B&B did not leave us enough toilet paper. We went to the store, and the 8-pack was less expensive than the 4-pack, so my souvenir was 6 rolls of toilet paper. I did want to buy a tube of Marvis toothpaste (I both love their packaging and their flavors) but after seeing that it was more than €7 a tube I walked away. A frugal fail was buying the wrong type of coffee pods for the coffee machines at the apartments we had rented at the first stop. I dutifully carried those pods for the rest of the trip, hoping that one of the coffee machines used the pods we bought (they did not).
3. We only brought 3-days worth of clothing (each), and I brought laundry pods from home, which I had gotten free from various mystery shops. We have switched to liquid, but I still have some pods, which I save for travel needs.
4. Our house/cat sitter has the tendency to order groceries while she is here and then leaves SO MUCH FOOD (like 3 tubs of hummus that she seemed to only take one bite out of each). We went through all of it, deciding what we could still eat/freeze. As part of it, we gave away 8 bananas (neither of us likes them) to our local Buy Nothing group. We did eat chips, I froze an unopened pint of heavy cream, eating the bread, and the rest I’ll make into breadcrumbs, partner is using unopened sliced turkey in his salad for lunch, etc.
5. My partner usually works on Thursday, the day that the CSAs pick-up at the store takes place. As such, he always gets a free CSA box, which is fantastic, but since we got home on a Thursday, we were going to miss it. I’m friends with the owner, and I asked if there was a leftover box, could we please have it? (He normally gives them away.) He not only gave us that, but there was also a leftover box for the “corn & fruit” subscription. We ended up with 10 pounds of organic, heirloom yellow tomatoes (which makes our favorite “golden gravy”), a clambox of black oyster mushrooms, 2 heads of lettuce, 2 zucchini, 3 peppers, and an eggplant, as well as 12 ears of corn and 12 peaches. I’ll process anything that we won’t eat. We also were totally jet-lagged and so we went to pick up the boxes from the store at 3:00 AM, thus avoiding traffic, and using less gas.
Bonus 6: Someone was giving away a box of kosher salt on the local Buy Nothing group, as they don’t care for the size of the salt crystals. I’ll walk over, a 30-minute walk on our bike path, for $3 worth of salt…
Could you trim the mat into on oval shape?
I’d have a hard time spending $3.79 on a drink! It does feel good to skip the drink at restaurants like that.
Maybe your kid’s partner lives in my neighborhood. Last time I ordered something online, it was gone within 10 minutes of hitting the front porch. My neighbor had something stolen in the time it took him to walk to the front door after the delivery man rang the bell. I frequently find opened Amazon boxes when I’m out walking. Sometimes, the contents are still inside, if it was something boring, like fermentation weights, or o rings, or replacement blender lids. In that case, I walk it over to the intended address. One time, I found a whole computer desk, still in the box, that was too big for the thief to carry, so they’d stashed it behind a shrub while they went to get a cart for it. My husband and I carried it back to the owner’s house. It’s ridiculous. Maybe living in my neighborhood is a frugal hack, since I’m disincentivized from making impulse purchases online.
FTFT, Septuagenarian Edition:
I turned 70 yesterday and was lavishly feted.
(1) NDN1’s CF took NDN1 and me to our local Panera for lunch.
(2) The Bestest Neighbors had me and several other friends over for dinner. Ms. BF served a white bean chili as the main dish, and one of the friends made a flourless chocolate cake for dessert (chocolate at my request as the birthday girl; flourless because one of the other friends is gluten-free) that was to die for. Raspberries on top and raspberry sauce on the side. Nom nom nom.
(3) In between, it rained cards, flowers, and goodies from other neighbors.
(4) I also got an assortment of “This Is Your Life” emails–including two from besties from elementary school days, plus one from an old boyfriend who’s exactly 10 days older than I am. (I’d already sent him an irreverent “Hail, septuagenarian!” email on the 19th. And it’s good to be back in touch, even though there’s no question in my mind that we both ended up marrying the right people instead of each other.)
(5) And although I’d considered going thrifting today, the weather’s too perfect for me to tear myself away from my peaceful, sunny homestead–so I’ll spend the day answering the birthday communications and otherwise playing domestic goddess. I’ve got laundry to do, bell peppers to chop up and freeze (along with Beth W), etc.
What a wonderful day! May your best birthday wishes come true this year.
Happy birthday, A. Marie!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! I’ll be thinking of you as I chop those peppers!
Happy Birthday!! I’m glad you had a good day!!
1) Helped a neighbor save a box of frozen food that was delivered while she was out of town. She sent me a panicked text yesterday. DH & I walked over to retrieve the box, and saw that it was wayyyyyy too big for us to store in our freezer. So, we chatted with our neighbor across the street. She had plenty of freezer space (widower who lives alone), and I loaded the freezer, while DH did some chores for her. Coordinated both neighbors together, so neighbor #1 can retrieve food from #2 when she’s back in town.
2) used the last of the yogurt in my breakfast, ahead of my trip to Tokyo for work. No one else will eat it, and it would have gone bad while I’m gone.
3) Ate leftovers for dinner, again. This is more because I’m really, really busy at work, but it also saves money.
4) Lined dried the majority of our clothes, which saves a bit of money, but most importantly, helps the clothes last longer.
5) Got started on my tax issue. (Got an IRS notice about a tax form that did not properly import from my broker and some dropped stock sales. OH GOODIE.) Despite not wanting to do this & dreading it, I did buy the audit protection with Turbo Tax in 2023, so this is all covered for free & I have a tax professional ready to help me solve it. Got all documents uploaded, created account, talked to the IRS, Turbo Tax, and then finally the audit people.
The problem with meeting up with friends in our home is that I have 3 very young children and our house is always a disaster…..
It would be good motivation to use more of my limited energy for cleaning though…
My best friend’s house is often a disaster. But for me, I don’t care what her house looks like. I just want to spend time with her. I would imagine that your good friends feel the same way.
I agree with BettafdV– These are children! By definition loud, messy, charming, and unpredictable.
And I am rarely around children and like to see their natural habitats.
If it is made from purely natural materials, I would compost it. If you don’t have a compost pile yet, take this opportunity to create one and use the soil in planters next year? It is very easy. I compost all (uncooked, vegetable) scraps from the kitchen (and some from the garden, e.g. soft prunings etc) including coffee grounds and tea leaves. I store a little caddy under the sink and when it is full (every 3-4 days) I empty it on the compost heap. If you cover the heap with the coir mat, it improves the composting process by protecting it from the elements and from animals scavenging in it.
Also could be used as a liner at the bottom of large plant pots for drainage while holding in the soil.
I would go the simple route with the mat and vacuum it well, trim off the ragged bits, and then use a good glue on the back at the ragged spots to stop further unraveling.
My suggestions for resuscitating or repurposing the mat have all been covered here. My only other suggestion is to request a mat on your Buy Nothing group. I get great results doing that.
I don’t know what to do with the doormat. Usually I move older mats to a less seen space and watch for a nicer replacement for the high traffic area.
1. My mother donated a Life is Good t shirt to me, which had stretched out terribly width -wise. I laid a shirt that fit me on top of it, cut the wide sides off the Life is Good shirt, removed the sleeves, sewed up the sides and reinserted the sleeves. It fits perfectly now and I have a nice quality waffle weave shirt for fall!
2. I took in another T-shirt that had grown too wide, just a simple seam up the side. I also shortened it as it had grown long as well.
3. Picked so much produce this morning
4. eBay sales have picked up a bit and I’ve had steady FB marketplace sales. I meet people outside the Wholefoods which is less than 5 minutes bike ride from our house, so it feels super safe.
5. Homemade cake for my husband’s birthday today.