Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on September 2, 2025 · 11 comments
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My friend Lisa is a fount of knowledge on all things gluten free, so it was no surprise when she showed up with two bags of Italian “senza glutine” pasta as a hostess gift. It started burning a hole in my pantry last night after I watched this Instagram reel for sesame peanut pasta, as I realized I had every single ingredient on hand. However, I’ll have to save the fancy pasta for another meal, as I located an already open box of gluten-free fettuccini, and practical me was unwilling to open a new product when I had an open one on hand. Being a responsible adult is sometimes a bummer.
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I took the glass plate and roller-thingy support ring from my recently curb picked microwave and slapped them up on eBay after discovering that the microwave itself was rusty on the inside. This is my way of rationalizing the effort it took to bring home the microwave to only have to take it to Goodwill for e-waste recycling.
Click HERE to see the listing.
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My husband and I went for an after dinner walk around the neighborhood and passed by this box of enjoyably free apples. Unfortunately I didn’t have a bag on me, so this is a reminder to start carrying one on walks as we’re in prime free fruit season.
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My husband and I had a lovely lunch date at an area Vietnamese restaurant today. I wasn’t actually all that hungry, so I ordered an $8 pair of spring rolls, which I made extra frugal by helping myself to an abandoned returnable kombucha can outside the restaurant. I’ll never get too fancy to not take advantage of a free ten cents!
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My husband and I came across this neighborhood mug exchange at the end of our walk. I neither need more mugs, nor do I have an excess, but I’ll keep it in mind for when I do my next round of decluttering. So cute!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Had a Dr appointment in the city and couldn’t find a parking spot. I ended up parking at the markets – as the Dr was on time, I was in and out in just under an hour and it cost me just two bucks. Street parking would have cost more than that.
2. I walked right through the market twice and didn’t buy a single thing, even though I walked right past several stalls of my personal kryptonite (coffee beans and fancy antipasto).
3. I made vegan drunken noodles using only what I had in my fridge and pantry and there were zero leftovers and completely full bellies.
4. I visited my parents after the Dr appointment and we drank cups of tea and gossipped with zero dollars spent and my mother gave me a jar of homemade jam.
5. I stopped in at the pharmacy to drop something off and discovered the supplements I needed for a cheaper price than I was going to pay at the supermarket. So that saved a couple of dollars for items I was going to buy this week anyway.
1. We finally had a few days of warm weather in the East Bay and I mostly used techniques from my childhood without air conditioning to keep the house and us cool enough. Strategic window and blind opening and closing along with fans. We do have an air conditioner upstairs and turn it on for the hottest part off the day,
2. Exercised at home.
3. Enjoyed my birthday gifts of fancy coffee and flowers.
4. Set up online payment for contributions to our granddaughters college funds saving a tiny bit of postage.
5. And ate the birthday dinner leftovers which was so hard when part of that is ice cream. Still ice cream left but someone has to eat it.
Happy birthday Juhli!!!
Happy birthday!
Donated blood and I:
1. Asked for a small piece of tape to hold the gauze in place in lieu of the long red wrap they provide
2. Enjoyed complimentary snacks – one salty (pretzels) and one sweet (granola cookie)
3. Filled my reusable mug with coffee and took most of it home for the next few mornings (I dilute it)
4. Took the complimentary Snoopy T-shirt (they’re back!) for my husband as he needed a clean work shirt
5. Repurposed the T-shirt bag as a poop bag
6. Got one more use out of the piece of paper inside the T-shirt bag, using the back as scratch paper.
I guess I squeezed the last drop out of this donation.
Very impressive! Your list made me smile.
I am very envious of all your grwat red cross swag and gift cards. Around here we don’t get gifts directly and I’ve found the gift card options are mostly places I don’t go.
1. We celebrated Labor Day with take out bbq. Bought the option for 4 people and supplemented the sides. This fed the six of us very well for less than the 6 person choice. Another guest brought fruit salad and peach cobbler so the meal was very festive. We even have some pulled chicken left over which will be a nice lunch today.
2. Making a list for the hardware store which is where I have gift cards from the coin exchange and red cross. We will attempt to fix the crack in our cement porch before calling the handyman.
3. Weather has been great so the AC was off all last week. Should be able to keep it off this week also. Adding the chore to clean all the ceiling fans to this weeks list.
4. Also this week making travel plans for two short trips. Hoping to keep those low cost through limiting eating out. Also don’t plan to buy any souvenirs.
5. Continuing to eat from our meal plan with food we have at home.
I love the mug exchange. Sometimes you just want a change but don’t need to buy anything. DH recently brought home some “swag” mugs from his office and it has been nice to have different mugs.
1. The other day we spotted a tote of Free kids books while walking. DH grabbed a few that looked interesting. After reading them he put them in the Little Free Library down the street.
2. The weather has been wonderful. I have opened windows many days and have not had the AC on in several days. We also received a one time rebate on our electrical bill, about $40, because of the high prices we have been paying.
3. I bought and cut up yet another watermelon. It’s a lot of fruit for $3.99. I have also been picking figs from our fruit tree and lots of cherry & grape tomatoes.
4. I relisted some items on Freecycle and it resulted in a few items being picked up.
5. I continue to listen to audio books borrowed from the library while completing mundane tasks like cooking.
I saw this in the New York Times and thought of Katy and her neighborhood (it should be an unlocked article):
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/climate/maine-library-of-things.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iU8.pk77.JLe85vUEp6To&smid=url-share
K D, thanks for sharing the free article! That’s an impressive program. My local library has a small inventory and I have a reminder to check out the bundt pan, popover pan, and springform pan.
A neighborhood mug exchange, now that’s quite something!
Best of luck with the sale of the microwave glass plate.
1. My friend that has her own hens gifted me 6 eggs. I gave her our stash of empty egg cartons.
2. Latest freebies from DS’s job (expired but still good): coconut yoghurt and unsalted butter. Had some of the yoghurt with diced peach pieces (and some chia seeds and cinnamon sprinkled on top) for dessert. I like that coconut yoghurt is naturally sweet, no sugar or honey needed, especially when paired with fruit.
3. Recent favourite library (re-)read: Mara and Dann (Doris Lessing)
4. In preparation for the colder autumn season I used my hair ball trimmer on my warm woolly jacket to get it ready for yet another year (I’ve had that jacket for at least 7 years).
5. I found two under shelf/desk storage baskets (brand new with tags on) in a local charity shop for 2 Euro for the pair. Am using them on my work desk now in an attempt to tidy it up!