Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on May 6, 2025 · 12 comments
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I stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up bananas and cabbage and picked up . . . bananas and cabbage. Trader Joe’s is rarely the most frugal option for groceries, but there are a few exceptions, specifically heavy produce. (Think butternut squash, cantaloupe, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.) Why? Because they price per item rather than by-the-pound, which means that those of us who are willing to embarrass ourselves and browse for weight are rewarded with bargain prices.
Behold the might four-pound cabbage! I checked and Fred Meyer is currently selling their cabbage for 99¢/lb, which means I paid half that price. Time to make some okonomiyaki!
2. I mended the abandoned soccer mom chair, which took me all of maybe fifteen minutes. I could’ve used black thread to hide the repair, but I’m a fan of the visible mending movement.
3. I’m going through a basket of random desk-y items and there are a number of things to get rid of, including this electric pencil sharpener. I went ahead and listed it on my Buy Nothing group and although no one has yet to jump at this amazing opportunity, I know someone will.
4. I found an article I wanted to read on the New Yorker website, but couldn’t get access on my phone without a subscription. I was however able to read it on my laptop, plus I learned that my library provides free online magazines through Press Reader. Good to know for future magazaniness.
5. I was able to pull together a Met Gala ensemble from what I already owned.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
1) Back from a great adventure vacation in the Southwest and managed relatively little food waste while traveling. Not perfect, but pretty good. (DS is nondairy and has numerous food allergies so eating in is safer/easier/often more fun/definitely less expensive.)
2) One way I offset food waste to donate the 6 or so shelf stable items remaining to a little free food pantry in the city where we stayed. This gave me great joy and hopefully made someone else’s life a little easier.
3) Bought the National Parks pass. It more than paid for itself in usage. And now we have 11 more months to use it as well. Anyone with a 4th grader, you can get one for free! (Military members/families, permanently disabled people and volunteers are eligible for free ones also.)
4) Lots of laundry since returning, even having done laundry while away. Two loads dried on the line yesterday before it sprinkled.
5) I downloaded the app for our bank (local, not national) and am delighted with how easy it is to use and keep track of outgoing/incoming transactions. It was very helpful to have this window into our finances while we were traveling!
How fun, I love that you found a little free pantry while on vacation!
I almost paid over $30 for a cabbage! The cashier had labeled it elephant has garlic!! When I brought it to he attention he fixed it.
He said he didn’t even know what that was.
I said, “I think it’s really big garlic… But it ain’t THAT big!”
*elephant garlic, not elephant has garlic
Good reminder to pay attention to the register while your groceries are being rung up!
And to always check your receipt before you leave the store!
Two things: 12ft.io often bypasses paywalls. archive.ph also often works.
Anyone else thinking, “I’ve got a cabbage for a head!”
I looked at the Met Gala fashions. The only one I could duplicate is the woman who glued various colored buttons to her fingernails. The rest were out of my price range.
1. Husband wanted to go to Taco Bell after chemo. I cannot remember the last time we went there. He has not been eating much, so whatever he thinks will be appealing works for me. Managed to find an app that gave us a little off.
2. As I was driving down our street, I saw a yard sale that looked like it had puzzles. It was the end of the day and the owner told me I could have all the puzzles for $5. I know have 11 new puzzles for a very good price. Cheap entertainment.
3. Went to the local nursery for a six pack of red cabbage and one of cauliflower. Picked out the ones that had two seedlings in one cell, so I paid for six but got seven of each plant. I have found that popping out the cell and setting it in some warm water for about 15 minutes makes it easier to separate the roots without doing damage to the transplants.
4. Mended an old sweater.
5. Did a gasoline shop so i could fill up the tank for a quarter less a gallon.
Nice work on mending the found chair. I love visible mending as well…no running out to buy matching thread and the results don’t have to be perfect.
1. DH and I each worked a 13 hour day at our local election. A long day for sure but most of it is sitting down and I know we’ll be happy when the paychecks arrive. This and being on call at the deli are our side gigs plus my yearly yard sale and occasional sales on FB Marketplace and the consignment store.
2. The town provides us with free coffee, muffins and Donuts for breakfast and provides us with a stipend for lunch and dinner. We pocketed the lunch stipend and went home to eat but caved in to the nearby Chinese restaurant for dinner. We were hungry and tired.
3. There were leftover Donuts and muffins at the end of the day so DH and I each took a corn muffin home for the morning.
4. I found a garden flag in with my stash of door wreaths and decorations. It’s faded but cute and says welcome on it so I hung it up.
5. I did not fire any high ranking generals.
1. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo yesterday, my husband made potato street tacos. (Disclosure: I will accept any excuse for my husband to make street tacos.) He used up some of the celery root that was in the fridge, and that was so good, I’m going to freeze the rest in small packages so we can add it in the future. We used bok choy from our farm box, as we did not have green cabbage. An acceptable substitute!
2. Split a burrito with my husband Sunday, as we did not have the means to take home leftovers, or keep them refrigerated. Went to the free art museums in the park, then celebrated St. George’s Day with an evensong service at church, and a free tea afterward with my niece, nephew, and the grandnibblings. We contributed a donation, but had an exceptional day for very little.
3. Saturday I gave my husband a haircut, and we went for a walk on the beach, for exercise and stress relief. Afterwards, enjoyed the overcast weather and took a nap.
4. I am looking for shoes for this summer. I had cute shoes last year that rubbed a hole in my feet, and that’s sub-optimal. I checked two thrift stores this weekend, didn’t find what I was looking for, and didn’t buy anything else.
5. I finally gave up on finding a dress for this summer, and spent $50 for a new linen dress, made with fair labor practice certification. I am fed up with the poor quality fabric I keep finding in thrift shops. I received the dress, it’s soft and perfect, and I will wear it for years, so it’s going to be worth it on a cost-per-wear basis.
But, dang, I am so fed up with the state of the clothing available.
1. In office today – brought coffee, seltzer, and snacks from home. Didn’t have the energy to make lunch this morning so that’s the only thing I had to buy out and I found one of my cheapo spots to order.
2. Keeping the air conditioners off most of the time and avoiding installing mine in my home office. Fans are keeping us comfortable for now and reducing our utility bill for another month.
3. Taking advantage of my good health insurance with low copays to get annual screenings and check ups this week.
4. Walking/transit everywhere this week – no cabs or driving
5. I did not try to convince the leader of a sovereign nation that his country could be for sale – but then again, I’m trying to keep my spending within my means 😉
A few things:
1) Was tempted to do 5th de Mayo stuff downtown on the waterfront- dancing, food drink! But was actually appier to sit with a Mexican American friend in my backyard and have homemade agua de jamaica, tacos and have agood long gossipy night, complete with music. Tacos were takeout from a local truck with my fave non Anglo approved cuts: lengua, cabeza, tripas!
2) Planted tomato starts from a local greenhouse (Parkrose Greenhouse) – rare varieties that I look forward to seeing it grow! I don’t have the space for tomato starts, so I like getting heirloom tomatoes from her! Have also planted cuke seeds and will try to grow Minnesota Midget melons!
3) Instead of window shopping, I washed my slipcovers, which was looking grotty. Often I find that window shopping is a response to my environment being messy, and it’s a delaying tactic to clean and tidy up. I am more on top of the weekly clean than ever now making this insight about myself!
4) Related: We have perfume and grooming products at home! Right now, there are specials for Mother’s Day for beauty products… but I have plenty, stashed away in drawers and I am using them- yes, even when I am working at home. I feel great and weirdly more focused freshly groomed and dressed in comfy spring clothes when working from home!
5) We have food at home- am still making my meals with garden and farmer’s market produce . BUT! Today will be in the 80s (F- or about 28c) and I think dinner will be ice cream!