Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on May 20, 2025 · 8 comments
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We stopped by our daughter’s apartment so she could grab a couple things. (She’s still under the weather and staying at our house.) Her neighbors had put out a free box, which wasn’t very promising at first, as it appeared to pretty much just contain worn out sheets. I did have a few minutes to kill, so I wandered over to take a peek. My curiosity was rewarded with a matching set of flannel pillow cases in excellent condition.
I keep a pillow case on the back of the couch at all times for our 16-year-old cat to lay on. I switch it out every few days when it gets furry, so these pillow cases can join that rotation. A perfect addition to our home supplies.
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My mother and step-father took us out to dinner to celebrate our youngest’s birthday, which was a fun treat.
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My friend and I hit Home Depot before our grocery shopping adventures, as we both had something to return. Her’s was a concrete wall sheet thingy and mine was an unopened tub of spackle, leftover from when my husband reattached a pot rack in our daughter’s apartment. I had taped the receipt to the lid and it had been mocking me sitting in my entryway ever since. I’m happy to have my $8 back and this annoying errand in my past.
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I grabbed four cans of chicken stock from the Winco clearance shelf as it was priced at 10¢ apiece. We normally use a spoon of Better Than Bullion mixed into homemade stock, but I figured this would be handy to have on hand. I was tempted to buy more, but didn’t want to stock up on something I normally don’t even buy.
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Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
1. Sister treated the whole family to hoagies for dinner.
2. Helped myself to a pack of peanuts at our financial advisor’s office.
3. Found a yard waste bag on the side of the road and am using it as a garbage bag.
4. Listened to a free podcast while doing a marathon cooking session.
5. Cut up a stained pillowcase into small rags. If I use them for something greasy, I just throw them out. I don’t buy paper towels.
A garbage picked garbage bag? Bullseye!
I continue to be slack jaw amazed at the feeding habits of the modern day working class. I think maybe people are using credit cards as babysitters and leave kids at home ordering food and everything else or are adults this frivolous. I bring my little sandwich and drinks and enjoy the show they pay me for.
1. I am wearing a tee-shirt DD had in middle school. She will be thirty this year. There is nothing wrong with it and it reminds me of a different time in her life.
2. I ran a load of laundry using cold water. After a short spin, on low heat, in the dryer I hung it outside.
3. I am eating the kiwis that languished in my refrigerator. I bought them at Aldi weeks ago and they didn’t ripen well. I could have returned them for a refund but then they would have been thrown away. They are now edible, not delicious, but edible.
4. I cancelled a walk with a friend since her husband has Covid. I used an overabundance of caution since I have upcoming plans I don’t want to miss. I think being sick can sometimes be more costly than not being sick.
5. I too “I cooked at home instead of using a loan service to make payments on a Chipotle burrito.”.
1. I picked up 2 free (via FB Marketplace) metal lounge chairs with very cute striped cushions this morning. The ad said they just needed a good clean, and I would agree. They’re not very dirty, but my free power washer (scored through BN group) will take care of any lingering dirt. Whilst loading these into my SUV, I noticed a Pottery Barn tag on the cushions. Not sure if the entire set is from PB, but they are solid, so I assume they are.
2. I was planning to hit the garden store yesterday in search of supplies to tame our raspberry plants. Before departing, I did a quick internet search querying “what to use to support raspberry plants” and was rewarded with several YouTube videos. The first one I watched advised using a clothesline as it’s very strong and sturdy. I walked 10 ft over to the unused line that’s been sitting on a tree branch for over 2 years (we have one clothesline we use, and the other we do not) and cut off lengths to tie to the t-bars in the raspberry bed. It was a prickly job getting them corralled, but I avoided buying anything and used something we had lying dormant.
3. I gave away a beautiful lamp yesterday via my BN group. I had bought it used on FB Marketplace last year and it’s currently selling for $70 at Target. I did attempt to resell it on FB, but had no takers and realized that I preferred giving it away to balance our recent gifts from the BN group. I really enjoy the gifting economy the group espouses and want to make sure I am giving as much as receiving.
4. Our twin 8th graders have their promotion from middle school in a couple of weeks, and they’ve asked for new clothes for the occasion. One of them is open to thrifting, so we’ll start there and hopefully find something for both of them at Goodwill.
5. I rode my bike to our local co-op store and bought bulk items to make some granola. Actually, I only had to buy oats for the granola, and it was around $1 a lb — I spent a total of $3 on those. It’s very satisfying to reuse the same oats container over and over again. I bet I’ve had this one for going on 4 years. I just marked out the barcode and weighed it empty to get the tare weight and refill it when we run out.
1. Used the carcass from a $5 rotisserie chicken to make a pot of chicken broth. I then used that to make some chicken soup that we will have for dinner tonight along with some frozen buttermilk biscuits I got on clearance at Aldi.
2. I’ve been making a fancy oat milk latte at home using oatmilk, a teaspoon of blonde espresso powder and a splash of sugar free smore syrup (it costs me $1.50 a serving). It’s much cheaper than Starbucks but I enjoy this morning treat. If I need to cut back, I add some water to the oat milk to stretch it.
3. I continue to drink the free filtered water and tea at my office using a Tervis cup I was gifted 6 years ago.
4. We had FREE chipotle last night for dinner using a gift card I earned on fetch.
5. My nephew and my daughter are on the same swim team so my brother in law and I take turns carpooling them to practice. Tonight is his turn and I will be saving gas and not leaving my house.
Bonus: the past few nights I’ve been playing a word scramble game through my fetch app. I earned 5000 points while exercising my brain. I also found a receipt in the Meijer parking lot and when scanned it was worth 4000 points!
Sending a huge THANK YOU to the commenters who recommended the Bainbridge Island ferry (Brooke, CW), Olympic Sculpture Park (CW), and Skalka (Kim) as frugal things-to-do in Seattle. My daughter and I just got back from a milestone birthday trip to SEA, and all of the above were things-we-did during our long weekend. The chicken khachapuri at Skalka was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
We tacked on a visit to Pocket Beach near the sculpture park, as well as walks through Waterfront Park and Waypoint Woods near the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal. Thumbs up to all three if you like microdoses of nature to go with your urban experience.
1 – Used your advice to buy my head of cabbage at trader Joe’s since the price/lb was not in a good sale anywhere. Made charred vinegar and salt cabbage.
2 – Had our HVAC guy come to do a check before the temps get into the 90s and sent him off with Gatorade and homemade muffins … His next stop was the older woman next door who happened to mention to him that she is going to try to replace her toilet handle with her grandson’s help by watching a YouTube video. She texted me that he said I’ll do that for you, went to the hardware store, returned with the part and fixed her toilet. For free. I have used this company for 20+ years and remain impressed. I think she was his last call for the day and he made her day! And if I’m being honest, mine too. I needed the positivity.
3 – Sold items on eBay and added $89 to my account this week.
4 – doing my own pedicure today … But I haven’t had one done in a salon in maybe 15 years so I don’t think that counts as frugal?
5 – continue to use my MIL’s stamps that she’d collected before she died – all regular nothing valuable – so all snail mail letters have 4-5 assorted stamps totaling the first class 73 cents. They take up the whole top of the envelope at times. I write a few letters a week so this has saved loads over the past few years.