Five Tiny Frugal Things
by Katy on May 23, 2025 · 51 comments
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My husband had a box of CPR supplies to drop off across town, so we made the most of it by also stopping into the William Temple House thrift store. It’s been a year or so since I last stopped in, but they’d made changes in the interim. Think used shoes for $18-$24! My highest level of sticker shock was this small wooden wastebasket that I thought would work as a recycling bin, except that it was priced at $30! For. A. Small. Used. Wastebasket!
I still browsed the store and bought a used but “new with tag” rubber spatula for a buck. I spied a sign for a 10%-off senior discount on my way out, but it was too late.
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I made sure to have enough folding money to take full advantage of my gas station’s 40¢/gallon cash discount. My tank holds 21 gallons, which means I save $8.40 per gas tank fill up. (Were my tank actually completely empty.) I rarely let the tank get super low, but the low fuel warning light was on!
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My friend cut me some pretty orange poppies from her backyard, which prompted a small flower arrangement.
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We somehow broke the electrical outlet plate behind the couch, but I replaced it within 24 hours of noticing the damage. I always give myself massive credit for not procrastinating a task. Even better is that we already already had the replacement part in the basement.
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I sold a baby blanket on eBay* for $20, not newsworthy, but still worth the five minutes it took me to package it up and set it on the porch for the mail carrier to pick up!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for your frequent posts. I’ve been sick in bed all week and have really enjoyed reading here.
1. STILL saving on food by only being able to eat half a piece of toast and thin pureed soup PER DAY. I’m well enough to feel slightly frustrated with this.
2. After several hours in bed I have strength to get up for 15 minutes or so. I sat and planted green bean seeds and cucumber starts. Also prioritized my other starts that need planting so I can have my husband do them this weekend. He’s a cheerful laborer.
3. Boxed a pair of steel toe boots I sold on eBay with my next 15 minutes of out-of-bed timr. Husband will take them to PO
4. I’m not shopping online to pass the time. Though I’ve watched a lot of TV, which I feel is sort of excused.
5. I can’t remember if I mentioned this before but because my husband stayed home on Wednesday (apparently I looked so awful he was worried) he got to take the cat to the free vaccine clinic that is only held 2 Wednesdays a month at 1pm. How handy was that? Free is my price! They even gave him a bag of dry cat food and a can of wet food, which he very happily accepted
Kara, I hope you’re feeling better soon. Your husband sounds like a good one.
I feel for you! When you are stuck in bed food becomes inordinately important to you, and being so limited digestively has taken away even that pleasure. TOTAL respect for your “ what you can, when you can” attitude, that’s quiet heroism, in my book! Like you, Katy’s posts are bright lights in a dark landscape for me, I love that this is a good natured community, as well as a well intentioned one! When you are in a reading mood, Jan Karon’s “ Mitford” series are such lovely gentle books, about a minister and his family who are good kind people and beautifully, humanly, faulty! Dated, and as comforting as slipping into a warm bath! Looking forward to better days ahead for you!
I really enjoyed the Mitford books. I never finished the whole series but my daughter has, and has reread most of them.
The Mitford books are so wonderful
Love those books. They came into my life years ago just when I needed them.
I loved this series (except for the one where the entire book is a visit to Ireland – not a huge fan of that one). Shepherds Abiding is a semi-annual reread at Christmas time.
Jan Karon’s books are the only ones that could make me laugh! Yes, and cry, too, but the characters were so well-written., that they became my neighbors, too.
Thanks for the reminder about the Mitford series. I’ve been looking for something to read and these are so positive that I’m going to reread them!
Kara, I hope you quickly get over feeling puny. Being sick is no fun; being sick on a holiday weekend is even worse. Get well “soon-est.”
Kara, I second what Fru-gal Lisa said, and I join her and everyone else in best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Katy, our local Goodwill stores now charge prices like that. It’s dismaying.
I used the gift card from doing a health insurance survey to gas up my car today and have a few dollars left over. Found our missing plant clippers wedged in the fence and gave them a soaking in WD-40 to get the rust off. Also gave the latch on our front door (73 years old) a good squirt of WD-40 so it would stop sticking. Bought a pet care item and trail mix at Ollie’s. Downloaded several free books to the Kobo app.
As I may have mentioned in the past, Ruby, DH always said that he could do 80% of minor repairs at his rental properties with WD-40, duct tape, and/or his trusty Swiss Army knife.
That is the truth! Add in heavy duty Velcro strips and leftover cord from repairing our vintage blinds and that’s about 99 percent of it covered. 😀
I have noticed that GW here in Texas has gone up on their prices also. The Habitat resale stores have also gone up on their prices. I understand that the Habitat project has to cope with rising building materials & land costs to build low- cost housing. But why did GW have to increase their prices? I read the CEO of GW makes 300K per year. Is that why the prices were raised?
@texasilver – most people don’t realize GW is NOT A CHARITY. Never has been, never will. Which is why they are my last resort when it comes to donation/patronizing.
Those thrift store prices are ridiculous. You could buy new for that price
1. I stayed home all day and got some things done around the house. No money spent.
2. My mom stopped by and I shared some of my minestrone with her. She took my plant containers back to the nursery since she was going there anyway which saved me a trip.
3. I had leftovers for dinner and soup for lunch.
That’s all for me.
1. I think soy sauce lasts FOREVER. Have had a bottle in my fridge for YEARS and still using it. Used a whopping 2 TABLESPOONS tonight and made “egg roll in a bowl” for supper. Maybe the bottle will get emptied before I die?
2. Googled “Buy Nothing” that you all are talking about. There’s not one in my area…not even one in my state! Can’t justify a move to the West coast just for that.
3. Hubby mistook a piece of venison tenderloin for a package of venison burger (which I needed for spaghetti last night). He cooked the tenderloin. I had him buy some beef broth and will make him beef pot pie (PA Dutch Style – beef, broth, homemade noodles) over the weekend. I don’t like pot pie.
4. I have a 3-day weekend. Hubby asks what we are doing. I replied “staying home.”
5. Our current church doesn’t, but a lot of churches (we used to attend one) still insist on having 2 bouquets of flowers on the altar. While few people put silk or dried arrangements in, most people order fresh flowers from a florist! YIKES! That’s an average of close to $200 for 2 bouquets these days! More $ than brains I say. When we belonged to that church, we did things different. My birthday is in December, so we bought items for a newborn baby (rattles, pacifiers, onesies, clothes, diapers, blankets, etc.) and put them on the altar instead stating that the items were being given in honor of Baby Jesus’ (and my) birthday and that the items would be donated to a shelter that cares for homeless women with newborns. Another time, we bought about $75 worth of non-perishable pantry staples, put them on the altar, and they were donated to the food bank. If I’m going to spend money, I’d rather spend it that way than on cut flowers that will die within a week. Leave the flowers in the ground where they belong for all to enjoy. Think outside the box.
Brisbane Australia, Buy Nothing is in my area also, when I moved from an enormous , old, 2 bedroom apartment to my lovely little 500 sq foot, I bedroom , inner city vertical retirement village, I gave away SO much! We have a “ giving table “ in the building , where people pass on no longer needed items! What isn’t rehomed goes to an “ opportunity “ shop, ( or “op shop” in the Aussie vernacular! ) Our equivalent to Goodwill etc.
Now I know what the ” OP” in OP shop means!
Thankyou
I love your practical idea about putting the baby items and food staples on the altar in lieu of flowers. I think the good Lord Jesus Christ would heartily approve, as well! Helping others is the most beautiful part of religion that we can perform.
Our church puts 2 identical arrangements on either side of the altar. But you can’t supply the flowers or choose what they look like; you have to write a check and let the secretary order them for you. She uses the same old florist shop. The minimum price is $75.
I arranged to have altar flowers put up there, commemorating my late mother’s 100th birthday. What a disappointment! I could have stuck a bunch of weeds in two old vases and it would’ve looked better. I was really sad.
This past Sunday, the rector said they don’t have very many people signing up to supply flowers, and on the weeks they don’t have anybody, the church will put the secretary’s two pots of ivy on the altar. Fine with me!
Melissa, your #5 sounds wonderful, and I think it’s an idea that more places of worship should adopt. My “home church” in my original hometown used to put fruits and vegetables on the altar at Thanksgiving and then donate them to several local charities; this strikes me as another idea that would be appropriate year-round.
Now I know what the ” OP” in OP shop means!
Thankyou
What a fabulous idea!
The church I used to go to before I moved did fruit baskets for needy families.
I suggested instead of the baskets, we give gift cards to them,1 in particular were in very dire straits,the husband had a hard time keeping a job and they had 3 growing daughters in the house.
I got vetoed,I have nothing against fresh fruit but I thought the grocery card would be more helpful.
Thankyou for being such a kind, thoughtful person!
I buy cleaning supplies and tools at dollar tree and finally realized why the shelves are so empty. Tariffs duh.
I haven’t bought a bag of potatoes in forever. But $1.48 for 5 pounds and me wanting potato salad I couldn’t resist. I made pan fries to go with my chicken last night. They were so easy and good I don’t remember why I quit buying potatoes.
I also got some really tasty carrots for 70 cents a pound and another huge head of cabbage at TJ for $1.99. Lettuces are so expensive I just use cabbage instead. Tomatoes 87 cents a pound, onions 50 cents a pound. Red grapes for $1.20 per pound and now I just need to find cheap chicken. Probably Sam’s rotisserie or huge pack of tenderloins. I don’t know why all the bananas are so green right now. Tariffs? I should make my own salad dressing but found Brianna’s on sale for 2 dollars and stocked up. I like the glass jars and reuse them.
Someone in the family recently apologized for giving me RSV. I didn’t even know I had it. Yeah I ached all over and rattled like a cabasa but it never really registered. I’m so accustomed to the world being crappy it doesn’t even register when I’m sick. Sh-boom sh-boom la da da da da da da
Here’s an easy salad dressing my mom came up with decades ago that uses ingredients in most everyone’s pantry. While it’s great on traditional salad (greens and veggies), my late sister would also put it on lasagna and roast beef…just to name a few:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Put all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously. Pour on salad. Refrigerate any unused dressing and shake vigorously when you’re ready to use again. Will last 3-4 days.
My mom made a similar dressing., adding ground black pepper. Quite tasty and light.
Here’s a chuckle,I’m wondering when TJ MAXX started selling produce,DUH!!!!!!
My senior moments are coming together faster these days.
1. Used up the last of last summer’s frozen shredded zucchini by hiding it in chili. The husband will eat almost any vegetable if shredded into chili, and 11 months in the freezer had not done this zucchini any favors, so I felt rather victorious using it up. Just in time for this summer’s squash production.
2. Husband Scissor-toes ripped through another pair of socks. I am now mending them with dental floss, and he has yet to succeed in re-ripping any mended like that.
3. I continue to work a little daily on planting the garden, so we will have plenty of produce to eat and preserve in August.
4. Someone gave me four bottled teas, Gold Peak, that were far too strong for my liking. I mixed them with my homemade lemonade, and they added a nice flavor. I had been tempted to just throw them away.
5. contributed several items to a neighbor’s garage sale. She is very generous with their excess salmon every season so I told her to keep whatever she made from them.
Husband Teeth -Toes ?
Oooo, I love Gold Peak tea! I also love strong coffee,
so maybe that’s my thing. Mixing it with homemade lemonade (an Arnold Palmer of sorts) sounds delicious.
When I was driving by a Goodwill today I thought I’d stop in to look for jeans forgetting that I can’t try them on. (Unfortunately I have been gaining weight in menopause so would like to find another pair as I’ve grown out of some. ) Anyway they were much more expensive than I was anticipating – usually I’m dropping off and leaving bc I have been trying to limit what I allow in the house. Kid puzzles that were printed with $1.25 on the box were $1.99 and a magazine I thought my husband would be interested in was $5.99. I left empty-handed. That’s my #1 haha skipped the non-deals.
2) DH is still sick and says he can’t taste anything but was actually hungry so dinner was baked beans and baked yellow potatoes. Filling but w/o a green veg in sight for this meal. (…hmmm… that might be why I’m gaining weight I KNOW! UGH)
3) The blog CupOfJo had a post earlier this week asking what are your favorite non-fiction books – 750+ comments with recommendations … so I spent time writing down page after page of book titles/authors that sound good to me and are at my library. I love both fiction and non-fiction, but recs seem to come easier for fiction.
4) Made a small eBay sale but it all adds up.
That’s it…
I’ve found for waist measurement that if you can’t try something on: make a fist and use your arm as a ruler. If the waist of the bjeans measure from our fist to your elbow then they should be fairly accurate! Can’t help with the rest of the fit though :/ I always keep a sharp eye out for skirts that I can use in-between sizes
1. Removed the label from a large plastic container of mixed nuts and washed it up. Will use the container to transport/store flour for our winter stay in Arizona.
2. Put panko on my salad like Katy and can vouch that the extra crunch is satisfying!
3. Noticed I was overcharged for something at the discount food store and have a month to bring in the receipt to get a refund. Good reminder for me to look at the receipt before leaving the store.
4. Bought a new bed pillow as I was waking up with a neckache most days. Money well spent.
5. Received gifts from one of the organizations where I volunteer: a $25 gift card to a local gift store and an Impatiens plant in a terra cotta pot. Used the gift card on a travel Sudoku book and Truffle Parmesan Risotto mix that I’ll save for our winter trip.
$30 for a wastebasket?! That is bonkers.
Val Lee, I agree. And re: used shoes for $18-$24 a pair, I noted in a previous comment that I paid a *total* of $28 a couple of weeks ago for three pairs of new or like-new Skechers. One pair of these came from a Goodwill, and the other two from a store in our local Thrifty Shopper chain. So life in Central NY has its advantages.
A. Marie, $28 for 3 pair of new or like-new Skechers seems wonderful. I gave up on the Goodwills in my area of the Twin Cities (MN) because the prices are like the prices at the goofy high-priced thrift store where Katy found the $30 wastebasket. A lot of things at my local GWs cost more than would they would cost in a non-thrift store. I do have a local Christian-ministry-run thrift store that is not a Goodwill, that has much more reasonable prices. So when I need a thrift shop, I go to that one.
1. Found a small business card on the sidewalk when I was leaving school after subbing for half a day. Eureka! It was a coupon for a free hamburger!
2. Drove over to the Goodwill on the other side of town. This week, the green price tags are half off. Found two short-sleeved dressy blouses, meant for fall or winter, for $4.99 each….but green tags, so half price. Very pretty and my size! Will happily put them in the back of my closet until summer is over. Also found a nice T-shirt for $3.99 and a pair of Target socks that will match a sweater I have for $1.99. That was also the price of some foam stick-on “feet” for the furniture I want to put on my vinyl flooring. Oh, and I had the “20% off donated items” coupon. Ended up spending $12 for my haul, which included tax and rounding up to the next dollar.
3. The high school graduation is outside at the stadium, and afterward, they are having a professional fireworks show. I will drive out to that suburb and watch from the nearby Walmart parking lot. Free.
4. Went out into the yard and cut some blossoms going to seed. They are from the Texas Privet/ Ligustrum Japonicum Texanum shrubs that volunteer in my yard. They go crazy in the backyard and grow sky high. Will try to get it going in the front flower bed. Meanwhile, those shrubs are advertised online for $42 per 1-gallon pot. Oh, and I saw a little bitty bird’s nest in one of the backyard shrubs! I’m not cutting anything off that one.
5. Frugal fail: wanted to get a Harvard T-shirt. Can’t find them anywhere in town. Decided to get a Visa gift card at Target so it’d be safer to order a shirt online. Card didn’t work. I’m about to go return it to the Target store, and I’m plenty upset at this. Will see what happens. Stay tuned.
Seriously “3. The high school graduation is outside at the stadium, and afterward, they are having a professional fireworks show. I will drive out to that suburb and watch from the nearby Walmart parking lot. Free.” Waste of money and if I see that occurring in my area, add that to my list of “quit complaining to me about college costs when you paid for private schools (when public schools were as good it not better) and fireworks at graduation”
In our town all the graduation activities are paid for my the parents. They start fund raising at the beginning of their kids senior year.
Oops! How about by the parents.
Selena,
Respectfully, Fru-Gal Lisa didn’t say it was a private school having the fireworks show. Without knowing details, we readers don’t know if the cost and/or the fireworks+ service to put on the show were donated to the school, if fund raising took place to make it happen, or what. I’m glad Fru-Gal Lisa – and I assume others in the community – were able to watch it from afar.
@Liz B. you missed my point. I don’t care if the cost were donated or not – the fact that people turn their heads, hold their noses, view fireworks regardless of who ponied up the money sans cost from a far. I’ll also add homecoming, prom, and graduation to my list (in addition to paying for any private school except the very, very few that are college prep aka not associated with any religion).
Reminds me of the food fight about baccalaureate when I graduated (full disclosure – I did not attend and think it should be banned). The catholic church thought they had squatters rights on this “event”. And got quite miffed when it was rotated between them, the methodists, and lutherans. This is fully a violation of separation of church and state when held at a public school. I was sooo happy when our superintendent told the catholic church no more catechism classes on public school grounds.
1. Daughter wanted to take cupcakes to her karate class for her birthday. I used a cake mix (50 cents) and frosting (50) both from grocery outlet, 4 eggs from our hens and leftover sprinkles. Daughter initially was annoyed I wasn’t buying cupcakes but less than $3 for 24 cupcakes as compared to about $25 for store bought is a no brainer. I’ll also be making cupcakes for a Memorial Day picnic tomorrow and using already on hand red/white/blue sprinkles and cupcake papers.
2. Found some nice small planters in a free pile!
3. A friend stopped by for a visit. We sat in the porch and talked for over 2 hours. She brought her dog which was a pleasant treat.
4. Took a nap! Free self care!
5. I got a pound of grapes for $1 on the clearance shelf. Today I separated them and gave the squishy grapes to the guinea pigs. Lots left for us!
I probably drop by WTH once per week, and I think they’ve lost the plot. Everything is priced with aspirational prices they found on eBay. The books are usually reasonable. That’s pretty much all I’ll buy there anymore.
1. I admired a jacket someone was wearing, and thought to myself, “I should be on the lookout for a jacket like that.” Three days later, I found the exact jacket at the goodwill bins, in great condition, in my size! Amazing!
2. I also found a cute shower curtain to replace one that’s gotten tattered and fungusy.
3. A free pile orchid I found last year is blooming!
4. I used a coupon to get a free Chick-fil-A sandwich. I’m morally opposed to Chick-fil-A, but I’ll take a free sandwich. I didn’t embellish it with waffle fries or a drink.
5. I know what “habeas corpus” means.
Li – regards to your jacket, I call putting that request out into the universe! Love it! Thanks for sharing that.
1. 8 pack of cat treats pouches on clearance for $3.95+tax.
2. Gas for 40 cents off per gallon+ $1.30 back on Upside.
3. Free small tea at Caribou coffee.
4. Great deals on my vitamins and am all set for 12 months.
5. Went thrift shopping and spent nothing.
Used shoes for $18-$24??!! That seems very expensive indeed.
* DS18 brought home lots of expired coconut yoghurt pots from his workplace. I knew we would not be able to eat up all of them before they went off so I gave some to my vegan friend.
* I got my weekly 5 Euro off 25 Euro voucher for one of our local supermarkets and bought a box of chocolates with the 5 Euro off (well, they were 8 Euro, so I paid 3 Euro on top of that) as I needed a spot prize to donate to a raffle for a local Alzheimer charity.
* The inside part of the pocket on my son’s work pants had a huge hole which I mended patiently. The pants are now good to go for another while but I am keeping an eye out for a replacement in the charity shops already as I suspect they are coming to the end of their life, the material is not of the best quality.
* A friend of DS21 moved out of her college dorm room and gave him some stuff that she did not want to keep: oats, cereal, spices, coconut oil; shower gel, body lotion, body wash; a grey cardigan which my daughter will wear; lip balm; AirPods 2 with the right side missing – I am currently trying to source a right airpod for cheap (not as easy as I thought!) so my daughter can use them.
* Latest charity shop finds: a mug that says “I run on coffee” that is just the right size (large!) for my husband’s coffee (2 Euro) and a duvet cover with a nice pattern (4 Euro)
frugal fail: I bought some cheese cubes with olives in oil in a jar. Unfortunately my husband put the jar in the pantry instead of the fridge and we only noticed this a few days later, so the jar had to be thrown out.
Re: Expired yogurt: I have used slightly older vanilla yogurt in baking, specifically cake recipes I found online that happened to be for plain yogurt, a chocolate cake and a lemon one. The coconut might be a nice subtle addition to those.
We will likely have some games & competitions during the Summer Nursing/Stem Camp I am teaching for 2 weeks in June. I rummaged through drawers & closets for gift sacks as well as small gifts for prizes. I had lip balm, small hand sanitizer, travel size shampoo, lotion, body wash, a small insulated cup and so on. I’m going to look at school next week for some more give away items. I think I can put together some small prizes for no cost. Clearing out unwanted items also from the closet.
Perhaps ask your co-workers for items. It is a good cause!