Four Frugal Things -- I Sold The Needlepoint Bench!
1. I sold my thrifted $13.50 bench for my full asking price of $100 after six days on Facebook Marketplace! Fourteen people messaged about the bench, mostly offering lower prices, but I held out until I got what I felt it was worth. This piece was one of a kind and the original artisan must've spent hundreds of hours and at least $100 on the wool embroidery floss.
The woman who came by for it was very excited to add it to her home and I'm happy to have found it for her.
2. The sun made an appearance after days of dramatic atmospheric river nonsense. The windows are open and the heat is off! I'm fully aware that this is a brief moment in time, but I'll take the fresh air and birdsong whenever it presents itself.
Tomorrow is back to normal, but at least we Portlanders can look forward to Monday -- 66 degrees and no rain?! Swoon . . . I might need to start a plan for some kind of outdoor activity.
3. I went to the Woodstock Goodwill to scout for fresh merchandise and left empty handed. However, I did find a few items that gave me pause and prompted me to look them up on Google Lens and/or eBay.
- First was this glass oversize beer bottle. It was very cool, but was priced at $19.99 and would be a nightmare to ship were I to list it on eBay. It's a groovy item for a home bar and I would've picked it up to sell locally were it priced around $5.
- Next up was this pair of Ralph Lauren plaid comforters. Priced at just $7.99 apiece, I was tempted to actually buy them for my own household with the option to resell. (Remember the "Ralph Lauren Christmas" trend from a few months ago?) I'll have three early April houseguests soon and that's still cozy blanket weather here in sunny Portland, Oregon. In the end I didn't buy them as they're not quite my style, plus I noticed a few unraveled stitches.
Ugh, now that I'm writing this I'm thinking perhaps I should've bought them after all. Blankets are actually very easy to mail. Sure they're bulky, but you can make a custom package out of a thick garbage bag or even multiple used mailers.
- Lastly, I looked up this vintage art deco pepper shaker, as it reminded me of the O'Keefe & Merritt shakers that can sell for a pretty penny. My memory was off though and this shaker wouldn't have been a profitable pickup.
4. Yesterday was day two of random ingredient burritos for dinner, which is a wonderfully frugal meal as it utilizes whatever you have on hand. For me that was sautéed peppers, rice and beans, tater tots, (crisped up in the waffle iron) cherry tomatoes and green chile salsa.
Might also be tonight's dinner!
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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My motto is that you can not have enough blankets or sheets bc I am forever needing them or my kids are needing them.
1. I walked an hour in my neighborhood in the beautiful weather we are having today.
2. Along those lines I have opened the windows in my house!
3. I cleaned my filthy house, or at least made it more presentable.
4. I ate some more of the Tightwad Gazette Lentil casserole and a serving of the corned beef/cabbage/potatoes/carrots/onions/turnips meal I made for St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t think it will last that long.
5. I took a nap because it is Saturday and I can.
1) Went to an included with my membership workout class today, so taking advantage of what I pay for.
2) Drove my electric car, to avoid needing gas
3) I cancelled my Kindle membership, so I'm reading through all of my currently checked out books before my membership ends.
4) Fed both DS's bagels from the freezer for breakfast. Glad to have someone home again who eats carbs!
5) Pulled grilled chicken out of the freezer for dinner tonight, which I'll pair with salad, and maybe edamame.
I love that bench! Glad you found a worthy buyer!
I went to Aldi this morning and bought creamer, butter, salad, cream cheese, granola, crescent rolls, and oatmeal cookies. $22. Thought I was getting the cheaper granola, but it turned out they were all the same price, despite shelf labels.
I also ran by the little free library and picked up canned pumpkin and a bottle of green veggie juice.
It started to snow this afternoon, which was a surprise -- it wasn't supposed to happen until Monday. So I walked inside at the community center and also returned a book and picked up two on hold.
A friend asked to borrow quilts, blankets and pillows for visiting company. I said yes, but I didn't hear back, so she must have made do, or got what she needed from someone else. I'm always happy to loan things to responsible people. It's how we make best use of our resources! I may hear from her yet, but it's getting late in the day.
I watched the second episode of Outlander season 8, and then cancelled my free trial. I'll just wait until it wraps up to figure out how to watch it for free. I'm going to have to be careful to avoid spoilers! Patience always pays off.
I bought a year of STARZ for $12 on a lightning deal. Patience pays off!
Congratulations on selling the bench for list price! It is gorgeous and the buyer got a deal.
1. I carefully used coupons to buy only things we have used up and needed to replace saving $14.32.
2. I have vegetarian chili simmering right now. This morning I made Crazy Spice Cake for snacking. Cooking in advance as we are in for a week of heat dome/heat alert weather starting tomorrow. It really is typical August/September weather but what can you do but pull out summer clothes?
3. Did some yard work in advance of the heat too.
We are also enjoying perfect weather in-between cold fronts. So I read and ate lunch on the
back porch and Snugs enjoyed his bone nearby. Perfect morning!
Snuggles has been digging in my flower bed so I sprinkled a liberal amount of red pepper flakes in and around his hole. Hope it discourages his efforts at excavating!
Went to work and who should come through my checkout lane but the neighbor who had the rotten movers come to her home. Even luckier it was a slow time, so I told her about the moving van damage. Her remodeler hired them and she promised to make him get the mover's contact info so I can recoup my expenses.She was horrified to hear what happened. She agreed I should not have to pay a dime when it was the mover's careless driver that caused the tree to topple.
This morning some guys with a pickup truck came by and loaded a lot of the oak logs on their truck. Then a gal with a wheelbarrow came and got a bit more. I'm hoping all of it will be gone by the time I go home tonight. (I'm writing this during my break,)
Dh fixed a hydraulic leak on my tractor.
I drove up to the rental farm and checked cows. Was close-ish so I went to gw and aldis. No chicken pan at gw, maybe someday! Cheapo grocery store was closed. I've really become accustomed to their rock bottom prices. I put off buying a few things at aldis because I know they're cheaper at the other place.
Accepted an offer on ebay. Will use an aldis box to ship it.
Made a concoction I call refrigerator magic and used up random cheese, rice, and meat that had been languishing in our fridge. Added mixed veg for a casserole type of meal. Not A+ healthy but we'll do better tomorrow!
Hanging up the wash and carrying on. A used ice ream bucket will be our compost bucket.
Update: I still have quite a bit of wood left, but I called my neighbor and she is going to make her contractor give her the info about the movers he hired and help in any way she can.
I hope this is resolved for you soon!
Although this cost me money, I’m counting it as frugal. My 5 year old is desperate for a pet kitten, she talks about it constantly and told me she uses all her wishes (birthday candles, dandelions, holding her breath in a tunnel, etc) for a kitten and her wish never comes true. We aren’t getting any pets until the kids are a bit older though. Today we were downtown and there was an event with small vendors setup in a parking lot. One of the booths was a tent (like for camping) with kittens inside and you could make a donation to the pet rescue for a chance to go in the tent and play with the kittens. My daughter was delighted, she was so happy and it was such a fun experience. I donated extra to the rescue to thank them. Also, all the kittens had already been adopted earlier in the day (but not picked up yet) so there was no temptation to adopt one.
Not knowing the obstacle, I know this might not be helpful, but if you're able to have pets at home, kitten fostering is a short-term commitment and the shelter generally pays for everything.
Short, simple cat sitting jobs are another possibility, if you have the time to transport and supervise - we did this before finally bringing home our kiddo's longed-for cats, to ensure they were committed to the necessary chores.
I would love to do that! Would be a good way to assess if the kids are ready and we could handle it. I’ll have to look at the signup process. I will say I had a friend who fostered kittens though, and she now has 6 cats (couldn’t bear to part with any of her fostered kittens!)
So happy the bench sold and went to someone who appreciates it. As a needleworker I appreciate the work that went into it!
I was thinking about my day the other day and realized how much frugality is just baked into my everyday life. I got ready in the morning while listening to an audiobook from the library. I put on an outfit of jeans and a sweater, both purchased at Goodwill. Drove to a book club where we talked about a book that I had borrowed from the library. Stopped at the library afterward to drop off some fabric and stickers to the craft exchange and picked up some ribbon and embroidery thread and a chocolate brown iron on patch (and I was just going to buy one to fix a hole in my boot). Picked up a puzzle from the puzzle exchange. Dropped off a spider plant baby and picked up a pothos cutting at the plant exchange. Came home and made lunch with leftover rice and beans I had made last week, spinach my friend gave me before heading out of town that I sautéed and the last of the Morningstar buffalo “chicken” nuggets. While I was thinking of it I logged onto the library to check if they and anything new in their Perkpasses since I haven’t used any this year. They did! You can reserve two at a time so I got two tickets to a contemporary dance performance next weekend and two tickets to Madame Butterfly with the opera company next month. The four tickets are valued at $250! I love the Perkspasses! Then I had an 80s pj party that night to go to. I didn’t want to buy 80s pjs for a one time thing so I looked in my daughter’s closet and she had left a tie dyed sweatshirt so I wore that, black joggers, krimped my hair and did 80s makeup. I also brought a fancy cheese my daughter bought and never used and some crackers and grapes for my snack contribution. Just a normal day but a lot of natural frugalness in there!
Thank you for telling about the Sewing Bee on the Roku channel. I enjoyed watching that last night.
I've been feeling under the weather and so had a day of puttering today. I planted some Swiss chard seeds, which grows prolifically here and I've never found a way I like to eat it until this week. So I'm very happy about more frugal meals to come.
I sold an item on Facebook marketplace and listed three more.
I tidied and got rid of scrappy bits on the workbench in the garage. This makes it much more of a joy to use and I can find what we own more quickly.
I'm taking some care to restock things that I'm low on in case prices go up. I'm not buying extra, just restocking earlier than I might have done otherwise.
I juiced more lemons, made lemonade with half the juice and froze the rest. The lemonade has been a real joy this winter.
I sorted through all of the oranges/ satsumas that I had picked up at the citrus exchange and caught two that had gone moldy. I was glad to find those before more of them was spoiled. Now they're all in the fridge. Having no food waste takes a lot of diligence. But it's a huge money saver.
1) Hit the thrift jackpot today! A brand new tool box, a used but still in the box dehydrator, some DVDs, a wooden salt bowl, and some NIB mens handkerchiefs.
2) Made a gifted roast in the crockpot with pantry veggies. We didn't have enough beef broth, so we made do with some bullion and wine. Came out great.
3) Not super frugal in the short run, but will pay out in the long run: bought a few garden plants at a local nursery. They have been in business for 50 years and everything was so healthy and well-cared for. I can use my dehydrator! I have a lot of jars and canning supplies raring to go, too.
4) Wanted a sweet so made a pan of brownies with pantry ingredients.
5) While looking for the brownie recipe in an old cookbook, found another couple of recipes I can make without needing to add much to the grocery list.
Bonus: Looked through last year's seeds and made a garden layout in my notebook to see what I need to buy.
1. Getting 58$ income tax refund. I'm grateful to not owe anything.
2. Found 2 dimes in the Coinstar machine coin slot.
3. Husband got 5 gal of gray weatherproofing paint at Lowes for 50$. Someone returned the paint. It is usually 150$ for the 5 gal size. I want to put this on the wood fence to protect it.
4. Picked up around 10 lb of cat kibble from a Nextdoor Neighbor post. Person who offered it said her cats would not eat the food. My cats love to eat & I think they will like it.
5. Found some soft drinks & bottled Pureleaf tea in the Dol Gen dumpster. I will wash the bottles w/ soap & water before putting them in the fridge. The Pureleaf tea is blackberry flavored. I think it will be tasty after I chill it.
1) Today was chilly and gorgeous, but I'm still flaring and unable to get out, so everything was using or eating what we already have. The heat has been off for a while - thrifted wool blankets and hefty socks make a big difference. It's supposed to get down to 18 by Monday, and we could lose power, so we'll likely turn it back on to preheat the house, just in case. The plants are outside for a little sunshine vacation, as they'd been looking wan.
2) Dinner was a half-price pork loin with lots of garlic and live sauerkraut (stocked up at 75% off when it was discontinued at Kroger), plus applesauce and sweet potatoes (remarkably ugly, perfectly delicious) rejected by the neighbor I pick up for at the food bank. There's quite a bit of the roast left for quick weekday lunches, and mashed sweet potatoes for future baking; the whole very generous meal was about .70 each. While cleaning up the kitchen, I found a bunch of greens that had been tossed in a bowl my short self can't see into by a tall self who also lives here, then forgotten. I picked out the good centers, sauteed them with soy sauce and sesame oil, ate them over the stove, and composted the rest. Then, we ate a bit of one of the big fancy chocolate bars that were both clearance and eligible for a $5 off 5 promotion, making them $1.44/each.
3) My favorite bulk Earl Grey finally came in, but I still have to use up the package bought in the meantime, which is... OK. It'll make the first cup of the good stuff even more delicious.
4) A charming neighbor with excellent taste is decluttering on BN, and I picked up a beautiful MCM vase the other day, which turns out to be worth a bit. I'll text her to see whether she'd prefer to consign it.
5) I'm not a month away from crashing the world economy after firing the region specialists and ignoring every warning about the likely outcome of my "strategy."
That Goodwill used to be my stomping ground in college!
1. Went to see a play at a local high school with my 4 year old last night. Paid for tickets there to avoid the $1.50 fee and they made her ticket free without me asking! Plus my daughter adored the musical. We’ve been to a lot of high school productions, we’re always so impressed with how great a job those kids do!
2. Went to the zoo with my daughter as well yesterday since dad was seeing a LotR double header at OMSI. We’re members, so it’s nice to actually use that membership. It was a gorgeous day in Portland!
3. Grocery shopping this week was somewhat light (for us) so it was just $75 at Costco & Winco.
4. Got rid of a few hefty items we no longer needed that were clogging up our breezeway on my Buy Nothing Group. Feels like a good way to head into Spring!
5. We’ve been using an envelope system for fun spending (eating out and personal shopping) this year and it’s really helped me enjoy those things without stress while still making better choices (like water instead of a soda I wouldn’t even enjoy that much). My husband has been especially loving it!
I admit, I was coveting that bench a little bit. I'm glad it found a happy home!
1) We had blue skies on the WA coast, so we went for a walk and geocached along a popular city trail yesterday. We ate lunch before we left so we wouldn't feel the urge to stop for takeout. We do pay $30 a year for the Geocaching app subscription, but we share one sub and we use it almost every weekend, so it is one of two subscriptions we maintain.
2) Not frugal, but it likely saved someone. On our walk, we found something that WASN"T a geocache. It was a loaded gun hidden behind a tree right by the walking path. This path connects two playgrounds, some baseball fields, two dog parks, and a popular pier. Tons of foot traffic, including children. The officer showed up promptly and took it away, confirming that it was real and loaded. Scary!
3) After the gun incident, we decided that we did need a treat out after all. So I used a free coffee voucher from a local shop that I had been saving, and we split a large latte while reliving our adventure.
4) I went through my closet and pulled out all my summer/spring clothing. Most were originally thrifted and I've been wearing them for a few years, so they are very tired. With the help of pinterest, I came up with some ways to refresh and refashion them, and they are now awaiting my scissors and sewing machine. This will be my task over the next couple weeks of spring break.
5) I need two anthologies of classic works for the classes I am taking in the spring. I found older PDF editions available online for free, which I can use with my e-reader. I emailed the professors who said I could use these, I would just have to be mindful because the page numbers wouldn't match up with the syllabus. Yes! $65 saved!
Bonus #6) I had scored a pack of thick cut pork chops marked down to $4 at WinCo on Friday. I packaged them into three meals for the two of us and did that super basic pork chops on top of mushroom rice dish that is on the back of old soup cans. Except, instead of canned soup (which we don't buy), I sauted some mushrooms and onions, then added a cup of veggie broth, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and a TB cornstarch to make a fake cream o' crap soup. Then, mix it with 2/3 cups uncooked rice, put two seasoned pork chops on top (I also pour a little of the sauce on top) and bake covered for an hour. Easy, cheap, and it was delicious served with roasted asparagus! I'm not sure why I quit buying pork chops, they tend to be an inexpensive option even when not on sale.
Good score on finding alternative books!
If they are translated from another language, keep in mind that some translations are markedly better than others, especially for satires or comedy, which does not always hold up when put in another language.
I think that recipe is what we used to call "roofchops" because when my SIL first made it her husband and mine were working on the roof. I always loved it but lost the recipe. Thank you for sharing how you made it in a soup less way!
Oh my goodness, it's frightening to think what might have happened with the loaded gun if it had gotten into the wrong hands, especially children's hands. So glad you found it and turned it over to the authorities.
Agreed! That’s a potentially tragic situation that you stopped.
1. I ate a snack right before my very long (3.5 hour commute) so that I wouldn't be tempted to stop and get something on the road. Partner and I whipped up a fast taco night dinner when we both got home (at 8:30 pm), using the free ground beef, cheese, avocado (mystery shop) and free cabbage (farm share via work).
2. Listened to podcasts on my free Spotify account on my commute, or an audiobook via the library.
3. Didn't leave the house yesterday (it was blissful!) and ate a number of leftovers, etc. for my meals. Took a nap. Watched some episodes of Munch via PBS and fantasized about living in Paris.
4. Having a dinner guest tonight. She is a pescatarian, so I chose the fish based on what is on sale at the store and everything else (farro, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, radishes) we have on hand (and was free from mystery shops or farm share), including a "French guacamole" that uses tarragon, shallots, and white vermouth (we have a glut of avocados that we had to buy for a mystery shop). Guest is bringing dessert, which is so appreciated in both terms of time and money. I'll use my one tablecloth, which was a gift 18 years ago...
5. My goal for making $400 from mystery shops (for a celebration event with partner and inlaws): this past week, I made $121, so $279 left to go before April 8....
Mmm French Guacamole! Tarragon is such an under rated herb!
bettafromdaville:
May I ask who do you mystery shop with? I ask as I'm a Betta from WMass and would love to get into mystery shopping. Figured someone "more local" would know which firms have shops in this area. (As an aside, I used to be a Betta from EMass, lived about 20 minutes north of Boston growing up - my grandparents all came from Melrose). Thanks for any help.
1. We had severe storms Thursday which knocked out our Wi-Fi. I was able to checkout a hotspot from my library to use until it's fixed. Apparently a transformer was hit it has been too windy (50+ mph) for them to safely repair it.
2. My employer is paying for us to get first -aid certified by the Red Cross. It's voluntary, and free so I am in. I finished day one Friday and will finish it next Friday.
3. I sold a listing on Posh. It's only $5 but Tiny Streams will take it.
4. Sold another book on eBay that I listed for someone else. $49 which is pretty sweet for a book.
5. Sadly used the last of my butternut squash from the garden over the weekend. It has lasted us since September, so not too bad. And it won't be long before my spring crops start producing. Grocery store prices are so high, and with the current oil situation I only see them getting higher.
I worked a little bit yesterday, but my nephew stopped by for a surprise visit. I hadn’t seen him since my mother passed away on 22/26/2022, so I happily left work for a visit.
After the visit I went back to work for a bit until my daughter and I went to a free book swap. I got rid of about 8 books and only brought 3 back into my house, so that’s a win. One was a Christmas book published, I believe, in 1870. I will read it and then use it for decorating.
My daughter, granddaughter, and grand-dogs took a long walk today to enjoy the sunshine. My mom was a big proponent of “getting aired out,” making you feel better physically and mentally, and it is definitely true with me!
I did some coupon shopping at Dollar General and CVS yesterday and today: I need make sure I am buying what I need to and not just using coupons for the “thrill of the deal.” I did get some Coppertone sunblock on sale with ECB back from CVS and a rebate. As a super pasty girl, this is a must have for me!
I have turned some leftover spaghetti into baked spaghetti for dinner. Hoping it is tasty and gets eaten up.
Ha ha! I love your description of being a super pasty girl! I'm in the same boat with this Irish/Scandinavian skin. Sunscreen to the rescue! Glad you got a good deal on yours.
I did the ancestry dna thing where it confirmed that I come from the lands of no tan. Not a single bit of DNA from any country that tans. Lol