Four Frugal Things -- Mostly Garbage
1) The lid to my daughter's kitchen garbage can rusted off and she was complaining about how expensive replacements were. I told her to hold off from buying a new one until I had a chance to hit up my Buy Nothing group.
I got an offer of one within fifteen minutes of asking!
It was pretty dirty and still had the original sticker in place, but I was able to cleanly remove it with a hair dryer. It's a hack from thrifting, but is surprisingly handy in other areas of my life.
2) I thrifted this Uppdatera Ikea storage bin at the bins, which I'm now using to store my eBay listing/shipping supplies. I love this specific design and have been able to thrift four of them through the years for various usage throughout the house. It supports my theory that "Everything that's ever been manufactured will eventually hit Goodwill."
They also work great for refrigerator organization/storage. Again, all thrifted!
3) I also grabbed this Calphalon pan at the bins, likely ignored by everyone else as it had baked on schmutz.
It took all of four or five minutes of scrubbing to get it looking new! This pan sells for $60, granted that's with the lid. However . . . I already have the matching omelette pan which uses the same size lid! Of course, that pan was also thrifted.
I'll actually keep this pan.
4) Lastly I bought a dozen or so skeins of darning wool from the bins, which were hidden in a nest of tangled yarn and plastic hangers. (They really want you to work for your found treasures sometimes!) I popped them into the freezer as an anti-bug measure and look forward to the darning of many socks.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
1. Hit a 'everything free'yard sale which was down to the dregs but I came away with a few things to resell.
2. Altered a Liberty of London shirt that I had picked up in a free pile. It's so much better.
3. Sadly we lost our raspberry patch to a virus but it does free up valuable space to grow more hearty foods. Planted that today.
4. Roasted a chicken, made broth with carcass. This one chicken will make 4 meals plus some meat for sandwiches.
5. Cut up an old quilt to make a couple of throw size quilts. Used fabric from the cut off edges to make a binding. I'll sell one and keep one. Colors are not for me which I why I'm repurposing it. I'm keeping one because it makes a good safety cover for our brick hearth for when our grandchildren are here. Once that need is gone I'll sell the second one .
It is festival time in our small town, which means the opportunity for random spending is heavy. But I’ve managed to limit my spending to one huckleberry lemonade and 3 steak sandwiches. The steak sandwiches benefit our county’s 4H clubs, helping to pay for camp for every member that wants to go.
I received $20.50 back in NBPR rebates just yesterday. All of that went to paying my utility bill. It’s the easiest way for me to use the digital cards they send as payment.
We spent a couple hours visiting on our porch with our daughter and her family and friends and their baby. That is the best part of the festival.
If you haven’t read it yet, may I recommend Theo of Golden? It is a self-published book that ended up being very popular.
Our book club is reading Theo of Golden in August. You're the second person who has recommended it. I'm really looking forward to reading it!
It has also been recommended in the latest AARP magazine.
I’ve read Theo of Golden twice and loved it even more the second time. I got it out of the little free library.
I couldn't wait to tell you this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been needing some slacks, as many of mine were getting "holey." And they are probably old enough to be of legal drinking age, anyway. My tops, shirts and blouses are fine, but the bottoms need replacing. Don't need skirts, hardly ever wear them, but I really needed slacks.
The other day, as previously reported, I thrifted one pair of my favorite brand and size of turquoise blue capris at the GW Boutique aka Goodwill, and was thrilled. But that was nothing!
Today I walked into another, lesser known, local thrift store. They were having a bag sale -- everything you can stuff in one of their Glad drawstring garbage bags you can buy for $10. I went over to the slacks racks. Alfred Dunner, Alfred Dunner, Alfred Dunner -- my favorite brand -- I kept seeing them in both the dressy slacks racks and the jeans and capris racks. Lots of different colors, different fabrics, different styles, but all of them in my size. Most looked brand new and may even have been donated by a dept. store or something.
Bottom line (no pun intended): I bought 13 pair of Alfred Dunner jeans and dress slacks + 1 pair of another brand's capris, all in my size. Tried 'em on at home just now, perfect fit.
I thought I'd have to pay for 2 bags. Didn't mind doing so because this thrift store supports the local food bank, and 20 bucks for over a dozen pairs is still a fantastic buy.
But the lady at the counter squished them all into one bag. I told her to pinch me, I thought I was dreaming, but no, it was for real. Ten bucks.
OK, I had to pay tax, so my total cost was $10.82 for 14 pairs of very good slacks/jeans/capris. That's about 77 cents per pair!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get out the smelling salts. Won 't need to shop for clothes for a lllloooooonnnnnnggggg time!
(They were also doing a free book giveaway, so I snagged some History books for friend's daughter's boyfriend-turning-teacher, and also got myself a Nelson DeMille novel.)
I will definitely be donating either money or items to this store andn its worthy cause in the coming weeks.
That is so awesome! Some shopaholic lady in your size must have had her entire closet donated.
That is so amazing! What an incredibly lucky shopping trip that turned out to be!
That is phenomenal! It seems like every once in awhile, everything comes together and things work out perfectly. I think this was your time!
That almost never happens but when it does it's the best feeling!!! Congrats on your finds!
I got three small glass Pyrex kitchen storage containers, two round and one oblong, all with lids, for $6 total at an estate sale near my house. I have been trying to de-plastic my kitchen ware and this will help. I also got a $3 collapsible umbrella as a spare for the car and because it was a rainy morning! I am trying to be practical in my purchases and only buy to fill a need.
I took a half-hour walk today, this time going to the beach. I found an abandoned kickball, which I'm in the process of cleaning, and a Monster High Cleo de Nile doll who had no clothes, but all her parts were there and worked. I have scrubbed her and de-sanded her, and I am in the process of detangling her long blue hair. I looked her up on eBay, and she's selling for $15 to $30. It doesn't appear to make much difference in price whether she's dressed or not. But she would certainly make a better presentation if dressed, so I'll look for clothing when I visit Goodwill. Don't know how easy that will be, but it's something to look for. She's basically the size of a Barbie.
The kickball I will donate.
I also found a receipt worth the usual 25 points.
I had mac and cheese AGAIN. As soon as it cools I'm going to divide it into servings and freeze it. Enough is enough!
When I find balls and other small outdoor toys like that I drop them
At the playground three blocks from me.
I think that's what I will do!
Hosting a party for my daughter's 18th birthday today - luckily, the weather cooperated so the kids are enjoying backyard grilling (with most of the food from our freezer). It's been a busy week, with my son graduating college, so we forgot to plan party activities. Magpie Mom to the rescue - we had nerf guns for backyard war, paint and canvases for crafts, and sugar cookies and decorating supplies already on hand.
Sounds like everyone had a blast, no pun intended, with the nerf guns. Wish I could've been there; it must've been great fun. You are absolutely brilliant, Jiya S. (Or should I say Magpie Mom?) Best wishes to your newly minted 18 y.o. and your newly minted college grad -- and all their friends and family!
I worked a five hour shift at my old job at the deli today. While there, the owner asked me if I could come in tomorrow too as they will still be short a couple of workers. I'm happy to cover every once in awhile and the extra money will come in handy.
2. The boss sent me home with two free large Italian sandwiches for myself and DH. No cooking tonight for me.
3. Our checks for working at the town elections last week arrived in our mailbox today.
4. After three rainy and/or cloudy days, the sun finally came out and with it the opportunity to hang laundry.
5. DH gave me two hanging baskets of flowers for Mothers Day which I hung on two hooks on the front porch. No sooner had I put them up then a pair of purple finches began to build a nest in one. Now I can't water it and I don't expect the flowers to thrive. So I guess it's frugal fail in that the money he spent was wasted on one of the plants. I can't bear to scare the birds or chase them out by watering.
Not a frugal fail - it is a nest for birds. Birds need all the help they can help as their habitat continues to decrease.
Thank you Selena.
I had that happen and I just dirt if watered around the nest. Mama bird would scold me but round come back to the nest after I watered.
I will attempt that. The nest, which now has one egg, is directly in the center so I may be able to do that.
Ask the Universe and she will provide! It was a blustery, rainy garage sale day. I purchased very little for us, but scored a newer couch and chair + ottoman and area rug for the niece for $300. Plus an IKEA tv stand with room for gaming stuff and another chair for $20. I filled up the cargo hauler and she called her friends to unload.
I also use the freezer on many occasions for thrift / garage sale finds. My husband has finally gotten used to it. The other day he casually called out from the garage, “can this Paw Patrol chair come out of the freezer yet?”
I'm currently lounging on a new pair of feather pillows I bought on FBMP--after their sojourn in the freezers. They spent about 24 hours in there before coming all the way in the house.
1. Thinned out some thick cheddar broccoli soup to make it last longer.
2. Paid first half property taxes online for a $1 e-Check transaction fee. Using a credit card was more expensive and mailing it was not an option.
3. Iced my swollen knee with bags of frozen peas.
4. Can now wash my own hair in the kitchen sink at the same time I do my sponge bath. I use shampoo, conditioner and washcloths given to me by a friend from her mom's estate.
5. Converted VISA reward points to a statement credit of $110. I do this several times per year.
I cannot believe they charge for an e-check. I just pay all my property taxes in one fell swoop. If it were 1980 thru 1982, I'd pay in installments as CDs were earning a very nice rate. Not any more and frankly, my time is worth more than the amount of interest my getting closer to 5 figures would earn in interest.
Hubby and I got home from our semi annual trip to Floriday this week. Decided to make it an annual trip. Got a tip from another guest at our hotel that I should look on Cyber Monday to get a better deal.
We stayed at a Residence Inn and we got a two bedroom suite! I need the handicap rails in the shower and a toilet that is not on the ground. Hubby got a great deal on that and we had the pool to ourselves.
I used a $25 Fetch gift card for Olive Garden take away. I'm glad I didn't pay full price cause the food was very sub-par.
Hubby remembered he has a $400 gift card that he has to use. He wants a new fishing pole for his birthday so I told him to use the gift card for that. Frugal wife/happy wife.
Katy Tillamook ice cream has finally come to New Jersey. I will buy when it's on a killer sale.
Free things we got on our trip: lots of beautiful seashells, a Scrub Daddy, small bottle of Palmolive dish soap, 2 note pads, 2 pens, and plenty of good photos of the Gulf of MEXICO.
I love Barkeepers Friend. Some years ago our neighbors gave us a large Viking barbecue - the type that cost several thousand new. They were getting a newer, bigger one.
So a friend told me to use Bartender’s Friend on it. Granted, it did take a bit of elbow grease due to long time lack of cleaning…. But with an inexpensive part we needed to order and my scrubbing, it got sparkling clean. The neighbors came over for dinner one night and couldn’t believe it was their old barbecue:)
1) Wrapped a gift in thrifted gift wrap. I didn't quite have enough to wrap the square box the traditional way but I remembered the diagonal method I'd seen somewhere. I spun the box around until I could fold the corners in to cover the middle and it worked.
2) Needed an OTC med and used a CVS gift card I got through Fetch. I was able to get two boxes and a gift bow (none of those in the stash) and still have money left on the card to go toward a prescription I'll need to pick up later this month.
3) DP had a hobby part break and he was really bummed. We tried to go to a local place to check pricing but they had closed. He found a chain that carries replacements online. I reminded him he's got a few gift cards for this company and he brightened a bit. Not a frugal hobby but one that makes him very happy so it does 'pay off'.
4) Found two pillows in a fun color on FBMP from a defunct homewares company. They are good quality and an usual color that compliments a gift piece of art. $20 that didn't go to Beff Jezos!
5) Found several things that were on my list at Ross (what I call 'almost thrifted'). A pair of shoes to replace a decade-old pair that was falling apart and some cleaning supplies. I hadn't been in one of these stores in about two years and had forgotten how eclectic they are. It was nice to not have to brave a big box store for a handful of items that would have me traipsing all over.
Bonus: remembered to pick up a winterization item while I was out picking up the pillows. I hate to drive for only one errand and was double glad to drive right by the store that carries what I needed. Bonus points for remembering before winter.
I love the tip about freezing wool! I'm going to start doing that with thrifted wool items.