Four Frugal Things -- Thrifted Twine & Hot Dimes
1) I stopped into Goodwill and walked out with a roll of twine, which I'll use to weave another hanging basket liner, like the one I did a few months ago:
It's looking good and the scrappy propagated plants seem to be thriving.
I also picked up a 100% cotton Land's End T-shirt that was the half-off tag color, which brought the price down to $3.50. It looked brand new.
Not an exciting haul, but it's good when I can thrift everyday staples.
I was tempted to pick up this bag that must've contained at least a hundred zippers for $7.99. A bargain for someone!
These souvenir pottery pieces were stunning and certainly caught my eye. They were actually in different areas of the store, so I placed them together for the actual buyer.
2) My sister repaired her vintage umbrella and sent me some photos. Most people would toss that umbrella without a second thought. My sister isn't "most people."
She firmly sewed the fabric back onto the ribs and even fixed a hinge with a piece of wire.
Lastly she sewed a button into place.
There, that's better!
3) I added the last bits of embroidery to my Ralph Lauren inspired shirt. Of course, my thrifted shirt differs from the original, so I had to adapt.
I'm cognizant to not over embellish the shirt, as I don't want to cross the line into kitchy. Although it's a fuzzy line and I may have passed it a hundred stitches ago!
All done now!
4) I went to Winco to pick up groceries and found a scaldingly hot dime in the parking lot, as well as two abandoned receipts, which I scanned into the Fetch app.
The soda machine was out of order, so I saved 50¢.
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."
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
As I write this, it is 79 degrees F in my bedroom -- yes, the AC is on full blast-- and 105 outdoors at 4:20 p.m. I'm in Texas where it's hotter than you-know-where. My pal is going to help me try to fix the perpetually problematic west-facing window where the sun heats up the room. There is nothing to shade it outdoors. I have some thrifted solar film and we are also going to get some plywood and insulation to stick in the window. The drapes will hide the ugly looking stuff from the inside and the reflective solar film is dark enough that it won't be an eyesore on the outside. Hopefully that will help!
1. Tropical storm Bertha dumped some rain here to cool things a bit down to where it feels like 90 degrees instead of 110. I will take it. Unfortunately, my son’s air went out and had to be repaired $$$$$. The only frugal thing about this is that the whole unit did not need to be replaced.
2. I walked an hour this morning.
3. I made baby lime beans from my supply of dried beans, salmon salad instead of tuna salad for a lunch (and enough for several days), still eating my free cucumbers, and ate a tomato and egg sandwich for breakfast. Bottom line: no eating out.
4. Gas was $3.47 a gallon which is still a sucky price but it could be worse.
5. I hand washed my work clothes and hung them out to dry before Bertha showed up. Ditto on my jeans.
Your shirt came out lovely and not kitchy at all!
1. I am cleaning and organizing our garage which is only used as a laundry and storage room (old house). So far I've done the household cleaning, fixit items, tools plus yard supplies and equipment. I did put a few items in recycling, trashed some and have some to put out in a free pile. My husband agreed to a more organized supply area and let go of a few things. We sort of organized it when we moved in 3 years ago but this is better. Hopefully it will reduce future purchases.
2. The items I found needing stocking up were a filter for the Dustbuster, Barkeeper's Friend and packing tape. I used a $5 of coupon at ACE to buy those.
3. I'm sticking to my only free books (library, Little Free Library) to read and finding plenty of ones to enjoy despite how many books I plow through.
4. We do pay for one streaming service but I personally mostly utilize PBS Passport for members. I paid my annual membership which is really a deal and for a good cause.
5. Frugal for others: We are holding "Nana & Papa summer camp" next week at our 9 year old granddaughter's request. I've got her snack and lunch preferences list for shopping and one free outing planned so far. If we weren't doing this it would be one more week of paid camp for her parents. Besides, it is fun to spend time with her especially if she has asked for it.
Kudos on the Goodwill finds, the hot dime, and especially the embroidered shirt. As mentioned earlier, I used to do embroidery like that myself, back in the long-ago days when my fingers and eyes would cooperate.
And your Goodwill twine find inspires me to pass on this parody of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line." I can't get a straight story online re: who came up with this, but here it is anyway:
I keep my pants up with a piece of twine
I keep my arms wide open all the time
I keep myself quite willing all the time
Because you’re mine
please pull the twine. 😛