Non-Consumer Mish-Mash
by Katy on March 28, 2024 · 70 comments
It’s been awhile, but it’s time for another Non-Consumer Mish-Mash blog post, where I shine a light on a couple items of random nonconsumerism.
My friend Lise is a sustainability genius. You might think that I’m good when it comes to figuring out creative solutions to sustainability issues, but she regularly puts me to shame. Just today the two of us brought our laptops to IKEA to drink free coffee and work on individual projects, when she casually whips out this iPad stand. What?!
Of course I had to document. She did admit that she found the idea online, but still . . .
Then I came across this display explaining how to get a free Frakta bag. Of course I was there to drink the coffee not buy the things, so it didn’t pertain to me. Normally, I don’t mind jumping through a few hoops to get something for free. Especially a Frakta bag, which are indestructible and endlessly useful. I cannot even count the number of dorm rooms and college apartments my kids moved into and then out of with the assistance of these bags.
Plus it’s fun to say “Frakta” out loud. Like swearing.
P.S. I did get a 65¢ IKEA veggie dog.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }
Lise rocks! I got 2 for $6 orange juice at Target, which beats my usual Aldi price of $3.29 for 52 fluid Oz. Speaking of Aldi, I walked there and shopped. It is 20 mins down hill and 25 to 30 minutes on the way back uphill with my groceries. That Aldi bag is sturdy! I like getting two things done at the same time! The milk was $1.86 for half gallon and the bag is spinach was $1.49. I adore Aldi hummus and also bought that for $2.49. A large carton of strawberries were $2.49. I bought my bananas at Target for 59 cents a lb.
Lise does rock, I’ll pass that along.
Love the computer stand!
1. Found some change this week. .25 in an Aldi cart, .25 in the coat pocket of a cool trench coat I bought my child at Goodwill. A dime in the street in front of my friends house and two random Pennie’s.
2. 19yr old child wanted a trench coat. Found one at Goodwill $17.99. Child is in 7th heaven.
3. Sold a few things from random free piles. $30
4. My new raised beds are almost full with free to me compost, cardboard, leaves and random pots of dirt. I used a $10 gift card I won at the library to get two bags of dirt. My goal is to fill the two beds without spending any money. I have also added a lot of rabbit manure as it is a wonderful cold compost. They should be ready to plant in May with seeds I’m currently growing in homemade mini greenhouses. (Empty milk jugs)
5. Making ribs in the crockpot today with various packs of marked down ribs I’ve been stashing in the freezer.
I bet your house smells amazing!
Soil, one buys/uses soil. Splitting hairs while yes I am.
And yes, most meat is aromatic as it cooks. I’ve yet to experience the smell of liver cooking hence the “most”.
Julia, if you’re not finished with filling the beds yet, you could put wood branches and offcuts, etc. on the bottom of the beds and layer the other ingredients on top. Look up “hugelkultur”.
You don’t have to build the beds up into great big mounds for the technique to be valuable and effective, and you don’t have to dig a trench to put the wood in. The wood soaks up water when there’s an excess, and gives it back if the soil gets dry.
We built our berry beds using this technique, and even tho’ there was a drought here the year we planted, we only had to water the beds *once*! They’ve even thriving ever since. This technique works for annual beds, too. Just be sure to avoid pressure treated and painted wood, black walnut and other allelopathic woods, etc.
HTH
*been* The berry plants have *been* thrilling ever since. (This keyboard’s auto-correct is not nearly as helpful as it thinks it is.)
*t-h-r-i-v-i-n-g* See what I mean? :facepalm:
The past two times I’ve tried to get coffee at Ikea the pot was empty! The first time it happened they were in the process of making some, but the other day the out-of-sorts cashier said they were short staffed and she didn’t know when someone would get around to it.
That’s too bad, I’ve never had that happen before. Mine always have two pots going at once.
It’s Portland. They’d have a revolt on their hands if they let it run out.
That laptop stand totally rocks!
I took advantage of being in an area with significantly lower sales tax to do an Aldi run. Interestingly, there are some differences in what’s stocked at Aldis, as this one was clearly geared toward the rural population. Lots of pork and very light on the international food.
Turned a worn-out quilted mattress pad into a new mattress for a dog bed. Ordered a $16 part to repair the telescoping wand tube on the vacuum cleaner as opposed to spending 5 times more to replace the wand.
Spent 20 minutes standing in a not-moving checkout line at a home decor store before frugality kicked in and I decided we did not need hangers that badly. Having only one check-out stand open for this huge store has become the norm and my arthritic knees can’t take standing in one spot on concrete.
Does you state charge sales tax on food!?! I always find this a bit shocking when I visit other places.
Yes, it does. It’s a convoluted tax because ready to eat food in the grocery store is taxed higher than ingredient type food. For example, granola bars have two different tax levels depending on whether or not there’s flour in the recipe.
Wow, Ruby, that’s amazing about the sales taxes on food. Even NY State, which ordinarily taxes everything that doesn’t move fast enough, doesn’t tax grocery store food.
And I also hear you about concrete floors and arthritic knees. I’ve got the same problem.
I thought that NY doesn’t tax clothing?
Replying to Lulutoo – you are correct, it does not. Insert “fashion that moves to fast to be taxed” crack here?
*Too* she whimpered, giving Evil Sticking Keyboard the stink-eye.
In Florida, we do not pay income tax, but we do have sales tax. However, most food and OTC medicines are exempt. Twice a year, we have a “sales tax holiday” on clothing and school supplies including computers. Not to be political, but I find sales tax on food terribly regressive. However, every state’s economy and needs are slightly different.
We have no state income tax nor do we have sales tax in Fairbanks (except for alcohol and cigarette products), but they do have sales tax in other parts of the state. This state is rabidly anti-tax to the degree that they are going to close one of our local schools (having closed another one last year), rather than provide sufficient education funding. I am afraid the permanent fund dividend paid to every resident once a year, which comes from oil revenues and interest income, has made some of our citizens think that not only should services all be free but they deserve to be individually paid for living here.
All I can say is you can’t fix stupid. All this taxation crap started with raygun – black eye on my state and I have to control myself from eradicating anything raygun with my gun but I digress. The happy medium of taxation is gone. A stable, democratic society require taxes from all. Too many rich want to pay zippo in taxes yet expect premium services (LE, fire, EMT, roads, sewer, water etc.). I’ve watched this crazy train since I was 20 years old. I’m at breaking point with my county taxes – our security department “sheriff” has no concept of a budget despite bragging how he understood one from being in the private sector.
There’s no income tax here, but the sales tax locally is just a hair under 10% and does include essentials like food and OTC meds. Food is taxed at a lower rate than other goods, but it’s still higher than the neighboring state, which has an income tax. So when I have an appointment just over the state line, I fit in some shopping.
Selena, you might enjoy the Pitchfork Economics podcast, where I think you’ll find kindred spirits.
We’re very lucky that Oregon doesn’t have sales tax.
But I seem to remember Oregon’s property taxes as being pretty high.
Yes they are.
@Vickey – I think you’re right. Did a quick check of the topics and yep, seems up my alley. I’ll have to suck it up and deal with it being a podcast but I think a) I’ll live and b) upgrade podcasts into the can be useful in life category.
We’re fortunate here in Massachusetts we don’t have tax on groceries. Prepared food is a different story whether it be in a restaurant or take-out. In this state it really does make a difference when you cook your meals at home. Also not taxable is anything that is conducive to the growth of food. So things like fertilizer, bone meal, vegetable seeds and starter pots/larger pots of vegetable plants are not taxed.
I love that food growin’ goods aren’t taxed there!
Sounds like a perfectly perfect frugal afternoon sharing frugal ideas with a frugal friend.
It was!
I made a double batch of ginger snap cookies for a treat basket that will be delivered next week. I included cinnamon sugar leftover from making snicker doodles a few weeks ago (I had stored it in the freezer). I put the perfect amount of sugar in a bowl for rolling them in, something that has never happened before. The cookies are stored in the freezer.
I walked with a friend, and her dog, this morning. I’ll sit outside with another friend this afternoon, it is finally a sunny and warmer day.
Sounds like a lovely day, but weather wise and socially!
Katy, thanks to Lise and you for passing on the idea of the cardboard iPad stand–which strikes me as having many other uses. I’m appropriating it pronto.
And I found an old Aldi cloth grocery bag during my early morning walk today. Good thing, too, as I hadn’t brought an extra bag with me and was having unusual bottlepicking success for this route. (I try to walk a different way every day, to maximize my earnings.) I came home with the bag (which I will launder and reuse), $2.25 worth of containers, and 7 cents in found change, plus sightings of two groups of five deer each (I do a monthly deer count for my city) and a flock of murmurating grackles. (Hey, gang, look “murmurating” up in your Funk & Wagnalls!)
I love that you not only monetized your walk, but that you also helped track deer and increased our vocabulary!
A. Marie, thanks for the new-to-me word!
So good for our brains, too, to vary our routes!
Serious success and frugality in NOT having to go to the emergency hospital after the staff v student basketball game. I was the oldest by 20 years and one of 3 women on the team. Credit running the baselines several time. Also, I brought a spray bottle filled with water and randomly squirted 16 year olds if they weren’t cheering loud enough for me.
A friend traded us wood from our orchard for skiing tickets to Palisades tahoe Skiing. They are base priced at 250 a ticket. I got two. We were bringing them wood anyway because they are generous farm neighbors. it was a great surprise. Now I am up at the cabin waiting for it to stop snowing this weekend. The dilemma: Free parking is sold out. Do I buy the $30 permit? or do I ski another place i have a free ticket which has free parking and com back to Palisades. When is $30 just one third of my hourly rate or when is it unnecessary luxury. Sometimes a year of $30 is another trip. – like to Billy Joel in Vegas on Nov. 9. Suggestions?
I would love to have the opportunity to squirt 16 year olds for not cheering me on with enough vigor!
Me too, Mary Ann. ROFL!
I love the idea of squirting lackadaisical teens. I wonder if I can get away with dousing my two middle aged sons.
Sorry for typos. I am just a little beat the strat of this Spring break.
And another typo in the corrections. I give up.
BTW I decided to buy a parking pass for the following reason: It is snowing heavily and I don’t want to be the first out but traffice is so bad I would have to go very early or an hour later. So I will be able to slip into a nice spot late in the day when the roads are safe. I will make up for it by packing my lunch and drinking the available water.That is easily close to $30.
I am extremely crabby today, so it is good for me to realize that I have had some successes, at least with frugality.
1. In the back closet I found a basket we bought years ago while driving through the redwoods, carved from salvaged redwood. It is gorgeous and I do not understand how it ended up out of sight. It is now the husband’s Easter basket and after that I have just the spot to display it. To think I almost went out and bought a basket.
2. I tired to get my shoe repairs done at the dry cleaner, as someone suggested. No luck, but as I was telling my friend about my frustration about no local cobbler, she suggested I ask her grandmother to do it. She is an experienced skin sewer, who used to tan her own hides when she was younger. She had the equipment to reattach leather to bottoms on two different shoes. She refused to accept any payment. Her granddaughter told me they would love it if I ever ran across a moose head so her grandmother could make moose head soup.
3. I could not get her the whole head, but bachelor buddy had moose tongue and heart in his freezer from last fall’s hunt, which he offered me when I was ruminating about what I could get her instead. He does not eat those parts but feels guilty if he just throws them away. He was happy to donate it and grandma was thrilled to receive it. I love trades that make people happy and save me money.
4. Vet says Clobber Paws, who came to us quite thin, is still too thin. He should be closer to 170 pounds for his height, so at least 20 more pounds. I broke out the jar of bacon grease I keep in the fridge but don’t use often enough, and he is now getting two tablespoons with his two daily feedings.
5. For the second week in a row, when picking up our mushroom subscription we were offered a pound of them that was not going to be picked up this week. Yes, please.
Lindsey, I’d love to have Clobber Paws’ problem. (As an expatriate Southerner, I use my jar of bacon grease more often than I should.)
Still trying to wrap my head around the whole moose story.!
Your # 2 & 3….only in Alaska! The grandma with the knowledge and skill to reattach shoe soles and the “payment” of a moose head for soup or moose head parts in this case. Your daily life sounds so interesting to this Lower Forty-eight Gal. Your writing skills are also admirable. I wonder if you would ever consider a memoir or at least a collection of stories about your life in Alaska.
HA! It is all a matter of perspective. I am always amazed by what Kristin at the Going Country blog writes about from her daily life! I had a lot more exciting stuff to write about when I lived at the very top of the state, where every morning the local radio announced the location of any polar bears so that people would know if they were hanging around the school. On Halloween men in trucks with guns patrolled to be sure no kids were eaten (polar bears do not hibernate). Or when the sun set in November and it stayed gone until February, and even then it was only for a few hours. Or you could have really low temperatures combined with a wind that drove the wind chill temp down to 70, 80, or more below zero and the snow swirls so badly that you essentially have white-out conditions. The interior of Alaska, where we live now, is pretty boring by comparison. Our moose are like the deer in most states—not all that exciting but they can be destructive. Although it is true people don’t get stomped to death by deer, where that has happened with moose.
Your friend’s iPad stand is pure genius!
I would not have been able to resist jumping through the hoops and buying one little thing to get the free bag. I admire your resolve!
Any “opportunity” loses me at “scan your app”. Nope. Not doing it. Security risk. Do you really want me as a customer/patron – nope if it takes an “app”. My privacy and security are worth far more than any pittance said company, which I often times thinks I am down right stupid and/or desperate, has to “offer”. Lived without their “opportunity” for years and can continue to live without it until I become dust in the wind, literally. Or soil additive – I’ve yet to check the chemical make up of a cremated body.
I scan receipts into Fetch, but I do NOT allow for the app to track me across platforms, which diminishes the points I can earn but I’m okay with that.
I’m with you on the personal privacy concerns, Selena. Tho’ as mentioned previously, the thought of scanning *others* receipts to confound the algorithm tickles me.
Chemical composition of cremated remains might depend on what the body consumed in the years leading up to cremation.
Especially when I scanned other people’s receipts in Nebraska!
Right??!! I love this! You receipt rebel, you!
Sliced up several of the thinking-about-sprouting yellow onions bought in bulk from a local farmer last fall, and made vegan, oil-free caramelized onions in the Instant Pot. Ez-Peasy! Three ingredients: onions, boiling water, and the merest hint of salt. They were *fabulous* and now there’s just a wee bit left for topping tomorrow’s lunch.
Dinner one recent night was a quick stew in the Instant Pot, made of overwintered kale from the garden, onions, garlic, and potatoes purchased in bulk last fall from a local farmer and overwintered in a cold room in our basement, and bulk-purchased garbanzo beans cooked up earlier in the Instant Pot, all seasoned with apple cider vinegar and oil- and dairy-free pesto from the freezer, which we made last summer with garden basil and bulk-purchased nuts and seeds. Our die-hard meat-eating friends love it.
Chopped the pineapple core and added it to the high-speed blender when I was whipping up a batch of salad dressing. Nummy!
Figured out the best Medicare strategy for me, given I am pretty healthy and live a health-sustaining lifestyle. Yay for NYS and the mandate to allow switching plans w/out medical underwriting! Waited until this year to sign up, since my birthday was near the end of last year, to avoid paying premiums for the couple of months when I was extremely unlikely to meet the annual deductible. (I’m Medical Industrial Complex-averse. I believe there are many good people trying hard, but the system is broken. Similar to our education system.)
Maximizing frugal windfall #1: long-time client with whom I’m ending my contract gave me a $500 VISA gift card going away present. Much more useful than a gold watch! 🙂 I’m using it for purchases at places where my own credit cards’ cash back is nominal or non-existent.
Maximizing 2nd frugal windfall: I received a gift code to an online plant store, so I selected half-price plants that were on clearance. And ordered them in grow pots instead of heavy, expensive ceramic pots, which was also cheaper. I have wicker (compostable!) cache pots here that I mended, cleaned, disinfected, and am happily enjoying the looks of. The plants don’t care that the cache pots aren’t new.
3rd frugal windfall – when I returned my shopping cart to the corral recently, I found a bottle of organic almond extract that had been left behind in another cart in the corral. Think I’ll relish it in my daily vegan homemade level-up coffee.
I don’t have access to an HSA, but DS does through his workplace, and will be signing up now that he knows about the advantages they offer, thanks to the wisdom shared here which I passed along to him.
Still masking, still NOVIDS. Mindful that our WFPO lifestyle is also protective. Long COVID would not be frugal.
Thanks to Katy for continuing to host and post!
Vickey, great list! What is WFPO? Google says Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations which doesn’t seem likely here!
Thanks!
WFPO = Whole Foods Plants Only. (Silly Google!) 🙂 WFPB (where B = Based) is more common, but I’ve seen folks plop a slab of dead flesh atop a bowl of salad greens and call that “plant based”.
Came to this way of eating through following the science. Family histories of cancer, CVD, etc. on both sides. We’re loving being pretty darned healthy, and feeling much better than we did even when we were “just” vegan.
Vickey, thanks for the clarification. We follow a WFPO diet, too!
The organic almond extract…what a great find! It’s my favorite extract and I frequently use it in homemade cakes and frosting (icing). It’s not cheap, especially depending on where you buy it. Score!
Almond extract – right? Knowing how much I love it, I did feel badly for the shopper who left it behind.
Hooray for all your frugal things and to whoever shared about the advantages of HSAs!!
I volunteer at a thrift store and I’m in charge of supplies. I have three Frakta bags, sourced for zero dollars. I didn’t know what they were called, so thanks for that.
By far, my favorite tote bags are the ones from Costco. They come in sets of two large and two small for under ten bucks. Once I was shopping and another member was looking at them, too. She wanted only the large size and I like the small. We each took a package and swapped bags. They scanned just fine and both of us were happy.
My favorite are Costco’s destination or local interest bags. I split a pack in two and give each intended recipient one large and one small. IIRC, that’s two gifts for under $5 each. You know I “wrap” them by tucking one inside the other. My Costco brother lives in another state, so when my Costco had sets emblazoned with a famous local landmark I had to give him some for Christmas, which his wife still proudly uses.
Finally, the Costco bags are sturdier, wa-a-a-y easier to fold, and they stay folded, for the win.
Would gladly trade our not-sufficiently-stocked Aldi for a Costco. Nearest one is 2 hours away, across an international border.
Speaking of Aldi – thanks for the Trader Joe’s and Aldi billionaire owners disclosure in a previous thread, Katy. (Sincerely.) I wrestle with our ethically-challenged local shopping sources every time I go.
I have four or five Fakta bags, which is why I didn’t go for another one.
Good for Lise for making the tablet stand out of cardboard. Less plastic in this world is always a positive thing. Thanks for sharing. I don’t have a tablet at present but will keep the idea for future use.
1. Found a bunch of smooth enough rocks in my yard to use for rock painting. Seems like the frost pushes them up to the surface every winter.
2. I drained the liquid of two cans of the tuna I was making into tuna salad into a bowl for the cats who view it as a delicacy.
3. A friend gave me two wall hangings she couldn’t use anymore as the color of her walls changed when she repainted. I will find a home for them here in my house (my walls are the colors hers used to be) or sell them at the yard sale I hope to have this coming summer. If all else fails, they will be donated to my church’s thrift shop.
4. My doctor put me on a new med which costs over $100 a month. Boo hoo to getting old but yay I’m still here. When DH went to pick it up, the pharmacy tech told him about coupons sometimes available in doctor’s offices for $30 for a 3 month supply. I need to see the doctor this week for a follow up to an ER visit and you can be sure I’ll ask him about the coupons. Thank you Lovely Pharmacy Tech.
5. DH and I got paid by the town for working the elections. Easy and fun work. Three more elections to go this year. Banking our paychecks into 3 separate accounts: Christmas/Birthdays, Emergency and General Savings. The future will arrive soon.
I was wondering if the tablet stand would also make a good book stand for reading. And while I like the simple aesthetic of the brown cardboard, they could also be painted/decorated. And make sweet gifts? Something kids could make and give, too.
Oregon has been vote by mail for over twenty years now, which is great as it removes the barriers of voting for so many people. You don’t even need a stamp! However, the teeniest bit of me misses election day being an event.
I miss election day being an event also!
Another “event” I miss is Midnight at the Post Office on April 15th. They had big mail bins outside that you could drive by and toss in your tax envelopes until midnight. They would all be postmarked April 15th. There would be all kind of tax protestors with signs marching around the parking lot! It made a dreaded day more fun as we all put off handing over our tax money until the last possible minute!!
Did you ask the doc for samples? I have one doc who regularly gives me six weeks of a drug I take, but I did not know that until I asked. This is a less popular drug so she was getting quite a stockpile and was happy to give it to me.
1. Mended a bath towel with a frayed edge w/ my sewing machine.
2. Mended the frayed handle straps on a 2nd hand Vera Bradley duffle. I needed a new gym bag, so the duffle has become this.
3. Easter dinner came from the pantry & freezer. Canned sweet potatoes & green beans do not taste as good as fresh. But the canned goods needed to be used. Ham, I bought on sale in the past & was languishing in the freezer. All in all, it was tasty & there are plenty of leftovers for later meals.
4. Made an iced coffee from Hubby’s leftover morning coffee.
5. Got a free breakfast burrito from Taco Bell using my reward points.
6. I found a complete blender during my urban foraging. The one I have had a broken lid so now I have unbroken lid & a backup base as well as a carafe in case mine breaks. (It is rather dirty but I can clean it up.)
As other readers have said, the small things add up if you consistently look for ways to cut costs.