Non-Consumer Mish-Mash — Gift of The Magi, Banjos & Thinking Outside The Pouch

by Katy on April 30, 2014 · 49 comments

It’s time again for Non-Consumer Mish-Mash, where I write a little bit about this and a little bit about that.

Is it Time to Think Outside The Pouch?

A link from The Story of Stuff Project showed up in my Facebook feed this morning, which included this eye catching graphic:

Capri-Sun graphic

 

The link took me to the Make it, Take it site that works to get manufacturers to take responsibility for their packaging decisions.

It’s been a number of years since having my sons involved in soccer meant I would have to take a shift or two as the “Snack Mom.” This meant bringing the Capri-Sun type juice (ha!) pouches and boxes of granola bars. It always annoyed me, but I did it anyway. I finally bucked the trend and brought homemade granola bars and a huge dispenser of lemonade, which were a big hit. (I figured that every player already had a reusable water bottle, so they just dumped out any leftover water and filled it back up again with the lemonade.)

I never bought these drink pouches for home use, although I know that a lot of people do, as they’re convenient and pretty cheap. However the issue with the packaging is that it’s an amalgam of plastic and aluminum, which means they’re completely and wholly unrecyclable. (You can collect the pouches and mail them to Terracycle for upcycling, although I would guess that .0000000001% end up this way.)

I want people to think twice before buying these types of irresponsibly packaged goods. But to put the onus of this environmental consequence on the consumer is wrong. It is the manufacturer who should shoulder the responsibility.

Click HERE to fill out a 20 second online form asking Capri-Sun to change their packaging.

 

Is $90,000 Enough Annual Income For a Family of Five?

My pal Kristen from The Frugal Girl posted a great article the other day as a response to a Washington Post article by Carol Morello and Scott Clement profiling a Virginia family that’s struggling so much on their $90,o00 income that they’re now two months behind on their electricity bills. This depute their envy-inducing $700 mortgage.

The blended family has three teenage girls, with each daughter having a computer in her room, as well as iPads, cell phones and music lessons. It’s painful to read, as the article is titled ” ‘Happy Days’ No More: Middle Class Families Squeezed as Expenses Soar, Wages Stall,” as it’s not their expenses that have soared, but their spending on wants over needs.

Am I the only one who is reminded of the story of The Gift of The Magi, where the wife cuts off her beautiful long hair to buy a watch chain for her husband, while he sells his watch to buy hair combs for his wife? This family can’t pay their electric bill in part because they’ve spent so much on electronics.

The father (Scott) refuses to buy anything but the most expensive school picture package for the girls:

“Scott, whose salary is more than triple Robin’s, insisted on ordering the biggest package.

”I don’t care if we don’t eat next week, I’m going to get the kids’ photos,’ he said. “That’s what you hold onto.”

The extra cost of ordering the most expensive school photo package for three kids would likely pay for a month of electricity.

It’s a very difficult article to read.

However, it’s important to remember that this is just an average family, feeling that they don’t want to deprive their kids of what their peers get without a second thought. No one is flying to Paris and there’s no mention of the parents spending on themselves.

Click HERE to read the entire Washington Post article.

 

Miss Your Flight? I Guess It’s Banjo Time!

My little sister Sara plays banjo for a band called The Moonshine. (I would call them a bluegrass band, but I get scolded whenever I label them as such. Sigh . . . ) Anyway, my sister was flying to Colorado last week with a certain less than stellar airline, and missed her flight because the airline’s check-in machines were broken and the check-in people scolded her for not being at least 45 minutes early, (she’d been there two hours early, but their line moved too slowly.)

Long story short, she suddenly had four hours to kill at the Portland airport.

Young Sara ended up playing her banjo on the concourse and earning an extra $30 in tips for her efforts.

Much better than everyone else who stared down at their electronic devices, and added nothing to their immediate surroundings.

I like this story.

 

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 29, 2014 · 40 comments

  1. I was feeling like I wanted to treat my older son to something special, so I offered to take him to a movie. However, the movie he wanted to see was Thor: The Dark World which is no longer in theaters. I located a nearby $1.30 DVD through Redbox, and the two of us enjoyed a lovely evening together doing exactly what he wanted.
  2. I got a sudden craving for fish tacos the other night, so I decided to go hit up a local food cart so I could dissect the recipe. However, I didn’t make it over there yesterday and instead threw caution to the wind and made it up as I went along. And man-o-man were they good! I know any purist would have found fault that we used flour tortillas, concocted our own sauce from yogurt, lemon juice and Sriracha and had lettuce instead of cabbage and cilantro. But I was able to use what we had on hand, and they were both frugal and mouth waveringly delicious! Sadly, no leftovers.
  3. I’m starting to think about what my son is going to need for his month long trip to Sapporo this summer, and I’m happy to report that we mostly have everything we need. Luggage, clothes and gifts for his host family, and since this is our family’s 7th exchange trip to Japan, I already have my set omiyage gifts in mind. Very excited for him!
  4. I took a few minutes yesterday to re-hem my favorite pair of jeans which were looking straggly.
  5. I will be spending some time with my mother today helping her with a project, and in return she’ll feed me.

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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Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will — Putting The Chug in Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo

by Katy on April 28, 2014 · 21 comments

I was feeling a bit housebound yesterday, so I headed over to my local Goodwill “to look for weird stuff to photograph.” Oddly, none of my beloved family members took up the offer to accompany me.

Oh well, their loss . . .

Although I didn’t come across any spectacularly bizarre items, I was taken aback by this train/shot glass holder. Although, now that I’m looking it the photo a bit closer, I think the smoke stack may be the spout to liquor storage.

So . . . multi-purpose?

Is the goal of this item to bring little boys away from their Thomas The Tank obsession and into a life of alcoholic binge drinking?

Chugga chugga choo choo

I think that this questionable-will item puts the “chug” in chugga-chugga-choo-choo!

Shot glasses

Of course, no Goodwill trip would be complete without the obligatory florist-marbles-glued-onto-crap item. Please people, this is ugly and needs to stop.

Please.

Glass monstrosity

I was drawn to this Tom Selleck Walk-of-Fame commemorative plate. I never was a Magnum P.I. fan, but I’m starting to appreciate the 1980’s memorabilia.

“Say hello to my little mustache!”

Selleck plate

My sister has accused me of having a lamp hoarding problem, to which I say, “So what?!” Look how adorable this sweet basket holding maiden is! And priced at $5, she’s a bargain. Sure, she’s in need of some rewiring services, but I always pick up free ugly lamps simply for their wiring guts.

maiden lamp

“Why did you not buy me Katy? Is it because your sister has lamp-shamed you?’

detail shot

I was grossed out by this Margarita Oasis Unitasker. Such a huge behemoth of a ridiculous appliance. Taking up sooo much room, yet hopefully hardly ever used. (If you’re drinking daily margaritas, then kitchen counter space is far from your biggest problem.)

And check out the price:

$59.99!

Puh-leez! Why manufacture something that can only serve a single purpose?

Margarita oasis

It’s a rare treat for me to buy a coffee, but I did pick one up while grocery shopping after my thrifting adventures. And since I paid for it using an empty Starbucks coffee beans bag given to me by a reader, the only cost was a 50¢ tip.

Katy like free. And better than a choo-choo train shot of tequila any day of the week.

Coffee

Have you come across any odd or wonderful thrift shop items lately? Please share in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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What’s Your Style of Socializing?

by Katy on April 27, 2014 · 25 comments

I have a tendency to be a bit of a hermit. I enjoy my home, and I’m quite content to putter around the house and never seem to run out of tasks calling my name. (“Katy, Katy, is there a reason why the kitchen floor is crusted with waffle batter?”) However, I do have a few friends that I enjoy getting together with, partially because we’re alike enough to not mind that our dates usually revolve around such exciting activities as walking errands and other death defying envy inducing awe inspiring daily tasks.

I’d been feeling like I hadn’t seen my friend Sasha in awhile, so I texted her on Wednesday asking if she’d be interested in going to Costco with me. She declined the excitement of watching me gas up the car and buy tubs of yogurt and suggested instead that she just come over to the house. She needed to swing by Powell’s books and get her hair cut first, and asked if I wanted in on her action.

A bookstore and the nearby barbershop? Hell, yes! Especially since I already had a small stack of my own books to bring to Powell’s. I didn’t need a hair cut, but that’s only because I’m concocting a plan to have my very precise fifteen-year-old son trim the ends.

So off we went to Powell’s and the barbershop. I got $8 in Powell’s credit, and then watched Sasha get a quick $12 hair cut. She took me to lunch (I paid the tip and told her I’d treat the next time) and then she watched me buy a big bag of on-sale oranges at Fred Meyer. We walked up and down the boulevard, chatting amiably and checking dull tasks off our to-do lists.

Friday my friend Lise and I got together for our scheduled get together for a walk. But we didn’t walk aimlessly, instead we walked to library where we both had holds to pick up. (Craft books for her, a DVD of Cast Away for me.) We then picked up dinner fixings at New Seasons and came back to my house where I defrosted a jar of black beans and put out a burrito buffet for the two of us. I also dumped out a basket of miscellaneous pens-n-stuff and proceeded to sort the contents. I gave a few things to Lise as she’s an art teacher, and rediscovered some stuff I’d completely forgotten about.

Chatting while sorting miscellaneous stuff is actually my pinnacle of social activity, so I was in heaven. No $4 coffees, no shopping for cute boots and no feeling pressured into spending money that’s earmarked for bills.

I have lots of friends through work with whom I really enjoy spending time. But I know that to socialize with them outside of work would involve cute outfits, mixed drinks and expensive evenings. And that’s simply not my style.

Because when you’ve spent $30 on the most perfect couch ever assembled, it becomes painful to fork over the same amount on drinks.

Besides, I never would have sorted out that pens-n-stuff basket if I socialized normally.

Do you like low key social dates or are you more of a dress up and hit the town kind of person? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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How to Run a Profitable Garage Sale

by Katy on April 25, 2014 · 4 comments

Garage sales, yard sales, tag sales, boot sales. Whatever you call them, they’re a great way to make extra money while ridding your home of unwanted Stuff. A well-organized and well-stocked garage sale can bring in hundreds of dollars, so it’s important to plan them out properly.

I consider myself a bit of an expert on pulling together a kick-ass and profitable garage sale — I held another one just last weekend — so I thought I’d share my wisdom with The Non-Consumer Advocate community.

Here are my top tips for running a profitable garage sale:

    • Make sure you have enough stuff to warrant a garage sale. This may seem like a no-brainer, but having enough Stuff to make people get out of their cars is key. Start a garage sale pile as far ahead in advance as possible. I’m not suggesting that you bring Stuff into your home in order to later sell at a garage sale. (Garage sale prices rarely warrant a resale mentality; for that use Craigslist or eBay.)

    • Get help. Recruit a friend or family member to act as your backup. This will be important for potty breaks, busy times, safety, setup and entertainment. Otherwise, no one will believe it when you tell your story about the distinguished looking woman who specifically asked if you had any “1970s vintage porn.”

    • Keep it short. Friday, Saturday, Sunday sales are exhausting. I’ve been known to have one -ay sales, put everything back into the garage (still on their tables), and then do another sale months later. Believe me: You’ll be zonked after one day, so know and respect your endurance.

    • Move your car from in front of your house. If shoppers can’t find an easy parking spot, they’re likely keep driving along. And while you’re at it, see if you can convince your neighbors to move their cars as well.

    • Talk to your neighbors about organizing a group sale. Neighborhood garage sales attract tons more customers, so spread the word ahead of time to arrange multiple sales. Or, better yet, hold your garage sale during an established entire neighborhood garage sale day. Talk to your neighborhood association.

    • Look beyond household Stuff as your merchandise. I have dozens of small euphorbiaplant starts that have volunteered in my front yard, as well as uninvited Lady’s Mantle. I will pot these up and sell them for 50¢ to $1 apiece. I also have some landscaping stone leftover from our stone wall project and will put that out as well.

    • Place individual Craigslist ads for your more desirable or bigger ticket items. I did this with our last garage sale two years ago and every single one of these items sold. I placed them as regular listings, but then wrote that they could be seen at my garage sale, with all the pertinent info. I also made sure to delete each of these listings as soon as they left the property. This may sound like a pain in the tuchus, but you can assemble the listing ahead of time, and then wait to approve them until the evening before.

    • Have a box of free stuff. Nothing is more fun than finding something for nothing, so I’ll be placing a large, well marked “FREE” box close to the curb. I’ll also mention the free box on the main Craigslist ad and place an individual Craigslist listing in the Free category.

    • Don’t price your stuff too low. People like to bargain, so allow some wiggle room. Also, you want to make money. You can always have a 50%-off sale over the last couple hours.

    • Price every item. If there’s no price on something, customers have no idea what a bargain it is.

    • Offer free lemonade or even just ice water. Most garage sales are held on hot days (except here in Portland, where everything is done in the rain), so a jug of watery lemonade or refreshing ice water is a nice gift to your customers.

    • Price items like a store would. I drink a lot of Red Rose tea, which comes with a tiny ceramic doo-dad in every box. I put these out at my last garage sale at “50¢ apiece or three-for-a-dollar,” and everyone, adults and children alike went nuts for them. And no one bought less than three.

    • Be friendly — but not too friendly. This may sound like odd advice, but I know that I mostly just want to be left to myself when I’m shopping, and doubt that I’m alone in this preference. I hate it when store clerks are too pushy, and garage sales are no different. Greet the person and then allow them to quietly peruse your crap.

    • Don’t base what you put out on what you would buy. I’ve been extremely surprised by what sells and what doesn’t at my garage sales. You never know if someone likes to fix broken things or is looking for materials for an art project. If it’s something you don’t want and it’s safe, put it in your garage sale.

    • Put up easy to read garage sale signs. Keep in mind that many of your potential customers are passing your sign at 35 miles per hour. Make the address and hours big and legible. You can always write some of the more juicy details in small script, but no one will come if they don’t know where you’re located. And when your garage sale is over, take your signs down! Otherwise it’s just graffiti and disrespectful to your neighborhood. It goes without saying, the best places for your signs are at intersections where cars have to stop anyway.

    • Place more exciting items closer to the curb. Got a ton of old magazines? Great, but don’t have that be what passerby see first. Put the awesome cool stuff out front and you’ll have more people stop by.

    • Make sure to have lots of small bills and change. Also bags. Nothing is more frustrating for customers than trying to pay and having it be a problem.

    • Keep the money somewhere safe. A lock box is great, but if you’re unable to constantly guard it, it’s worthless. I wear an apron with a big front pocket. Not only can I keep the money right on me, but it helps clarify who the seller is.

    • If you have the original box, keep it. Even if an item has been used, it’s somehow more appealing in the box.

    • Make yourself comfortable. You are going to have both busy and slow times, so put out a chair for yourself, slather on the sunscreen and wear a hat. Plan what you’re going to eat that day, and keep a bottle of tap water by your side.

    • Have a plan for what you’ll do with your unsold merchandise. Some non-profits will come pick up unsold garage sale Stuff, so research this ahead of time.

I ended up making $450 from my one-day garage sale last weekend. With the exception of a bicycle, this was all from low-priced items. The money now sits in a “Vacation Fund” savings account. Money in, crap out — what’s not to love?!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Throwback Thursday

by Katy on April 24, 2014 · 10 comments

You may have noticed the Throwback Thursday trend on social media, where people post extremely flattering old photos of themselves, like so:

Xmas 1996

See? I was not kidding when I wrote that our house was a fixer-upper!

But for a true Throwback Thursday, I present the 1930 booklet of Better Meals for Less:

Vintage booklets

Featuring a lovely drawing of a distinguished gentleman enjoying “A Wholesome Meal” of Legumes!

Vintage booklets_0002

And the 1937 booklet of Thrifty Tempting Meals for 2 or 4 or 6:

Vintage booklets

Umm . . . call me closed minded all you like, but I find Liver Loaf and Scalloped Codfish far from “tempting.”

Vintage booklets_0003

Now that is a proper Throwback Thursday!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Make Frugal Hay While The Sun Shines

by Katy on April 23, 2014 · 9 comments

We native Oregonians know that you do not let an unseasonably sunny day go to waste. You mow your lawn, walk your errands and you sure as hell find any and all opportunities to soak up whatever vitamin D is raining shining down from the sky. So when Monday’s seven day forecast called for seven days of rain, I made sure to get my tuchus off the love seat and walking a nice long list of errands.

  • First off was the house two doors down, which had just put out a pretty concrete planter complete with potting soil. I heaved it onto my property and got on my way. (Holy crap, was it HEAVY!)

  • I then ran into my friend Lise, who was in front of her house. She and I enjoyed a nice chat and then made plans to get together Friday afternoon for a walk. (Yes, it’s possible to walk in the rain.)

  • I continued at a brisk pace on to my credit union, which is a convenient 1.2 miles from the house. I deposited a check from the children’s consignment shop, as well as checks my mother wrote to the kids for good grades. I focused my laser sharp gaze under the coin counting machine and was rewarded with 66¢. Yo, more free money for the found change challenge!

  • I then walked up to the library, where I picked up a novel I’d put on hold, as well as two DVDs from the shelf. (This is 40, and Remember Me.)

  • I used the water fountain both inside and outside the library.

  • All the while, I listened to the downloaded audiobook of Dan Brown’s Inferno, which is perfectly entertaining, yet untaxing to the brain. Perfect for a spring afternoon walk.

It was the perfect afternoon. I got stuff for free, (the planter, money and library materials) arranged a social event and enjoyed some free exercise. (No gym for me!) I didn’t need to bring a water bottle, as Portland actually supplies water fountains, and I actually checked a few things off my to-do list.

Sometimes, perfection doesn’t cost a penny. And occasionally it can even happen without rain.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Happy Earth Day From The Non-Consumer Advocate!

by Katy on April 22, 2014 · 12 comments

April 22nd is Earth Day, each and every year. But unlike traditional holidays, (Christmas, Passover, etc.) Earth Day seems to have a different vibe each year. One year will be about everyone needs to replace their incandescent lightbulbs with fluorescent bulbs and plant a tree, and the next year will focus on drinking from reusable water bottles instead of plastic.

I like to think that April 22nd is like any other day of the year. Choosing used over new, fixing instead of replacing, spending my money with local businesses instead of corporate big box and generally keeping my life pretty simple.

But I started to think about how my obsession with choosing used over new is my passion/focus/platform. And by having a single area that guides my writing, I can spread my message and influence others to make similar choices. (This sentence makes me sound like a cult leader, which I can assure you is only 49% true.) Yes, I also try to minimize my family’s creation of garbage, plastic usage, food waste and spending, but using it up, wearing it out, making it do and doing without is always my number one priority.

But that’s okay. I don’t have to be everyone to everybody. There are others who’ve found their passions/focus/platforms and they do a damned fine job of it. They’ve found their message, and by focusing on that single area, they’re able to coherently reach out to the world earth:

I probably should write a top one hundred ways to celebrate Earth Day list with a super cute info-graphic in an attempt to go viral. but my message is too simple:

  1. Choose used over new.
  2. Mend and fix instead of replace.
  3. Find joy in the simple stuff.
  4. Never ever view a non-consumer life as a limitation. Instead choose to see the freedom that comes when you step back from The Joneses and recognize the beauty in a perfectly darned sock.

A top four list. Complete without graphics.

Happy Earth Day 2014!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Making Things Last Forever — The Non-Consumer Way

by Katy on April 21, 2014 · 16 comments

I have a problem with concept of planned obsolescence. Because unlike a traditional manufacturer, I expect everything I own to last forever. Unfortunately, the stuff I use does eventually wear out. Luckily, I have a multitude of tricks up my sleeve to squeeze every last drip, drop and morsel from every single item that enters my world.

And when I can find a new use for an old item? Be still my heart!

From the squeezing every smidge from the lowly tube of toothpaste:

Toothpaste -- coiled

Cutting it open:

Cut tube of toothpaste

And unearthing a few extra days of bonus toothpaste:

Cut tube toothpaste

To patching my favorite shorts using a worn out napkin:

Crotch hole

The napkin:

Napkin

The patch from the inside:

Inside patch

The patch from the outside. (BTW, the next time that I’m about to sew a blood red patch on the crotch of my pants, could someone please suggest a different color? Luckily, these are not the jean shorts that I wear to the opera.)

Note: This patch is not visible unless I’m sitting on the floor with my legs apart. However, I’m still going to add blue stitching to the patch.

Outside patch

To deciding that a corner of my kitchen needs a bit more color, and creating a hanging tray from one of my vintage trays:

Needs more color

Tray, before:

Tray

Hot-gluing a knotted piece of twine onto the back of the tray. Note that it’s my last glue stick, so I’m using the back of a paint brush to push the glue through the hot glue gun:

Hot glue gun

 

And now this corner of the kitchen has a little more color:

Jane Avril tray

If my possessions break or tear, I will fix or mend them. And when I want a new look, I’ll always shop first from the stuff I already own.

It’s just the non-consumer way.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Before & After — Katy’s Goodwill Mirror

by Katy on April 18, 2014 · 6 comments

The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy!

I recently came in possession of an antique Goodwill mirror in dire need of a spruce up. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, so I hung it on the wall to ponder for, oh . . six months or so. (It’s important not to rush these decisions.) It looked like it had been primed and then left as-is. As is often the case, my painting decision was influenced by what kind of paint I could get for free, and it turned out that my mother was the proud owner of an almost full can of Krylon metallic “Brass Mettalic” spray paint.

I chose to think of it as gold.

Here’s what I did:

 

I took a piece of sandpaper and lightly sanded the mirror.

Don’t you love the detail at the top of the mirror?

 

I took newspaper and covered all the glass up. This took awhile, and I kept thinking that there must be a better and easier way to do this.

 

I layed a drop cloth down in the back yard to spray the wooden frame. I made sure to start and end the spray before hitting the wood. This, I learned watching HGTV’s “Design Star.” (See? All the cable TV I watched last summer finally came in handy!) Needless to say, I waited until the weather was warm and dry, which perhaps explains why this Oregonian waited so long to complete her project.

 

The final product. It’s awfully shiny, but I’ve decided that I like it this way. Perhaps a little more “Disney Princess” than my normal decor style, but I love it!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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