Non-Consumer Mish-Mash — Long Winters, Organized Drawers & Birthday Freebies

by Katy on January 1, 2014 · 20 comments

The Long Winter

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

A New Non-Consumer Advocate Book Club Selection

A fresh book club discussion has started over at The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group, and is already on fire. (Good fire, not snipey/snarky/snippy fire.) Why is the book igniting such passionate discussion? Because this month’s book is Laura Ingall Wilder’s The Long Winter, which apparently is on most reader’s list of favorite childhood books.

Marching to Pa’s fiddle music, twisting hay for heat and Almanzo making a notable appearance. What’s not to love?!

As an aside, the Facebook group just shot over the 4000 members mark. So . . . yay!

Click HERE to read my old Love Letter to Laura Ingalls Wilder blog post.

Looking to Get Organized in 2014? Let Peter Walsh Guide Your Journey

Organizing guru Peter Walsh is leading a 31 Days to Get Organized project that starts today with an edict to organize a single drawer in your home.  In his words: (you’ll have to imagine them in an Australian accent.)

“I’m starting this super, super easy. I want you to spend ten minutes, just ten minutes to tackle any single drawer in your home. I don’t care where it is — your kitchen, your bedroom, one of the drawers in your office, I don’t care. Tackle one drawer only, and get it decluttered and organized. You might just find that the bug gets to you and that gets you rolling, but if not it doesn’t matter.

Thirty one days to get organized challenge number one organize one drawer in your home. Get to it and let’s see how you do!”

I am going to do my best to follow along, although my drawers are actually pretty damned organized. It’s the basement of horrors that’s in need of Walsh’s love and attention.

Click HERE to watch Walsh’s youtube video.

Birthday Freebies Abound

Next Saturday is my 46th birthday and already Ben & Jerry’s, Burgerville and The Pita Pit have sent me e-mails of congratulations and gifts. I don’t think of myself as someone who signs up for every frequent buyer program, but apparently that is a delusion. And with a free ice cream cone, $5 in burger-y credit and a free pita, my week will be both delicious  and somewhat caloric. Luckily, all these businesses are super close to home, so I won’t find myself driving across town to take advantage of the bounty.

What are your favorite birthday freebies that you’ve encountered? Please share in the comments action below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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A New Year, A Fresh Start — My 2014 Resolution

by Katy on December 31, 2013 · 25 comments

Money

Today marks the last day of 2013, although in reality it’s simply a Tuesday. The beginning of a new year is an arbitrary moment in time, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t see the ushering of a new year as an opportunity to make personal changes and better themselves.

Lose weight, create new workout routines, declutter your home!

Whatever it is you are failing at, January 1st is the starting line.

I’ve never been a maker of new year’s resolutions, although I have used it as an opportunity to start new projects and routines. Two years ago I started saving all my found money in a single unspendable jar for a Found Change Challenge, and three years ago I started a 52 Weeks, 52 Letter Challenge. 

However, I am making a big whopper of a 2014 new year’s resolution, which is to work on a book. I already have an agent interested, (although she won’t sign me until I submit a proposal) so this is a very attainable goal. Note that I din’t write “easy goal,” as there is nothing “easy” about writing a book.

Attainable.

I will continue to collect found money, and I will continue to work on bettering myself. But a manuscript in hand is resolution numero uno.

Good thing I have one more excuse-free day to putter about the house, because tomorrow is a new day.

Do you make new year’s resolutions, and if so do you sputter out by mid-March? Please share yours in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will — Getting Freaky With The Amish

by Katy on December 29, 2013 · 8 comments

Today’s Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will post will both delight and horrify. Okay, mostly horrify.

Like this one, where I am trying to mirror the facial expression on an unfortunate Goodwill doll. Do you see how one of her eyelids is swollen?! It’s molded that way. Someone actually designed a doll this way on purpose!

Little doll of horrors

Luckily, I can balance that photo with a selfie of me with a rare post-Goodwill Starbucks treat. Why did I take that photo? Because I am the proud owner of my husband’s hand-me-down iPhone, which includes a Starbucks app. (I’d never used it before, as my husband is the one who loads it with money.) I thought I would torture him he would enjoy seeing me spend his Starbucks credit. 😉

Starbucks thief

Because I am the nicest wife ever. Hey, at least I’m not stepping on his decapitated head!

Woman steps on decapitated head

Luckily, not everything at Goodwill is super disturbing. I was able to find not one, but two painted Mrs. Butterworth bottles for my mother’s Christmas gifts! (And you thought your mother was hard to shop for!)

Mrs. Butterworth

I was sorely tempted to buy this $25 vintage club chair, as it’s the exact twin of one I bought years ago. It’s a fabulously comfortable chair, and I love its clean lines, but I sadly left it behind. I have no need of another insanely heavy armchair. I kind of regret it though.

Sniff . . . 

Chair

I did not regret leaving this particular Goodwill goody behind though, as its . . . ahem . . . dimensions  gave me an uh-oh feeling. 

Amish back massager

I was compelled to snap a photo for my Instagram account, which brought this rather fantastic comment from an old college chum:

Freaky Amish

I love technology.

As much as I mock the wild, weird and wonderful selections to be found at my Portland area Goodwill stores, I would be lost without them. Hey, I just recently learned that they are a donation spot for e-cycling:

Goodwill e-cycles

Ahh, Goodwill. Will your wonders never cease!

Click HERE to read more Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will posts!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Today I Am . . .

by Katy on December 27, 2013 · 9 comments

Today I am . . . 

Geeking out and singing along to a Pandora station based on Captain and Tenille’s Muskrat Love. It’s all 1970’s Carpenters, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and similar elevator-worthy songs. I am old and I am embracing it. (I somehow know every word of every song!)

Playing solitaire with a deck of cards I bought in 1987 from a London newsstand right before going on a three day trip to Edinburgh. They are perfectly worn in.

Planning a dinner of glazed ham and Costa Rican style rice and beans. Each year my employer gives me a gift certificate for a “turkey or ham” and I’ve been choosing the ham the last couple of years. Hello . . . spiral ham!!!

Enjoying the memory of having my family over for a belated Christmas dinner last night. We feasted on a vegetarian burrito bar with ginger snaps for dessert. We played a raucous game of Apples to Apples and had a thoroughly enjoyable and low stress evening.

Thinking I should do a big Goodwill donation run before the 31st.

Preparing yummy meals and snacks for my son and his friend who are holed up playing FIFA 13 all day.

Planning out an article challenging people to participate in the buy-nothing-new Compact for 2014.

Now your turn. What are you doing today?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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How To Make a Painted Argyle Table

by Katy on December 26, 2013 · 16 comments

My younger son’s room is small, and the options for furniture placement are pretty much set in stone. And because my son’s bed is right next to the heat register and very close to the closet, he’s never been able to have a proper bedside table. I’d been noticing that his iPod sits on the ground while charging at night, (as well as various frogs, snails and puppy dog tails.) so I decided to create a bedside table from a $3 thrifted stool. The top was water stained, but that made no difference, as I planned to paint it anyway.

See how there’s hardly any room?

Goal of The Week -- After

My first idea was to incorporate some of my son’s artwork onto the top surface, but I was afraid that would end up looking too kindergarten-ish. (My son is fifteen years old.) Instead I got the idea to paint the top in an argyle pattern based on a Portland Timbers soccer scarf. My freehand artistic skills are damned awful, but I can measure and use painter’s tape like Leonardo Da-Freaking-Vinci, so a plan was put into place.

Stool Before

Luckily, I had a coupon for a free paint sample from Lowe’s, so this step was free! I decided to keep the legs black, so I carefully placed painter’s tape over the legs, and then did two light layers for a nice even coat of paint. I also bought a small bottle of lime green paint and a white Pen-Touch pen from our locally owned art supply store, which brought the total cost of this project to $8.

Painted top

I then got to work planning out the argyle pattern. As much as I tried to figure out an alternate method, I came to the conclusion that I would need to do this project in multiple steps that would require time consuming drying periods.  This was okay, as I wasn’t doing this stool as a last minute project.

You will note that I always cut my pricey painter’s tape in half lengthwise so I can use less of it. I just make sure to be very deliberate about which side is the straight edge side. (I also reuse the painter’s tape as much as possible, always using my fingernail to press it down as tightly as possible for a nice crisp line.)

Tape grid

Here’s the stool, all ready for a fresh session of diamond painting. (BTW, I would estimate that 95% of this project was the measuring and careful placing of the tape, with a mere 5% spent on the painting.)

Taped diamonds

And here’s what it looks like when I paint over the tape.

Painted diamonds

When all the diamonds were completed, I took my pen and carefully drew on the stitches, using a clear ruler to guide the lines. This last step made all the difference, and helped the project go from “Wow, those diamonds look almost straight!” to “Wow, that looks fantastic!”

Stitching

See?!

Completed top

I was so proud of this project that I texted the above picture to my sister. Unfortunately, my son was using my phone to talk and text with his cousin, and sadly saw the photo and sentence about how the stool was for him.

Which meant that he knew to sit on the fully wrapped gift on Christmas morning. (I used a flat sheet tied with a ribbon for zero waste gift wrap.) Sorry about the blurry photo.

Sitting on gift

I like that this project plays to his current obsessive interest with The Portland Timbers, but is also a classic pattern that doesn’t scream SPORTS LOGO! Hopefully this way, the style will have some longevity and hold his interest for years to come.

Did my son like his gift?

Abso-freaking-lutely! He sat on it all Christmas morning, carrying it from room to room as seating, and then independently set it up in his room as a bedside table. He’s a die-hard Timbers fan, (Remember his wall of soccer scarves and the wall stripes?) so this gift was a slam dunk Beckham/Messi/Ronaldo-worthy goal!

Bedside table

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Merry Christmas!

by Katy on December 25, 2013 · 2 comments

Merry Christmas to all, far and wide. I hope your day has been filled with peace and joy, love and happiness.

My family enjoyed a wonderfully relaxed morning, followed by a noon showing of the new Hobbit movie. Dinner will be Chinese food with my parents and then home to relax.

The kids loved their thrifted and handmade gifts, and my husband and I enjoyed the luxury of not having to buy gifts for each other.

I think it’s my favorite Christmas ever!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Today I Am . . .

by Katy on December 23, 2013 · 14 comments

Today I am . . .

Perfectly happy to be working tomorrow. I’ll have everything ready for Christmas by then, and it’s always kind of fun to welcome babies into the world on a holiday.

Amazed by how simple out Christmas is going to be this year. We’ll be going out for Chinese food with my parents and hardly even hosting anyone at the house. Heck, we might even go see the new Hobbit movie in the afternoon!

Enjoying the sweet silence of a house where teenage boys sleep until late afternoon.

Planning a thrifting route along 82nd Avenue to pick up a few last minute gifts and stocking stuffers.

Relieved that I pretty much caught up on my continuing education for work. Yesterday found me with a patient from 7 A.M.  – 3 P.M., but then I was able to motor through a bunch of modules that were due by December 31st. Whew . . . I can now tick that off my to-do list!

Needing to buy molasses and eggs in order to whip up a double batch of my delicious ginger snaps.

Wishing that Portland would dump a bit of snow in time for Christmas.

Super pleased with the painted stool that I made for my younger son’s Christmas present. I chose a Portland Timbers argyle pattern that turned out perfectly. A quick coat of polyurethane to protect the surface and it’s done! (I’d post a photo, but it might show up on my son’s Facebook page.)

Annoyed that one of our cats got shut in our unfinished space for a day. I know there will be poopy and urine-tastic surprises at some future date.

Remembering December 23rd, 1999, when I spent a few days in New York City to help my nephew Nate into the world.

Hoping I have enough zero-waste gift bags for everyone’s gifts. (Tip — a plain pillow case tied with a ribbon makes great gift wrap for a larger present. Just make sure to get it back after the gift is opened!)

Prodding myself to remember to pick up my Keen boots from the cobbler.

Now, how about you? What are you doing today?

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 December 19, 2013 · 15 comments

  1. I am creating a cool bedside table for my younger son’s Christmas present. His bed is too close to the opening of his closet door for a regular bedside table, plus the heat register for the room is right there, which means anything solid would freeze his room out. However, I found a $3 lightweight stool at Goodwill that I am painting and Mod-Podging up cute for him. This will allow him to keep his books, iPod or whatever off the floor. My original thinking was to incorporate some of his artwork, but he’s been keeping his good stuff at school, so I’ll spend some time on Pinterest today to find ideas and inspiration. I was able to get the sample-sized paint for free with a Lowe’s coupon that came in a recent magazine, which was very welcome. I’ll share completed photos when it’s all done.
  2. The zipper on my favorite Keen boots broke the other day. (I say “favorite boots,” but they’re in fact my only boots.) I knew this was in the cards, as I’d noticed that the zipper teeth were on their last legs. Luckily my father has been re-corking his Birkenstocks since the beginning of time, so I had the recommendation of a good cobbler. (Hollywood Shoe Repair on N.E. Sandy Blvd.) I dropped the boots off on Tuesday, and they should be ready to pick up later today. The repair job will set me back $35, but I’ll get years more use from the boots, plus I get to support a great small businessman. I only own a few pair of shoes, so having even one set out of  commission is a big deal. I am very excited to get my boots back!
  3. I served a very odd dinner last night in the name of food waste avoidance. I prepared curry shredded chicken using Trader Joe’s green curry simmer sauce (with added coconut milk to stretch it) earlier in the week, plus had a few cups of leftover rice from Tuesday night’s dinner. I combined the two and then served it over a vinaigrette-dressed salad for last night’s dinner. Everyone was kind of surprised by the combination, but it was eaten up nonetheless. I just love it when I’m able to take leftovers and combine them in new ways!
  4. My family usually makes a big deal out of getting our annual Christmas tree. The four of us drive out to a friend’s Christmas tree farm, wander around until we find the one and then cut it down ourselves. Unfortunately, the combination of my husband having strep throat and his work schedule meant that we were treeless pretty far into December. Luckily, Oregon is the Christmas tree growing center of the country. My younger son’s best friend lives across town, and I kept passing an empty lot that was filled with trees and featuring a sign that read “All Trees $20!” It wasn’t exactly a cutesy family event, (the seller hangs out in a trailer that looks like it wasn’t fancy enough to be featured on Breaking Bad!) but sometimes you just have to git ‘er done. The funny thing is that my husband swears this is “the best tree we’ve ever had,” and that “we’re going to leave this tree up until March!” Weirdo.
  5. I’ve been mailing out a lot of boxes recently due to my eBay and Etsy sales. However, always buying used means I never have boxes. Luckily, my mother is always overrun with extra boxes and packing supplies. I lighten her burden, and am able to get great free materials that would otherwise just be thrown out or recycled. Win-win!

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to lately?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

by Katy on December 18, 2013 · 20 comments

As much as I try to stay within a very strict budget for everyday life, the gift giving winter season is always a difficult challenge. It seems like I do great figuring terrific gifts, and then suddenly end up losing steam and spending more than anyone who calls herself  “The Non-Consumer Advocate” ever should.

But I realize that it’s a two steps forward, one step back kind of situation. In other words, it’s still progress.

I find a huge bag of high end (and never used) rubber stamps at Goodwill for $4.99, perfect for my nine-year-old niece, and then I fail at finding a thrifted winter coat for my fifteen-year-old son, and end up shelling out $89 for one at the Columbia Sportswear outlet store. (I can’t let my frugal leanings outweigh my son’s need for warm winter wear, especially since we just completed a week of low teen temperatures.) I looked through four, count ’em four thrift shops plus the Buffalo Exchange consignment shop, and still came up empty handed!

Brrr . . . 

Grrr . . . 

Sigh . . . 

I know it’s not realistic to think that I can be frugal 100% of the time, but it still really bugs me, as I just know that buying new will guarantee that I find a great used coat the instant I give up.

Oh well . . . 

My son now has his warm winter coat, and I can move forward and into my eighth year of following The Compact and trying to only buy used.

95% is still better than 0%.

Ninety five steps forward, five steps back.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Happy New Year — You’re Fat and Unorganized!

by Katy on December 17, 2013 · 9 comments

The new year’s period is a time of reflection. Ten ten lists for the previous year abound, and there’s never a poverty of new year’s resolution ideas. Join Jenny Craig or a gym, start budgeting, get organized, or better yet, buy all the accoutrements that go with your goals.

There’s one common theme that I see with pretty much all new year’s resolutions:

You are less than you should be, but buying our product or services will transform you into the person you should be.

Too fat, too unorganized, a financial mess and generally unworthy to be included in the beautiful people’s club.

Greeeaat. . . .

Luckily, there are new year’s resolutions that do not include a trip to Storables or 24 Hour Fitness. Working exercise into your day can be as simple as walking or biking errands and if organizing all your stuff is overwhelming, it probably means that you have too much stuff.

The new year’s resolution industry, (and yes, selling exercycles, weight loss services and elaborate organizing systems is an industry) would not exist if people were content with themselves and their lives. If people didn’t feel like they were unworthy of happiness without a flat stomach and an organized closet.

I’m here to say that it’s okay to feel good about yourself even if you’re overweight or have mismatched hangers. And if losing weight or getting organized is a goal for you, then go right ahead and pursue that goal. But please don’t do it because some celebrity spokesperson makes you feel bad about yourself.

Do you make the same new year’s resolutions every year? Or perhaps you set a resolution that actually stuck? 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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