Goal of The Week — Dining Room Clutter Banished! & A “New” Porch Light For Me

by Katy on July 8, 2013 · 20 comments

It’s Monday, which means it’s time for Goal of The Week! A new weekly segment where Non-Consumer Advocate readers set and then reach small attainable goals.

“Not a soccer goal, but a personal goal. A single do-able, not overwhelming goal. A concrete goal. A reachable goal. A realistic goal.”

So no huge vague goals like “organize the house” or “lose weight.” A single attainable goal.

Last week’s goal was to address the distressing dining room clutter issue on both the piano and the dresser. And since this was the second time I’d set this goal, I knew I needed to get my tuchus in gear.

Goal of the week -- dining room

I put everything where it should logically go, and I even sold the groovy kitchen clock through Craigslist.

See? So much better!

Piano Goal - After

Remember my dining room dresser? It was a magnet for all things paperwork.

dining room clutter

I bought a pretty gilded wooden tray at Goodwill for $3.99, which I thought would play nicely with the antique gilded mirror. Not to mention functioning as a landing pad for our snowstorm of paper. I also replaced the “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get” Leanin’ Tree mug with an sturdy antique Blue Willow mug. And like an adult, I threw away all the pens that no longer worked. (Crazy, right?!)

dresser after

Yummy . . .

Dresser - Detail

My long term plan for this free curbside dresser is to reglue the drawers and paint the whole thing a new color. But since that’s kind of a big project, I’ll save that goal for another week.

What’s my Goal of The Week for this week?

I scored this weatherbeaten but intact porch light from a free box yesterday. And since we don’t actually have a light over our back porch, it was a perfect find! (Taking out the compost is always a bit of a frightening challenge, as I always seem to attempt this death defying feat in the mysterious inky darkness.)

Porch Light - before

My plan is to clean it up and re-paint it using a can of oil rubbed bronze spray paint. It’s not a gorgeous look-at-me! kind of decor makeover, but it’s still a perfectly–good-enough project. Plus, the price was right! (A perfect post for my secret blog that I like to call “The Inoffensive Decorator.”)

Luckily, there is an electrified spot to install the light, and I’ll badger my husband into the actual installation work.

See?

Non-fundtional light

I love that this project will make my back porch both look and function better.

Are you participating in The Non-Consumer Advocate’s Goal of The Week project? Please share your goals in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Non-Consumer Mish-Mash — Media Saturation, Linky Love & Looking Forward to Happiness

by Katy on July 7, 2013 · 17 comments

Redbook

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

Non-Consumer Media Saturation

Although I’ve given tons of interviews over the years, they always seem to come in fits and spurts. This moment in time is no exception.

I currently have an interview in the July 2013 edition of Redbook Magazine, as well as one in DailyWorth.com.

I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but if my arm were twisted, I’d have to say the Redbook one. Because c’mon, it’s a magazine and I’m a sucker for print media!

Click HERE to read the Redbook article.

Click HERE to read the Daily Worth article.

 

Non-Consumer Facebook Group Links

The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook Group is currently rich with fantastic links to fantastic articles. I was just scrolling through them deciding on one to share in this blog post and and decided to share them all!

Enjoy!

 

The Happiness of Looking Forward

I have enough self awareness to know that a big part of my happiness is to have something or things to look forward to. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be as elaborate as a trip to Hawaii or some such pricey endeavor to fill my happiness coffer.

This week I am looking forward to:

  • Coffee and a browse through Powells Books with The Happiness Project’s Gretchen Rubin who is in town for a speaking engagement.
  • Being able to sleep in tomorrow.
  • Hosting two Japanese exchange students over the weekend, even though we pick them up Friday evening and drop them off Sunday morning.
  • Payday on Friday and working both Wednesday and Thursday. It’s good to be employed in a challenging, satisfying and well paying job. (Even if it is physically exhausting.)
  • Sewing and installing my kitchen curtains from my Goodwill purchased tablecloth fabric.

Now you. What are you looking forward to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will — Walla Walla Edition

by Katy on July 5, 2013 · 14 comments

I took my sons on a whirlwind trip to Walla Walla, Washington this week. And of course, no trip would be complete without checking out the local Goodwill. And what a Goodwill it was! Gorgeous refurbished historic building, and prices that put our Portland areas thrift shops to shame.

Walla Walla Goodwill

And in case you needed proof that this was indeed the Walla Walla Goodwill, I offer up this tasty tidbit:

I Love Walla Walla Goodwill

This adorable vintage kitchen canister set caught my eye:

Flour Bin

Unfortunately, someone has scratched off the “sugar” and “tea” lettering on the smaller tins. Must have been a very literal previous owner.

“I’m putting beans into this smaller canister, I guess I need to take a razor blade to the word “sugar!”

I totally loved the lines on this vintage armchair. Sure, it needed a reupholstery job like nobody’s business, but it was just so uber-cool! Can’t you just picture it in a cool blue velvet?!

Very Apartment Therapy!

Chair

The one item that skeeved me out the most was this used pair of Vibram Five Fingers toe shoes. I’m usually fine about used shoes, but somehow the thought of used toe shoes gave me an uh-oh feeling.

Hot. Sweaty. Bare. Toes. Encased. In. Plastic.

Nasty shoes

So what did I buy?

The fabric on this homemade tablecloth really caught my eye. Priced at $4.99, I almost left it behind, but then I realized that there was enough fabric here to make curtains for my kitchen windows.

Tablecloth

Kind of vintage, but also kind of modern, and currently drying on my clothesline.

Detail

I had wanted to find a painted Mrs. Butterworth bottle or a targeted savings bank to photograph for ya’ll, but I had no such luck. I am hoping to take multiple trips to Walla Walla in the future, (Whitman College impressed enough to be our #1 choice) and this Goodwill will most definitely be part of my routine.

Just keep those shoes far, far away from me.

Shudder.

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 July 3, 2013 · 29 comments

Today I am . . . 

  • Relaxing at a La Quinta Inn in Walla Walla, Washington. Enjoying that I used Priceline.com to snag a good deal. ($75 instead of  $129.)
  • Looking forward to our tour and interview at Whitman College.
  • Hoping that the admission department will appreciate that my son has done 13 years in a rigorous Japanese program and accept that he doesn’t have a 4.0 G.P.A.
  • Proud that I drove the 5+ hours from Portland by myself. (My husband usually takes command on road trips.) It helped that the view of the Columbia Gorge is beyond spectacular!
  • Wishing that it wasn’t so beastly hot outside. It would be nice to explore the town a bit more. (It was 105° when we hit town yesterday.)
  • Feeling relaxed about money. I’ve been putting money aside for visiting and applying to colleges, so the expenses have a lovely pain-free quality.
  • Bummed that my camera is broken. I dropped it on the sideway last week, so it now reads that it has a “lens error.” So our entire mini-vacation will be wholly undocumented. Drat!
  • Hoping that the drive back to Portland will be as engaging as the drive here.

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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Goal of The Week — Wall Stripes Completed!

by Katy on July 1, 2013 · 33 comments

It’s Monday, which means it’s time for Goal of The Week! A new weekly segment where Non-Consumer Advocate readers set and then reach small attainable goals.

“Not a soccer goal, but a personal goal. A single do-able, not overwhelming goal. A concrete goal. A reachable goal. A realistic goal.”

So no huge vague goals like “organize the house” or “lose weight.” A single attainable goal.

My goal last week was to paint stripes on my son’s walls. I had found inspiration from Brooks, a contestant on HGTV Star, and knew the project was A) within my skill set and B) could be accomplished using crap supplies I already owned.

Here’s my son’s room last week. I’d already picked up an Ikea-at-Goodwill duvet cover for $4.99, which helped to modernize the room. But the dark green walls were a problem. The color sucks all light from the north-facing room, and is not helped by the haphazard placement of soccer posters.

See?

Goal of The week Stripes

But an ancient can of bright green paint from Katy’s Basement Depot plus a roll of blue painter’s tape both brightened and groovified the room. (Do you notice the difference in photo quality between the two pictures? This because I dropped my camera on the sidewalk, and it’s now non-functional. Luckily my husband has an iPhone, which works in a pinch.)

Goal of The Week -- After

I left the rest of the walls as-is, as I felt that to stripe-i-fy the four walls would a smidge more criminally insane clown retreat than I prefer.

I do plan on installing a plain black curtain rod to the right of the skateboard shelves to display my son’s collection of soccer scarves.

IMG_1354

Like the furry yellow butterfly chair? That was a curbside find from a few years ago. And of course, you remember the cool $10 Goodwill woven leather chair that normally retails for $198!

Room view #2

But the real question here is whether or not my son likes his stripes. Worry not, as he loves them! Even though the VOC-tastic paint meant sleeping in the spare bedroom for three nights in a row.

What’s my goal for this week? It’s actually to complete the goal of clearing, beautifying and organizing the horizontal surfaces in my dining room.

Remember?

dining room clutter

I’ve made some progress with this goal, but I’ll save the details for next week’s post.

I’ll be out of town for a few days this week touring and interviewing at Whitman College with my kids, so I can’t set the bar too high.

Are you participating in The Non-Consumer Advocate’s Goal of The Week project? Please share your goals in the comments section below.

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 June 27, 2013 · 20 comments

Tony Curtis

  1. I took the time to go to our Sears credit card online account and research what those pesky “points” meant. It turns out we had enough to buy a $100 gift card to Shell Oil. It swiftly came in the mail, and I promptly filled up our gargantuan mini-van gas tank and will use the remaining credit for our station wagon. I just ♥ that I was able to use the points to purchase something we would have (grudgingly) bought anyway. (Am I the only one who pictures the divine Tony Curtis from Some Like it Hot holding up a shell and pretending to own Shell Oil whenever I gas up with them?)
  2. My younger son and I participated in a big ol’ bedroom purge the other night, and I finally located a Hardy Boys library book that I had given up on. I seriously renewed that book 99 times, which I only know because it’s the limit! I took it to the library yesterday and had my fine erased. Woo-hoo!
  3. Yesterday’s Grand Central Bakery Tweet for Treat was for a free 8-ounce coffee. Although I’m normally a tea drinker, I do love me the indulgence of a latte every now and then. I swung by for a late afternoon coffee in between the errands of dropping my son off at work and grocery shopping. Such the perfect pick me up!
  4. Safeway seems to have loosened its grip on its fantbulous $10-off $50 coupons, as they have miraculously appeared two weeks in a row. I am unable to resist their siren song, so I strapped on my coupon folder and did another big grocery shopping trip. I won’t burden you with the specifics of what I bought and which coupons I used, but suffice it to say that it was all real food, and my savings was 40%-off.
  5. I decided to hang a curtain rod on the wall of my son’s room so he can display all of his soccer scarves. I put out the word on Facebook yesterday, and sure enough I woke up to find one on my porch this morning. Hooray for community, and thank you to my friend Heather from Mile 73.

Now your turn. What frugal activities have you been doing lately?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Redbook Magazine and My Brief Status as a Fashion Icon

by Katy on June 26, 2013 · 28 comments

Katy Wolk-Stanley, Fashion Icon

Like money savings ideas? How about interviews with me? Well then, you’re in luck, as the current Redbook Magazine features an interview with me about the buy-nothing-new Compact and how it saves me money. Titled The Money Habit That Saves You $1,378 Every Year, the article is written by the wonderful Sandy Fernández. (Who is now my official biographer, as I think this was third interview I’ve done with her!) the article profiles three different women who have taken on unique challenges that led to big savings.

I try and get hard copies of all my interviews, so I stopped at Walgreen’s on my way back from dropping off my son and a friend at the arcade. This was in the midst of painting stripes on my son’s wall, so I was dressed in my special painting outfit which is smeared with the paint from a thousand different projects. It’s also weirdly baggy and stretched out. (Take a good long at the above image for reference. Sexy, no?)

So the clerk looked at the magazine and said “Redbook, huh?”

To which I replied “Yes, I’m in the magazine.”

And she proceeded to ask in all honesty “For fashion?”

For fashion?! For fashion!

On my very best day, I could be described as an “okay dresser,” but no one has ever used the words “fashionable” and “Katy Wolk-Stanley” in the same sentence!

I about died laughing. Right there in the Walgreen’s in front of strangers and all the Kardashian-krusted tabloid magazines. I took a step backwards so the clerk could properly assess my fashionability and understand why I was about wetting my pants with mirth.

Me? Featured in a fashion magazine!

I drove home and immediately relayed the story to my seventeen-year-old son, to which he replied in a deadpan voice:

“Mom, I’ve seen homeless people dressed better than you.”

Someone should interview that kid some day. His refreshing frankness is just what this country needs.

Click HERE to read my Redbook interview, which is about saving money, not fashion.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will — Cash, Clowns & Cremains

by Katy on June 25, 2013 · 26 comments

Sometimes I think about how Goodwill is the most very perfect location for “thing watching.” (Like “people watching” for those who wish to remain uncreepy.)

There’s just so much wonderful and unexpected stuff!

Like targeted savings banks. Remember these?

Collage-of-banks

I may have to put together a new grid, as there are now two new additions.

Fresh Flower Fund:


Fresh Flower Fund

And Summer Vacation Fund:

Summer Vacation Fund

And of course there’s always unexpected and secretly tempting items like a vintage clown lamp:

Clown lamp

Not at all creepy. Not at all like it wants to take a melon baller and scoop out your eyeballs while you sleep:

IMG_2803

But if banks or clowns aren’t your thang, you can always bring home the cremains of some stranger’s cat!

And yes, it sounded chunky when I shook it.

I just had to know if it was empty or full. Full. Very full.

Cat cremains

Ahh, Goodwill . . . will your wonders never cease?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Goal of The Week — Wall Stripes

by Katy on June 24, 2013 · 30 comments

Not sure if any of you noticed, but last week’s Goal of The Week turned into a no show. (Does that make it “Goal of The Fortnight?!) Anyway, here’s a reminder:

Goal of the week -- dining room

I’m afraid that there is no after yet, as I realized that I need to buy a nice tray for the top of the piano to corral all the stuff that has valid squatting rights. (Current receipts, this-that and whatnot.) However, I have not been able to find a suitable tray during any of my thrifting forays yet, so this goal has hit the pause button.

(Sports plus TV metaphor? You betcha!)

But that doesn’t mean that I can’t set a new Goal of The Week, which is to paint HGTV Star inspired stripes on my 15-year-old son’s wall. (Is anyone else watching this season? I am extremely impressed with Brooks, whose design aesthetic is creative and very non-conformist. Now, if only he could work on his camera challenges for a chance to win.)

Here’s what I’m talking about:

HGTV Star stripes

I like how the stripes get subtly bigger, and especially how they end with a bold graphic punch.

This is a project that will serve to brighten up my son’s cave-like room, yet wouldn’t require anything that I don’t already own. (My basement is a cornucopia of paint choices, and I’m not above mixing paints to get exactly what I want.) Also, I just picked up a new Ikea duvet cover at Goodwill for $4.99 that’s already helping to make his room a smidge less juvenile.

Old duvet cover:

Bedroom - before

New duvet cover:

Goal of The week Stripes

I will also rehome the soccer posters to an opposite wall next to the gnarly skateboard shelves. 

Are you participating in The Non-Consumer Advocate’s Goal of The Week? And if so, how’s it going? Please share your thoughts and stories in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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It’s Pedicure Time For This Midcentury Mama — How To Fix Rusted Metal Midcentury Leg Caps

by Katy on June 21, 2013 · 26 comments

A recent post on Apartment Therapy asked readers for their best method to refinish metal leg caps, which reminded me of a project I’d been meaning to tackle.

Remember this midcentury bookshelf that I picked up a few months back? (I think I paid something crazy like $2.99 for it!) It had loads of neeto-jets 45° angles, but the metal cap feet were unforgivably rusted out and were hardly worth highlighting.

However, I still had the gold paint pen from my frame project, so I taped off a leg and got to work. I was unsure how it would look, so I started with one of the back legs.

Rusty Feet

Of course, me being myself, I reused the blue painter’s tape with each leg as I am:

  1. Cheap.

  2. Loathe to be wasteful.

  3. Obsessive about how long I can go before replacing new stuff like stupidly expensive painter’s tape.

Blue Tape

The project was actually quite fun, as I set up up in front of an episode of Alias. (J.J. Abrams being my second favorite producer/director after Joss Whedon.)

Hello, Jennifer Garner Sydney Bristow, why no wacky wig today?

Shelf - before

And here’s how incredible the metal leg caps looked after the caresses of my magical golden pen.

Like the necklaces that adorn the chest of Mr. T, nothing but pure golden goodness is allowed.

“I pity the fool who lets their metal leg caps go rusty!”

Happy Feet

I also went ahead and gave the wood a nourishing rubdown with my trusty Aspercreme Restore-A-Finish, which coaxes finished wood  from dry to glossy, while also minimizing scratches and gouges.

Here’s a gratuitous detail shot of the bookshelf.

Hello, lover . . .

Detail Bookshelf

And here’s the shelf all lovely and refurbished.

Now, if all home improvement projects could be this cheap and easy . . .

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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