The Non-Consumer Advocate

Our passenger side headlight went out, so my handy-dandy husband bought replacement bulbs and installed them himself. I’m not sure how much money we saved, but I can be happy without the hard data.

I was going stir crazy at home, so I invented an errand to donate a couple items to Goodwill. I didn’t go into the store and instead called my mother to see if she was up for a spontaneous visit. I returned home to find my son in the kitchen, working on his weekly meal prep.

Oregon in December is intensely dreary and it’s easy to succumb to seasonal affective disorder. Maybe I should consider taking vitamin D to stay above water.

I started listening to A Novel Love Story, by Ashley Poston through the library’s free Libby app. I allow my sister use my Libby account, (Portland’s library lets you check out so many more books than NYC’s does!) and she’d enjoyed the book, so she left it in the account instead of returning it.

• I broke the wood and wicker basket that I’ve been using for paper recycling. Luckily it took nothing more than a squirt of wood glue and a couple of clamps to bring it back to life.
• My son needed to pick up a couple specific items at H Mart and dragged my sorry tuchus along. I bought 33¢/bunch scallions and six sale priced mini-cans of coconut milk for just 48¢ apiece. This was perfect as I rarely need the entire can of coconut milk.
• I drove through McDonald’s and got a 50¢ double cheeseburger through their app.
• I used a hair dryer to soften the glue that held the metal piece onto the back of my son’s old cell phone case. We then glued it onto his new case so he can avoid buying a new cell phone mount kit.
• I invited my next door neighbor over for a chat and a catch up. These dates are hilariously cheap as we just bring our own tea to one another’s houses.

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky!

My husband and I went to his soccer field to empty out the storage locker for the winter. The locker was right next to the bleachers, which were littered underneath with soggy garbage and whatnot. However . . . there’s also decent abandoned items, so I grabbed a few things to bring home and clean up. Here’s what came home with me:

• One knit cap.
• One pair of black fleece gloves.
• One new looking insulated water bottle.
• Four returnable cans.

I’ll clean up the hat and gloves for donation, keep the water bottle and cash in the cans for 40¢.

I took the free apples from my neighbor and turned them into five jars of applesauce. I’d normally not bother making applesauce unless it was a larger amount, (so much cleanup!) but I wanted to make sure the fruit didn’t go to waste. I chose to refrigerate the applesauce instead of doing a water bath as we’ll eat it long before it could go bad.

I also took an uncut Halloween pumpkin from my neighbor and baked it up for puree. It’s now frozen and I’m ready for another year of yummy treats.

My son lucked out on a free hand-me-down iPhone 11 to replace his infirmed iPhone 7 that no longer shot video or received texts in a timely manner. He did pay $60 to get it unlocked and ready to switch from AT&T to Verizon, but it was still a great bargain. His first instinct was to buy a new phone, but I convinced him to give this a try. He’s now happy to have spent $60 instead of $799!

I used the To Good To Go app to score a box of schmancy Blue Star donuts for $6.99 instead of $21. A rare treat on a cold and rainy afternoon.

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky!

My sister needed a last minute duffel bag for her trip back to New York, so I placed a request for one in my Buy Nothing group. We had a response almost immediately and the bag in hand in under an hour!

The duffel bag gifter also gave me four 10%-off Safeway coupons that she wasn’t going to use. I use these $10-off-$50 coupons to stock up on canned cat food. Exciting, but true.

My husband took advantage of a Cyber Monday deal to book two nights at a fancy resort, for just $90 out of pocket using airline miles. The suite overlooks the river and even has an in-room fireplace. This’ll be my birthday present and I gotta say that he nailed it!

• I listed the thrifted Sferra towels and a thrifted, but brand new “lovey” on eBay.*
• I found four pennies outside Goodwill and a quarter inside a coffee shop. So yes, I recently came into some money.
• I ran an errand for my son to activate an iPhone 11 he got for free and the owner of the shop replaced my cracked screen protector for free.

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky!

I keep my house on the cooler side, which not everyone is used to. (My sister, I’m talking about my sister.) I’m happy to keep the house at a comfortable temperature during the day when we’re home, but I need the house to be cold at night, otherwise I roast. The duvet in my son’s old bedroom isn’t particularly thick, so I began looking for a new/used duvet insert to make sure she’d be comfortable. Then I remembered that we had a couple extra fleece blankets that used to belong to the kids, so I folded them at the foot of the bed. Were they pretty and did they match the bedding? Nope and nope! But did they keep my sister all toasty warm in the night? Yep!

“Make it do” for the win!

I made a batch of inexpensive white bean rosemary soup with sausage in the crockpot to ensure a proper meal for the last day of my sister’s visit. I’d already chopped and frozen the leftover chicken-basil sausage from last week’s pre-Thanksgiving “bangers and mash” night, (The perfect day-before-Thanksgiving meal as I’ve already made the mashed potatoes!) I also threw together a loaf of no-knead artisan bread to round out the meal.

I thought I’d made enough for leftovers but we were apparently extra hungry, plus my son packed a container for his work lunch. No leftovers = zero food waste!

• The soup was extra easy to make due to having pre-chopped and frozen a ton of onions.
• My sisters and I ordered a “men’s large” Uniqlo puffer jacket for our father off eBay, which turned out to be a oddly small “women’s large” size. (Was it maybe a child’s size large?!) I immediately initiated a return and put it out in the next day’s mail. It’s easy to let this stuff go, but it only took a few minutes to manage the return and arrange for our mail carrier to pick up the package.
• I drove my sister to the airport at 4:30 this morning. She’s lucky to not have to brave NYC public transportation to get to her flight on time!

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky!

My backyard neighbors brought over a paper grocery bag filled to the brim with 13 pounds of apples from their tree. (Yes, I weighed the bag!) The best part is that they have no idea that I’m “The Non-Consumer Advocate,” which makes this spontaneous gift so much sweeter.

My sister wanted to go to Goodwill, so we stopped by the main store. Here’s what I bought:

• Three $4.99 Sferra brand towels, which normally sell for $70 apiece! I’ll list them on eBay.
• One $14.99 antique Wagner cast iron skillet in amazing condition. I’ll try to sell this locally.
• One $4.99 lighting globe to sell to a local shop.
• A new looking $2.49 Eddie Bauer t-shirt that was both my size and the half-off color tag. I never seem to have enough T-shirts.
• A set of three midcentury nesting tables for just $9.99. I’ll help my son to refurbish them for resale.

I spent enough to get 5% off through their “Goodwill Club,” which I’m always happy to accept.

I’ve been visiting with both parents on a daily basis while my sister is visiting from out of town, which means I’m being fed some free delicious restaurant food. Last night was Vietnamese food and tonight was Italian. It’s kind of nice to take a break from cooking.

Leftovers, still so many leftovers!

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.

My family met up at a cafe inside of a high end grocery store on Thanksgiving day. They had a serve yourself coffee station, but I was unsure about where to pay and an employee came up to me as I was apparently outwardly confused. He pointed out the VERY LONG grocery line as where to pay, to which my response was “oh, never mind.” He then insisted that I “just take the coffee” and to tell anyone that he said “it was okay.”

Alrighty then . . . free coffee for Katy!

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday, as my husband worked on Thursday. I did the cooking, which meant that everything was homemade. I love the occasional shortcut as much as anyone else, but some things just taste better when you start at the beginning.

• I made two pies from frozen Jack-o-lantern pumpkin puree. These were standard grocery store pumpkins, which yes — are actually edible. I just strain the defrosted puree so it’s not watery.
• I made the pie crusts from scratch.
• I made two pies and a crumble from the apples that fall onto the sidewalk from my neighbor’s tree. I just cut off the bruised and otherwise yucky bits.
• I baked two loaves of overnight artisan bread and then cut them into cubes, which I then dried in the oven. This made an excellent stuffing.
• I made cranberry sauce from scratch, although I understand that others prefer the canned variety. Luckily, none of my guests had this preference.
• I made a double batch of The Frugal Girls’s cloverleaf rolls.
• I pre-chopped a ton of onions, which I then froze to make the day easier. I also pre-chopped the celery.
• I made turkey broth the day ahead, using the neck and giblets which meant I was able to make the gravy while the turkey was still in the oven.

Everything was absolutely delicious, no complaints. Except from the hostess who was very tired by day’s end.

My neighbor across the street texted asking if I wanted an extra onion and some leftover celery, which her husband then brought over. He then mentioned that he was on his way to the grocery store for some last minute ingredients and asked if there was anything I needed, as “there’s no reason for both of us to go.” He picked up a couple random items for me and I thanked them with monetary compensation taped to a jar of freshly made red lentil soup.

This was the day before Thanksgiving and this was an amazing kindness.

My younger sister is spending a few days at the house and wanted to take a bath. My husband and I both shower, so we don’t actually own a drain plug. (They always get so disgustingly mildewy, so I end up tossing them after a couple of years.) However, my sister really craved the full bathtub experience, so we scavenged a plastic lid from the kitchen and a heavy rock from the backyard and McGuyvered a solution. Apparently it worked great, so who am I to argue with success?

I finally sold my son’s dining room table that had no place in his teensy studio apartment. I thrifted it for $30 and sold it for $175, which included delivery as I was a very motivated seller! We’d been storing it in my daughter’s childhood bedroom and unsurprisingly it took up half the square footage. My daughter’s room is once again ready for houseguests and for my daughter to chill out in when she visits the house.

I took a thrifted black cashmere sweater that A) no longer fit; and B) had a prominent hole and upcycled it into an infinity scarf. Cashmere’s knit doesn’t unravel when cut, which made this sweater the perfect organ donor. It was as simple as laying the sweater on the floor and cutting across the abdomen for a loop. I then stretched the knit into a cozy “scarf” that loops twice around the neck. Am I . . . a fashion influencer?

I started reading a library copy of The Echo of Old Books, by Barbara Davis. I’m only two chapters in, but I’m already hooked!

I didn’t buy a vulgar gold plated apartment in the sky.