The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I picked my niece up at the airport and we immediately hit IKEA for a bite to eat, which meant $1.15 veggie dogs for the two of us. She did add on a $1.99 Plantball Sundae, but only because I was feeling generous. I kid, kid — $4.29 for lunch is far from a splurge!

2. We invited my mother and stepfather over for dinner and served a burrito buffet, which was on frequent rotation when my kids were growing up. Super easy to please a large group of people, as everyone creates their own personalized burrito; and cheap since the base is rice and beans. Extra toppings are whatever you have on hand, but mine were queso fresco, shredded mozzarella, tomatoes, lettuce, waffle iron cooked tater tots, sautéed peppers and onions, broken tortilla chips and cilantro. I also set out various salsas and sour cream to complete the yumminess.

   I know that once trendy Instant Pots now sit abandoned on the shelves of thrift stores, but I use mine multiple times per week to cook beans from scratch. As easy as adding the beans, water and salt to the pot and just pushing the button that says “bean!”

3. I finished The Lathe of Heaven and started listening to George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides, which is one of my favorite books. This is my first time experiencing it as an audiobook and it’s making me feel that I’m reading it for the very first time. I wouldn’t of had time to read a physical book yesterday, but I did get through an hour and a half of the audiobook while grocery shopping and driving to the airport. For those who look down on audiobooks as a lesser literary choice, I have a few choice words for you.

   Earth Abides is 1949 post-apocalyptic novel that takes a hopeful look at humankind, without lazily written bad guys or cliché tropes. Of course, I’m listening through the library’s free Libby app.

   There’s a new TV series based on the book, but I thought I give the original a reread before watching a show that’s unlikely to live up to its source material.

4. I did a big Winco grocery shop yesterday morning before heading out to the airport, spending $130.42 on 52 items. (Grocery shopping fully supporting my No Spend March!) I’m not too mad about it though, as I stocked up on multiple items and splurged on various luxuries such as eggs and eggs. (Seriously though, I spent $20.40 on 42 eggs.) I doubt I’ll need to food shop again during my niece’s spring break and we should be able to create multiple nice meals from these ingredients. I’d normally snap a photo of my haul for the blog, but I needed to be efficient with my time to get to the airport on time. Instead, please enjoy the receipt!

   

5. No swasticars, no gold plated domiciles, no Lear Jets. Just a normal Wednesday.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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You might think that my life is just one frugal win after another, but life catches up with me as much as anyone else. So instead of a normal “Five Frugal Things” blog post, today you’ll a theme of two steps forward, one step back.

1. I had a thick pile of unwanted bubble mailers from organizing my buffet drawers and it pained me to think of them going to the landfill. I do reuse envelopes for eBay sales, but I haven’t been thrifting much, which translates into almost no sales. I then remembered that my next door neighbor pays for Ridwell recycling service and has offered to let us put our things in her bin, so I texted and asked if she’d take the mailers. She quickly responded in the affirmative and I was able to hopefully put the mailers into the recycling stream instead of the landfill.

   This neighbor borrows from us on a regular basis, (snow shovel, muffin tin, last minute ingredients, etc.) so I felt fine asking for this moochy favor.

   Frugal win.

2. I walked out of my house yesterday and discovered that my front passenger side tire was a complete and utter goner. Luckily I didn’t have any urgent driving errands, although I had been planning on a Winco grocery trip and on a driving lesson for my daughter. My thought was to fill the tire with air from our compressor and slowly drive the car to the Les Schwab tire store. Unfortunately, they’re closed on Sundays, which brought my plans for the day to a halt. Instead my husband filled the tire today and drove it to the store, where the plan evolved into “The front tires were pretty bald, so I’m having them replaced.” I’m not going to argue to drive on bald tires, but it’s still a bummer.

   Frugal Fail to the tune of $560.91, as we had to buy two new tires, plus get a front end alignment.

   

3. I walked a Buy Nothing container of thumbtacks to a teacher’s house, as I’d already offered to drop them off for her. Maybe a half mile each way and it didn’t even rain, which is rarity this time of year in Portland! I certainly could have space for this small item in my house, but I’d rather that they went to someone who actually needed them. I still have an Altoid tin half filled with tacks, which should last me the rest of my life.

   Frugal win.

4. My son dropped by the house to hand wash a couple items, as he doesn’t have a laundry rack. I sent him home with a pair of work lunches and a hug. I moved away from Portland immediately after high school and didn’t come back until ten years later. Although I value the perspective from living in Israel, Ohio, Idaho, New York and New Mexico, I appreciate that both my kids live close enough to spend time with them on a regular basis.

   Frugal win.

5. I didn’t have access to my car today, so I ended up paying $18.96 with tip for a Lyft to drive me across town this morning.

   Frugal fail.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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1. I finished organizing all the drawers from our built-in buffet, which was deeply satisfying. I found a lot of things to recycle, a few things to throw away, one thing to gift through Buy Nothing (the above clothesline) and a handful of random bits and bobs to donate to Goodwill. I then gave my husband a tour of the drawers and he commented on how it’ll be so much easier to find certain things from here on out. Goal achieved!

   Having things organized is a money saver, as you won’t end up buying things simply because you can’t locate them. Just yesterday my husband picked up a six-pack of button batteries, when we actually had two in reserve. Now he knows where to look instead of assuming we’re out of a certain type of battery.

2. I assembled and froze two 9×13 pans of rice and bean enchiladas as a favor to my future self, as I know I’ll be busy while my niece visits next week. She’s a vegetarian, my daughter can’t eat gluten and everyone else just wants a tasty meal. Me? I just want to make sure I have a plan in place for hosting multiple family dinners.

3. I used a coupon for a free pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream, which served as our dessert last night. Fred Meyer (Kroger) mails out personalized coupons once a month or so and for some reason, (maybe I was good in a past life?) mine always includes a coupon for free ice cream. Not mad about it.

4. I continue my No Spend March economic boycott, which means no shopping beyond groceries.

5. I didn’t gold plate my oval office.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
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1. My daughter asked if I’d drive her through Taco Bell for crunchy tacos after yesterday’s driving lesson. Normally I’d say yes, as there’s almost no fast food she can eat due to her gluten-free needs, but I’m trying my best to stick with No Spend March. I knew I had a small container of black beans in the freezer, which when mashed with taco seasoning, sprinkled with cheese, rolled up in corn tortillas and then seared in a cast iron pan would be just as tasty. (Especially when topped with the avocado salsa and sour cream we had on hand!) It took just a couple minutes to assemble a batch, which more than satisfied her Taco Bell craving. I saved around fifteen bucks and used ingredients I’d already paid for, which is always a win.

2. I had my daughter pull over to inspect an intriguing “free box” and although few people would consider it a score, I brought home a small but sturdy plastic bin, even though there was no lid. It replaces the ancient Trader Joe’s “Cat Cookies” plastic bin we’ve always used to hold lightbulbs and batteries for recycling. It’s less janky looking, which is frankly an upgrade.

3. My son invited me to to hang out at his apartment last night and I’d originally talked about treating us to Chinese takeout. However . . . blah blah blah “No Spend March,” so I instead I heated up my small pan of recently frozen enchiladas and cooked up the last of some asparagus. We watched part of a terrible movie and then switched over to Seinfeld and it was a relaxing chill evening. I even left him with the leftovers.

4. • I started reading a “Lucky Day” library copy of The Bright Sword, by Lev Grossman.
   • I noticed that my flowerpot of mint wintered over, when it normally doesn’t. In past years I’ve had to ask my neighbor to dig a bit for me from her backyard, where it grows invasively.
   • I brought my mending basket downstairs, which everyone knows is step one of eleven of starting to mend.

5. No one painted any graffiti on my car, as my vehicle doesn’t enrage my fellow Americans.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
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I was feeling super unmotivated today, so I decided to run a cluster of tiny errands that normally wouldn’t rise to the top of my to-do list. Think along the lines of  “the sum is greater than the parts.”

So today I:

• Cashed in all our winning scratch-it lottery tickets from our Christmas stockings. $5, baby! I chose to take it as an annual annuity.

• Took a paint sample to the paint store to match the color from my daughter’s childhood bedroom, which features multiple white spackle marks. It bugs me, although let’s face it . . .  it’s an unused room that I go into once a week to water the plants, so not exactly a huge priority. However, I really do hate an unfinished project.

• Dropped off a box of Cream of Wheat that someone from my Buy Nothing group keeps forgetting to pick up.

• Returned a handful of craft beer can carriers topper thingies to a store for reuse.

• Dropped off and picked up library books.

I also took my daughter to run an errand, brought her to the house to raid the fridge, (No Spend March  = no restaurants!) and then took her out to practice her driving.

No one of these individual errands would’ve granted me a sense of accomplishment, but together they added up. Plus, it got me out of the house . . . .

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
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1. I made a pot of French onion soup, which was extra frugal as I made the bread from scratch, used white cheddar instead of gruyere and threw the above pat of leftover restaurant butter in with the onions. (Worry not, as I added much more butter than this lil’ guy!) I didn’t have any wine, but I added a glug of sweet rice vinegar and it was absolutely divine!

   

2. I spent an hour or so taking everything off my narrow back porch, sweeping it off, reorganizing everything and then putting it all back together. This project was about the functionality of the space, not the aesthetics — although it certainly looked better afterwards. Not everything needs to look cute. You can make over a space using nothing more than cleanliness and organization.

   P.S. The shelf was a curb find, as was the vintage green wastebasket. The bag holder was being thrown away by my husband’s employer and the yellow “Portland Recycles” bin came with our garbage service in the 1990s.

   

3. I’ve been taking my daughter out every day to practice her driving, which has been a long time coming. She turned 18 at the beginning of her senior year of high school, so they wouldn’t let her take driver’s education as the program was funded for students “under 18 only.” She then went to college in a walkable town and somehow here we are. Anyway, it’s been a lot of fun and although I’d be willing to pay for driving lessons, this is working out really well so far. I’ve watched a couple of “How to teach someone to drive” YouTube videos, which have been helpful.

   I’ll accept any and all advice on how you’ve successfully taught someone to drive.

4. • My daughter overwatered and killed a house plant that I’d given her, so I brought the flowerpot back home. I’m already propagating a number of plants on the kitchen windowsill, so I’ll be able to fill it back up again with fresh plants. Unconditional love = infinite plant replacements.
   • I started listing to Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Lathe of Heaven through the library’s free Libby app.
   • I socialized with a friend yesterday by taking a walk through the neighborhood and socialized with our back yard neighbors by giving them a tour of the house. Strengthening relationships is always a good plan.
   • I picked my stepfather up from the airport, which saved him the cost of a taxi.

5. I hadn’t planned on buying a brand new car, so I don’t have to panic buy one before the tariffs kick in.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
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