The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I took my $20 Safeway voucher to the store, (Thanks, American Red Cross!) and grabbed a few items that added up to $19.55. I bought supplies to make blackberry jam, as well as on-sale milk and bananas. When the clerk asked if I wanted a 10¢ bag, I said “no” because . . .

   

2. There was a bin filled with perfectly good free bags not ten feet away. (I’d forgotten my reusable bags.) I grabbed four bags to bring home, as they were the nice sturdy variety and work perfectly as kitchen can liners. One bag even had a receipt still in it, which I scanned into the Fetch app.

   I feel precisely 0.0% guilty for taking bags from their recycle bin.

   

3. I recently saw a news piece about “shrinkflation” vs. “sneakflation” and wanted to check it out for myself. I think we’re all aware of the “shrinkflation” phenomenom, where food manufacturers redesign their packaging to contain less product, yet appear the same. (Think shallow boxes of cereal or peanut butter jars with concave bottoms.) It’s been a few years since a “half-gallon” of ice cream became 1-1/2 quarts, so we’re all a bit numb to it at this point.

   However, manufacturers have taken it one step further with “sneakflation” where not just size, but also quality is being dropped in order to preserve corporate profits. One example they used was Breyers brand ice cream, which is now made with cheaper ingredients to the point where it no longer meets the legal requirement to be called “ice cream!” I guess another reason to stick with Tillamook ice cream, you know . . . when it’s on sale.

   

4. I made a nice big mixed fruit crisp using foraged blackberries, figs from my step-mother’s tree and a forgotten apple. No recipe needed.

   

5. I picked up crackers and another pair of helium balloons from Dollar Tree, as my eave pigeons have ramped up their defication campaign since the last balloons lost their floatiness. This odd anti-pigeons solution works perfectly, as long as I replace the balloons every few weeks. My car and front steps thank me for my efforts.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. I went ahead and foraged more blackberries. Free sunglasses courtesy of the Red Cross, free hat courtesy of a neighborhood “Free Stuff” box.

   
   I can see why your eye is drawn to the Supreme hat, (which I later sold on eBay for $65!) but it’s actually the olive green baseball cap hiding behind it. I like that it doesn’t advertise a sportsball team or even a university. Just a few simple embroidered leaves and the price was right.

   

2. I stopped at Dollar Tree, as I keep hearing that they’re about to raise their prices. I was officially there for another pair of mylar baloons to scare off the pigeons that enjoy A) Hanging out under my eaves, and B) Pooping absolutely everywhere. They were out of helium, but I did stock up on shampoo, conditioner, bar soap and ginger snaps.

   

3. I took the last of some not-so-fresh-feeling tangerines from my sister’s visit and juiced them for a batch of tangerine tofu. (Like “orange chicken,” but with tangerine juice and tofu!) I essentially made up the recipe, but it included the tangerine juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic powder, powdered ginger, sesame oil, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and lastly a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.

   Yum!

   

   Random ingredients coming together to create a delicious, yet frugal meal. Anything I can do to stay out of a grocery store is a “win” in my book!

   

4. I’d reached the point where I couldn’t get any more goo out of my lotion bottle, so I cut it in half. Now I can access every last bit of product to get my money’s worth!

5. I haven’t been participating in an official “No Buy July” challenge, but I’m pretty sure than apart from a few thrifted items, I’ve only puchased comsumables this month. Although that’s pretty much every month for me.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. The random $1.50 veggie bag that I picked up at Fred Meyer had four, count ’em four sprigs of wilted parsley in it. I’m no quitter, so I snipped their ends and stuck them in water.

   You remember, this bag:

   

   Anyway, this is that same parsley, maybe two hours later! Now, how to best use this perky parsley?

   

   

2. The bag also included three green bell peppers and two orange ones. I sliced and froze them, so I’ll be able to pull out however much I need at a time. By the way a single orange bell pepper normally costs $1.49 at Fred Meyer, so that clearance price bag really was a huge bargain!

   I didn’t even photograph the zucchini, pair of carrots and the dozen or so organic jalapeño peppers that also came in the bag!

   

3. I cut some hydrangeas for my mother, who’d been wanting some for her house. But first I set them on the newel post by the front door, which was confusing for “Mama’s Little Meatball,” who considers this to be her own spot.

   

4. I started reading a library copy of Fiona Davis’ The Spectacular. She’s one of my favorite authors and although I’m just one chapter in, I know I’ll zip through the rest of the book up within a day or two.

5. I didn’t fire anyone from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. I stopped at Fred Meyer this morning for butter and eggs before their sale ended. ($2.99/lb butter & 18-egg cartons for $3.49!) I still had my $25 Fetch gift card and wanted to see how far I could stretch it. My first stop was the produce clearance shelf, where I grabbed one variety pack and one broccoli bag for $1.50 apiece. I’d initally been annoyed when Fred Meyer upper their clearance produce from from $1 to $1.50, but the bags are actually much bigger now.

   

2. Here’s everything I bought, for just 45¢ out of pocket! I won’t need to buy butter until 2026! Thankfully it freezes well. Also . . . Hello, Dolly!

   

3. The egg purchase put us over the line with our egg inventory, so I made a quick batch of Deviled eggs, eight of which I’ll bring over to my daughter tomorrow. And yes, I am fancy with my reusable piping bag!

   

4. My husband and I took a day trip over to Hood River Oregon, which is considered the windsurfing/kiteboarding capital of America. (So windy, note my ponytails!) It’s only an hour-and-a-half from Portland, which makes it the perfect lil’ day trip. I love watching all the people on the Columbia river, especially when the wind is whipping and the sun is out! There must have been at least a hundred kitesurfers out today — the very height of entertainment for sedentary me. Here’s just one small area of the river, not even a busy area:

   

   Here’s a spot where some of the athletes were drying out their equipment. Note, this is not even the main area!

   
   I love a day trip that gets me out of town, yet delivers me back home to sleep in my own cozy bed. Frugal, yet scratches that mini-vacation itch.

5. None of my handmade birthday cards have ever caused anyone to sue me for 10 billion dollars.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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My husband and I bought our house in 1996 when every teeny purchase was a painful decision, which is how I concretely remember that our shower curtain rod was from that era. Unfortunately, time has taken its toll on poor ol’ Rusty Rod. Mind you, it was still functional, so it only truly bothered me a couple times a year when I remembered to look up. I considered painting over the rust, but knew it would only be a temporary fix, as the rolling metal curtain rings would wear away any paint.

Hardly a highlight in my 111-year-old home.

Here’s a bigger picture. The shower curtain was thrifted for maybe $3.99 and the shower curtain rings were 25¢ from a long forgotten garage sale.

So when someone in my Buy Nothing group offered a “new” shower curtain rod, I enthusiastically raised my hand for digital dibs.

Better, right?

So. Much. Better! I hadn’t realized how much the old rod annoyed me until it was no longer in my sight line.

I joke about having a second blog called “The Inoffensive Decorator” where I highlight household decor projects that replace something ugly with something neutral. Behold the inoffensive shower curtain rod!

I love that this project put someone’s unwanted item back into use, and that my acquisition of said item didn’t prompt the manufacture of something new.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. I started reading a library copy of Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June, which drew me in from the very first chapter. I’ll never stop being appreciative of everything my local library provides!

2. I arranged to get together with a neighbor for tea in the garden later this week. It’ll be nice to catch up and it’ll cost both of us precisely zero-point-zero dollars as we both bring our own beverages and can walk to each other’s houses. I later brought a jar of pickled red onions to my friend Lise’s house and ended up visiting with her family for an hour or so.

   People assume that being on a tight budget leads to a lesser social life, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a myriad of ways to continue a rich social life without spending beyond your means.

3. I received a series of one-a-week coupons to a nearby schwanky grocery store that I normally avoid due to not exactly being a Rockefeller. However, the coupons are for things like a “free case of flavored seltzers with $5 purchase,” so I’ll actually use a few of them. I don’t actually like canned seltzer all that much, but they’re nice to have on hand for when we have guests to the house.

   

4. Our tall standing fan was tilting forward, so I took it apart and wrapped the bottom pole piece in a couple layers of duct tape to increase the diameter. We’d already added a pipe clamp a few years ago to tighten the top piece, so this is repair #2. It worked, and both vertical pieces are once again standing in the full and upright position. An easy repair to keep yet another one of our belongings in use.

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

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. I filled the neighbor’s small canning jars with freshly snipped mint before returning them. Perhaps not as tasty as the watermelon sorbet they previously contained, but still better than empty. One got chocolate mint, while the other — standard mint. I grow both these plants in individual backyard flowerpots to avoid their rampant spread.

2. I watched the first two episodes of Back to The Frontier through my parents’ HBO account. The producers obviously borrowed greatly from PBS’ Frontier House, but I hold out hope that there’ll be some new value to the show. It’s definitely more reality TV than documentary, (complete with obvious false conflict) but I’ll keeping watching as the episodes come out. I appreciate that one of the three families is queer, as that’s unfortunately considered a bold casting decision on a show that would otherwise appeal to the right wing prepper community. Thank you, HBO!

   By the way, I found a Making Frontier House segment from 2001 that I was able to watch for free through the PBS app on my Roku.

3. I sold a thrifted cast iron skillet for $30 through Facebook Marketplace and then a pair of Børn booties for $25 through eBay. The shoes may be the item I’ve had on eBay the longest, (maybe six years?) which goes to show that it can be worth letting your “inventory” sit, even if it’s annoying to do so. Of course, it helps that I have the physical space in my house to store inventory without having to look at it on a daily basis. Mind you, I much prefer when things sell immediately!

4. I wrote a four page letter to my college best friend who just turned sixty, using thrifted stationary from 1974. Super cute, but I definitely shouldn’t have licked the envelope. Blegh!!!! It reminded me of George Costanza’s ill-fated fiancé on Seinfeld. The price was right, the flavor was wrong!

5. I didn’t spend $600 on Coldpay concert tickets, only to humiliate myself on a “kiss cam” and watch my entire personal and profesional life crumble into pieces.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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1. I recieved an email from the American Red Cross, thanking me for donating blood. Enjoyably the “thank you” was my choice of a $20 gift card. I picked Safeway and will use it to pick up whatever loss leader I’d be buying anyway. For those keeping track, I’ve now received a pair of Goodr brand sunglasses and and a $20 gift card for my single donation.

   

2. I grabbed my blackberry picking supplies and drove to my secret spot. Those supplies being a cut-open milk jug, two 9″ X 13″ lidded pans, a wet rag in a ziploc bag to clean my hands and my sunscreened self.

   

   I spent a hour and twenty minutes picking blackberries and gleaned enough to make it worth the scratches and sun exposure. Most of the berries were still unripe, so I’ll definitely try and get back next week. Maybe even the week after that. Hey, it’s free food!

   

3. I also baked bread and made double batches of sweet chili sauce and pickled red onions for the fridge. Having flavorful toppings definitely helps to perk up otherwise dull meals.

   

4. I then made a fresh jar of sauerkraut, as we used up the dregs from my last batch when my sister was in town. (Bangers and mash, bay-bee!) I picked up a $1.99 Trader Joe’s head of cabbage as their heavy single price produce is usally a better bargain than standard pay-by-the-pound pricing.

   I picked up this fermantation kit last year and it’s my third time using it. I bought it “used” off Amazon and the only thing wrong with it was that the cardboard packaging  was a bit messed up.

   

5. My supper was a simple rice and beans bowl in the backyard, topped with queso fresco, onion, cilantro, salsas, tomato, lettuce and tortilla chip shrapnel. Cheap, healthy and delicious!

   

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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