I’ve been working the art (and science) of extreme frugality since 1998, when my youngest was born and I realized I needed to pull it together financially. It’s been an interesting 26 years, as many of the frugal hacks I used to employ have gone the way of the dodo bird. Luckily, new money saving methods do pop up with regularity. It mostly balances itself out, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a bummer when things change for the worse.
This lesson hit home last Monday when my husband and I drove over to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden for a picnic lunch. Mondays have been “pay what you will” for a number of years and Tuesdays used to be free. This I remember clearly as I’d often bring my kids there on Tuesdays when they were little and we were dead broke.
My husband and I walked up to the entry booth and were succinctly informed that Mondays were now full price admission at $8.95 apiece, (unless you qualify for their Community Access Program.) I sighed and said “I miss when it was free.” The volunteer lowered her voice, looked me straight in the eye and said “it was never free.” There was no point in responding to this misinformation, so my husband and I crossed the street to Reed College and found a lesser shady spot to enjoy our food.
This led to me ruminating on some of the frugal things that we used to do, most of which is in the rear view mirror.
For example:
• The Oregonian newspaper marked their 150th year of publication in the summer of 2000 by publishing a special coupon every Thursday, one of which was for a free Oaks Amusement Park ride bracelet. Oddly, the expiration date wasn’t until Labor Day of that year. I drove to Fred Meyer that morning and bought a huge stack of newspapers and clipped these precious coupons! We spent that summer enjoying the amusement park, which should’ve been out of our price range, as the ride bracelets were normally around $12 apiece.
• We live walking distance to an iconic Portland movie theater, operating since 1927. They used to exclusively play second run movies, which were priced at $3/adult and $1/youth. They’d also screen 3 P.M. kid’s movies on the weekends, which meant my husband or I could walk the kids to the movies and spent just $5. Sadly they refurbished the theater and now play first run movies at standard pricing. ($11.50/adult, $8.50 youth) I miss $3 movies.
• The Franz Bakery Outlet offers a frequent buyer punch card and they’d do double punches on Tuesdays, so of course that’s when I did my bread shopping.. They got a new manager a couple years ago and he put a stop to double punches.
• Krispy Kreme gave away glazed donuts with a Covid-19 vaccination card for the entirety of 2021. This was fun as the two Portland area locations are both located next to Goodwills.
• Portland has some great outdoor public pools. (Although a couple pools have since closed, which is a shame.) A summer pass was a significant expenditure for us at the time, so I’d always wait until July 1st to buy a prorated pass as the cost was significantly less. Until then we’d just attend the once a week free sessions or the $1 Tuesday sessions. I believe this frugal hack still works.
• The Multnomah County Library system used to have a small branch that sold “retired” library books. It was called “Title Wave” and it was magnificent as the books were priced at just a couple bucks apiece. (Magazines were 10¢ – 25¢!) It was located in an historic Carnegie library with antique oak detailing, which made the experience extra special. They switched it back to a neighborhood branch a couple years ago.
• We didn’t have cable TV when the kids were young, (and streaming services certainly didn’t exist.) Instead we’d rent movies from the library, making sure to keep a number on hold at all times, so we’d always have something to watch when the mood struck. We watched so many amazing movies and television shows this way and never once felt deprived. This frugal hack definitely still works!
Luckily, the internet makes it possible to search for new frugal things, which was certainly not the case in 1998. For every one thing that goes away, two things seem to take its place. I welcome the addition of Buy Nothing groups, free streaming services, digital coupons and so on, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss the old ways. I guess that’s just the nature of the beast, as the only constant is change.
Have you noticed that the frugal hacks you used to rely on are no longer so . . . reliable? Please share your thoughts and own personal hacks (both old and new) in the comments section below!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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P.S. I miss the glorious few months when IKEA had a free café latte machine.
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My friend Summer and I took bags o’random stuff to sell to a local consignment shop. My stuff was 99% garage sale freebies, so any money I get is a sweet bonus. I’ll find out later today how much they bought, so I’ll update this blog post this evening.
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Kristen from The Frugal Girl tagged my Instagram account asking if I also combine old and new soap together.
This was my answer. Because, c’mon . . . what am I, a Rockefeller?
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My friend Lise and I went for a walk after dinner last night. I brought home three Oui yogurt jars, a half dozen or so books for my little free library and an American Bungalow magazine from 1996. It’s not possible for a magazine about hundred-year-old houses to become outdated, so the publication date doesn’t matter. I live in a 1914 craftsman bungalow, so this magazine is fun to flip through for ideas and inspiration.
I’ve seen people do simple cute macrame with Oui jars for plant propagation, so I thought I’d give it a try. Now to source some free twine!
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• Someone put a copy of Rene Denfeld’s Sleeping Giants in my little free library, which was fortuitous as I was already on hold for her book through the library!
• My husband is out of town to deal with his father’s estate, so I cooked a small amount of pinto beans in the Instant Pot for a #cheapaf taco-ish dinner.
• I saw an Instagram reel that recommended adding a cutting of pothos to encourage faster root growth when propagating plants. (Apparently they high have a high concentration of rooting hormone?) I figured I had nothing to lose, so I added a sprig of pothos to all my jars of propagating plants.
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No Cybertrucks, no Lear Jets, no aesthetic plastic surgery.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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It’s time for another Non-Consumer Photo Essay, because who doesn’t enjoy looking at pictures?
First off, I’m featured over at The Frugal Girl, as part of her “Meet A Reader” series.
Click HERE to read the full interview.
How cute were we in 2014?
I sold a pair of after-garage-sale-freebie sneakers for $45 on eBay.
I cleaned up this curb picked chair and got it looking as good as new. It’s now listed on Facebook Marketplace and based on how many people are messaging me about it, I should have it sold by tomorrow. However, there are always a lot of “I love this chair, can I come by for it?” people who simply disappear off the face of the earth, so I never count my chickens.
I drove past a neighbor’s curbside pile yesterday and walked back in the evening to see if the terra cotta pots were still up for grabs. Surprisingly they were, which was great as I have a windowsill crowded with rooting starts that’ll need to be planted in the near future.
Portland is on the edge of a heatwave, which can be a challenge as very few of us have whole house air conditioning. However, 2021’s “heat dome” weather event gave us all a new perspective on “how hot is too hot” as 116° resets your perspective!
Good thing a big ol’ jug of sun tea takes less than 20¢ from start to finish. Plus it doesn’t heat up your kitchen!
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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Portland began offering curbside pickup for battery recycling. I’ve recycled my batteries for free at IKEA over the past number of years, but they sadly stopped offering this service. I’ve photographed the city’s instructions for any Portlanders who might not have received this news.
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I ordered a free takeout “Bryan’s Bowl” from ¿Porque No? using a pair of punch cards that I probably started over a year ago. They’re just a standard Mexi-bowl, yet are somehow so much more delicious than the ones I create at home.
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I curb picked a $269 IKEA Långjfäll conference chair with a bit of staining. I’ll hopefully be able to clean up the upholstery and get it spiffy enough for resale.
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• My neighbors put six canning jars in their recycling bin, which I promptly brought home and added to my stash of canning supplies.
• I brought home five stainless steel wall hooks from someone’s crowded table of basement discards. They’re very handy to keep on hand and take up almost no room.
• I found a penny at my son’s soccer field.
• My son tested negative for Covid, a mere three days after first testing positive. We did buy a five-pack of tests and I expected we’d need more, but such is not the case.
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I didn’t buy a Cybertruck.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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There were two quarters, a dime and a penny in the grocery store change return the other day. I asked the cashier if he was allowed to keep it, to which he replied “no.” I then asked if I was allowed to keep it and he told me to “go for it!”
This was already an especially frugal shopping trip as I was paying with a $25 Safeway e-card I’d earned through the Fetch* app. My total bill was $25.02, so . . . two pennies spent to begin with.
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I have people contacting me about the garbage picked midcentury chair and the after-garage-sale REI suitcase through messenger, so I’m guessing those’ll sell within the next week. The eBay items might take awhile to sell, but my policy is to “list it and forget it.” It’s a favor to my future self.
Edit: I sold the suitcase for $50!
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• I gave away a graphing calculator through my Buy Nothing group.
• I was given a wooden accordian-style wine rack through the Buy Nothing group. I’m thinking it’ll be cool storage for something other than wine. Not sure what, but I’ll figure something out in time.
• Three groups came and took the very last of my free wood chip mulch yesterday, which was a relief as there’d been sooooo much to begin with! Remember how the wood chips were as tall as my garage door and as wide as the entire driveway?
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I loaned our cheesecake pans to a neighbor. No need for everyone to own their own infrequently used items. Another neighbor will be borrowing our wheelbarrow for an upcoming project.
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I didn’t buy a teeny tiny Lear Jet.
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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*Referral links
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I garbage picked a couple of rather amazing chairs and need to to share it with y’all. And before you freak out about bedbugs — I promise you that I examined them very closely before I brought them into my house. I’m no dummy.
The best part is all they needed was a wipe with a damp rag.
Sure, the mission oak chair is a bit lumpy to sit on, but the leather is aged to perfection and actually in amazing condition. I’ve listed it on Facebook Marketplace for $400, frankly so high because I kind of want to keep it for my own 1914 craftsman bungalow.
Lookit’ how pretty she is! A chair that’s lasted 100+ years so far and still looks like a million bucks!
The other chair is a midcentury side chair that I think is from the brand Jasper. (I could be wrong as the chair has no manufacturer’s mark.) It does have a couple of cracks in the vinyl seat, but is otherwise in amazing condition. I’ve listed it for $60 and expect it’ll sell quickly, but that’s out of my control.
What do you think, should I keep the craftsman chair? I’m trying to build my savings back up and the last thing I actually need is a lumpy statement chair. But it’s so pretty!
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I continue to provide the entire neighborhood with free wood chips for garden mulching. My chipdrop.com pile is definitely getting smaller, but it’s an agonizingly slow process. I’ve learned to discern the faint sound of scraping shovels so I can run to ask strangers if they need to borrow supplies. I definitely weirded out one father-son duo with my overly enthusiastic gratitude, but I have no regrets.
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I sold a pair of IKEA frames for $10 that I sourced from a neighbor’s garbage can a few months ago. Free. Money.
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I walked to Fred Meyer (Kroger) with my friend Lise and came home with a $1 bag of lemons and a $1 bag of red onions from the clearance shelf. I also bought four of boxes of on-sale $1.99 Overshine brand mango popsicles, which was perfect timing as my son just tested positive with his first case of Covid and is currently staying at our house.
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• I got a bag of marbles from a “free box.” My son’s cat, (“Mama’s Little Meatball”) loves to chase them around the house and she too is staying with us.
• We had three boxes of the free government Covid tests stashed aside for this exact circumstance.
• I listened to an audiobook of The Little House in The Big Woods through the library’s free Libby app. I missed the Garth Williams illustrations, but the audiobook did have Pa’s fiddle playing.
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I didn’t buy a tiny Lear Jet.
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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The internet is filled with images of flawlessly organized homes. Whether it’s “pantry porn” or aesthetically curated refrigerators, it’s oddly mesmerizing and many people chase that feeling all the way to Target, The Container Store or even just Dollar Tree.
There’s just something so satisfying about perfectly organized bits and bobs. I’m not ashamed to admit that I watched every single episode of The Home Edit, even the one with Khloe Kardashian. It’s so soothing to watch chaos refold.
However, I try not to buy anything new and frankly I’d prefer to not spend any money at all. So when I passed by a discarded pair of Altoid tins in the neighborhood yesterday, I didn’t hesitate to bring them home. Even though there was a literal half-eaten sandwich (!!) in the same box. I knew exactly how I’d use them. You know . . . after they’d been throughly sanitized.
This bin of binder clips and staples sat in my built-in buffet, and it wasn’t any fun to accidentally touch the sharp end of a staple when grabbing a clip.
There, that’s better!
I then made labels using a cut index card, a Sharpie and a piece of packing tape. I didn’t go crazy and hide that these were lowly Altoid tins, I simply created some order from previous chaos.
I already had labeled tins for paper clips, safety pins, paper clips and keychain rings; so you can see why I grabbed the empty Altoid tins.
I now have little bit more organization in my home and I didn’t spend a dime. Plus I get the satisfaction of having worked my creative muscle and nothing had to be newly manufactured. An all around non-consumer win!
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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My neighbor Nancy thanked me for caring for her house and garden by treating me to lunch. These specific neighbors are especially appreciated as their house used to be occupied by an angry couple who ran an illegal scrap metal business out of their side yard. Needless to say, it was an easy act to follow.
She picked Mokdong Kimbap and ordered the Korean Army Stew, which she’d had in the past. Twenty bucks and it fed both of us with ample leftovers! I love finding new places to eat, even though my husband and I mostly eat at home.
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I sold a garage sale freebie outdoor coffee table for $20 and then picked up the 21¢ to and from lunch. Free money, people!
For those who are counting, I’m up $70 so far from cruising a neighborhood garage sale for free things. $50 for the IKEA table and now $20 for the coffee table. The 21¢ went into my found change jar.
Here’s the coffee table, which required nothing more than a soapy scrub to bring it back to shiny goodness!
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I took some superglue to my ratty Birkenstock sandals in an effort to get another summer out of them. (My cobbler already told me they weren’t repairable, so this is just an act of keeping the grim reaper at bay.) The Q-tips are there so I don’t glue my fingers together, which I’m fully capable of doing.
Do they look great? No, but they do look not as bad, and sometimes “not as bad” is a win.
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I’d planned on assembling a Royal Delight cake for my father’s 89th birthday, but was 0-for-3 at three different grocery stores for the Nabisco Chocolate Wafers, which are the key ingredient. It turns out that Nabisco discontinued them in 2023, which is heartbreaking as my family loves the icebox cake made from stacked wafers and whipped cream. Instead I baked a chocolate cake from scratch, which I’ll serve with whipped cream as I already bought a carton.
How is this frugal? Royal Delight requires two-three boxes of $8.5o wafers and my homemade chocolate cake was made using ingredients I already had on hand.
Sorry, dad.
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I didn’t buy a Lear jet.
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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My friend Summer and I hit up a nearby neighborhood garage sale, but you know . . . in the late afternoon when most people had given up selling their unwanted stuff and had put “FREE” signs on the front lawn. That, my friend, is when I do my shopping.
Some of the stuff was odd, like this book advising you to not flush.
But most of the stuff was pretty good. Like this Bose remote control. I’ve sold Bose remotes on eBay in the past and know you can get $30 – $75 depending on the model.
It might be late June, but it’s always good to have a couple of holiday tins stashed aside for Christmas/Chanukah cookies. I know I’ll use these and they can hang out in the basement for a few months.
My favorite find of the day was this discontinued IKEA Applaro fold-down patio table, which although it was dirty was otherwise in excellent condition. I’m tempted to keep it, but I’m also trying to hustle up some money, so I’ll likely put up on Facebook Marketplace.
Here is is after a good scrub down:
*Edit: Sold for $50!
We probably stopped at 35 garage sales, much of which was undocumented, as I don’t feel comfortable taking pictures of people’s stuff if the owners are still outside.
Summer brought home a trio of glazed flowerpots, a pair of beach towels and some really nice clothing.
I brought home an REI rolling suitcase, a coffee maker, an outdoor coffee table, a blender, multiple bags of books, baseball bats, a cute tote bag, a big woven hamper, a desk lamp, new-with-tags Gund stuffed animals, a fanny pack, DVDs, fancy sneakers, (sadly not my size) and a bunch of other stuff.
It’ll take me a few days to process, clean and list off everything, but it’s work I’m happy to do. It keeps all this stuff from the waste stream while earning me a few extra bucks.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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