One of the things that I brought home from last week’s neighborhood garage sale freebie fest was a Restoration Hardware polished nickel wastebasket. It was superficially rusty on the inside, but I welcome a DIY challenge.

Please enjoy the funhouse mirror effect, although I promise you that my reading glasses are not this big!

 

 

Step one was to take sandpaper to the interior to smooth out the paintable surface.

 

 

Step two was to tape a bag around the outside to protect it against paint overspray. Although the inside was silver, I chose white spray paint as I already owned it and my goal is to always use what I own before buying anything unnecessary. Because, c’mon . . . the inside color of a wastebasket doesn’t really matter.

It’s the same found-it-in-the-basement paint that I used to paint over my scratched toilet seat a couple weeks ago!

 

 

I sprayed three light coats of paint to get even coverage and then let it dry overnight before removing the tape and bag.

For those who think this is an excess of effort to revive a revolting old wastebasket, I see your point. However, I need to point out that the closest version of this item is currently on sale for $499 on Restoration Hardware’s website! (Although this one is a mere $140!)

For comparison, my husband and I paid $500 for our first car in 1987, a 1972 VW squareback!

 

 

Behold an even white interior surface, not disgusting looking at all!

 

 

I think I’ll use it in our bedroom and give away the plastic lined wicker wastebasket I’d been using through my Buy Nothing group.

Here’s one last no-money shot to impress you with the power of white spray paint. This free rusty wastebasket went unclaimed throughout an entire day until I stopped by after the garage sale. Goodwill wouldn’t have accepted it and it surely would’ve hit the landfill. Now it’s back in use and no money was spent.

 

Katy — 1, throwaway society — 0!

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Five Tiniest Frugal Things

by Katy on June 7, 2025 · 48 comments

  1. I scored this Bonne Maman jar from a free box. My neighbor who sets them out in her yellow recycling tub is moving away, so it’s good to have a couple backup jars. These jars + Winco’s bulk food section =  a match made in heaven!

  2. My next door neighbor invited me over for tea and croissant yesterday morning and we had a lovely chant and vent session. I brought my own tea and she supplied the pastry. We take turns hosting and it’s a perfect way to scratch that socializing itch without breaking the bank.

  3. I made a cranberry coffee cake using this fantastic recipe that’s infinitely adjustable. The “cranberry” part was just leftover cranberry sauce that I swirled into the batter. I brought a couple squares to my neighbor, as well as serving it to the guest I was hosting.

  4. I’ve started rehabbing a Restoration Hardware metal wastebasket that I picked up for free. I’ll do the reveal tomorrow, but rest assured that it’s worth the effort. Here’s a sneak peek of the rusty interior:

  5. I made a big pot of white bean rosemary soup yesterday, which was extra yummy as I still had a bit of bacon leftover from making baked beans a few weeks ago. I like this frugal recipe as the white beans are a nice break from the pinto and black beans, which are a staple in my kitchen.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Five More Tiny Frugal Things

by Katy on June 6, 2025 · 63 comments

  1. I picked up a free Abercrombie & Fitch sweater at last week’s neighborhood garage sale, as it was cotton and I like natural fibers. It was a bit fuzzy, so I pulled out my sweater shaver and got to work. It didn’t actually look that bad, but I was still able to remove a satisfying amount of fuzz.

  2. I spent a good twenty minutes weeding the parking strip in front of the house, which is a chore I’ve been procrastinating for at least three months. It sure would be nice to have someone else do my least favorite tasks, but it sure is cheaper to do them myself.

  3. My husband gave away an extra bike that’s been sitting in our garage for a couple of years. We could’ve sold it, but he wanted to do something nice for a friend.

  4. I watched a YouTube video from Frugal Fit Mom on why “Why looking poor is important in 2025” and paused the video to write down two different quotes:

    “Admire, don’t acquire” and “When you try to purchase status through objects, it does not work.”

  5. I planted six summer squash seeds that I got for free, even though the packet was dated from 2022. Can’t hurt to try!

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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I started using a Mossery brand daily planner in 2020, as they were sold at a neighborhood store and I liked the size and configuration of the calendar pages. I also appreciated how you didn’t have to replace the entire thing each year, as they sell replacement inserts to tuck into their reusable covers. I learned that this specific planner helped me to stay organized and productive on a daily basis, which is how I became brand loyal.

Then I figured out that you can get a full year and a half from the planners by purchasing the blank pages instead of the calendar pages, so I switched over to that in 2021. Yes it took an hour or so to draw a calendar grid on each page, but I’m never one to shy away from a time consuming frugal hack!

My hack job calendar is a few weeks from running out, so I drove down to the store last week for a fresh blank insert only to discover that they’d closed their brick and mortar and don’t sell the blank inserts on their website. I even went to the Mossery website only to discover that the shipping on a single planner was $24.98, so I hatched a new plan.

Deep breath, Katy . . .

My friend Rosalie and I happened to walk over to a local consignment shop the other day, where I discovered that they had an entire shelf dedicated to nothing but used blank books. I chose one big enough for my over the top daily to-do lists, yet small enough to fit in my purse.

This $3 specimen fit the bill.

 

 

It took me a couple of hours to transform it from a blank book into a daily planner, but it was satisfying work and justified the binge watching of some old ER episodes. My current calendar still has a few weeks before it runs out of pages, but I’m now ready for that event.

 

 

I put way too much research into sourcing a not expensive planner replacement, but am ridiculously happy with my $3 solution. I didn’t overspend, I didn’t support that Schmeff Schmezos guy and I got to exercise my creative muscle! I love nothing more than figuring out frugal solutions to everyday problems.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Let’s Go Winco Shopping

by Katy on June 4, 2025 · 56 comments

I’ve spent the past couple of days building a grocery list in anticipation of a Winco shopping trip. For those outside the Pacific Northwest, Winco is an employee owned no-frills grocery chain and is pretty much the cheapest game in town. (Plus their bulk food section is amazing!) This might not seem like much of a list, but I know I’ll add much more than what’s on here.

The standard advice on how to save money at the grocery store is to “make a list and stick to it!” But I’m here to say that this advice doesn’t make room for surprise bargains, like these sweet mini peppers for $1.98 apiece. I bought two.

 

 

Or these lil’ tomatoes for 98¢, I also grabbed two.

 

 

I also would’ve missed out on these 78¢ hotdogs had I stuck to my list. I’ve seen some Instagram reels where people stick a skewer into a hotdog and then cut it into a spiral and thought it would be fun to give that technique a try.

 

 

In the end I walked out with 24 grocery items instead of the seven on my original list.

 

 

Here it is all laid out at home. You’ll notice that I didn’t buy the panko crumbs from my list, as Winco’s version was 45¢ more than Dollar Tree.

 

 

The total cost for my big Winco trip was $51.23, which is kind of miraculous in these economic times. I always procrastinate going to Winco, as it’s kind of a schlep, but I’m always happy that I’ve gone as their prices, especially on fresh produce make it worth the effort.

 

 

Do you have a similar store in your part of the world?

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Five Tiny Frugal Things

by Katy on June 3, 2025 · 64 comments

  1. I took some a hose, soapy water and a scrub brush to all my random outdoor furniture cushions to freshen them up for the season. (A.k.a. grime and bird poop removal day!) They’re currently sopping wet and hanging on my laundry line and hopefully should be dry enough to put back in place by tomorrow. Every single one of them was either curb picked or handed down to me.

  2. I curb picked an unused filter that’s the exact right size for our furnace. They only cost around $7 or so, but that’s seven dollars I get to keep in my bank account!

  3. I used the last of the okonomiyaki batter for this afternoon’s lunch and then assembled a big pot of chicken soup using the last bits from a rotisserie chicken, plus carrots, potatoes and peas. I really need to go to the grocery store, but I enjoy the challenge of making do from what I already have on hand. I also saved the chicken bones and carrot peels in the freezer for future stock.

    I’m proud to announce that I fully used up a ten-pound bag of potatoes, a two-pound bag of carrots and a jumbo bag of spinach without even a smithereen of food waste since my last big grocery shop.

  4. I may hit the Pizza Hut that’s next to Winco as I read that they’re offering $2 personal pan pizzas on Tuesdays throughout the month of June. Too much of a bargain to not investigate. You know, for the blog . . .

  5. This Saturday, June 7th is a “free fishing day” in Oregon, (no license required to fish, crab or clam) as well as free state park day and $1 bread day at the Franz bakery outlet. Good day to be a bargain hunter!

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 2, 2025 · 91 comments

 

  1. I finally sold my pair of Restoration Hardware bar chairs, $100 for the pair. I’d started them at $300, but that was apparently too ambitious, even though they originally sold for around $600 apiece. I thrifted them for just $16, so it was still a tidy profit. I’ve held off on thrifting for resale since listing them, as there’s nothing more humbling that holding onto bulky items that gather dust and clutter your home. Buh-bye!

  2. I ran out of the thick plastic Safeway bags that my neighbor gives me to use as kitchen bin liners, so I texted her and she dropped off a new batch the next day. It’s hard to get ahead financially when all your money is tied up in garbage bags.

  3. I garbage picked two brand new bottles of Method brand dishwashing liquid. I’ll keep one and give the other to my friend Lise.

  4. I stocked up on Tillamook ice cream as it was on sale at Safeway for $3.49 per carton. Excellent price for the very best ice cream! I also hit the clearance shelf and paid 50¢ apiece for two dented cans of diced tomatoes.

  5. I didn’t garbage pick a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Today’s blog post is just a sneak peek from a wealthy neighborhood garage sale day, where I hit everything at the end of the day — you know when the homeowners are back inside and everything is free!

 

 

This sweet blue wooden table now resides on my front porch, where it serves to hold my crazy spider plant. As a point of comparison, here’s similar table, priced at $58!

 

 

Stay tuned for a future blog post where I post the good, the bad and the ugly!

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Five Tiny Frugal Things

by Katy on May 31, 2025 · 67 comments

  1. My husband and I spent three-and-a-half hours opening and sorting his late parents’ mail, which resulted in 46 pounds of mail to be shredded at next week’s free shredding event! I’m so flipping happy to have this task in the rear view mirror! Plus we save a cool 46 bucks by not procrastinating this odious chore!

  2. I stopped at Dollar Tree on my way home from an errand and picked up dental floss, Q-tips, bar soap, crackers and ginger snaps. I keep hearing rumors that their prices are going up again, so I grab a few extra essentials whenever I shop there. And yes, their crisp and spicy ginger snaps are essential.

  3. I made a batch of okonomiyaki to finish up my four-pound cabbage. It included shredded carrots, sliced onion, bacon crumbles, Dollar Tree panko crumbs, eggs, sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken broth and a bit of flour. Cooked pancake style in oil and then drizzled with hoisin sauce and sprinkled with furekake and sesame seeds. It sounds elaborate, but it’s basically just a savory pancake. So delicious and surprisingly frugal, as you can adjust the recipe based on what’s in the fridge.

  4. I used my free Domino’s coupon to get a medium-size pizza with double mushrooms for my husband and I to share. Not my favorite meal, but the price was right.

  5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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Let’s Go Walkies for Freebies!

by Katy on May 30, 2025 · 71 comments

My friend Lise and I went for after dinner “walkies” last night; and as always, my hope was to come across a forgotten Picasso or some other treasure.

My first find was this “FREE” box, filled with plastic dishware. Nothing here tempted me, so I snapped a photo and continued walking.

 

 

This “FREE” pile actually included a decent midcentury dining table. Sure, it had been used as a craft table and was missing the leaf, but it’s still a sturdy classic design and most likely maple. It would be perfect for someone with a YouTube furniture refinishing channel, but sadly that person’s not me. I already have two furniture projects waiting for my attention, so I left it for someone else.

This set of thrifted nesting tables and this curb picked bedside dresser.

 

 

Lise and I then crossed the street to investigate another offering. I know it looks scrappy, but those piles often provide the best free things.

 

NOPE!

Not the best pile! Unless you’re looking for mangled boxes of vaginal douches!

 

 

So what came home with me by the end of our Summer’s Eve Spring’s Eve walk? A single drink bottle that I’ll return for ten whole cents. Cha-ching!

 

 

I can say that I’ll never forget last night’s walkies session!

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

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