My hairbrush performed an act of mitosis and split into two pieces.* Kind of a bummer, but I'm always happy to work on a repair project, especially when it's easy and requires nothing more than a tube of glue. I'd explain how I executed this grueling and formidable task, but I think you can probably...
My husband and I recently bought a new-to-us car, which means that our 2005 minivan sits idle more than normal. Specifically throughout a four day heatwave that apparently conjured the ghosts of all stinks past. This prompted me to take an hour or so to wipe out and sweep all inside surfaces and finish it...
I picked up my hold copy of Poorcraft: Wish You Were Here -- The Tightwad's Guide to Travel from the library. I don't remember how this graphic novel by Ryan Estrada came across my radar, but I'm glad that it did as I'm always happy to find fun frugal inspiration! I printed out my $30...
My husband and I drove our chandeliers to the Habitat Restore and took a stroll through the store. I paid $10.45 for the above vintage lighting globe, which I promptly took to locally owned Lounge Lizard and sold for $40. Habitat gets to sell a donated item, I resell it to earn a few dollars...
Portland hit the high nineties today, so I kept it simple and mostly hung out at home. Our bedroom gets beastly hot, so we'll run the bedroom air conditioner tonight, but otherwise I'm surviving with strategically placed fans. I'm also running the furnace's "summer fan" day and night, which brings cool air up from the...
My youngest's friend just moved to Portland, so I'm helping them source a couple items they need for their new apartment. I asked for a few items just yesterday, (a cast iron skillet, baking sheet and wall shelves) through my Buy Nothing group and have already picked up a pair of cute wall shelves that...
I started reading a library copy of Dolly Alderton's Good Material. I'm not sure if this book is for me, but I'll give a hundred pages or so. I made an appointment to donate platelets next month through the American Red Cross. They've been hounding me to participate in more blood letting come back since...
My neighbor returned from her family's NYC trip, so I walked her mail and packages back to her house. She shared that her plan is to make us some kind of frozen dessert, which is A-okay in my book! I'm happy that her thank you gift is something consumable, rather than a "thing" that I...
I brought a carabiner to the beach the other day, which meant I didn't have to hold my thrifted Crocs while walking in the surf. I always think about how I should do this, but actually remembered to bring one along as I recently creating a carabiner storage tin. I've had these Crocs since they...
My free garage sale rug has proven itself to be a keeper, so I hauled the old one out to the curb and stapled a "Free" sign onto it. I checked back a few hours later to find it gone. It's the circle of life! I fell prey to a pair of yellow jackets, so...
My friend texted asking if I'd water her garden, as she's in NYC and the person who'd agreed to do so backed out at the last minute. She doesn't live too far away, so I let her know I was happy to lend a hand. I then offered to connect her with my sister, who...
My father's sweet dog Buddy passed away last week and everyone is understandably sad. I went ahead and printed a nice photo of the family with Buddy and placed it in a curb picked frame for him. The total cost was 39¢ for a Walgreen's print. I sprayed out and repaired my yard debris wheelie...
My sister and I went on a post-supper neighborhood walk and happened upon a garage sale leftovers pile from that provided an empty Altoid tin and a sturdy plastic clothespin for me. My sister scored yarn, art supplies and a couple of books. We then came across two free ceramic flowerpots, one for each of...
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...
My step-mother picked up a dozen clearance priced eggs and shared half with me. Unfortunately, my husband recently bought approximately 752 Costco eggs, but I'm never one to turn down free food. I'd forgotten how much my family likes deviled eggs, particularly when I embrace my inner Martha Stewart by using a schwanky piping bag....
I gave away a skein of yarn through my Buy Nothing group. A neighbor posted on Facebook about how a local carwash had used overwhelmingly scented cleaning products on her car's upholstery and was asking for advice. I offered to lend her our portable shampooer, which she's now coming to pick up this afternoon. Both...
My husband and I drove across town to help my mother move some furniture and were greeted by her chicken planter, which was last year's Mother's Day gift. I was happy to see that the hens and chicks are still thriving in their environs. You may remember when I curb picked these planters. I kept...
We stopped by our daughter's apartment so she could grab a couple things. (She's still under the weather and staying at our house.) Her neighbors had put out a free box, which wasn't very promising at first, as it appeared to pretty much just contain worn out sheets. I did have a few minutes...
My daughter and I hung out at the house yesterday, so I mixed up a depression-era Wacky Cake, but substituted gluten-free flour. I had my doubts as the texture was definitely off, but I put it in the oven with a "how bad can it be?" mindset. People . . . it was amazing! Like...
I walked my friend Lise to her house and passed by an unwanted light fixture that her neighbor put out on the curb at least a week ago. I had no interest in the fixture itself, but it activated my "vulture mode" and I unscrewed the five light bulbs to bring home for reuse. They're...
My husband installed the curb picked light fixture in the dining room, which required two trips to the hardware store and longer than you'd expect to configure. This was due to removing one of the vertical column pieces, but also because it didn't exactly come with instructions. In the end we spent a little less...
I planted some propagated spider plant starts in a curb picked flowerpot for my daughter's apartment. This is the third time I've replanted this exact pot, but I know she'll eventually figure out how to keep her plants alive. This is how unconditional love works. I took my daughter out to practice driving and we...
We hosted another family dinner, which culminated in a rousing game of Scrabble. (Thrifted of course!) The frozen enchiladas from last week anchored the meal and we assembled a big green salad to round things out. I'm really trying to spend as little money as possible this month, which makes me a slightly unfun hostess,...
My youngest came over and cooked up a big pot of red lentil soup for this week's work lunches, using ingredients we already had on hand. (Lentils, onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, broth and bulk-purchased spices) It may seem illogical to let other people use our ingredients to make their meals, (especially during No Spend March)...
I drove the minivan to the closest cheap (ha!) gas station and spent $22 in cash to save 30¢/gallon, even though it only filled my tank to the halfway mark. I need to be mindful to keep enough cash on hand to actually fill the 21-gallon gas tank, as 30¢ X 21 = $6.30, which...
I signed up for two months of Paramount Plus for just $1.99 per month. My husband and I are suckers for anything Star Trek, which makes this channel one of our favorites. The plan will renew at $12.99/month, so I added "Cancel Paramount Plus" into our calendar, complete with a reminder alert. This ain't my...
I asked in my Buy Nothing group if anyone had an apron that I could give to my son as a holiday gift. It took a few days, but someone a couple blocks over had one to offer. I walked over this morning and left them a prettily tied handful of rosemary sprigs as a...
I'll be picking up a pair of brand new Apple EarPods from someone in my Buy Nothing group. These'll serve a stocking stuffer for my daughter who doesn't read the blog. My daughter and I went to Cost Plus World Market to pick up yummy treats for people on my gift list. I try my...
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...
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...
My sister just finished a weeklong visit from New York and gifted me a pair of hand-knit sock as an early birthday present. I have a couple other pairs from her, but the colors on these ones are extra perfect for me. Here's a photo of my father and I wearing pairs of her socks:...
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,...
I hemmed my comfy thrifted flannel pajamas, which are likely designed for men as they have satisfyingly deep pockets. They're now the perfect length and I don't have to worry about tripping over the dragging hems. I refer to them as my "winter solstice" pajamas as they're dark blue flannel with snowflakes, pine trees and...
I sold my son's old microwave through Facebook Marketplace for $30, as his new apartment has a built-in version. He bought it for $50 on Marketplace earlier in the year, but kind of overpaid. Happy to get it out of the house and a $20 loss on a microwave is actually not too shabby. He's...
I repaired my Birkenstock suede clogs using the last of two tubes of super glue and a couple of clamps. My sister gifted me these shoes maybe ten years ago, as they were too big for her, but the suede disconnects from the sole every so often. However, it's just a matter of gluing them...
I've scheduled a free haircut through the Supercuts training center for next week, which is good as my hair has reached the length where it snakes around my throat while I sleep. I love this frugal hack as I get to do something semi-indulgent for myself without the guilt of overspending. (The average price for...
I went onto the library website at 12 A.M., November 1st to see if they'd loaded fresh "Cultural Passes," which has worked well for me in the past. (Fresh passes load on the first of month.) Unfortunately the only passes that popped up were for OMSI, (The Oregon Museum for Science and Industry) which is...
My son and I went to Winco Foods and I ended up with four bags of groceries, even though I only had a few items on my list. (Pinto beans, white beans, fresh ginger and cleaning wipes.) The traditional money saving edict is to always "stick to your list," but I dislike this advice as...
I will never get over scallions (spring onion) being priced at more than 33¢/bunch. So when I saw that Trader Joe's was selling large bags for 99¢ apiece, I made sure to throw them into my basket. Luckily scallions they're almost infinite, as long as you preserve some of the rooted bottom part. It's...
Our cell phone bill went up by $20, so I called Verizon and was able to get them to lower it by $50 per month. (All I had to do was to say that were considering switching to a different carrier, which is always true.) To clarify, this is for four cell phone plans, plus...
My neighbor set out free green apples, so I walked around the corner and grabbed a dozen or so. She has a prolific apple tree and has a hard time keeping up with them. I'll assemble some desserts for the freezer, which'll come in hand come Thanksgiving. I turned right around and brought her a...
I walked a mile to pick up a Hydroflask water bottle and hiking headlamp from someone in my Buy Nothing group, even though it was hot and kind of humid and I was sorely tempted to drive. I dropped them off at the house and then walked another mile or so to pick up the...