Deliriously Happy About Garbage

by Katy on September 3, 2009 · 8 comments

The following is a reprint of a previously published column. Enjoy!

I just notched down my 20 gallon garbage service from every week to once a month. The reasoning was both environmental and financial. The change would force us to be super-finicky about how much garbage our family is producing, (always a good thing) plus it saves us five dollars per month. I know the money difference may seem minimal, but I feel a $60 per year savings is nothing to sneeze at.

What I didn’t consider, was how the added stress of “Oh crap, it’s Sunday, I gotta’ do the garbage” would suddenly become a monthly pain instead of weekly. Ahh . . . .

We got home from our trip to Seattle at 10:15 last night. I saw that the neighbors all had their bins neatly lined up, ready for garbage day. After the schlep of luggage and sleepy kids, the last thing I wanted to deal with was garbage night. But then I remembered that I didn’t have to put our garbage out! I was happy, deliriously happy that our 3-1/2 hour drive was not topped off with the tedious chore of garbage gathering. Garbage happy!

So many changes made in the name of frugality and green living can bring about extra household work. For example, I love hanging clothes on the clothesline, but am fully aware that it takes longer than throwing everything into the electric dryer. I love my clothesline, and am willing to make this change because I know it’s better for the environment, makes the clothes last longer and saves money. Plus I really enjoy it.

I now get to delete the garbage chore from my mental to-do list 75% of the time. And those are some numbers I can stand behind.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

Check out myzerowaste.com for more information about reducing your family’s garbage/rubbish output.

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A Beachy Time Was Had by All

by Katy on September 2, 2009 · 10 comments

Crazy Bird World

I just got back from four days at the Oregon coast which was fab-u-lous! My husband had to work, so it was just me and the kiddos, which is actually pretty nice and low key. (I do not yearn for the days when I couldn’t turn my back on them for fear of imminent danger.)

The cabin where we stay is owned by some former neighbors and is perfect. It has three bedrooms and furniture that’s run down enough to not make me worry that my sons will scratch an heirloom. The fact that it’s a block from the beach and is only $65 per night seals the deal.

One of the things that I really like about this particular beach is that however many times we visit, there’s always something a little different. One visit it may sport super low tides that reveal multiple tide pools teeming with hermit crabs, sea anemones and star fish; another time it’s wonderful forts made from driftwood.

This visit’s incredible phenomenon was an enormous flock of birds. Some were sitting at the shoreline, others were diving and swooping into the water. It was like standing in the middle of a nature documentary. (Or possible a Hitchcock film.) There were pelicans, sea gulls and a number of other species that I didn’t know the name of.

It really was awe inspiring.

Pelicans

We also drove down the coast one day to visit The Oregon Coast Aquarium. Although this drive took two hours in each direction, it was a gorgeous drive, and the time passed quickly. We stopped for lunch, and as seems to be my vacation curse, ate a horrible (a spoon is not supposed to be able to stand up in a bowl of clam chowder!) overpriced meal in a restaurant with a fabulous view. (My eyes started to smart when the $42 bill came — how can this happen when I only ordered the soup and salad?!) Oh well . . . it was the only meal we dined out and the excited reaction of my not-so-restaurant-savvy sons getting all excited when they misheard the waitress’ query of “soup or salad” as “souper salad” was priceless.

Man, do I love my kids!

Today the 11 and almost 14-year-old boys set off along the deserted beach in search of “adventure.” (They brought along the digital camera and a shovel — most important tools for junior adventurers!) I started to get worried when a couple of hours passed without a sign from them, but they returned with tales (and pictures) of dead sharks, a buried airplane wing and quicksand.

Adventure like that can’t be found in any brochure.

Sadly, we are now home, where adventures are not as easy to come by. Unless of course, you find endless loads of sandy laundry to be adventuresome.

Have you enjoyed some terrific Non-Consumer vacationing this summer? Please share your stories in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Off to the Beach, No Internet Access

by Katy on August 29, 2009 · 5 comments

oregon_coast

I am stealing off for four days at the Oregon coast. Sadly/happily there will be no internet access, which means . . . No Non-Consumer Advocate until Tuesday, September 1st.

Have a fabulous Non-Consumer weekend, I know I will!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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What Would You Do With an Extra $100, $1000, $10,000?

by Katy on August 28, 2009 · 28 comments

100 Dollar Bill

I had the privilege of taking my aunt Anne out for breakfast today. It was her birthday, (which I had actually forgotten about) which made it all the more special. Our original plan had been to go out for dim-sum, but we ended up finding a wonderful little café not far from my house which hit the spot.

This aunt is actually only 15 years older than I am and lived with us for a few years when I was growing up. She has always been a true inspiration to me — gleaning fabulous treasures from thrift shops and taking me and my sister to musty old used book stores when we were at our most impressionable ages. (The smell of old books still arouses an overwhelming feeling of contentment for me.)

She is smart, funny and generous beyond a fault despite never having excessive income.

Sadly, she now lives in Florida, which means that I hardly ever get to spend any time with her.

On our way back from breakfast, (plus a couple of garage sales) she started talking about what she would do if she won the lottery. I can’t actually remember what she said she would buy for herself, but she did say that she would give us each $11,000 per year. She said this is the amount one can receive annually without having to pay taxes on it.

I started to think about what I would do with an extra $44,000 annual income, (yes, she said she would give $11,000 to each of us!)

I would most definitely eradicate any and all consumer debt, but then what? Travel? Charitable giving? Cool clothes? Savings?

What would you do with an extra $100, $1000 or $10,000?

Here, I’ll start:

$100 — I would put it in savings. (There’s nothing for $100 or less that I don’t already have.)

$1,000 — I would pay off debt.

$10,000 — I would travel with my kids to somewhere like London, Japan or Greece. Perhaps somewhere sunny like Hawaii or Mexico, (which would be cheaper and allow for leftover funds.)

Okay now, your turn! Please put your answers in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Fabulous Frugal Finds

by Katy on August 28, 2009 · 0 comments

It time again for another installment of Fabulous Frugal Finds. An ongoing series where you, the reader send in your stories and photos of your brag-worthy frugal scores.

It has been so entertaining to get your e-mails and pictures, so keep them coming in!

Fabulous Frugal Find

This is my antique Marion pot belly stove, and next to it, is an antique wash boiler used to hold firewood.

The stove was FREE. A few years ago, we bought an entertainment center to replace the Sauder one we had. Our neighbor noticed it in our garage one day and asked how much we wanted for it. We noticed the rusting antique wood stove in the back of his truck. We made an even swap. We already had blacking in our garage, so my husband just cleaned the rust off and used the blacking to restore it… voilá!

The wash boiler was 5.00 from the thrift store. Again, rusted, but dh just cleaned the rust up and used the blacking. The dents are part of the charm.

-Kristie

Fabulous Frugal Finds

I responded to a free ad on Craigslist for a bunch of books out on a porch in my town.  I picked up everything they had (three or four large boxes) without looking.  I kept a few, gave some to friends, traded some to a local book store for in-store credit, and best of all, sold one (a brand new, in package textbook) for $70.00 online!

Please send your Fabulous Frugal Finds to:

nonconsumer@comcast.net

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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In Defense of Non-Productivity

by Katy on August 26, 2009 · 17 comments

The following is s reprint of a previously published column. Enjoy!

Hammock

I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I could conceivably clean, cook, organize and generally work on my house every waking moment and never, ever run out of stuff to do.

Yes my house is big, but it’s not monstrous. There’s just one bathroom to clean, (this is the positive spin with which I choose to view the just one bathroom issue) and most of our everythings have a place to go.

But if I prioritized being productive over quality of life, I would never find the time to snuggle with my children or take a walk with a friend on a sunny day.

Which is why I value non-productivity.

Leaving the dinner dishes out so that I can watch a movie with the kids; allow the piano to grow a layer of dust so I can visit with a friend.

This may sound like I’m shirking my duties, but I’m really not. Everyone has clean clothes, food in their belly and money in the bank. I work two to three days per week as a labor and delivery nurse, and I stretch the dollars so that I can have time to goof off.

It may look from the outside like I’m just bone lazy.

But I hardly think I’ll lie on my deathbed and be thinking about my shiny kitchen floors and super-organized paperwork. No. I hope that I’ll feel I’ve spent my time on the people and activities I love.

I can certainly push my whirling dervish button and demonstrate a style of productivity to rival Martha Stewart’s. (And I do this about once a week.) But I have zero interest in maintaining this pace. I’d rather be the mom who walked slowly to the library and then snuggled up with a kid while watching a movie.

You can have your to-do lists, I’ll be upstairs. But shh . . . I may be taking a nap.

Five Things You Can Do Today To Support A Non-Productive Lifestyle

  1. Allow yourself to just say no to demands on your time. It’s perfectly okay to prioritize downtime.
  2. Accept a less than perfect house. Keeping your house clean at all times is not a natural state. My dining room is currently decorated by some half-finished art projects and a scattering of felt tips. This is okay, as it means actual people who engage in actual activities live here.
  3. Practice Conscious Frugality. The less money you spend, the less you need to earn. This frees up time and energy; and helps you from getting burned out at work.
  4. Join The Compact. (Buy nothing new.) By stepping away from autopilot consumerism, you free yourself from the unwinnable competition with the Joneses.
  5. Choose one day per week to dedicate to accomplishing as little as possible. This is not the day to finish projects or run errands. Sleep in, read novels and simply — relax.

Are you a go-go-go whirlwind of activity? Do you allow yourself time to do the things that give you pleasure? Do you wait for your one vacation per year to actually read a novel? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Do You Get What You Pay For?

by Katy on August 26, 2009 · 18 comments

Marmoleum Flooring

Marmoleum Flooring

Who among us has not made the least expensive choice and then lived to regret that decision?

The most glaring example for me was a quick and dirty bathroom remodel from when we first bought our house in 1996. At the time, everything in our fixer-upper of a house needed major attention and it was hard to focus on the details. Add to that my status as a night shift nurse caring for a one-year-old baby and it’s amazing we got anything done at all!

We picked out a cheap-o bathroom sink, console and bathtub from Home Depot and bought a cool blue swirly remnant of marmoleum.

Voilá, home improvement at its worst!

The cupboard turned out to be only partially real wood, and the side that faced the toilet proved itself to be absorbent of urine. Which was also true of the marmoleum.

You try potty training two exuberant boys in an absorbent bathroom. It wasn’t pretty.

We ended up ripping out the cupboard and floor in 2004 and installing a small hexagonal tile floor and a porcelain pedestal sink. The theme was nothing that can absorb urine.

Because we went the route of cheap materials, we ended up having to redo almost everything. And that %#$$@** Home Depot bathtub is too shallow, which means the kids are forever slopping water over the sides.

We should have paid extra to get quality bathroom components from the get-go, which would have saved us money and time in the long run.

We got what we paid for.

But often times this axiom is far from the truth.

Almost all of the rest of the home improvement tasks we’ve taken on have vastly increased the value of our home. From removing the asbestos siding to landscaping the backyard, we got what we paid for, both as cash and in sweat equity.

On the flip side, Our belongings argue against getting what you pay for, as we almost always purchase high quality used items that can later be sold for far more than we paid. If we were the type to shop at Target, Ikea and the like, our belongings would always be worth less than we paid.

So there you have it, you certainly get what you pay for when you buy low quality, but this is not necessarily tied to how much money you’re shelling out.

Have you been burned by purchasing low quality goods and then gotten what you paid for? Or do you search out those deals and pay less than things are worth? Please share your methods and thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Non-Consumer Mish-Mash

by Katy on August 25, 2009 · 14 comments

It’s time again for another column full of Non-Consumer Mish-Mash.

Chest of DrawersWhen I was pregnant in 1998 with my second son, all my generous co-workers kept asking me what I needed. Because I already had a 2-1/2-year-old baby, I couldn’t think of a single thing. It did finally dawn on me that I would need another chest of drawers. My friend Donna was quick to offer a slightly banged up hand-me-down from her garage.

Fast forward eleven years, and that cute dresser is now too small for his big boy clothes. Moving my bedside table/chest of drawers into his room solved his storage problem, but the demoted dresser was starting to gather dust in my storage area.

But a quicky photo and craigslist ad sent the dresser home with a young woman giddy with plans to repaint.

Using this dresser for eleven years and then putting another $20 in savings from it made me very happy indeed.

I have written about how I developed a Monday ritual of depositing money into my savings account.

I received this question from a reader:

“Is there an earlier post that explains your Monday deposit ritual? I’m curious about what inspired it and what you scrimp on to put away. Do you deposit all your leftover cash from the week or transfer money from checkings to savings?”

Because I have homeowner related debt, I have never felt like I should put even a penny aside at the expense of debt reduction.

Dave Ramsey inspired me to come up with a plan.

My paychecks still go towards regular household expenses, but any money above and beyond can go into savings. And it’s amazing how fast this account has grown! I just started this experiment in the beginning of the summer, yet have almost $900 already. Two garage sales garnered around $500, but the rest has been the dribs and drabs of an unexpected $50 check here, found change or a dresser sold on craigslist for $20 there.

I haven’t transferred money from our regular account, as we’re moving at lightning speed to pay off our debt and I don’t want to do anything that would derail that effort.

The Monday ritual is because I enjoy seeing how much money I can scrounge from nothing in a seven day period. (Today was $33.35) The credit union is on my way home from work, so I’ve been able to keep this as an uninterrupted tradition.

I have started the paperwork for getting some of the tuition from soccer camp back from hosting the British coaches. (Which is fun and I would do it for free.) This will put me over the $1000 mark. My goal is to get to $2500 by Christmas, as this is approximately how much we need for my son to go on a class trip to Japan. After that though, I think I’ll save for something that fun for me!

Other people would do this differently, but this is what feels right to me.

Zippered BinderI find that I am occasionally the living example of what I write. My method of keeping an eye out paid off terrifically yesterday. I will have two kids in middle school next year, which is a whole different school supply kind of challenge. The zippered three-ring organizers are pretty much a requirement, but they’re so freaking expensive! ($15+) This wouldn’t bother me so much, except that the quality seems to be universally crappy.

However . . . a quick nip into my favorite Goodwill unearthed two perfectly new looking ones for $2 and $3 apiece. This totally trumps the $15 ones from Target, and I know when the zipper busts mid-year, (as they invariably do) I can grab another one for just a couple bucks and I’ll still be ahead of the game.

My kids were less excited.

How goes your Non-Consumer life? Anything to share in the comments section below? I do love to read everyone’s stories.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Take Care of Financial Business Challenge

by Katy on August 23, 2009 · 16 comments

CashIt may be a month-and-a-half old, but I just came across NY Times reporter Ron Lieber’s piece about how he took an entire work day to take care of his financial business.

My favorite line item on his to-do list was to use up all his gift cards:

“SHOPPING SPREE Yes, you get to have fun on fiscal health day. Gather up all of your gift cards and spend the money that’s left on them. The longer they sit, the more interest Apple or Borders or the department store will earn from your money and bigger the chance you’ll misplace the card.”

Click here to read what Lieber was able to get done in his single minded crusade to vanquish all the financial tasks that we all mean to attend to yet somehow put off.

I took on a similar task a year-and-a-half ago when I spent three months off from work because of a broken tailbone. This was, of course without pay and I looked at every single set expense with an eye to how low could we go. There were very few bills that I wasn’t able to decrease, (some of which significantly so.) Here is a link to the piece I wrote about it.

I think it might be time to readdress this pursuit, as I can think of a number of financial tasks that need my attention:

  1. Move savings from next-to-no interest rate credit union account into ING Direct or similar. I opened  an ingdirect.com savings account which is currently at 1.4% interest. This is 7 times the interest rate (0.2%) I was getting at my credit union!
  2. Deal with bill from doctor’s office, as they billed the wrong insurance company. Note: I stopped into the doctor’s office, but the billing person was not available. I did get her name and direct number though.
  3. Cancel old internet company now because I’m sure that everyone important has our new e-mail address. This one is frustrating though, as I have given Feedburner (who does my blog subscriptions) my new e-mail address over-and-freaking-over, yet the change never takes effect!! I can’t pay $10 per month just because of Feedburner’s stupidity.
  4. Return son’s swim trunks to Columbia Sportswear store, (we had a gift card) whose velcro pulls open every time he swims. I sewed them shut, but I shouldn’t have had to do this.
  5. Return mirror hangers to Fred Meyer, as mirror in question is too short to be hung on any of my five panel doors. All returned now. $7.27 back, which will be put into savings.

Oy. . .  there’s probably more, but that will make the day that much more satisfying!

What do you think about dedicating an entire weekday to taking care of all the financial tid-bits that nickel-and-dime us to death? Add your John (or Jane) Hancock in the comments section below if you’re in!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Random Acts of Happiness

by Katy on August 22, 2009 · 2 comments

Green tomatoI am a generally well organized person. More than some, less so than others. But one of the things that I just love are not the things that I work hard to organize, but the wonderful surprises that fall into my lap.

Recent examples of this phenomenon have been a huge bag of green tomatoes from my next door neighbor who was hacking away at her plants, (really, they were out of control!) and the joy and surprise of a library book randomly pulled off the shelf that ends up being one of the most beautiful and moving novels that I’ve ever read.

The tomatoes now line every windowsill, slowly ripening in the somewhat sporadic Oregon sunshine, and I even made fried green tomatoes for the first time ever, (which I shared with my neighbor as course!) A huge one was ripe today and was the pièce de résistance in our Mexi-bowls dinner. (Rice, beans, cilantro, avocados, cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, salsa, sour cream and wait for it, wait for it . . .  tomatoes!)

I ♥ a perfectly home-grown tomato. And yes, I would marry one.

I just finished reading, (as an audio book) The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister which is an incredibly moving story of a number of people taking a cooking class and the woman who teaches it. The author’s writing is so fluid and beautiful that it brought me to tears more times than I care to admit. And the message of slowing down to savor the exquisiteness in food and in life is always well timed, (especially since I just finishing writing up the chapter about time for The Non-Consumer Advocate book club.)

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I just love how life leads me down unexpected paths which surprise and enrich me. Ain’t life grand?

What have been some recent wonderful surprises that have fallen into your lap? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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