I’m currently in my “let’s scrounge up some extra money” era and I’m not ashamed to go through my neighbors’ discarded things for possible profit. So I roped my friend Lise into going for an evening walk with “for inventory.”
See anything interesting in this free box?
How about this wool blend REI flat cap? I brought it home, cleaned it up and threw it up on eBay for $18.*
Did you notice the pair of Birkenstocks peeking out from under the plastic tote? They were actually in okay-ish condition, so I grabbed those as well. They’re also now available for $39 on eBay.*
This free box offered up a four-cup Mr. Coffee coffee maker that worked perfectly. (I checked) Now available for $10 on Facebook Marketplace. Complete with filters!
Good thing I brought along my reusable bag!
This free pile? Chipped dishware, scratched up non-stick pans and a burnt baking sheet. No profit to be made here!
But I saved the best for last. This curb find was actually a day later and down the block from my daughter’s apartment. Sure it had a couple of surface level stains, but I was able to remove them using soapy water, a washcloth and a half-hour or so of elbow grease.
I easily found the brand information and original price, ($321) which helped me price the set at $75. It sold in under 24 hours and I’m happy with my 0 —> $75 profit. Everything else will take awhile to sell, but that’s okay, I’m a patient(ish) person.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I mentioned in a recent blog post how excited I was that my out of town neighbors let me set my yard debris bin out with their weekly pickup. (We share garbage service with our other neighbors and it would be another week before it was our turn.) I needed to hose out the slurry that collects in the bottom, as the smell was not aging with grace! I’d somehow never made the connection of how the broken lid invited Oregon’s ever present rain.
What can I say? My mind was on other things like the price of eggs and garbage picked flowerpots.
Sure I could get the garbage company to give us a shiny new bin, but my goal is always to avoid unnecessary replacement of functional goods. However, plastic is not repairable in the way that wood, fabric or metal is, so this was going to be a good enough endeavor.
Time for duct tape and zip-ties to enter the chat.
Please enjoy the fix for the underside of the lid and no, it ain’t pretty.
And here’s how I created a facsimile of the hinge using a humble pair of zip-ties. Bow down to my elite skills!
However, there’s no reason this repairs to be devoid of beauty — after all, what is function without form?
There, that’s better! Will my repair job last forever? Unlikely, but it saves this huge hunk of plastic from the landfill and dare I say it . . . adds a touch of beauty to an otherwise dull object.
Better. Better is good.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I assembled my bag of tricks and picked up two Popeye’s Chicken meals for a mere $3.49 after my son’s evening soccer game. I paid with points (from his birthday dinner) for one of the meals, plus had done a “back of the receipt” survey to earn the second free (with drink purchase) meal. It was a bit finicky to do the transaction, but well worth it as it fed the three of us.
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My neighbors, (whose house I’m caring for while they’re on vacation) let me set our yard debris bin out with their weekly pickup. It’s not so much about a full bin, but rather the smell which is currently seventh level of hell horrific, and I need to spray the demons from its depths. We share garbage service with our other next door neighbors and it would’ve been another week before it was our turn.
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My son and I walked over to the local consignment shop, where I picked up a Jumbo Fiestaware “peacock blue” mug for just $2. My sister likes these mugs, so I thought it would be fun to provide one for her upcoming visit. They sell for around twenty bucks on eBay,* so I knew it was a bargain.
We then went to a new/used outdoor supply shop as my son is seeking Army surplus pants. They didn’t have any, so we nipped over to the closest Goodwill thrift shop. They also didn’t have any, but I did find a half-price $7 T-shirt for myself. My summer wardrobe is lacking, so this is a necessary purchase. Decades of working as a nurse means that I put absolute zero effort into my home clothes. Sure, it was amazing to never pay for a work wardrobe, (not even scrubs, as they were hospital provided!) but owning just a couple of decent T-shirts becomes a problem in warmer weather.
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• My daughter gave me a handful of gluten-containing food items, which were leftover from her old roommate.
• I started listening to Jodi Picoult’s Wish You Were Here through the library’s free Libby app.
• My husband and I have been eating black bean tostadas with sautéed onions and peppers on repeat as they just hit the spot. Needless to say, clearance price onions and peppers, tostadas from Winco and bulk purchased beans cooked in the Instant Pot. Cheap, healthy and yummy!
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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.”
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* Referral link.
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I drove past another curbside stack of flowerpots and literally turned the car around to investigate. Most of the pots were of the plastic variety, but I chose a stoneware one which washed up beautifully. I was briefly tempted by the big terra cotta pots, but I don’t really have a spot for them and I’m trying to be particular about what gets to live at my house.
You probably already guessed that I nabbed the colorful one from the bottom right hand corner. Here it is all scrubbed up and ready for action.
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My younger sister was is town and the two of us hit up Winco Foods to grocery shop. (I found out last minute that she was visiting, which is how she got to accompany me on such an exciting adventure.) I’d been jotting things on a shopping list for at least a week, so there was no way I wasn’t going to check this off my to-do list. We had a nice catch up and it turned out she needed to grab a few things from the bulk bins anyway.
I picked up a couple of abandoned receipts in the parking lot and scanned them into my Fetch app*, which worked out well since one awarded me 4000 points!
I am THE cheap date!
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I did a metric ton of laundry for my daughter, whose apartment complex has terrible laundry facilities. I’m happy to do this favor for her as it saves her money.
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• I bought two bags of clearance price spinach at Fred Meyer and then immediately returned them as I hadn’t realized how truly slimy they were. Blegh!
• My sister and I also hit up the Goodwill that’s a couple blocks up from Winco, which I blogged about HERE. Combining errands is always a money saver!
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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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* This is a referral link. I get referral points if you sign up with my link.
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In the mood to see what I found at my local Goodwill yesterday? Good. Bad. Questionable.
Like this tin featuring a bedraggled group of pilgrims. Nobody looks happy, which I’m guessing is historically accurate.
Especially this guy (William Bradford?) who should be avoided at all costs!
Did not buy.
I was momentary tempted by this $4.99 gnome watering can and even put it in my basket, but I surrendered it at the register. Again . . . I don’t need that disturbing face in my life. The mustache originating in the nostrils cannot be unseen!
I was unable to resist this $4.99 “Fit by Katy” T-shirt, which was weirdly long and actually spelled my name correctly. It’s a bit flared at the bottom, which’ll make it the perfect sleep shirt. It’ll also come in handy if I’m struck by a case of spontaneous amnesia.
I did succumb to this practical purchase — a $2.99 file folder case. I’d been wanting one for my late father-in-law’s paper trail. He died without a will and the executor paperwork for my husband is finicky and excessive. I unsuccessfully asked for one in my Buy Nothing group, so this was a depressingly perfect find!
Yay me?
I balanced the dullness and practicality of the last find with this antique “craft project” clock case. (You can see that someone wrote “craft project” on the glass if you look closely.) Sure, it has no clock face, but the antique brass gears are beautiful in their own way. The beehive and florals are reverse painted on the glass panel below and aged to perfection. $7.99
Do I need it? No, but there was no way this gem wasn’t coming home with me!
I was thisclose to buying this vintage ceramic lamp, but I ended up leaving it behind for someone else. The glaze work and colors were exquisite, but single lamps can be hard to sell. Priced at just $12.99, I left this bargain for some other lucky shopper.
I’ve saved the best (worst?) for last, as I came across this book and had to investigate further. After all, what am I if not a married woman?
Please note the author’s name is “Hugh R. High.”
Get it? The only way to achieve “marital bliss” is be secretly drunk! Ha ha, women are terrible and the only way to handle marriage is to be a closet drinker. So hilarious!
Nope! Sexist bullshit gag gift stays at Goodwill.
Would you have bought any of these bad or questionable items? Keep in mind that it was 10%-off senior discount day, (you only have to be 55) which made my bargains extra bargain-y.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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I garbage picked this sake glass while out for a walk. I use these glasses for propagating plants, as well as small flower arrangements. The graphics are always the peak of adorableness and they’re the perfect size for the windowsill above my sink.
Welcome to the family!
I was on way home from an errand and stopped into Dollar Tree for a solar powered garden light and decided to stock up on toothpaste. (I bought one of their $1.25 solar powered lights last month to test it out and since it worked great, I came back for another.) I noticed that the shelf held two similar yet different tubes. My immediate instinct was to grab the “60% FREE” instead of the “25% FREE” package, but then I took a moment to look at the small print.
Do you see it?
The “60% Free” one is actually an ounce less than the “25% FREE” one. Because it’s being compared to 2.5 ounces, versus 4.0 ounces. (Note that the box sizes are exactly the same.) Manufacturers count on consumers mindlessly grabbing their products without a second thought. Don’t be that consumer.
I really enjoyed my Lucky Day copy of Roz Chast’s I Must Be Dreaming last week, so I put a couple of her other books on hold at the library. However tight my budget might be, I can always treat myself to a new library book!
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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My neighbors will be out of town next week, so I’ll water their plants and bring in their mail. I’m actually happy to have this opportunity to help them out, as they help care for our elderly cat whenever we travel. Not that we’re keeping track as some kind of quid pro quo situation, but it’s still good to try and keep a balance when giving and receiving favors.
I also bring them the occasional warm baked good to even out the occasional “Hey, can I get a splash of milk for my tea?” requests.
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I’ve been an unapologetic homebody lately, due simply to the reason that I’d rather hang out at the house than needlessly go out and about. Being at home means home cooking, zero impulse purchases and a generally full gas tank. My husband and I go for evening walks if he’s home, (his work shifts don’t end until after 10 P.M.) so there’s minimal risk of cabin fever. It’ll never go viral for “Ten Crazy Ways to Save Money,” but cooking from scratch, gardening, reading, puttering about the house, visiting with neighbors, hosting friends at the house and a bit of TV in the evenings is just about the cheapest way to live your life. Not always, but it’s nice for now.
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My husband swapped our fancy Nest “smart” thermostat back to the standard programmable Honeywell version. (Luckily, we held onto the old one!) Ideally the smart thermostat would’ve saved us money, but I was constantly adjusting the temperature, as the heat would suddenly turn on at random times. (I don’t need blast the heat while we sleep!) Plus it didn’t have a way to set the “house fan” function for longer than 12 hours at a time, when we actually run that mode 24 hours per day during hot weather.
It wouldn’t function as it was supposed to and I’m happy to be rid of it. Was it a lemon? Who knows, but it’s happily in the past.
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• I lined my vintage canning supply tin with white contact paper. The paper was leftover from some long forgotten project, so my out of pocket cost was zero-point-zero. This’ll protect the contents from rust, both real and imagined. I didn’t try to make it look perfect as it’s the inside of a tin and I got to use up some random scraps this way.
• My other neighbor gave us some locally grown strawberries as they’d “bought too much.” She then borrowed my biscuit cutter for shortcake.
• I pulled a mostly eaten Costco rotisserie chicken from the freezer and made a pot of lovely chicken soup during our atmospheric river weather event. I was out of onions and garlic, but did have garlic and onion powders, which still tasted great. I added tons of finely chopped carrots and am finally down to just two one-pound bags from last week’s clearance rack score.
• That frustrating Nest thermostat was cheap enough through our electric company, so minimal money was wasted.
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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.”
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My step mother leant me her library copy of The Women, by Kristin Hannah, which was welcome as I’m currently #166 of 92 copies for this book through the library! I have one week to complete this 471 page book!
I also started listening to The Burnout, by Sophie Kinsella through the library’s free Libby app.
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I hung out with my son at his apartment and then accompanied him to the grocery store. There aren’t any Albertson’s on my side of town, as they’re the same store as Safeway. However, I got an extra 350 points from scanning “any Albertson’s receipt” into the Fetch app.* I did grab a 10-pound bag of flour for just $3.99 as it was marked the same price as the five-pound bags. Probably an error on their part, but I was low on flour anyway.
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My husband saw a neighbor and her daughter walking to the park with their lacrosse sticks. He ran down to the basement and grabbed the single lacrosse ball that we somehow own and we brought it to them. They were happy to get the ball and we’re happy to put this single item back into circulation.
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• I found a penny in the Albertson’s parking lot.
• I baked three apple crisps from my clearance priced apples. (4/$1, plus a $10 credit union rebate for swiping my debit card a certain number of times throughout the month of May.) I froze one for future Katy and will give the other one to my daughter. We also ate a lot of sliced apples this week.
• My step mother had me look through stuff in her basement and I ended up bringing home some canning equipment, plus a big vintage tin. I decided the tin would serve as the perfect catch-all for all my random canning supplies, so I created a label using watercolors, an index card, Mod-Podge and a random magnet from the side of the fridge. I like having my storage supplies be cute and I enjoy a creative challenge.
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No Lear jets, no felony convictions.
“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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* This is a referral link, which will earn you 1000 points if you sign up for Fetch through my link.
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You already know that I try to spend as little as possible whenever possible, but I thought it would be interesting to break it down a bit. Please let me know what I’m forgetting or how your household differs!
Entertainment
• My childhood best friend came over and we hung out for a couple of hours. She didn’t want anything to eat, but she did accept a cup of tea. We sat in the garden until it got too cold, then we moved our play date inside. My socializing is usually just visiting with friends in their houses or mine or going to walks. I even have a friend that can be counted on for grocery shopping buddy trips.
• I like to watch free YouTube videos related to nonconsumerism and recently caught up on all the Rich House, Poor House episodes that I could find. Almost endless inspiration and ideas on YouTube!
• I take advantage of free streaming services to watch TV. Whether it’s the free Peacock which comes with our internet service or the endless ad supported apps on our Roku box. We do pay for Netflix, but don’t get the highest cost plan.
• I pay attention to the free available activities in my city. There’s lots to do without an admission cost.
Food
• I have a tremendous number of clearance price carrots from the other day, so I’m on hyper alert to include them in just about everything. I’d planned on making a pot of carroty red lentil soup, but it turns out I overestimated my lentil stash. Instead I made a huge pot of yellow split pea soup which also paired well with my how-many-carrots-can-I-cram-into-this-recipe mindset. The split peas were purchased from the Winco bulk bins. Avoiding food waste is an active choice as it’s so easy to forget about food you’ve paid for!
• I’ve been enjoying yummy breakfast fajitas over the past couple days, which is just throwing a handful of sautéed sliced frozen peppers plus scrambled eggs into a warm tortilla. The peppers were on sale for 25¢ apiece, so I bought the limit and froze them for future use. (The tortillas were free with annoying Safeway points.) Stocking up when things are on sale is necessary, although I wish food prices could just be straightforward and consistent.
• I keep our groceries simple, which helps keep the food bill under control. So you won’t find me buying those $5 containers of adorable little tomatoes to make that viral tomato feta pasta recipe. Instead I keep cheap canned tomatoes on hand for when I need to make a classic marinara sauce. We buy no junk food and almost no snack food.
• We save eating out for special occasions which makes it more enjoyable. That it unless there’s some super cheap deal I’ve learned about, which I suppose is also a special occasion!
• I have almost no brand loyalty when it comes to groceries.
Self Care
• I get my hair cut every year or so and wait until the Supercuts training center is doing free services. Choosing a longer style means I don’t need frequent cuts.
• I buy our shampoo, conditioner and bar soap at Dollar Tree.
In The Home
• I spent maybe an hour and a half weeding the parking strip in front of the house. I really hate this chore, but I’m an adult and can do things I don’t enjoy without it being a big deal. Having a yard that I can maintain on my own is a huge money saver.
• My request for free wood chips fell off the Chip Drop website, so I renewed my request. I prefer to go the free route for almost everything and that often means practicing the art of patience.
• My husband and I repair our belongings whenever possible. YouTube is an amazing resource for tutorials and we both take great satisfaction from keeping items out of the landfill while saving money. My husband recently repaired his late father’s Kitchenaid mixer by watching videos.
• I replace the big scoop that comes with our powdered Costco laundry detergent with a tiny one. We’re not ditch diggers so our laundry is not all the dirty. I’d estimate that this trick easily quadruples how long it takes to use up the detergent. I choose powdered dishwasher detergent so I can choose how much to use, (1 Tablespoon per load) as those dishwasher tablets don’t give you an option of how much to use.
• I critically think about our monthly bills. I recently called our internet provider and was able to lower our cost by $31/month.
Free Stuff
• I have a Little Free Library in front of my house and I check it each morning to tidy and remove any non-book related items. It’s not uncommon for me to choose a book for myself.
• My husband and I like to walk around the neighborhood after dinner and I’ve start stuffing a tiny reusable grocery bag in my pocket in case I come across any enticing free boxes.
• We lend out and borrow with our neighbors on a regular basis. Whether it’s a muffin tin for the teenager next door to bake cupcakes, a couple cloves of garlic, a snow shovel or a wheelbarrow, we can all save money by sharing our resources.
Okay, what did I miss? I know there are infinite ways to live frugally, so please add your two cents!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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The credit union where we keep our high yield savings account is having a promotion where they award a $10 rebate if you use their debit card twelve times in the month of May. We don’t normally use that checking account, but I’m not one to turn down free money. I got over any perceived notions of appropriate shopping behavior and hit up the $1 produce section at Fred Meyer. Lastly I used the self checkout for twelve individual transactions and schlepped it all home.
Two dollars for ten peppers, one cauliflower, two double bags of multi-color carrots and 22 apples. My arms just about dropped off by the time I got home, especially since I’d also checked out an obscenely heavy library book!
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My neighbor brought by some dug up mint from her backyard, as well as a jumble of the thicker plastic bags that come with her delivered groceries. (She knows that I reuse these sturdy bags as kitchen bin liners.) I planted the mint in a curb picked flowerpot saved for this exact purpose and shuffled a few plants around in order to forage enough potting soil.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Always and forever.
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I washed our sheets and hung them on the laundry line. We’re only just now coming out of the rainy season and I look forward to being able to use our backyard solar system with more regularity. I do use an indoor rack, (especially for my husband’s synthetic baseball, hockey and soccer uniforms) but nothing compares to the freshness of sun dried laundry!
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• I sliced and froze all the peppers for later use.
• I went for a walk by myself after dinner, as none of my regular walking buddies were available.
• I checked out an obscenely heavy library book.
• I read a library “Lucky Day” book — I Must Be Dreaming, by Roz Chast. I will read anything from Roz Chast!
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Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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