The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. My daughter’s roommate moved back to the East Coast and abandoned almost all of her furniture and larger belongings. My daughter moved into this apartment last fall and only furnished her own bedroom, as the rest came fully outfitted. This means she just inherited a kitchen table, chairs, rug, shelves, a couch, coffee table, lamps, artwork, coat rack, end tables and probably a bunch of other stuff I’m unaware of. Mind you, this is all nice stuff.

   I was worried she’d be suddenly left with an empty apartment, so I’m really happy for her. Also a bit relieved, as I would’ve taken on the task to help her source all new (used) furnishings.

2. My husband and I stopped by Costco yesterday and walked past the exact air conditioner we’d just bought last month, except it’s now priced $20 less than before. I took a photo of the price and stopped by customer service on the way out. The clerk looked up our previous purchases and then handed me a twenty dollar bill as a “price adjustment.” It felt like I’d conjured $20 out of thin air!

3. My father and step mother have birthdays just a week apart and we celebrated them in very different ways.

   For my step mom, (and former first grade teacher) I got her to accept me taking her out to lunch, which was at a food cart pod near the house. It was a great option as we could both choose the kind of food we were in the mood for that day. It incorporated a nice walk, which was a bonus.

   My dad didn’t want to be taken to lunch, so I had him over to the house and we hung out in the shady backyard. I tried to get him to at least accept the sheet of Ursula Leguin stamps that he asked me to order for him, but he fervently insisted on paying. He did accept a handful of freezer Ziploc bags for his homemade bread, which I jokingly called his “birthday gift.”

4. • I bought four ears of corn for 10¢ apiece at Safeway, which was the loss leader limit.
   • I was able to score a vacuum cleaner for my daughter through my Buy Nothing Group. Yes it was super grubby, but I disassembled it and gave it a thorough cleaning and it’s now in perfect condition and ready for action.
   • My daughter brought me free bacon, ground beef and four organic eggs from her schwanky grocery store.
   • My husband is skim coating our 109-year-old house foundation with I can only imagine is saving us thousands of dollars by doing it ourselves.
   • My next door neighbor and I scheduled a get together, which is almost always just carrying a cup of tea from one house to the other. No more expensive than drinking tea at home, yet it scratches that itch of socializing over a hot cup of caffeine.
   • I brought home a bag of books and two sealed Lego kits from a neighborhood free pile. I slotted the books in our Little Free Library and I gifted the Legos to the seven-year-old boy across the street.
   • I’m finishing up listening to Jenny Colgan’s 500 Miles From You, through the library’s free Libby app.

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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1. You may remember how I’ve been on the hunt for a dresser (and a rug) for my daughter’s old bedroom, which I’ve graaaaaaduallllly been reassembling since she moved out. (With all her furniture.) I’ve even taken to muttering “dresser and rug, dresser and rug” under my mask whenever I enter a thrift store.

   Thus far, my incantations had landed on deaf ears. Until yesterday when I took a circuitous route home from the library and passed by a derelict $300 Nordli IKEA dresser set out on the curb. Visually, it wasn’t too promising, with grubby drawers and a note about how one drawer was “broken.” However, my husband and I are fairly handy and the price was right.

   My husband and I spent an hour or so cleaning every nook and cranny and then a year off our lives humping it up the stairs. (It’s both insanely heavy and lacking any logical grab points for carrying!) And that wonky drawer? Mostly fixed.

   Now, to find a rug.

   

2. My daughter brought us more free food from her schwanky grocery store. This week it was:

   • Cherries
   • Marinated shrimp skewers
   • Lactose-free sour cream
   • Four eggs

3. • I got an almost full bottle of CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion from my Buy Nothing Group.
   • I was able to get a refund at Winco after being double charged for yams. This was despite the clerk denying her mistake and customer service being closed. I had to get back in line and start over with a new cashier, but received $5.27 for my efforts. Don’t worry, I was super polite throughout the process.
   • I went to Trader Joe’s and only bought the toilet paper, butter and bananas from my list. I always think this should earn me some kind of reward as Trader Joe’s is 95% impulse items.
   • I did get a cookie sample at Trader Joe’s.
   • I scored three mesh bags of red, yellow and orange peppers for $1 apiece from the Fred Meyer clearance shelf. I then sliced and froze them for future use.
   • I remembered to use a Fred Meyer coupon for a free print of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream before it expired.
   • We loaned our wheelbarrow to the neighbors across the street for their landscaping project.
   • My husband and I shared a single enormous burrito from the neighborhood taco cart, which was plenty of food for both of us.

4. This last one isn’t necessarily a “frugal thing,” but I’m going to include it anyway because it’s so freaking cool! Remember that free pile from a couple weeks ago that provided my new fireplace screen and the vintage trash bin? It just hit the market and the Zillow listing is the best thing I’ve seen all year!

   Total 1909 time capsule house, as in I don’t think a single thing has been updated or “remuddled” since the day the day it was built!

   Click HERE for the Zillow listing and then come back and tell me what you think of the stove!

5. 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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{ 80 comments }

1. I curb picked a vintage fireplace screen last week, which prompted me to give away the old one, (technically a newer one) to someone in my Buy Nothing Group. The guy said that he’d just moved into a house without a fireplace screen, and it makes me happy to know that my one has been kept in circulation. Imagine if the stale clutter in our homes was consistently given to people who’d put it back to use.

2. My sister scored three flats of slightly wilted pansies for free from a nursery just north of New York City. (By the way, that’s 96 plants!) She just bought a house in The Bronx and is motivated and excited to spruce up her property without going broke. And yes, she planted every single one of them in her garden!

3. • I encouraged my mother to give me a gorgeous Italian glazed flowerpot that was collecting dust in the back of her kitchen. It’s now on top of my piano and planted with begonias that I rooted on the kitchen windowsill. Thanks mom, sorry about the moochiness!
   • I curb picked a metal planter box that cleaned up quite nicely. Not a show stopper, but a classic design and fully within my budget. It being at the foot of a porta potty? Didn’t phase me whatsoever. Now to source some free potting soil!
   • I returned a shirt and a pair of shorts to Goodwill that I bought a couple weeks ago. They gave me a store credit which I’ll use before it expires in 30 days.
   • I cut a pair of jeans into summer shorts which is my one of my favorite frugal hacks.
   • I’m rooting dozens of fuzzy bunny plants from my existing house plants. These grow roots almost immediately and do well in the backyard. I might decide to plant something different in my new planter, but these’ll do if all else fails.

4. I’ve had a cold since coming back from Nebraska last Tuesday, which had the side effect of creating an impressively frugal week. Why? Because I’ve hardly left the house and I’m rarely tempted to internet shop. Thanks, dum-dum virus!

5. 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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{ 64 comments }

1. My husband and I bought a used propane barbecue grill in “excellent condition” from a friend for only $50. The problem is that it was not excellent in any way, shape or form. Of course, we didn’t realize this until we schlepped it home in the back of our minivan. It required all new interior replacement parts, plus my husband had to grind off the inside rust and repaint it with high heat spray paint. In all, I think we spent $50, plus hours of work to bring it back to life.

   We’ve decided to believe that my husband’s friend was unaware of the condition issues. Not worth losing a friendship.

   Then . . . my husband went to a baseball picnic a few days later and was gifted a free propane griddle in actual excellent condition. Sure it needed a good scrubbing and the purchase of a $27 cover, but we’ve already used it a couple of times!

   Odd coincidence, but we feel like it all balanced out.

2. My one wish before I left Nebraska last week was to get my tuchus into an Aldi and see if it lived up to the hype. We do have Trader Joe’s here in Portland, (same owner) but Aldi has yet to expand into the Pacific Northwest. My goal was to grab travel snacks for the day and Aldi did not disappoint. In all I spent $21.56 with tax, which included chocolate bars to gift and a 99¢ reusable grocery bag to keep as a practical souvenir.

   I wandered the aisles to satisfy my curiosity and saw a number of items I would’ve been happy to purchase, had I been actual “grocery shopping.” I was impressed with 59¢ avocados and $1.89 pineapples, but was surprised that very few items (if any?) were branded with the “Aldi” name. I guess I assumed that it would be like Trader Joe’s where almost everything is their own brand.

   Certainly a unique shopping experience, I appreciated the low prices and no frills vibe, but the merchandise seemed pretty random. I’d be curious to get your opinion on how you incorporate Aldi into your shopping.

   

3. I noticed that we had a free week of Starz TV through our Comcast streaming box, which comes with our internet service. I looked through to see if there was anything of interest. I came across the reboot of Party Down and motored through the six new episodes. (So good!) I’m also going to try to get my husband to watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with me before this free week deal evaporates.

4. • My daughter brought me a dented can of Annie’s split pea soup, a bag of new potatoes, an avocado and a dented can of fancy cat food from her work.
   • I found two quarters (one from an Aldi cart!) and a penny while traveling to Nebraska.
   • I sold a curb picked Kitchenaid mixer for $120.
   • I sold a thrifted fiber art wall hanging for $225.
   • My fabric suitcase got nasty level filthy in the airplane’s baggage hold and I took the opportunity to scrub it down in the bathtub. I imagine someone else would’ve used it as an opportunity to buy a new suitcase. Mind you, I pulled it from a literal Goodwill dumpster, so I have to see if I can make it last forever.
   • My husband has been excited to use his new outdoor griddle, but doesn’t possess any my frugal grocery skillz. This means that I commandeered and returned a $9.50 bottle of tamari sauce before he got a chance to open it. Especially as we already had two unopened bottles of $4.50 gluten-free soy sauce!
   • I came home from Nebraska with a wicked cold and used a free Covid test to make sure it wasn’t more serious.

5. 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 husband and I just got back from attending my maternal uncle’s memorial service in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is why this blog post is a few days late. The above photo is from my last visit to Nebraska in 2019. (Luckily I got to see “Uncle Jimbo” almost every year over the past five years.) He and my mother grew up thick as thieves, as they were only a year and half apart in age. He’s already deeply missed by his many loved ones and I’m so very happy that we were able to attend his service.

Very little about last minute travel falls under the umbrella of “frugal living,” but these were dollars spent wisely due to years of having scrimped in areas that didn’t matter.

First off I wrote out a comprehensive travel plan with an idea to create a master packing list to avoid reinventing the wheel whenever I travel. My plan is to type it up, slip it into a plastic sleeve and then keep it stored inside my suitcase. We had a few days advanced warning before flying to Nebraska, so I kept an open spiral notebook on the coffee table and then jotted notes as I thought of what to bring. This ended up working perfectly as there wasn’t a single needed (or wanted) item left at home, despite differing events and activities. There’s nothing frugal about buying stuff you left at home.

Things I was happy to have brought:

• Slippers, as the thought of going barefoot in a hotel gives me the “ick.”
• A personalized first-aid kit, which included standard over the counter medication, (Tylenol, antiseptic ointment, bandaids.) We are clumsy and this came in handy.
• Blouses that pair well with both formal skirts and casual shorts. Double duty clothing was key!
• Cute thrifted sandals that took up almost zero space in my suitcase.
• A lightweight extra layer in case of over air conditioned areas.
• A drawstring fabric bag for dirty laundry.
• Cash, broken down into smaller denominations for tips, specifically for the hotel buffet staff and the housekeeper.
• A binder clip to keep curtains tightly closed. <– Put one in your toiletry bag, you’ll thank me later!
• Airplane supplies such as healthy snacks, an empty reusable water bottle, a fresh library book and a neck pillow.
• Of course I also brought the standard items, (toiletries, clothing, chargers, decent looking sneakers) and with the exception of two pairs of socks, everything saw use.

The airfare was covered by my mother, which is hardly a “frugal hack,” but we were still grateful to accept. She wanted to pay for us to support her brother’s family, plus I was able to help her navigate the inevitable travel challenges. We would have gone either way, as Uncle Jimbo was an important figure throughout my life.

My suitcase was one I pulled from a Larchmont, New York Goodwill dumpster, (and then scrubbed within an inch of its life!) and my husband’s was thrifted here in Portland maybe ten years ago. I broke the handle a couple years ago, but he repaired it using surgical tools and a couple zip-ties.

I researched the best budget hotel and came up with the Best Western Plus, which gave us an AARP discount and was rated second highest among all Lincoln, Nebraska hotels on Trip Advisor. It came with an acceptable breakfast buffet and free parking. $628.42, including various taxes for a five night stay.

My husband gets a rental car discount through his employer, which meant that we paid just $200 for six days. We chose a compact car for better gas mileage and made sure to fill the tank before returning it to the airport.

We did welcome the opportunity to pick up the check for a number of restaurant meals with family members, as well as locating special Oregon beers and wines to bring to family meals. Because we may be cheap, but we’re not cheap!

My husband and I have slotted back into our daily lives and are starting to process the loss of my uncle and the time we spent with various family members. My mother was one of seven children, so I have a lot of cousins. However, we’re all far flung, so I don’t get to see them very often. These five days were special and worth every penny.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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{ 59 comments }

1. My daughter brought me a free $58 Diestel Cook-in-Bag turkey breast from her schwanky grocery store. I’m unlikely to pay this much on my own, but it was by far the most delicious turkey I’ve ever eaten!

   Her store gives unsold food to their employees, so she gifts me with a variety of random bits and bobs. She’s also recently given me an orchid plant, a bag of lil’ crostini, four chicken breasts and some slightly wilted broccoli. This work perk means her own grocery bill is almost nothing.

2. I passed by a promising free pile while driving through the neighborhood and actually remembered to swing past it later in the afternoon. Everything was gross and dirty, but that’s not an issue for solid items. Here’s what I carried home:

   • A knife sharpener, gravy spoon and mini spatula.
   • A 1950s-era fireplace screen to replace the one I started disliking soon after I brought it home in 2002. This one looks much more natural in my 109-year-old house and the price was right.
   • Three vintage metal lidded glass jars from Hills Bros coffee and Skippy peanut butter. Super cute vintage branding.
   • A groovy 1960’s era avocado green metal kitchen waste basket. This specimen came with revolting smears and long dead bugs, so I wasn’t surprised that no one had brought it home yet. However, I’m a sucker for vintage kitchenware and that “Waste” graphic was just too cute to leave behind. I’ve given it a thorough scrubbing and left it in the sun to dry. I’ll likely go over it once again and call it good.

   

3. • I sold another $4.99 vintage lighting globe to a neighborhood store for $20. I thrift these whenever I can as this store always buy them from me. Such an easy sale as I don’t have the burden to research, measure, list, pack and mail. Instead I just hand them over. Easy money.
   • I lugged a wrought iron patio chair to the corner and it was snapped up in under an hour. This long ago thrifted chair weighed a metric ton and we didn’t need it anymore, so I’m happy to have it back in circulation.
   • I used interlibrary loan to borrow a copy of The Diaries of Nella Last from my local branch. I usually forget this feature exists, which makes me extra appreciative of this library book.
   • I caught an unnecessary online prescription being automatically refilled. I was able to go to their website and click “cancel” before it was fully processed.

4. Frugal Fail — I met up with a college friend for lunch and forgot to look through the restaurant’s online menu ahead of time. I normally do this so I can A) choose the yummiest option, but also B) stay on budget. Instead I was overwhelmed by the obnoxious QR-code menu on my tiny phone and chose what my friend recommended. $17 and downright meh. Next time I’ll remember to follow my own advice and ALWAYS LOOK UP A RESTAURANT’S MENU AHEAD OF TIME!

5. 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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{ 80 comments }

1. We finally had our neighborhood clean up day, which was nothing short of miraculous! I joked to my husband that it’s “my favorite holiday” which is only 49% true. For those not in the know, a “neighborhood cleanup day” involves a huge parking lot with multiple dumpsters for specific obscure recycling as well as straight up garbage. There’s also a pay-what-you-will area for reusable items and a plant exchange. It’s put on by our neighborhood association and a once a year occasion.

   Remember how my husband disassembled our rotten tree house and rebuilt it as a deck? Buy-bye, rotten wood, as well as all the associated rusted hardware. We also took punctured sport balls, cracked wooden baseball bats, styrofoam and an absolutely rusted through barbecue grill. Some of the stuff I walked  the three blocks to the event, but we otherwise filled the back of the seat-free minivan.

2. We celebrated our son’s 25th birthday with dinner at the house. I invited my mother, step father and son’s out of town friend, and put out a bagel and lox spread, which was a huge hit. I also made a pot of chicken soup to round out the meal, although I was the only one to eat any. I put together a “dirt cake” using Oreos, pudding and gummy worms. (From the Winco bulk section!) Unfortunately, I arrogantly chose to not follow a recipe and it was truly foul. Like scrape the whole damned thing into the compost foul. Oh well, live and learn.

   Our gifts for him were Timbers soccer tickets, plus a coffee theme arrangement which included a Bodum pour-over coffee carafe with reusable filter, coffee grinder, two nice mugs from my eBay inventory, plus a pound of coffee I got for free with a coupon. My sister added a Yeti travel mug, and my parents handed him a crisp $100 bill.

   The evening was a big success, despite my husband having to work. The highlight? when my son asked his grandfather for a good Yiddish phrase and my step dad without missing a beat gifted us with “Geyn hobn shilshl,*” (גיין האָבן שילשל) which means “Go have diarrhea!” Gotta love those Yiddish sayings, they’re always the best!

3. I thrifted an under-bed wheeled plastic storage container for $4.99, which prompted me to reorganize our bedding. (Don’t worry, I gave it a thorough scrub!) Our 1914 remuddled house doesn’t have a linen closet, so I’m always trying to puzzle out a deliberate and practical way to store our sheets/towels, etc.

   I’m a sucker for organizing paraphernalia, but luckily there’s a steady stream of it at both thrift stores and free piles here in Portland. I may never get my big weird house “perfectly” organized, but I doubt that standard is actually attainable in the first place.

4. • I complimented a volunteer at the clean-up event on a pretty blue glazed flowerpot and she insisted that I take it for free.
   • I planted some free spider plant babies in the free flowerpot.
   • I bought a bra on eBay for $9.80 (with free shipping!) instead of $48. I have the same bra in a different color, so I’m not worried about trying it on in person.
   • I started rooting some begonia starts from a plant I already own.
   • I donated two blue Ikea bags of miscellaneous stuff (including three sets of sheets!) to Goodwill.
   • I mailed a package to my sister in NYC and used PirateShip.com to save on postage.

5. 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.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.

* I think this is what he said, the Yiddish might have been slightly different.

{ 76 comments }

1. I went to Goodwill and came across a cardboard box marked “all hoodies $2.99.” I’d been keeping a passive eye out for a new-to-me a zip-front hoodie, so I dug around until I found one in my size. They were all the exact same Target brand and style, which was a dark charcoal color and neutral enough to work with any outfit.

   It’s a far cry from the quality of The Frugal Girl’s beloved $138 American Giant hoodies, but the $2.99 price made it an easier impulse purchase to work into my budget. Sorry Kristen, I had a Goodwill gift card.

2. I gave away a number of items through my Buy Nothing Group, prompted by a neighbor who asked for a pizza stone. We were given one maybe 15 years ago, and not only did it collect dust, but the behemoth also took up a tremendous amount of space. (Win-win!) Yes, we used it initially, but I don’t actually like working with it and I can’t remember the last time I made pizza from scratch as my daughter can’t eat gluten and pizza grosses me out due to having once eaten most of a pizza that turned out to have a used bandaid baked into the crust. Yes, you read that right.

   I then replied to someone asking for tomato cages and decided to keep the momentum going. I dragged a huge bag of fabric from the attic, which quickly went to someone who sews bags to sell and then sorted through some random stuff and pulled out a collection of dollhouse accessories that were snapped up by a preschool teacher.

   It can be hard to let go of stuff, as each item holds possibility. What if I start being a seamstress or have a kid to the house who’d like to play with dollhouse accessories? Instead, all these items are now back in circulation and that makes me (and my house) happy.

3. My neighborhood association is hosting a free neighborhood cleanup event this coming Saturday and I’m beyond excited. This is a special opportunity to get rid of bulky items in a responsible manner and I’ve already rolled our rusted out barbecue to the front yard to make it easier to heft into the back of the minivan. I also have my eye on a bucket of bent and rusted hardware from when we disassembled our treehouse last year and I’ve temporarily dedicated a corner of the living room for worn out, broken and useless stuff that’s too crappy to donate to Goodwill.

   Neighborhood cleanup day is my favorite holiday!

4. • I found a dime on the ground and picked it up even though it was in an awkward spot and the store clerk was staring at me.
   • I spied an unused patio umbrella base at my mom’s house and asked for it. Mine somehow went missing a few years ago, so I was happy to mooch off of her put hers to use.
   • We defrosted and grilled four bison steaks that my Nebraskan aunt gifted us as a thank you for ferrying them around town for my mother’s 80th birthday. I normally don’t like steak, but these were amazing!
   • I took my mother to Kalama Harbor Lodge for a Mother’s Day lunch, which was a splurge, but infinitely better than buying her some unneeded tchotchke. Experiences > stuff.
   • I dropped our election ballots at the library. This action used to save us the price of four stamps, but Oregon ballots now have prepaid postage. I guess I just like going to the library.
   • I read a library copy of Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. I read this Newberry Award winning classic as a kid, but was prompted to revisit it after recently reading an excerpt.
   • My husband and I shared a free Starbucks matcha Frappaccino on his birthday.
   • My friend Lise and I had an IKEA date, where we dropped off battery and lightbulb recycling and then sipped free coffee and caught up on each others’ lives. I also enjoyed one of their $1.15 veggie hotdogs.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

{ 74 comments }