The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I gave away a skein of yarn through my Buy Nothing group.

2. 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 a borrower and a lender be.

3. I had an e-coupon for a free medium Domino’s pizza, which I’d earned from ordering gluten-free pizzas for my daughter. Unfortunately the gluten-free crust only comes as a “small” as the crusts are pre-made. In the past I’ve gone to the physical location to switch the order, but the staff wouldn’t budge this day on using my “medium” coupon for a “small” pizza.

   I’m not one to force my will on retail workers, so I stepped aside and scoured both the app and dot.com website until I found a decent coupon that worked for a gluten-free pizza. $7.99 later and I was able to bring my daughter a treat.

4. One of our kids is off on a two-week European vacation and I let them borrow a number of things from us. Think portable cell phone charger, small toiletry bags, etc. I also treated them to a variety of flight friendly food options from H Mart and a ride to the airport.

   I like to have a set routine for frequent tasks so I’m not reinventing the wheel, but somehow I’m always at a loss when it comes to figuring out food for longer flights. I end up wandering around Trader Joe’s and am never happy with what I’ve chosen. However, H Mart had excellent inexpensive premade food choices and will definitely be my go-to for future flight prep!

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

{ 47 comments }

1. My husband had a box of CPR supplies to drop off across town, so we made the most of it by also stopping into the William Temple House thrift store. It’s been a year or so since I last stopped in, but they’d made changes in the interim. Think used shoes for $18-$24! My highest level of sticker shock was this small wooden wastebasket that I thought would work as a recycling bin, except that it was priced at $30! For. A. Small. Used. Wastebasket!

   I still browsed the store and bought a used but “new with tag” rubber spatula for a buck. I spied a sign for a 10%-off senior discount on my way out, but it was too late.

2. I made sure to have enough folding money to take full advantage of my gas station’s 40¢/gallon cash discount. My tank holds 21 gallons, which means I save $8.40 per gas tank fill up. (Were my tank actually completely empty.) I rarely let the tank get super low, but the low fuel warning light was on!

   

3. My friend cut me some pretty orange poppies from her backyard, which prompted a small flower arrangement.

   

4. We somehow broke the electrical outlet plate behind the couch, but I replaced it within 24 hours of noticing the damage. I always give myself massive credit for not procrastinating a task. Even better is that we already already had the replacement part in the basement.

   

5. I sold a baby blanket on eBay* for $20, not newsworthy, but still worth the five minutes it took me to package it up and set it on the porch for the mail carrier to pick up!

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

{ 51 comments }

1. 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 the other two for personal use.

   

2. My husband wanted to stop at The Focacceria, which was excellent timing as it turned out to be their happy hour and our lunches were priced at just $4 apiece!

   

   

   Seriously, check out this massive square of delicious focaccia, piled high with arugula, hiding the house made ricotta and mushrooms. An entire meal for just $4? A rare unicorn in today’s troubled times. I’ll definitely be timing any visits back to hit their happy hour!

   

3. I’ve been aware that I’ve been taking more than giving from my Buy Nothing group, so I got my mother to give me a handful of Oui yogurt jars from her personal stash. I propagate spider plants and pothos on my kitchen windowsill in cute sake glasses, but need jars that can go by-bye. These were quickly claimed and I can now breathe easier that my Buy Nothing karma is back in balance.

4. My mother also gave me a pair of large baskets to offer up in my Buy Nothing group. Same reasoning and they were claimed within a couple minutes of listing.

   

5. I didn’t buy this Stanley tumbler from the Seattle Goodwill. Not a fan of viral overconsumption trends, even when they’re waning.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

{ 58 comments }

I live a life filled with frugal activities, but it’s often a passive frugality. More “I stayed at home and ate leftovers” instead of “I got free library museum passes” or “Look at my $1000 curb picked whatzit!”

Yesterday was a passively frugal day. I drove multiple errands, mostly due to my husband’s bike being in the shop and him needing rides to and from work. This may seem like it should fall under the “expense” column, but it’s because we have just the one car. So, frugal . . . .

Dinner was simple, just some diced Costco rotisserie chicken with cucumbers and homemade dressing. Far from newsworthy.

No recreational shopping, no aspirational purchases, not impressing anyone. Just frugal and happily dull.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

{ 38 comments }

1. 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 to kill, so I wandered over to take a peek. My curiosity was rewarded with a matching set of flannel pillow cases in excellent condition.

   I keep a pillow case on the back of the couch at all times for our 16-year-old cat to lay on. I switch it out every few days when it gets furry, so these pillow cases can join that rotation. A perfect addition to our home supplies.

   

2. My mother and step-father took us out to dinner to celebrate our youngest’s birthday, which was a fun treat.

3. My friend and I hit Home Depot before our grocery shopping adventures, as we both had something to return. Hers’ was a concrete wall sheet thingy and mine was an unopened tub of spackle, leftover from when my husband reattached a pot rack in our daughter’s apartment. I had taped the receipt to the lid and it had been mocking me sitting in my entryway ever since. I’m happy to have my $8 back and this annoying errand in my past.

   

4. I grabbed four cans of chicken stock from the Winco clearance shelf as it was priced at 10¢ apiece. We normally use a spoon of Better Than Bullion mixed into homemade stock, but I figured this would be handy to have on hand. I was tempted to buy more, but didn’t want to stock up on something I normally don’t even buy.

5. I cooked at home instead of using a loan service to make payments on a Chipotle burrito.

Katy Wolk-Stanley 

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

{ 52 comments }

1. My husband had a potluck after his baseball game, so I made a huge pot of baked beans using black eyed peas for him to take. The recipe used up two partial bottles of ketchup, the last of some barbecue sauce and half an onion that’s been in the fridge for at least a week. I cooked it overnight in my ancient crock pot and wrapped it in a towel to keep it warm while everyone played baseball. I wasn’t able to attend, but only a small amount returned back home, which is a good sign that it was a success.

   I estimate that the ingredients of the huge pot cost around $6, which was mostly the bacon. The black eyed peas were free from my friend Lise!

2. I transplanted my avocado plant into a larger pot as it’s been growing rapidly. I started this plant from a grocery store avocado pit and it’s been fun (and surprising) to watch it thrive in my Portland, Oregon home. It’ll never be able to be planted outdoors,  but it’ll still interesting to see how far I can take it. Needless to say, the “new” pot is a thrifted one I’ve had for years.

3. My daughter is under the weather and currently spending a few days at home so we can properly take care of her. I’d heard that my nephew recently splurged on a Disney+ subscription, so I asked if he’d share his login information with us. (We share all our streaming logins with him.) He did so with the caveat that we had to watch the Star Wars show “Andor.” We’ve since binged through the first twelve episodes and are now making our way through season two.

4. I have a date to grocery shop with a friend today, which’ll be nice as we can catch up while knocking something dull from our to-do lists. I love running errands with friends and family! Certainly cheaper than meeting up in a restaurant, as I have to buy groceries either way.

5. I now have half a Bonne Maman jar of bacon fat that we can slowly use for sautéing onions, scrambled eggs or whatever. I always have a stash of these garbage picked jars, thanks to a specific neighbor and her excellent taste in jam.

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.

{ 64 comments }

1. I stopped by Safeway for a couple of items this afternoon, specifically cheese. However, $11.99 is an uh oh price, so their “Member Price!” was hardly a bargain. However . . . I’m a true Oregonian and Tillamook brand cheddar cheese is a must. I reluctantly put it in my cart, but then noticed that eight ounce packages were priced at $1.99 apiece. The limit was four, so that’s what I bought. Last time I checked, $7.96 is better than $11.99 for the same 32-ounces of cheese. $4.03 better!

   

2. My husband and I drove across town to run a few errands yesterday and made sure to stop at a Starbucks for his free birthday drink. We chose their biggest size so we could split it.

3. I finally found the missing charging cord for the rechargeable Black & Decker vacuum cleaner that my youngest used in their college apartment. It’ll now go to my daughter, whose ex-roommate stole hers. This was a thrifted vacuum and although I don’t remember exactly how much I paid for it, I do remember that I bought it from the Albany, Oregon Goodwill, which is one of my favorites. So probably a real bargain.

   

4. I went to the last half hour of the neighborhood cleanup event where everything was free and brought home 33 fuchsia starts! I’d deliberately kept my backyard whiskey barrel unplanted as the area is shady and I figured that something would present itself.

   
   The best part is that the barrel was free from Buy Nothing, the potting soil was free from Fred Meyer and now I’ll have a beautiful pot of free fuchsia!

   

5. I also brought home a huge Ball jar for food storage, a variety of organic Burpee vegetable seeds, an organizer bin with four pennies in it and some jar labels — all for free! We also donated a men’s bicycle and a computer travel bag.

   

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.

{ 36 comments }