The Non-Consumer Advocate

1. I sold a number of things including a Toy Story finger puppet, a vintage suitcase key, an All-Clad kitchen timer, two Thorns soccer tickets and nothing else. It would easy to worry about stagnant sales, but I know that people are on vacation this time of year, and remember from years past that it’s simply a slow time for eBay. A natural ebb in the rhythm of commerce.

   However, I’m always stocking my inventory, and this week picked up four more free women’s soccer tickets by gassing up my minivan, and then thrifted a few more items which I immediately listed on eBay.

   My husband came home with one of those corporate, “Congratulations on blah-blah years of service, please pick out a gift” catalogs. I asked him if there was anything he wanted, which prompted a hearty “No!” I went into research mode to find which item held the best (and easiest) resale value. I ordered a 10-piece set of Calphalon pots and pans, which sells for around $135 on eBay. (They’re $199 new.) I’ll try to sell them locally first to save the buyer the cost of shipping.

   We appear to be in a season of left field expenses, (Medical! Dental! Leftover Spring Term Stuff!) and although our son’s next tuition payment isn’t due until October, his college savings account is pitifully low. Gotta build it back up!

   Creative frugality is great, but it needs to be balanced by creative income generation!

2. I brought home an ironing board that a neighbor had put out for free. Although I already own a board, mine has a disintegrating cover that annoying drops flakes onto the floor. This one appeared brand new, so it was a definite upgrade. I’ll list my old one through my local Buy Nothing Group with an honest description of condition. I also gave away a rug, some seeds and a calligraphy set through the group.

3. I tore through a library copy of The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton. I recently read a New York Times article by Ben Dolnick about the benefit of binge reading, which shifted my approach to reading. It’s hard to reach that point of full immersion into a book when reading for a few minutes here and a few minutes there. Characters get mixed up and important plot points are muddied. Instead I’ve been prioritizing big chunks of time to reading, which is a dramatic game changer.

   “If you do push on through one chapter break, and then on through the chapter break after that, something amazing happens. Subplots that would once have been murky to the point of incomprehensibility (what was the deal with that dead sea captain again?) step into the light. Little jokes and echoes, separated by dozens or even hundreds of pages, come rustling out of the text forest.”

   All for the price of a library card!

4. I stopped at an estate sale and picked up a $3 plastic bin of craft paint, (which I gifted to a friend who teaches art) I scooped three quarters from under my credit union’s coin counting machine, I accepted an offer to join my mother and step father for dinner at a barbecue restaurant, my husband and I prepared all other meals at home, I started a new library book, I returned something to Goodwill and I enjoyed raspberries from my garden.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 74 comments }

1. I sold a few things through eBay including a fancy Kermit The Frog stuffed animal that I picked up at the Goodwill Outlet (they sell by the pound, so lightweight items are crazy bargains!) as well as a pair of like-new plastic Birkenstocks.

   The Kermit had been sitting on eBay for at least six months, which made it a satisfying sale. It’s exciting when things sell immediately after being listed, but it’s more common for my inventory to sell months after languishing on eBay. It validates that it’s a perfectly fine strategy to practice the art of patience and wait for the perfect buyer to come along. Essentially — list it and forget it.

2. I unzipped the covers from three matching outdoor throw pillows that I snagged from one of last week’s garage sale freebie pile and indulged them a overnight soak in my trusty Dollar Tree oxy-cleaner. They’re now bright and clean and cheering up the front porch.

   I then laid the demoted sun faded pillows on the corner for the taking. They quickly vanished so I can only assume they’ve set out on a new adventure.

3. I had an annoyingly long commute to and from a scheduled doctor’s appointment yesterday, but kept my sanity by listening to free podcasts including How To Money, Before Breakfast and Scavenger Life.

   On the surface these three podcasts may not seem to have anything in common, but together they dovetail to hit my current main interests which are personal finance, reselling thrifted/found items and intentionality. So instead of finding myself frazzled from the drive, I ended up focused and ready to hit the day running.

4. My son took his last spring term final, which means he’ll be home within the next few days. No, let me reiterate that . . . he and his overwhelming amount of stuff will be coming home within the next few days. An entire bedroom/kitchen/bathroom’s worth of stuff. Oy vey!

   I ventured into his fully outfitted bedroom last night and made a plan to sell a pretty but superfluous Bombay Company desk, as he’ll be heading home with his preferred desk. This won’t fix the too much stuff issue, but my 21-year-old son is extremely organized and can do his own decluttering.

   We save money by signing 10-month leases on his apartment as he comes home for summers. So, yeah . . . schlepping his stuff to and from his college apartment is a less than ideal.

   Extreme frugality can be a pain in tuchus, and this is a prime example of how making sacrifices in the here and now supports big picture financial goals.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 82 comments }

1. I sold a few more things on eBay including a vintage frame, a stack of older art magazines from last weekend’s garage sale freebie haul, a wifi enabled scale I got for free and an unopened pair of Rosetta Stone earphones that I picked up at Goodwill.

   I finally met the requirements for a health promotion program I’m doing through my insurance and earned a free FitBit. (You already know that my plan is to sell it.) The scale was also through this program.

   “You want to send me some free stuff?”

   Immediately starts to research completed listings on eBay . . .

2. I received a robo-call from Fred Meyer (Kroger) about a recall on frozen mixed berries that my husband had bought. The instructions were to dispose of the berries and bring the packaging back to to store for a refund. I was stopping in for eggs and milk anyway, so I made sure to swing by customer service for the refund. $4 back into our pockets, and hopefully no Hepatitis A.

3. My bedroom has a tendency to get very dusty, which triggers my asthma on a regular basis. The cats are already banned from the room, which helps some, but hasn’t eliminated the issue. So this week I’ve spent a number of hours decluttering the room, organizing the closet, mountaineering the mending pile and then sweeping, vacuuming and wiping everything down.

   I’m left with a satisfyingly large bin of Goodwill donations as well as stack of old Mary Engelbreit magazines which got listed on eBay.

   The air feels cleaner and the bedroom looks much better. Without spending a dime.

4. I used Powell’s credit to pick up the Ursula Leguin’s Catwings series for a friend’s baby shower, I nabbed a gallon of 50%-off milk that doesn’t expire until June 23rd, (woo-hoo!) I listened to a Marian Keyes audiobook through the free Libby app, I reread a library copy of Cait Flanders’ The Year of Less and I’m heading out with my husband to stuff ourselves with 2-for-1 pizzas from Mod Pizza, (they sent an e-coupon through their app) and then enjoy 2-for-1 admission to see Spirited Away at a second-run theater which brings the price down to $2 apiece.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 77 comments }

I know I just published a Five Frugal Things blog post yesterday, but I wanted to shine a light on how deeply ingrained non-consumerism is for me. Some of it may be impressive, but it’s really about the dull day-to-day-ness of it all.

To quote my friend Gretchen Rubin:

“What you do every day matters more than what you do once in awhile.”

1. I stopped by a local music store and sold them a free electronic tuner that I picked up at last weekend’s garage sale haul. (Everything was free as I went at the end of the day!) They gave me $8 in store credit, which my son can use to buy guitar strings.

   This store was literally on on my way to the grocery store, so almost no extra time/gasoline was involved due to this errand.

2. My husband and I went to Chipotle to take advantage of their nurse’s week deal which was a buy-one-entree-get-one-free deal. I made sure to first reference this hack from a few years ago, which involved getting bowls instead of burritos, but also choosing half-and-half meat, two types of beans, fajita veggies and tortillas on the side. We’re both hearty eaters, and there was enough for both lunch and dinner. Total cost was $8.25 plus tip!

   We then dined by the Willamette river and then walked over the Tillikum Crossing bridge and looped back across the Hawthorne bridge.

   I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. I am the world’s cheapest date!

3. I listed eight Thorns Women’s MLS tickets which I got for free from filling my gas tanks up at a Portland area 76 stations. I’m asking $12 per ticket instead of $15, so I should have no problem finding buyers. I’ll continue this flip throughout the summer.

4. I picked up two pennies outside the grocery store, I used my own grocery bags which refunded 6¢ per bag, I spent an hour or so with a library book and I cooked black beans in my Instantpot for tonight’s chili dinner.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 71 comments }

1. I sold a few things including a desk that I got for free, some earrings, (again, free) a Fiestaware plate, an Arthur CD-Rom I plucked from a Seattle free pile, a pair of Keen sandals and some books at Powell’s bookstore.

2. I went to a neighborhood association’s garage sale day on Saturday, but deliberately went at the end of the day when people stick “free” signs on any unsold stuff.

   I brought home:
   – A desk, which I immediately sold for $20.
   – Two boxes of books which garnered me $21.50 in store credit at Powell’s bookstore.
   – A $349 Rejuvenation Lighting porch light which I’ve listed for sale on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and Next Door. (Gotta cast a wide net!) I’d install it on my own home, but I already have a gorgeous Rejuvenation porch light that I bought years ago from their seconds department.
   – New (to me) cute pillows for my porch furniture.
   – A bunch of random earrings.
   – A stack of high end Art magazines, which I’ve listed on eBay.
   – A bunch of miscellaneous stuff including an ornate beaded purse, framed art, a pretty beaded barrette, a small vintage Ironstone flowerpot, a dress, a pair of jeans, a Pendleton wool skirt, jeans for my daughter, three blank notebooks, an “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” DVD and a small decorative barrel and some other stuff that slipped my mind.

3. I transplanted rooted spider plant babies into the free vintage flowerpot that I picked up on Saturday. I’ll give it to my friend Sue as a house warming gift.

4. I redeemed two get-2-free-tickets-with-gasoline-purchase vouchers for an upcoming Thorn’s women’s soccer game, I stuck a free Powell’s sticker over a free notebook’s distasteful Well’s Fargo logo, I’m re-reading a library copy of Cait Flanders’ The Year of Less, I arranged multiple free USPS pickups to avoid driving to the post office, I hung laundry on the clothesline and I binge watched the first season of Killing Eve through my generous friend’s Hulu account.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 48 comments }

1. My eBay woke up over the past few days, and I sold a number of things including an antique bronze griffin for $150, a $60 electric typewriter, a $21.50 mug, a $30 barkcloth curtain panel and a $15 diploma case. I also listed a few more items to keep my inventory fresh. I’ll be hitting up some neighborhood garage sales this weekend and hopefully keep up the momentum.

2. I bought a brand new Herschel “Pop Quiz” messenger bag at Goodwill for just $6.99, as it was machine embroidered with a company logo. (They sell for $89.99 new!) Luckily, I enjoy a challenge, so it was no big deal to sew one of my husband’s soccer related patches over it and present it as a birthday gift. He’d been expressing interest in a new laptop bag for awhile, so this was a kiss of kismet.

   Click HERE to view the baggy goodness.

3. Although my husband’s birthday was last week, we didn’t have time to celebrate with a Birthday Day of Adventures until a few days ago.

   Here’s what we did:

   – Ate brunch at Pine State Biscuits, which is one of his favorite spots. There were no discounts involved, but nothing on the menu is over $12.50.
   – Stopped into Goodwill to buy movie candy, as I had a gift card. (I also bought a cute vintage suitcase to sell.)
   – Leisurely coffees at a so-so café. My plan had been to use my husband’s  free birthday drink at Starbucks, but we somehow let it expire. NOOO!!!!!!
   – A 2 P.M. showing of the movie “Us,” which set us back $2 apiece. Such a wonderfully creepy movie! (2-for-1 tickets on Tuesday, bay-bee!)
   – Dinner at a local Japanese steakhouse. This may not sound frugal, but since I won a $50 gift certificate last week, our bill was very reasonable. Especially since they sent a text offering free sake a couple hours beforehand. Our daughter joined us for this meal.

   My husband was extremely pleased with the attention, so I floated the idea that we should do these “adventure days” every month or so. Dedicating an entire day to fun activities and delicious food is too enjoyable to ration out in a miserly fashion.

4. My husband gifted me with a big bag of free-from-work bubble wrap, as did my friend Lise, I returned a $12.99 item to Goodwill as it wasn’t what I thought it was, (they have a great return policy) I continued reading a library book and I schlepped over to Ikea to write without home distractions as well as to enjoy their free coffee.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 83 comments }

1. I attended that two-hour consumer opinion panel which earned me an adorable little hundred dollar bill, (for your own area, I suggest doing an internet search for “paid research + your city” to find similar opportunities.) I picked up a $5 intense groovy glass lighting shade and took it immediately to a local shop and was handed $15, I sold some vintage L’eggs pantyhose on eBay for $10 and I listed a few more items on eBay.

   I met with the buyer for a high end decor chain to try and sell an enormous antique mirror that I picked up at Goodwil for $15. He didn’t buy it, but he and I had a long chatty conversation about what they do buy, as well as where else I could sell the mirror. I ended up getting $75 in store credit from a different shop, which wouldn’t normally be my first choice, but they create their own midcentury-style fiberglass lampshades that I’ve always coveted.

   Coming soon . . . a statement piece lampshade!

2. I bought gas from a 76 station, as I saw that they were once again running a promotion to earn two tickets to Thorns women’s major league soccer games with each fill up. This promotion ran a few years ago as well, and I spent the summer earning and then selling soccer tickets which earned me a tidy profit. It was a terrific little grift opportunity, as I sold the tickets for less than the box office price, which was great deal for both the buyers and myself.

3. I took advantage of a single nice day of weather to wash a thrifted Pendleton wool blanket to ready it for resale. The Pendleton website instructs that “dry cleaning is the best way to maintain your blanket,” but I used cold water and ever so gently swished it in the bathtub and then hung it to dry which seems to have worked well.

4. My friend Lise and I walked to the library to return books and I picked up a Lucky Day copy of Bullshit Jobs, by David Graeber, my husband rescued nice snap-top glass leftover containers from his work refrigerator that were going into the trash, I sewed a button back onto my coat and I picked up another free bag of bubble wrap from a local shop.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 71 comments }

1. My eBay and Facebook Marketplace sales have been stagnant, so this portion of the blog post where I normally appear impressively side hustle savvy (S.H.S.™) is instead impressively lackluster. However, I did find 49¢ on the ground and I’m participating in a $100 consumer opinion panel this evening. I have a couple of high value items to list on eBay, so perhaps I’ll pencil that project onto my crushing to-do list.

2. You may remember that my friend Lisa generously gifted me with a copy of the memoir Inheritance, (which I found to be both thought provoking and beautifully written. Thank you, Lisa!) But I knew that I’d never reread it, so I schlepped it over to Powell’s for some precious store credit.

   I used that credit, (plus some from a previous transaction) to pick up a pair of Solmate Socks. For those not in the know, these socks are manufactured in North Carolina by a very non-consumery company whose “products are knit from pre-consumer, recycled cotton yarn.” I absolutely adore their patterns and colorways, which I see as reminiscent of Kaffe Fassett.

   And no, this isn’t sponsored, I just love shining a spotlight on companies that get it right!

   Click HERE to read about their sustainability practices.

3. I have a hard time focusing at home, as there’s always laundry to be done, litter boxes to avoid scoop, weeds to be pulled and let’s face it . . . the siren song of electronics. So I jammed the old laptop into my backpack and pointed my dented Prius towards Ikea. I chucked a couple of crusty spent batteries into their recycling bin and then enjoyed an unholy amount of their free coffee while putting some much needed focus onto my writing.

   I could have hit up a local coffee shop, but I try to save money wherever possible. Plus the Ikea cafeteria, (restaurant?) doesn’t seem to care if you park yourself down for an extended period of time. Or if they do, they’re extraordinarily subtle about it.

4. I dropped our three ballots at the local library instead of using stamps, I spent just $27.13 on four bags of groceries at Winco, I continue to listen to the thralling A Court of Thorns and Roses audiobook through the library’s Libby app and I washed out my ragtag collection of reusable grocery bags to keep them in circulation.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a corrupt gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 61 comments }

1. I sold the vintage train case that I’d picked up at Goodwill awhile back, as well as a cute butter dish on eBay and a groovy lighting globe through a local shop. I also booked a consumer opinion panel that pays $100 for two evening hours that likely would have been spent on the couch mindlessly watching Netflix. I also won a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant, which I consider to be pretty damned exciting!

   I tuck all this extra money into a savings account.

2. My younger son recently celebrated his 21st birthday, so my husband and I drove down to Eugene to take him out for dinner. He didn’t want dessert, which saved us the anticipated cost of treating him to Sweet Life Patisserie.

   Our gift was a ticket to the upcoming Mastadon concert. Choosing an experiential gift rather than a THING can feel off kilter, but my son needs zero physical items and genuinely loves live music.

3. My husband also had a birthday this week, although we haven’t celebrated it yet since he had to work that night. However, I did buy him a big chunk of his favorite dessert, which is the banana cake from New Seasons. I could have made one from scratch, but the two of us do not need an entire cake for the two of us. I’ll plan out a Birthday Day of Adventures for later in the week when his schedule opens up. We no longer give gifts to one another and instead plan out signature adventure days.

   Studies have shown that experiences make us happier than stuff, and I wholeheartedly agree!

4. I read one of my 75¢ used library books, (“The Age of Light” by Whitney Sharer) I joined a free online health program through my health insurance that’ll give me a free Fitbit, (you can already guess that my plan is to sell it!) I renewed my library books, I sewed a button back onto my jacket, my husband and I caught up on How To Money podcasts during a four hour drive and I’m stubbornly keeping the heat off despite the house clocking in at a chilly 63°.

5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Now your turn. What frugal things have you been up to?

Katy Wolk-Stanley    

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

{ 46 comments }