The Simple Beauty of Timberline Lodge

by Katy on April 21, 2017 · 32 comments

I’m currently staying at Timberline Lodge, as my husband has a work conference, and I’m nothing if not an unabashed freeloader. As a history geek, I am deeply appreciative for the privilege to stay here.

For those not in the know, Timberline Lodge was built in 1939 the midst of the great depression, as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program that put artisans and unemployed Americans back to work. And for that reason, the lodge is rich with awe inspiring artistic elements.

Everywhere you look is a museum worthy piece of art.

I call these “Newel Post Porn.” These original carved animals are on every newel post, and they’re straight up adorable!

Fun fact: They’re made from recycled telephone poles.

I took the time to watch a looping documentary about Timberline, and learned a thing or two, including that Douglas Lynch was one of the original WPA artists, and he happens to be my friend’s grandfather! I texted his wife and she directed me to the room where his carved and painted linoleum panels are featured.

I learned that he was the last surviving artist from the initial construction, and that he snuck both himself and his wife into this artwork. His carved and painted linoleum panels are an important part of this historic landmark, and I’m not going to lie. I got a bit teary when I realized the connection.

Grandpa Doug Lynch:

And grandma Margaret Lynch:

His artwork is pure perfection!

This photo gives you a sense of the scale.

I’ve been giving some thought as to how this relates to non-consumerism, and it boils down to this. It doesn’t cost a thing to make the most of where you are or what you have in life. Whether I’m in NYC taking a free tour of the historic Fifth Ave Library or simply cooking inexpensive meals from scratch while my social media friends post about their delicious restaurant meals.

$28 entrees be damned! I’m content to eat the food I brought from home. As long as I get to wander about the facilities.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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What’s making me happy:

  1. I’m happy that the road to Timberline Lodge was freshly plowed so that my husband and I were able to avoid putting chains on the tires.
  2. I’m happy that the architects of Timberline Lodge included this little writing nook way back in the 1937, and that no one besides me wanted to claim it as their own in 2017.
  3. I’m happy that both my kids seem to be emerging as functional adults who know how to problem solve and take care of themselves. (This is prompted by my older son who figured out how to get himself to jury duty, despite it being in a different town than where he attends college. He successfully argued that he has classes he’s unable to miss, and then he figured out how to catch a bus back to campus. He didn’t even contact me once about the logistics, so I only heard about it afterwards!)
  4. I’m happy to have amazing neighbors who don’t bat an eye about keeping an eye on our cats while we’re out of town.
  5. I’m happy that I took the time to deep clean the house, so that we’ll come back to a fresh and inviting home. Nothing is more depressing than coming home from vacation to a stale smelling and messy house.

What’s pissing me off:

  1. An eBay buyer tried to scam my son by claiming that he’d sent the wrong size soccer jersey. Luckily the jersey that he returned had a different ID number on it, so I was able to definitely prove the deception. My son is not out any money, but I spent a fair amount of time and mental energy dealing with the return. However, I learned that you can block a buyer, which is a good skill to have.

Now your turn. What’s making you happy, and conversely what’s pissing you off?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 19, 2017 · 42 comments

  1. My husband and I spent yesterday finishing up our taxes and rewarded ourselves with dinner and a movie. Of course, our frugality was on point. My father likes to take me to lunch once or twice a month at a local restaurant that offers punch cards. It takes forever to earn anything, but I was finally at the point where buying one entree would qualify me for a free one. Unfortunately, it ended up being a “happy hour” day, which meant that they weren’t punching cards. Luckily I was able to talk the server into charging me an extra dollar (the full amount) in order to qualify for the free entree.
  2. We walked home where I finished up a Clark Howard article, and then readied ourselves for round two. Our favorite refurbished art deco movie theater has bargain Tuesdays, which meant that the two of us paid just $2 apiece to see Star Wars: Rogue One. The grand total of the our adventures ended up being $15, including the tip! By the way, I loved the movie and its attention to detail, including that the Rebel Alliance fighter pilots had dorky mustaches, consistent to the 1977 Star Wars actors. Continuity matters!
  3. I received a free container of Barkeeper’s Friend cleanser in the mail yesterday, which I earned from submitting my own before-and-after for their website. Pretty funny, as the shipping far exceeded the cost of just buying one from my own grocery store. Hey, free is free!
  4. I did my kids’ taxes for them, but used TaxAct.com instead of TurboTax.com as the state filing was going to cost $29.99 as the period for free filing had passed. I meant to have the boys do their own taxes during spring break, but forgot as my focus was on my son’s oral surgery. I want full credit for this frugal act, as I had to start from scratch when I realized that I was going to have to pay to file his taxes. Kind of a pain, but I saved $60.
  5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a vulgar gold-plated apartment in the sky.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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

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One thing that I really like about blogging is that I’m constantly learning new tricks. Whether it’s here or on The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group, new ideas are constantly flowing in.

So today is your turn. Have a tip or trick that saves you a few pennies or a few dollars? Please share your unique money saving ideas in the comments section below.

I’m sure we could all use a new idea or two, so please, share what works for you!

Here, I’ll start. My main money saving idea to to tweak my attitude. Instead of feeling bummed out about not having money for all the fun things I could be doing, (Hawaiian vacations, etc.) I choose to focus on how great it is to not have to work all the zillions of hours it would take to earn the money for these kinds of expenses.

Tag, you’re it!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 14, 2017 · 92 comments

  1. I worked the last two days, and of course I brought my own food and drank the free crappy coffee and the free delicious tea. I used cloth napkins and silverware from home, and all my food was packaged in reusable glass containers.
  2. I listed a few more things on eBay and quickly made two sales. One was a vintage key fob screwdriver that was included in a $2.99 bag of miscellaneous Goodwill sewing supplies, (sold for $19.99) and the other was an antique cast iron stove handle thingy that I bought a million years ago for 49¢. (Also sold for $19.99.) Both pieces were packaged in used padded envelopes, and I took advantage of free bubble wrap that a local business was giving away. I even arranged for a mail carrier to pickup from the house, which meant no extra errand for me! I just love that I was able to put these odd and specific items into the hands of people who will use and appreciate them!
  3. I’m looking forward to an upcoming freebie mini-vacation courtesy of my husband’s employer. He has a three-day work conference at an amazing historic mountain lodge, and his boss says that not only am I welcome to accompany him, but that I’m specifically invited! (For those of who’ve seen The Shining, this lodge was used as the exteriors for the movie!) I love this historic landmark, and have always wanted to stay there, but have never felt comfortable with the splurge. I’m already gathering library books and plan on doing some serious writing in in front of the massive lobby fireplace. I just hope to type more than “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!”
  4. My $2.99 bag of Goodwill sewing notions included two darning eggs. I gave one to a co-worker, and in exchange she insisted on giving me two hand knit potholders. My sons will both be living off campus in the fall, so I’m starting to think about the household supplies that they’ll need.
  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.”

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This post first appeared over at ClarkHoward.com.

After your home, your car is likely the second most expensive purchase that you’ll make in your lifetime. And for that reason, it’s essential to treat it well. Keeping a clean interior should be on your priority list, especially since the average Americans drives 17,600 minutes (293 hours, 20 minutes) per year and your comfort is valuable.

Of course you could pay someone more than a hundred dollars to detail your vehicle, but with these simple tips you’ll maintain the look, comfort and value of your car for pennies on the dollar.

Unfog your vehicle’s headlights:

It’s normal for your headlight lenses to become cloudy after the thousands of miles that you spend on the road, so you may have been tempted to spend $19.95 on a cleaning kit.

Instead, grab a tube of toothpaste.

I’d heard that the gentle abrasive used in toothpaste works perfectly to clean and polish the plastic, so I thought I’d give it a try. I paired it with a soft cleaning cloth, as I didn’t want to scratch the plastic. I worked slowly and carefully in concentric circles, careful to not damage the paint.

Wow, what a difference! This photo does not do justice to how much better my headlights look after this super easy (and minty fresh) project.

 

 

Clean your windshield wiper blades with rubbing alcohol:

I’d read that rubbing alcohol does a good job of cleaning windshield wiper blades that are no longer at their functional best. And since you can pay up to $27 apiece for them, I figured this hack was also worth a try. Luckily, I always have a couple of individually packaged alcohol wipes on hand from my job as an RN, although you can certainly use a rag or paper towel moistened with rubbing alcohol.

This task took just a few minutes, as it was a simple as lifting the windshield wipers to an upright position and then just gently dragging the alcohol wipes down the blades a couple of times. This removed the grit and left a fresh like-new surface. Luckily, I live in Oregon and only had to wait a few hours until I could test out the result. I was rewarded with perfectly functioning windshield wiper blades without streaks or other issues.

 

Sweep, don’t vacuum the interior of your vehicle:

Although it’s always very satisfying to vacuum out your car’s interior, this chore involves either paying at the carwash or dragging your own vacuum cleaner down from the house. I’m a fan of using a simple hand broom to sweep off my car’s seats, as well as the flooring. Unfortunately, I don’t actually own a whisk broom. However, creating one is as simple as removing the handle from a traditional broom. (Please excuse the extreme scrappiness of my ancient Costco broom, but I believe that as long as an item is functional, it doesn’t need to be replaced.)

You’ll be amazed by how much better your vehicle’s interior can look after just a couple minutes of manual sweeping.

 

Throw your floor mats through the dishwasher:

Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows that rubber floor mats can go through a dishwasher — and your vehicle’s floor mats are no different. (Of course, you don’t want to run any dishes though the same wash.) You’ll need to make room by removing the top rack of your dishwasher, but that’s as easy as removing two small clips.

I simply arranged the floor mats with their upper surface towards the water spray, added a bit of dishwasher detergent and set the machine on its shortest cycle without auto dry. (Didn’t want to accidentally bake the rubber!)

The mats looked so nice and clean afterwards, and my hands on time with this project was maybe five minutes, including finding my car keys and removing the top rack.

If you have carpeted floor mats in your car, check out this woman’s post about how she washed hers in the washing machine!

19 things you didn’t know you could put through the dishwasher.

Use Windex glass cleaner for upholstery stains:

My last car hack experiment was to try standard Windex glass cleaner to remove fabric upholstery stains. I gotta say that I was really nervous about this one, as I was worried that the Windex would leave a blue tinge. Luckily, such was not the case.

Here’s how to remove a coffee stain:

  1. Fully saturate the stain and then dab/lightly scrub at it with a white cleaning towel. Switch to a clean/dry area of the towel every 15 seconds or so, as to not grind the stain any deeper.
  2. Respray the area as needed, continuing to gently scrub the area until the stain disappears.

The Windex smell continued to be present while the area was drying, but has since dissipated.

These five car cleaning hacks will not only protect your investment, but should make your driving experience more enjoyable and comfortable. And since they’re practically free, you can even afford to fill up your gas tank!

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.”

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 10, 2017 · 84 comments

  1. My son needed a few things from home, so I spent yesterday driving down to his university. Although the trip is generally pleasant, I roped my mother into coming with me as I knew she’d enjoy seeing her grandson’s dorm, and frankly it’s nice to have company during the five-hour drive. I cemented the deal by suggesting that we could do some thrifting. I packed snacks, (apples and carrots) as well as a reusable water bottle and travel mug. My mother was kind enough to pay for lunch and dinner. Sadly the restaurant where we’d planned on having lunch closed early.
  2. With my willing 18-year-old in tow, the three of us located a large Goodwill across town from his university, (thank you, Google maps!) where each of us found something to buy. For my son it was nice thermal knit shirt, for my mother a pretty frame, and for me a $2.99 mixed bag of miscellaneous sewing notions. What caught my eye about it, was that it contained not one but two vintage darning eggs! Again, my mother treated.
  3. I bought a $2 drip coffee at the grocery store for the ride home instead of going to the Starbucks across the street. The coffee tasted like it’d been brewed many hours earlier, but I was miles away before I realized the extent of the cold bitterness. But guess what? I survived!
  4. I mailed off another one of my son’s eBay sales on Saturday. So far he’s sold two soccer jerseys and a pair of sneakers for a total of $260. Of course I packaged it up with second hand supplies. My neighbors receive a lot of packages, so they bring me their padded envelopes for my eBay needs.
  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.”

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 7, 2017 · 81 comments

  1. I had a two hour class at the hospital yesterday morning, which put me way across town into suburban territory. I used it as an opportunity to visit a couple of Goodwills that don’t normally enter my orbit. I ended up buying two items to sell on eBay, (a vintage sports theme glass lighting shade and a pair of designer sneakers) as well as a $2.99 padded lap desk so I won’t overheat my laptop. I’m still chipping away at a Goodwill gift card from Christmas, so no money was spent.
  2. I invited my mother and step father over for dinner last night to belatedly celebrate his birthday. I was able to pull together the food from groceries I already had on hand, which was perfect since I was exhausted and had indulged in a two hour nap. We enjoyed our meal and then watched a Netflix comedy special.
  3. I stopped into a Dollar Tree and Grocery Outlet while doing my suburban adventures and bought $1 tissue paper, a $1 jar of pickles, a $2.99 packet of Columbus brand roast beef and some 50¢ Tillamook/Bob’s Red Mill yogurts. I later passed a Costco and made a quickie stop to take full advantage of their cheap gasoline. (Unrelated to frugality, but I passed some groovy looking buildings that caught my attention, and then realized that they were part of the Nike world headquarters campus. Oh right, that . . . )
  4. Our hospital census was down earlier this week, and I got called off for eight hours of my twelve hour shift. I used the time to do the legwork for a couple different Clark Howard articles. Also, I chose to work on continuing education the day before instead of accepting the offer to go home early.
  5. I didn’t buy a Lear Jet or a a vulgar Квартира в небе.

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.”

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Ye Olde Timey Life Hacks

by Katy on April 4, 2017 · 18 comments

This post first appeared over at ClarkHoward.com.

Although  the term “life hacks” is a relative newcomer to our daily vernacular, the idea of household tips and tricks is far from new. So when I discovered a series of century old household hints, I had to dig a little deeper. Created by Gallaher Ltd. of Belfast and London, these delightfully illustrated cardboard inserts were included in cigarette packs as “stiffeners.” Described as a “How-To” series, many of these tips are as useful today as they were for our great-great-grandparents.

Tip #1, How to cool wine without ice:

“If no ice is available for cooling wine, a good method is to wrap the bottle in flannel and place it in a crock beneath the cold running water tap. Allow the water to run over it, as shows in the picture, and in about ten minutes the wine will be thoroughly cool and ready for the table.”

Tip#2, How to revive cut flowers:

“To revive choice blooms that have faded during transit, plunge the stems into hot water, and allow them to remain until the water has cooled. By that time the flowers will have revived. The ends of the stems should then be cut off and the blossoms placed in cold water in the usual way.”

Tip#3, How to pull out long nails:

“It is often rather difficult to pull out a long nail from wood into which it has been driven, for when drawn out a shirt distance as in A, there is no purchase from which to pull it further. If, however, a small block of wood be placed under the pincers, as in B, the nail can be pulled right out without difficulty.”

Tip #4, How to prevent eye-glasses “steaming:”

“The moisture which collects on eye-glasses cause a great deal of trouble, but if the glasses are daily rubbed with soap and well polished afterwards, a very thin invisible film of soap remains, which has the effect of preventing the condensation of moisture on the glasses.”

Tip#5, To separate glass tumblers:

“When two glass tumblers stick together there is a danger of breakage in trying to separate them. The simplest and most effective method of releasing the glasses is to put cold water into the upper one and place the lower one in warm water. They will be found to separate at once.”

Of course, not all of the century-old how-to tricks can be classified as entirely useful. For example, “How to draw a duck without pencil leaving the paper.”

Other tips are clearly dated, such as this “How to use up coal dust” card. Although I do appreciate the unique insight into how difficult daily life was for people at the beginning of the twentieth century.

“An economic way to treat coal dust, and to make same into bricks of fuel is to mix the dust with salt (about a handful of salt to each shovelful of coal dust), add water and stir to a paste, and mould the brick in an old tin box, afterwards placing on a board pr a shelf to dry.”

There are multiple tips that involve potatoes, which were certainly in great supply.

For example, this “How to clean oil painting” card:

“The picture shows a very effective method. Painting should first be well dusted and then rubbed gently with last surface of a cut raw potato., the lather being rubbed away with a soft rag. Dirty part of potato must constantly be pared off in order to keep clean the surface applied the picture. Finish off with a rub of pine linseed oil.”

I’m pretty sure that this method would not win any art historian’s seal of approval!

The last how-to card I’ll share is a cringe-worthy tip, that should in no way be practiced in today’s modern times. Do NOT try this at home!

How to treat bite of animal:

“A tight ligature should be placed round the limb between the wound and the body. Thoroughly cleanse the wound, and if there is any suspicion of madness in the attacking animal the place should be well sucked and cauterised with luns caustle, or a white hot iron, after cutting away the surrounding flesh with a sharp clean knife. Stimulant should be given to the patient. Send for doctor.”

It’s a good thing to live in the time of modern medicine, because although I don’t know what “luns caustle” is, I am familiar with the term “white hot iron!” So I think I’ll pass on this particular olde timey household hint.

The New York Public Library has a extensive digital collection of these how-to cards, as well as many others. They’re a fascinating look into daily household life for those who lived a hundred years ago. People who found many uses for potatoes, and hopefully stayed far, far away from any rabid animals.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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Five Frugal Things

by Katy on April 3, 2017 · 74 comments

  1. I called our cable company to find out the cost of our monthly bill for internet without the cable TV. (It’s bundled, so it’s confusing.) And . . . as long as I had them on the phone, I asked for and magically received free HBO. Yup, we’re doing our taxes! #GameofThrones
  2. I scrubbed up our old propane grill to ready it for an exciting new journey. My husband and I lugged home a freebie upgrade last week, so we’re giving this one to a co-worker. It’s a bit scrappy, but still functional. Better for it to stay in use.
  3. My son made two eBay sales totaling $220, I’m so proud of him! Especially since the majority of that was a pair of $20 thrifted sneakers that sold for $180! The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with this one.
  4. I was feeling super blah today, which I know is a combination of missing the kids and having to go back to work tomorrow. However, I was still able to fight my way through a monster to-do list. It was boring, but future Katy will be happy that today Katy accepted her adult status. (Being an adult sure involves returning a lot of e-mails and making insurance related phone calls.)
  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.”

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