I have a number of random frugal things that are swimming around in my head, yet not substantial enough for an entire post. So I present to you . . . Random Frugal Stuff!
1) My friend Karen and her husband were unhappy with their decade old king-sized Tempurpedic mattress which had become saggy in areas. Instead of trashing the behemoth, Scott took a kitchen knife to the mattress and created two twin-size mattresses which work perfectly for their kids. The sagginess is a non-issue for small kids, (their small size doesn’t squish down the sponginess like adults do) and he avoided creating a huge piece of garbage. Aim the raggedy side towards the wall, and Bob’s your uncle!
2) I won a $25 gift certificate The Title Wave used library bookstore a few weeks ago. I stopped in a scooped up an armload of 25¢ Atomic Ranch magazines just for fun. (Although I live in a 1914 Craftsman-style house, I enjoy the eye candy of mid-century modern decor. Plus, it gives me ideas for what to keep an eye out for when thrifting.) I know that mid-century enthusiasts drool over this magazine, so I took a look through completed listings on eBay, and whattayaknow, these puppies sell for a pretty penny. I’ll go ahead and sell the lot and continue to pick up old copies when I come across them. Gotta pad those college accounts!
3) I am an unabashed fangirl (or fanwomyn for all my fellow Antiochians) of Daniel Kanter and his blog, Manhattan Nest. And yesterday’s The Kitchen: The Big Reveal post did not disappoint. My favorite element of his on-the-cheap-but-still-gorgeous kitchen was a humble cast iron hook:
“The hook was salvaged from another area of the room (where it had been coated with a million layers of paint and left to die). I love that I get to reuse things like this——every time I hang that apron up, I think about where that hook was hanging before and what it looked like and how happy I am to give it a second life. I’m a sap.”
You can see why that boy makes my heart melt.
And there it is . . . random frugal stuff!
Do you have any frugal stuff to add to the conversation? Please share your two cents in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I was happy to repaint my dining room furniture and make it my own. It was my parent’s before and they were going to jump put it in the tip! Can you believe that??? I feel happy that its now mine and it was free!!! Well, the paint wasn’t and the other half is making new cushion covers himself for the chairs for next to nothing…
Sounds gorgeous, can’t wait to see pictures!
Katy
I have more pictures to upload as Kev’s finished one cushion cover, so only five more to do. I keep thinking I would like to do some pattern on them to make them unique. I think he should get 4 covers out of one ball…a bargain at £6.99!!!
Wow. That Scott was smart….at least in this instance 😉
Yesterday I sold a bunch of toys we rescued from the curb! We brought them home, cleaned them, and my son played with them for a while, and I got $30 for them! I also sold an old box T.V. for $5. I used that money to stock up on body wash and laundry soap at my Commissary’s 3-5-7-9 sale, and saved $25 on things we’ll water down!
Yesterday I sold a lot of toys on Craigslist. They were all rescued from the curb, cleaned, loved by my son, and outgrown, so this is their third lease on life! I also sold an old box T.V, for a total of $35. I used that money to stock up on body wash and laundry soap for the family, which I’ll add some extra water to to make it last longer, and a bunch of bar soaps for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!
Scott is brilliant. I always considered that when we replace our king size mattress it will be with two twins instead of a giant kinga, but it NEVER occurred to me to do the reverse when we were ready to replace it. Brilliant.
That kitchen is perfect! I loved reading how he recycled, reused and bought low end to produce a beautiful room. Thanks for posting this.
Great idea about the mattress ! Recently had to replace my basement dehumidifier after only 2 years…store I bought it out of business. Called the manufacturer and they sent me a check for the full amount because they had problems with them…score ! Bought a new one on sale and with a coupon – then had to recycle the old one. Would cost 2o dollars due to the Freon, but I often treat my garbage men to homemade muffins, so they took it for free ! Reading your great blog enjoying coffee my husband brings home from his office – they would just throw it out – I reheat it in the microwave !
I love the term ‘Second Life’. I’m currently breathing life into my (on-sale) Converse flip flops that I have had 7 years. For some reason I’m particularly passionate about resuscitating footwear (perhaps its because they accompany me on my travels). My ‘already second-hand when acquired’ Zara boots lasted may years with the aid of equestrian cleanser and super glue. They did however bite the dust recently – a wet and windy trek up some muddy Welsh hills probably took them over the edge in their senior years!
Prepare for a rather grotty post showing before and after flip-flop photos.
If it was really a Tempurpedic brand mattress it had a twenty year warranty and the more frugal thing to do would have been to pursue some of that warranty coverage. If it was an off brand foam mattress that was a good save!
Hmm . . . not sure on that.
Katy
I always pour the water collected from the dehumidifier in the clothes washer to save on our water bill. The other day, I used the Ball Blue Book of Canning (that my 86 year old mom gifted me) in order to blanch and freeze bush and pole beans from my garden. I also made a batch of pasta sauce and froze that, too. We’ve been on a Fiscal Fast and have been eating out the pantry…our two daughters are both in college this year and getting them set up put a cramp in our cash flow! No complaints…these frugal activities make us feel virtuous and DH is totally on board with creative meals!
We had a king size pillow top mattress that was lumpy. The springs were still firm so we flipped it over. It didn’t have any padding on the bottom but we fixed that by purchasing a 4″ foam topper. Its been two years and still works well for us. Plus we saved the cost of a new mattress. By the way I will never buy a pillow top again. Hated that you couldn’t just flip the mattress around like with ones I had years ago.