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My husband and I were driving home on Tuesday, when we passed by this Portland "free pile." It looked tempting enough to pull the car over in order to peruse the wares.
I was mildly tempted to grab then dress shoes as they were of obvious quality. However, my energy is low this week, so I didn't bother looking up the brand.
What did I grab? A few things for myself and one item to resell.
• I grabbed the pastry brush as I recently threw my one into the trash, as it had black mold that wouldn't come off in the wash. This KitchenAid version has a wooden handle, which means it'll require hand washing, but I can't complain as the price was right!
• I also helped myself to the plastic bins, as my love language is free organizing supplies. I put the large bin under the kitchen sink to corral cleaning supplies and set the smaller one aside until I find a need for it.
• The best item? The Garmin brand navigating system!
I was able to test out the device while my husband and I ran errands and then I spent a few minutes deleting the previous owner's information from the system.
Lastly I listed it on eBay, where it sold in under 48 hours for $40! I could've listed it higher and waited longer for the right buyer, but I was feeling generous, plus my cost of goods was pretty reasonable!
Click HERE to see my eBay listing!
I gotta say, it was nice to take a win this week.
Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
That’s a nice free pile! I was out driving today and thought to myself that today is not the day to find free piles! Too rainy!
When I was out and about, I ducked into the bins with a small wish list. One item on my list was a new pair of jeans. I’d planned to just buy new ones, since I never find my size at the bins, unless the jeans are worn out, or too weird. I got lucky and found a pair of brand new jeans in my size. They were the right length too! (I have a hard time finding jeans that aren’t a wee bit too short for me.) Nordstrom has the same jeans on their website for $99. I am quite pleased.
That's a great find, and I agree about today being a wee bit too soggy for free piles!
@Li - I have the opposite problem - wee bit too long tends to be my issue. I always marvel at other females wearing jeans. Finding the right fit and length is a challenge for me. Kudos for finding a pair that fit - thrift or no thrift.
That's a great find. I found a small dropleaf table in a free pile (bulk trash pick-up pile) for my daughter's tiny apartment which she has been wanting. It needs a little work but the price was right. Take care.
That's fantastic, I love a dropleaf table!!!!
Made 2 large batches of macaroni salad...one for me and DH. One to take to our niece's house for a get together tomorrow. Had most of the ingredients. Everyone who sees it calls it "Amish Macaroni Salad." 1 - I'm not Amish. 2 - Although it may appear that way, I'm pretty confident that I don't use the same ingredients they use and vice versa. One of these days, I am going to make a batch for each of my Amish families and get an "expert" opinion. It's chock full of veggies, so DH and I can have a large portion and consider it a "meal." (Carrots, celery, green pepper, onions, green olives and macaroni. Dressing is mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and celery seed.)
Other than that, not much.
That sounds yummy, like the kind of thing people would bring to potlucks during my childhood.
@Melissa N - those veggies help balance out the carbs. Thumbs up for green olives (my favorite, plain or stuffed with blue cheese). I'm not a fan of traditional macaroni salad but yours has peaked my interest. Gives me ideas for potato salad too. I am a lover of mayo, better half not so much. We've found a way to balance out deli potato salad. We only make it ourselves when we've harvested some of our home grown potatoes.
Took clothes to 2 different resale shops=$48
The rest were donated to a local church clothes closet
I’m late to the tea party, however I’m on season 3 of Downton Abbey
I’m signed up for a free water color art class and my sister is also signed up
Putting up with my lunatic, controlling boss for a decent paycheck. Lord help me!
Made homemade pizza, dough, sauce, the works. Costs me about $7 for 2 large pizzas.
Thrifted some snow pants for my son and Colombian coat for my daughter.
Cleaned up my garden for the fall and took the dead stuff to the compost site.
Bought a book on EBay to share with my class to intro writing an allegory. They really enjoyed it! It was a nice way to end a Friday!
Good to hear from you Katy. Sending thoughts of healing and peace! A nice couple of finds in that free pile!!
I keep running into those Garmin nav devices, in fact, I found a set in the workshop a set of hand helds...should list them soon. You are such a good influence!
If those dress shoes are floresheim, probably spelling wrong, I made a ridiculous amt from selling my dad's work shoes. Another pile for another day.
I don't remember the brand, but they weren't Florsheim as I would remember that. Work shoes, who knew?
Dad was an civil/structural engineer in downtown Portland for 25 yrs. He wore 4 rotating pairs of Florsheims and had them re-soled often. He always walked to his appointments. He took early retirement at 47 to farm/ranch.
Sorry about the loss of your dad
I had a Garmin that I bought for my husband, and I downloaded Snoop Dogg‘s voice for the directions. After he passed away, I realized I wasn’t using it at all, so I tried to reset it back to factory settings, and for some weird reason, it changed the language to Swedish. My boss‘s wife actually understood Swedis, so I gave it to her.
I sold something on eBay that I had on there for the last few months. And it went for the price I was asking! Win-win! I put something else on eBay today and I dropped the prices slightly of the other items I have sitting out there. Hopefully I can sell something else.
Nice free pile finds, Katy!
Not frugal for me, but I've been collecting piles of schtuff from friends (yard sale leftovers) and folks on my Buy Nothing group (also yard sale leftovers, things that no one claimed, etc). My son's high school marching band had a "fill the Goodwill truck" fundraiser this week - if "their" truck is the heaviest of those high schools competing, they will win several thousand dollars. Hubby and I made multiple trips hauling over all the schtuff. Fingers crossed we win!
I also curb-picked an older backpack with frame, six holiday faux-pine wreaths, and two small holiday faux-pine trees in plastic planters, and brought them to the donation truck. The backpack required some scrubbing before donation.
I made a favorite cookie for hubby to take to a party that required mini marshmallows as an ingredient. I cut up some geriatric "regular" sized marshmallows that had been in my pantry for a long time (they were in a ziplock bag, so still soft). Used them up! Yay!
Used up some freezer items after creating a chest freezer inventory in Google Docs. Hubby and I share the list, and erase items as they are used. I'm actively looking up recipes to use up old-but-edible freezer items.
Had passport photos taken at AAA, which cost $9.60. Another place hubby had looked up - maybe Walgreens? - wanted $16.99. AAA for the win!
While at AAA, the very nice lady helping me mnbtioned their Visa card. As I currently have an (cough cough) Amazon-connected Visa card, I am considering making a change. I generally use Visa when shopping at Costco.
Frugal fail: hubby fell for an "expedited passport" web site, thinking it was the State Department web dite (this was before the government shutdown). We paid $$ more than was necessary. Hubby is usually much more careful - I think he tried to squeeze this in between work things, and just wasn't paying attention. Lesson learned.
*site*, not dite
We just renewed our passports and were able to make selfies at home. That's a looooong way from the passport pictures of 20 years ago!
*Take
Nice free pile!
1. Helped myself to a like-new laundry basket that was in my neighbor's trash. Gave it away on Buy Nothing.
2. Invited to dinner at our friends' house and we brought a bottle of wine that had been gifted to us.
3. Went out to dinner with my husband and paid with cash to avoid the 3% credit card fee.
4. Learned that our veterinarian is now applying a 3% credit card fee, so I've added more paper checks to my wallet.
5. Brought home restaurant leftovers in my trusty containers, including a lemon wedge garnish that I used the next day in a glass of water.
You've made me feel guilty with your number 5 - I was treated to a Thai meal for lunch and left my half of unsqueezed lime on the plate. I should have rescued it and brought it home to put in my water! Must remember next time 🙂
1. Walked past a pile of garden trash. I got a tall arched trellis. I plan to get some climbing roses in the spring for the trellis. I looked online & it advised to not plant roses in the fall.
2. I found a tall piece of metal yard art. It has a tall stand like a floor lamp & a attached large circle of metal that holds an orb. I may paint it as the metal is a bit rusted. (I have a stash of spray paint.)
3. Made some potato soup with a ham bone from the freezer. I used some leftover onion and a few limp carrots. Fall is soup weather.
4. I bought a $1 dollar coupon book at Wendy's. You get 5 coupons for a free jr Frosty & one coupon for a $1.99 kid's meal. I think it was a good deal. I have already redeemed 2 of the coupons for a free jr Frosty (no purchase required for the Frosty).
5. I got $100 dollars added to my insurance reward card for completing my dreaded colonoscopy. Glad it is over with.
I’m in the UK (so the climate difference might be the deciding factor), and our most famous rose breeder (David Austin Roses) recommends planting now: soil is still warm enough for roots to grow, but light levels are too low to trigger top growth.
Texasilver,
Your #5 is the hard way to earn a spare $100. Or, at least the prep for it is.
You got that right Fru-gal Lisa! The prep was most unpleasant. You have to drink a large quantity of unpleasant salty laxative. Then you cannot leave the house as you must be near a toilet.
I will look for some David Austin Roses if my climate will allow them to thrive. I want some pink roses to climb the trellis I found. I am going to paint the trellis 1st as it has some rusty areas. I haven't decided if I should paint it green or black.
@texasilver and all better half found that SuPrep made his colonoscopy "prep" a lot better than the meds for his first one. Better half is likely to have one more (being the last one) and he'll use it again. May not be an option for all but his experience with that was much better than the first one he took.
Is that the pre-made prep stuff? Might have a couple different names? My doctor prescribed it as an option, but CVS told me my insurance didn't cover it, so I went with the traditional combination of Miralax, Dulcolax, Gatorade, and whatever.
I should have just paid, about $150, if it is slightly less uncomfortable and if it is more thorough, as the combination of stuff wasn't for me. I'm hoping that by my next scope, insurance will cover the twelve little bottles or whatever it is.
Are you sure you found rose planting advice for your region? I'm way further north than Texas and we definitely plant roses in the Fall.
I think I have that same bin! We use it for various toys and kiddo storage.
1. Not feeling well today so we pulled some items from the freezer for dinner. It pays to meal plan and freeze leftovers.
2. Finished the first half of one of my last Christmas items. Still on target to not buy any new yarn for the rest of the year.
3. Made plans with my mom to meet at a pumpkin patch tomorrow with my husband and kids. The admission is free to walk around and our youngest is free for any events we might choose. Our oldest is also not interested in a lot of the activities they had last year, so hopefully we'll luck out this year too.
4. We're finalizing the details for our oldest's birthday and think we should be able to make just about everything from scratch. Sandwiches, snacks, and diy cupcakes the kids can decorate themselves.
5. Made some peanut butter granola bars and for them in the freezer. We'll likely bring them some tomorrow while we're out and about.
1. Kinda splurging while we have kids and grandkids staying with us. Mostly for good food to prep at home.
We went to pumpkin patch and grandkids played for a long time in the free hay bale maze.
2. Still steadily selling. I sold a set of 4 small picture frames if bought from Kmart at least 10 years ago, and used since then. I used the money to buy books for our son and granddaughter at the local bookstore.
3. Bought 20 vanilla beans for $10 at Costco. Enough to refresh my homemade vanilla and give half to our daughter.
4. Paying cash at a local gas station to save at least 30¢ a gallon over any other gas station, including Costco.
5. Didn't buy outdoor toys for grandkids. Instead we played hide and seek with sea shells and played grocery store with produce from my garden. Baby enjoyed putting small stones in the sea shells. A lovely time and zero cost.
My continuing thoughts are with you, Katy
This week I joined a friend for a walk on Monday, another friend for a sit outside and enjoy the weather chat on Wednesday, and a third friend for a sit and chat on Friday. Bonus: on Friday I walked the mile each way.
Just the usual here but today is the citywide Fall yard sale and several locations are within walking distance so I will see if they have anything on my list. I may go back later to see what is in their free piles afterwards.
My thoughts are with you and your family too.
Glad to see you're getting out and about some, Katy. You and your family remain in my thoughts and prayers.
1. Before it closed down, one of our local thrift stores always sold greeting cards. At first, they were a dime each, then a quarter apiece. (Still cheaper than the dollar store's old price of 99 cents each.) Past me would stock up on any card that caught my fancy, and save it for the appropriate occasion. One of the cards featured the Peanuts characters and the "Great Pumpkin." It was bright and cheery and in like-new condition. It's been in my greeting card cache for no telling how many years. Just sent it to a little girl in our church, who has gone to boarding school. Taped a few sticks of gum to it for her Halloween treat.
2. Wearing my years-old Halloween T-shirts for the umpteenth time this season. Most were thrifted.
3. Our store continues its 12-pack soda pop sale. The price is $3.99 per box of 12 cans. I bought a few boxes, but not any more than I can drink in a reasonable amount of time. Usually, the reason they're on sale is that they were bottled (canned--?) a long time ago, and after a certain amount of time, the flavor fizzles out/fades. I'm seeing families load up their shopping carts with many dozens of cases -- they are not going to be happy about the taste several months from now.
4. I was not happy with the taste of the organic milk I got on sale for $1.99, but I did not want to waste the gallon. I've been making "London fog" drinks by mixing the milk with soda pop -- sounds weird, but it tastes like a milkshake. I've also made a batch of tomato soup and used the milk instead of water. Both recipes disguise the weird taste.
5. I did not tear down half of a beautiful historic residence to make way for a large mega-disgusting, ugly ballroom that absolutely no one wants.
Thinking of you during this time of grief.
1. Made oat milk
2. Bought a vintage blender off ebay just like the one I broke
3. Made yogurt and bread
4. Ordered a Shutterfly book with promo code and sale.
5. Decorating my new fence with a sun my mother in law gave me.
Pictures and more detail here:
https://practicalwalk.com/2025/10/23/frugal-five-15/
Sorry, didn't mean to send that as a reply
Katy, I'm glad to hear that you're finding some R&R in your usual way. Although our free piles here aren't as abundant as yours, I make use of them when I find them. And I again wish you and yours peace and healing.
Here are this week's FFTs from Chez A. Marie:
(1) My widowed former neighbor down the street has finally put her house down the street on the market. (She moved to a smaller house all on one floor a while ago, but she's needed some time to get organized for the sale of the house here--especially as her late husband was a hoarder.) She left one thing behind in her yard that I wanted: a small white stone statue done by her late brother-in-law, who was a talented sculptor but a trial to his family in other respects. My friend didn't want it and readily agreed that I could take it. It's now in what's becoming the "statuary museum" area of my gardens, where it joins my curb-picked Buddha and the Hebe (she's the cup-bearer to the Greek gods) that DH bought at a flea market many years ago.
(2) I got down to the Salvation Army superstore on "multiple tag colors 50% off" Wednesday, and to Clothes Mentor on Thursday, for the first time in ages. Some good finds at both, including a pair of HOKA sneakers at the SA for $7.50 (a slight bit of wear on them, but they're my "test drives" for deciding whether I want to buy some HOKAs new), and a NWT Columbia rain jacket and a couple of other things at Clothes Mentor with a "$10 off $50" coupon.
(3) I participated in my city's No Kings demo on the 18th--and I even managed to engage peaceably with someone on the other side of things, who came up and challenged my "No Felons! No Kings! Lock Him Up!" sign by saying that Himself wasn't a felon, since all his convictions had been thrown out. We'd been warned about not getting hostile with hostiles, so I said calmly and with the blandest, sweetest face I could manage (is the Academy Award committee listening??), "No, his convictions in the New York sexual case still stand. The judge chose not to impose a sentence, but the convictions remain." He stared at me for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and walked off. 😀
(4) I went to the Regional Market this morning and came home with a plethora of produce: two Honeynut squashes (Honeynut is a cross between Butternut and something else, and a perfect size for one person), tomatoes, green beans, carrots, beets, and a dozen free-range eggs (from one of the folks who do a few eggs from a few chickens, not a big-time egg raiser)--for a total of $16.
(5) And I've pioneered yet another variation on the BLT sandwich: an SST (with fried salmon skin from those salmon scraps I get at Wegmans for $2.99/lb., plus spinach and tomato). Nom nom nom!
Tuna salad with spinach (plus dill pickles for me) is a good option. Come tomato season next year (I am not found of store bought tomatoes) I will suggest spinach for our BATs (bacon, avocado, and tomato).
No free piles here, but today, at my grandson's volleyball game, I found .34 and a granola bar, all sealed and fresh. I also found four receipts.
I packed a lunch, even though no outside food is allowed -- this sports center prefers that you buy their extremely overpriced food. I ate my food in the car. I did buy coffee -- $4, and it was pretty bad. I also treated my son and grandson to lunch and paid for the gas there. My son is a government employee and is furloughed.
A recent trip to Goodwill yielded a plate stand I needed to display a tile -- also two gift items. I bought some reading glasses, but it turned out they were not strong enough, so they have gone into the donation bag.
Trimmed my own bangs (fringe for any Brits here) and thus put off a full haircut. Used some thin cotton yarn to crochet a loop for a new loop and button closure for a shirt. The button came from my bag of recycled buttons removed from clothes that wore out.
Handwashed a pile of cleaning rags to get them in a fit condition to be washed with some towels. Did my husband's laundry and found a penny in his jeans pocket, so I came into some money.
OH, handwashing cleaning rags prior to throwing them into a larger load is brilliant. Sometimes I have one or two that are kind of nasty and I hate to dry them out in wait of a larger nasty rag load. I can do a sudsy wash! Who'da thunk it?
Portland shall provide.
@Heidi Louise - it was two bottles. Better half had a much, much better experience with "C2" than "C1" - from prep to actual procedure.
Good job with the Garmin turnaround! I hit the Goodwill Outlet this morning. Listed a few items, washing some to list tomorrow. Hate listing, but always tell myself I am giving a gift to my future self (you taught me that one)! Making a SALE to me is like a gambling win for a normal person. 🙂
Our future selves are very lucky!
On Friday I got my free Flu vaccine and a $10 off $20 coupon to boot! I did not get the Covid vaccine as I had Covid in Sept., and the pharmacist said I'd be good until December and that's when I'll get it. Maybe it'll also be free with another coupon! I also picked up my DH cholesterol meds which were free of cost. We have unbelievably good health insc and I am so grateful. I feel for those who don't or are on the brink of losing what they have. I have been there and know how hard that is...
Our pastry brush comes apart - I don't know if it's on purpose, or just defective, but we can put the brush part in the dishwasher, and keep the wooden handle clean by just wiping it off if we get anything on it. One woman's defect is another woman's cleaning hack!
love,
Janice