Three Frugal Things -- Backpacks & Kitty Cats!
1. I found a couple items, both for myself and to resell while browsing the Goodwill "bins" the other day. The best of which was this $109 Portland Gear "Cascade" backpack that was new with tags! I checked with the company and they confirmed that these "Portland Thorns" bags were given to the National Women's Soccer League athletes, which makes sense as I wasn't able to find any comparables online.
I'm tempted to keep it, but also have it listed on Facebook Marketplace for $100.
I also bought this Eames "Hang it All" knockoff, which was quickly nabbed by my kid for their apartment. The real deal sells for $350, but this one'll give an Eames vibe without emptying a bank account.
Lastly I bought a white wash cloth, (using white sheets and towels is super frugal, as you can cheaply add to your stash) an enamel darkroom tray to use under plants, a miniature studio made Japanese bowl, a pair of magnetic refrigerator clips and maybe a couple other things. I spent $14.84 from my own pocket.
2. I made a big pot of red lentil soup that was both delicious and frugal. My favorite combination! Based on this "Cheap Eats" recipe.
3. I'm watching my grand-kitty for the weekend and still have some leftover food from sweet Zelda, who passed away a few months ago. I'd been tempted to pass it along, but kept it on hand for this exact circumstance.
Cat tax:
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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1. I sorted through a pile of garage sale/thrift store donations. I found a couple of items I'll try to sell on Ebay.
2. I reused a couple old suitcases as storage bins rather than donate them.
3. I repaired my dogs toy again using a large needle and dental floss. Bonus, it now smells minty fresh.
4. I hand scrubbed a Jansport waist bag that I will try to resell.
5. I assembled all my tax documents and reused an old insurance company folder to hold them.
Jill, yes to using suitcases for storage! We have had my husband's grandmother's old suitcase for a long time and finally put it to use by displaying it on a tabletop where it holds our hand weights and my husband's physical therapy items.
oh, hand weight storage? Brilliant!!! My daughter has a suitcase or some kind of case (maybe it is a camera case) that we 'rescued' from the barn during the current barn cleanup. It is waiting her arrival to take it away, I might just slip it over to hold my three kettlebells that I like to keep downstairs but they aren't really classy decor. The suitcase is leather and really QUITE classy. HA!
Nice bin finds! In my family I am known as the bag lady, I love it when a pile of purses, bags and backpacks show up in the bins. The Boggs bag cleaned up well and I was showing it to my neighbor and she offered me $40. They retail for $100. I don't have to ship it off! The $40 will be donated next week to the kids food pantry (our community has a food pantry at the school campus for the kids to pick up fresh fruit, shelf stable proteins, some freezer meals, yogurt and cheese. I picked up string cheese @$2/lb for the pantry.
I made a fresh batch of hummingbird nectar.
I made 8 lbs of brown sugar.
Made fox a via bread out of sour dough discards.
Your Grand kitty is so pretty. Does she have a tortie attitude?
Please, what is fox a via bread?
Silly auto correct bot. Focaccia bread. Ahem. Thanks!
1. I combine my library and grocery shopping errands with taking a carless friend to her every-three-week blood draw appointment. It makes me plan meals farther ahead and get creative with dribs the last week of the cycle.
2. On last week’s run I got good stuff from the dented produce stand—4 grapefruits for $2 and a bunch of small tomatoes for 69 cents a pound. Made pizza with roasted tomatoes and veg and then did a roasted eggplant and tomato sauce for pasta. Late Monday morning seems the best time for the odd cheap produce.
3. I’m making a quilted wall hanging from scraps on hand. Got an email yesterday from someone who needs her mother’s quilt room cleared out. I don’t need anything, but I know of several groups that do. And it’s fun work—like opening gifts that I’m not obliged to like.
4. Someone in the retirement community leaves a small bowl of Hershey’s miniatures outside her unit. I take two once or twice a week—which is exactly how much chocolate I should be eating. Today I left her a potholder, a valentine, a ten dollar bill, and a suggestion that she restock when Valentine candy goes on sale tomorrow morning.
5. As a Minnesotan transplanted to Maryland, I’ve been enjoying watching the evolution of melting snow. This morning on our dog walk we kicked a big chunk of snice (snow plus ice) on most of our mile long walk. These walks with our thirteen-year-old dog don’t usually provide any cardio, but kicking that chunk left us both pumped and sweaty. And laughing. Cheap fun.
Found five useful things while picking up trash today on our walk:
1. Zip tie - put into our toolkit
2. Golf ball - put into a bucket of balls at our Airbnb
3. Band-Aid - put into our first aid kit
4. Carabiner - put into our miscellaneous bag
5. Ketchup packet - put into the trash (reluctantly, as it was a little beat up)
Used a tortilla chip bag to stash the rest of the trash.
1. Made a list of errands we need to accomplish in the next town over. We need to call and schedule some service for our car so we'll work around the appointment they give us and only make one trip. Right now there are six items on our to-do list which will save a lot of gas if we do them all together.
2. I cleaned out about 60% of the car. It was in deep need of a thorough clean. Our hand vacuum ran out of power before I could finish, but I did clear out a clog that we didn't know about! We don't visit car washes more than once every 9-15+ish months or longer so we take care of vacuuming it out at home.
3. For Valentine's Day we're splitting a chicken breast, baking some potatoes, and we're trying out a recipe for no-bake cheesecake egg rolls with dipping sauces. Everything was something we already had in the house.
4. The other day we pulled a turkey that we bought around Christmas out of the deep freezer. This morning I spatchcocked it, made a quick butter compound with minced garlic and Italian seasoning and an orange. The whole house smells heavenly and now we've got 20 cups of shredded turkey in the freezer.
5. My kiddos aren't in school or daycare so we didn't have to buy or make Valentines for anyone. They wanted to do some coloring together anyways so we got out the broken but totally usable crayons and paper and now our fridge is very festive looking with some adorable pictures.
1) First something unfrugal that I made slightly more frugal. We take a trip to the snow each year (it doesn’t snow where we live) Since they don’t get a lot of use, I buy my kids snow gear used and always big enough for them to get two years of wear out of it. I somehow lost track though and just discovered today (2 days before we leave) that my son’s pants and boots were too small (my daughters were also too small but she gets his hand me downs so she’s covered) I had to rush to the store, which had very limited stock. I bought snow pants and gloves there but they didn’t have boots. The second store I went to had boots, plus pants and gloves for way cheaper. So I went back to the first store and promptly returned everything I’d just bought! I hate rushing around like that, it always leads to overspending. I already set myself a calendar reminder for next year to check their snow clothes in December, which would give me enough time to buy used if needed.
2) My husband took the kids on a long hike so I got time to myself for most of the day which was a nice treat. In addition to my adventures tracking down snow gear, I was able to get a lot of cooking and food prep done uninterrupted. I made a cauliflower and tofu tikka masala to freeze for lunches, cooked a bag of dried beans and put them in jars to freeze, steamed some beets and sliced them for salads, made chickpea salad for sandwiches and assembled a lasagna to bring on our snow trip so we’d have an easy dinner when we arrive. I also made a cup of tea and enjoyed it with some Girl Scout cookies while finishing my book for book club.
3) My husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day (and never have, even when we first started dating) so that saves a bit of money and hassle every year. I do buy each of the kids a small candy though.
4) My FIL (who passed away last year) planted tons of flower bulbs in our yard a few years ago. He said he didn’t know what to get me for my birthday so that was his gift. It was a lovely gift, seeing them come up each year, and they are now even more cherished. The daffodils just came up and I can see the tulips will be next.
5) I’d bought the individually wrapped Tillamook cheese snack portions at grocery outlet for my kids because they like cheese sticks. They did not like them, I guess they prefer a more bland tasting cheese. I gave them to my friend because she said her kids like them, glad they aren’t going to waste.
I love all of your frugal five especially #4.
Reader Lisa - I envy you that your daffodils are coming up. The only thing coming up in Western Mass where I live are the heating bills! I'm still buried in about 9-12" of snow. HOWEVER, we are expecting a "thaw" this week, as the temperature will be between 36-40 degrees for a couple of sunnyish days followed by a day of rain, still at the same temps. So, Yay - Spring might get here! While I know others on this page do have much more snow than we have left, I still find it depressing to see it, and as I get older (mid-to-late70s), I worry more about slipping and falling. So, to those of you who have more snow than we have, you have my sympathies. For those of you experiencing a warm and green winter, I am, regretfully, envious, as moving is out of the cards for a few more years.
My cheap entertainment this afternoon, which was Valentine's Day, was listening to a radio station that played "anti-Valentine" songs. They said all the other stations were doing love songs so they wanted to be different -- and be there for those of us lacking a romantic partner. They featured breakup songs and tunes where the singers' lovers/exes were real creeps. Nothing to make you sad that you didn't have a significant other. Just right for those of us who had the Grinch ruin their Feb. 14. I loved it so much that I called in and made a donation.,. they were also doing a fund drive. So thanx KXT in Dallas! It's been years since I heard Van Morrison in the group called "Them" sing "In From The Night," which first came out in the 60s.That was just one of the good songs they aired. So I had fun after all.
Fru-Gal Lisa,
I love that that radio station did that! How fun! I'm happily married, but there were MANY lonely Valentines Days before I met my DH. Please tell me they played "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. 🙂
I consider that song a stalker song and a bit creepy.
That's one gorgeous grand cat you got there! What a cutie.
Your Thrifting has been really fun lately, Katy! An Lentil soup is on the menu in the next couple of weeks, I have a few carrots to dispose of.
1. I finally addressed some sourdough that was being fed on the counter (I can't bear to throw away discard) and converted it into pita breads that I baked in the oven. Since I didn't follow a recipe, and haven't made them for ages, it was a bit of an experiment with room for improvement. However, they are definitely edible!
2. The roommate had mis-heard me when she asked if I used anything when washing eggs, and I discovered that the eggs she had left to soak in what I THOUGHT was plain water were soaking in vinegared water. OOPS. 4 + dozen eggs that can't be sold, the vinegar does a fine job of taking the shells off. I did get them washed before the shells totalyl deteriorated but am again looking for egg recipes.
I boiled a dozen and made egg salad with half of them, that was very tasty in the pita in #1 above. My #2 son staggered in to get some egg salad; since we had already eaten it, but I still had boiled eggs, we quickly made more - which he gladly stuffed into more pitas. I'm going to put another dozen eggs on to boil, as we all love egg salad and it is an easy and tasty way to use up a quantity of eggs.
3. I am on the mend but still have barely left the property, save to walk the dog several times a day – we have had lovely sunny weather which I am certain is helping me heal. I continue to bring in the daffodil bulbs inadvertently left naked outside, they have self-forced and look very cute in bundles of 3 or 5 tucked into random bowls and mini vases.
Spring looks to be coming quickly; I am digging through the seeds that I sorted last Fall (thank you Past Ecoteri), planning some in-the-ground planting and also a lot of seed starting, as soon as I have a bit more energy.
4. I've found another series of books (written a few decades ago) all of which are available on Libby, and I am staying up late and inhaling them. Because they aren't current, I only have one book on backorder, and I am figuring out what happened in that section by clues left in the later books.
I've missed having some good books to read. The light-weight romances that I was hoping would soothe me are just too rote and predictable. Some of the fantasy series I have recently found haven't been completely finished (Fourth Wing, I'm looking at YOU!). Finding a completed well written series while I am sick has been a blessing, and finding them all on Libby is THE BEST.
1. I had the oil changed in my vehicle. They now charge 3% if you pay with a credit card so I used my debit card.
2. I made peanut butter cup cookies using peanut butter cups that were 75% off after Halloween. The wrapper makes no difference.
3. I started a puzzle that we built three years ago.
I donated a power wheelchair& charger to Kinderkids in my state Wisconsin .They have a website. It was picked up too. It is so hard to find a place to donate used durable medical equipment even with the federal funding cuts. I did donate $20 in gas money but it would cost so more to send it to a landfill.
I paid off my mobile phone saving myself $60 a year going forward. This is my first cell phone and I will use it until it longer works—no upgrades for me.
Oh my, that’s the George Clooney of cats, so handsome. Or the Amal Clooney, not sure which. Both gorgeous
I am at my friend's house now. She's doing well, mostly just needs help carrying things and making meals. She will be on a walker for a while.
While I am here all my meals are provided, and she even offered to pay for the gas I used to get here.
Some of her friends have brought food, and there is really too much for the two of us. I will be taking home some soup that has onions in it; my friend cannot eat onions.
Always love a good kitty picture!
Since I have returned to school to finish my degree, we are typically so busy we don't really have a chance to spend. So being in school (paid for by grants) is quite frugal right now!
1) For Valentine's, the spouse and I opted to split one of the ginormous burritos from out favorite food truck ($10) and followed it up with a show at the local improv theater (Saturday Night High, V-day edition. The actors partake of the devil's lettuce then do improv. It's fabulous)! Shows are quite affordable, $12 each, and it goes toward keeping the theater going and supporting their acting classes they offer. It's our go-to splurge for an inexpensive evening out.
2) It's sunny today in out corner of the PNW, so we are going to ignore the urge to sit on a cafe or brewery patio and instead begin doing the spring cleanup in the orchard and hose beds. Much easier to get the blackberries and weeds out now, before they begin to grow again. There are both beers and coffee in the house, so after we can reward ourselves by sitting on our own patio.
3) A woodpecker spent the morning drilling on our roof vents, hoping to attract a mate. This can damage the vents, but it's hard to get them to stop. I found the trick! I loaded up some videos of woodpeckers drilling and played them very loudly outside. The woodpecker took off quite quickly at the sound of a rival, and hasn't returned.
4) Forcing myself to be frugal -- I want a baker's rack/small shelf for a corner of my kitchen for storage of our cast iron ware and a few other things. It's the last piece in a huge kitchen organization makeover I started this winter. Thrift and curb shopping has been disappointing. Still, I am resisting the urge to buy new at least until June. Something is sure to surface used or free during Hippy Christmas (college move-out season).
5) I noticed that my mums in my hanging baskets survived winter and are growing back from the base! When I bought them they were forced for fall flowering, but growing naturally they will be in flower by summer. I'll tuck in some of the pansies that self sow in the flower beds every year to add color to the baskets until the mums start blooming again.
Jenny, your solution for the woodpeckers is brilliant!
Saturday Night High sounds like the most PNW thing ever, that sounds fantastic!
Ohhhhh, it's Mama's Little Meatball! So cute!!
She is both cute and cuddly!
1) A pair of sheepskin insoles and some polish have revitalized a pair of boots that were slightly uncomfortable but in good shape. They should get several more years of wear with occasional insole replacements.
2) I'm going on a solo trip, so I'm stocking the freezer with some frozen meals for the family. They can all cook and fend for themselves, but I know they'll be busy.
3) For said trip, I'm using a very nice Patagonia backpack I picked up from a free pile and promptly cleaned and lysoled. It has gone on many adventures and keeps on going!
4) I'm almost done making blouse from thrited materials and a reused pattern. It will fill a hole in my closet.
5) Still packing a lunch, making my coffee, taking the bus to work and rocking that thrifted and me-made wardrobe. Not exciting, but that's where the savings happen.
I'm sure there's some, but I had to look at the link to the soup as I have the remainder of a bag of lentils from last months dal. I will tuck away for what's sure to be another major snow fall or cold snap before real spring.