Today I Am . . .

by Katy on August 26, 2013 · 28 comments

Today I am . . . 

  • Waiting for freshly shampooed rugs to dry. My son and I had stopped into the Lincoln City Goodwill, where I picked up two gorgeous tufted wool rugs for $30 and $18. I’ll resell them on Craigslist and add the money to my son’s college account. (I included The Tightwad Gazette for size reference. 😉 )
  • Arranging a spontaneous three day to trip to the beach, as our favorite $65/night cabin was available.
  • Digesting delicious chocolate cake that my birthday-girl next door neighbor brought by last night.
  • Trying to get my sons to finish up their required summer reading.
  • Cursing the fruit flies that swarm throughout my kitchen. (It’s because we eat real fruit, right? Right?!)
  • Still in my pajamas, yet contemplating a nap.

Today I’m not . . . 

  • Shopping for school clothes.
  • Buying school supplies, as we’ll just use last year’s supplies.

Now you. What are you doing during this precious last week of summer?

Katy Wolk-Stanley

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

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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }

Mauren August 26, 2013 at 2:16 pm

Ended up with a longer vacation than planned because of a funeral and family time so I took this 1 extra day to try and organize myself; although that didn’t work out too well. I did pass up a trip into NYC on Sunday to see a play with my sister who is in town because I wanted to save some money. The balance of her visit was spent with her and we had a great time. Today I will be finishing up going through some paperwork that has been piling up this evening. And I will clear of my desk that I use for telecommuting and get it all set up with my new equipment. I am also painting a couch frame that my nephew made for us to use on our back porch (next summer it will get lots of use!). The painting will be completed by this weekend. And I will be making blueberry corn muffins tonight so the blueberries don’t rot before I want to eat them!

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Jenn August 26, 2013 at 2:18 pm

I can help with the fruit flies!

In a glass jar or vessel (size is irrelevant), place 1-2 drops of dish soap and about 1″ of apple cider vinegar. Top off the container with water and place near your fruit. Flies will be attracted to the vinegar and the soap will decrease the surface tension, causing them to sink like rocks when they land on the water.

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Beth B. August 26, 2013 at 2:54 pm

Katy–Do you know about the homemade fruit fly trap? Just put some apple cider vinegar in a small bottle and make a paper funnel to put in the opening. The flies are attracted to the vinegar, so they fall in and can’t get back out. Cruel, huh??? Works like a charm!

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Diane August 27, 2013 at 4:58 am

Or cover the vinegar bowl with part of a plastic bag held tightly around the bowl with a rubber band. Poke small holes int he plastic for flies to go in. I did this and never had a fruit fly problem again.

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Lilypad August 26, 2013 at 2:55 pm

For the fruit flies: put some apple cider vinegar in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap (much maligned and bad for the environment but oh-so-handy in this application) and poke a few small holes in the top. (I use a single fork tine to make the holes and secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band.) We have a special (cracked) bowl reserved just for this purpose. The flies are drawn to it by the (delicious to them) smell and then fall or crawl in and can’t get out. My husband loves the irony of me, a devoted animal-lover and vegan, crowing over my successful fruit fly trap, but I just hate those miserable creatures and can’t stand them around my food!!

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Lisa August 26, 2013 at 3:03 pm

After having to buy a new stove last week and spending way too much money (it was a gift from my mother but still, ow!), I’m spending this week making sure our apartment is as clean as possible before school starts (I’m a teacher and we start on the 10th). I’ve been shifting some furniture around and decorating with things from around the house to make it happy before I’m exhausted by all the children and have no energy to fiddle at home.

I’ve also donated another bag of clothes and gotten rid of some more old kitchen stuff and papers, this has been a super productive decluttering summer!

Fruit flies are awful and I hope you get rid of them soon. Enjoy your vacation!

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Sara August 26, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Today I am: tightening up the fencing on my chicken yard since they hatched out some tiny cute chicks in there, picking blackberries, and making dill pickles. I have no fruit flies here, but the regular old flies have invaded my house and are driving me crazy. Every now and then I just go on a rampage with the fly swatter.

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Penelope August 26, 2013 at 4:38 pm

Today I am helping my daughter purge her bulging closet :/ Two bags of clothes went to a younger cousin, two bags are set aside for a trip to Buffalo Exchange tomorrow since I will be in Portland for a job. One bag is set aside for the local thrift store, and the last bag is for a friend of hers to go through. Yes, my daughter has too many clothes! I also went to the library and checked out books and turned in some work-related paperwork to my local school district.

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AFS August 26, 2013 at 4:39 pm

I so admire your talent for flipping thrift store stuff on Craig’s List.
I’ve tries with several items and not gotten any action.

My one exception has been cold pack canners. At a Garage sale I came across a kettle that was in better condition than mine. I purchased it for $3 and sold mine for $20.
That led to my buying more to flip. I’ve sold 5 so far.
Recently I was getting replies offering me less so I decided to sweeten the offer and started selling a “canning Kit”
The kettle, (purchased for no more than $5),
7 quart jars w/ bands (20 cents each at GW)
and another small item such as:
Package of lids usually $1 at second hand stores
Canning funnel or jar lifter (several stores sell kitchen gadgets for 69-99 cents.
It makes the $20 kettle more attractive and I still only have less than $10 invested in it.

CL failures:
I picked up a pair of nice sturdy scan-design chairs for $2 each. I offered them on CL several times for $5 each and have had no replies yet.

After walking past a jacket in the woods for a couple of weeks I brought it home, laundered it, & posted it on CL-again nothing.

Do you always sell the tings you put on CL?
Or do you just tell us about the successes?

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Katy August 26, 2013 at 9:01 pm

I have had a few things that didn’t sell, although they were pretty much things I already owner, rather than stuffI bought to resell.

I won’t buy to resell unless I’m really sure that I can flip it. Also, I won’t spend much on items to resell. For example, I would not spend $200 on something to resell for $500. Too much risk.

Katy

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Alicia August 26, 2013 at 4:45 pm

Katy, I wash my rugs a lot and have different ways, depending on size and time. How do you wash rugs?

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Katy August 26, 2013 at 5:03 pm

I own a Bissel rug shampooer.
Katy

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Alicia August 26, 2013 at 6:32 pm

Oh! I have hardwood floors and take my rugs outside and put them on tarps on the driveway. I have an Electrolux shampooer and rinse with a hose. My sons have to help of course and it’s a two day job to do all my rugs and I need real hot weather to do it so they dry. Big job!

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Vivian August 26, 2013 at 6:12 pm

I put just a tiny bit of dish soap in the vinegar when I have to take care of fruit flies. My Monday only consisted of picking enough tomatoes to make another batch of soup. I think I have tonsillitis so I took the day off.

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mairsydoats August 26, 2013 at 7:56 pm

That’s my method for fruit fly management! Drowns the little suckers!!

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Katy August 26, 2013 at 9:05 pm

I tried this and have had much success. Thank you everyone!!!!!

Katy

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Jill August 26, 2013 at 6:22 pm

The rug is gorgeous. Today I am:
1. Just returning from a birthday weekend at the beach. We used hotel points to stay, ate out of the cooler except for an evening meal at my favorite pizza place. Enjoyed the pool and beach with beautiful weather.
2. Make homemade crockpot fruit cobbler for my girls night out club which was at my house this evening. Good fun and conversation for free.
3. Grouping my errands for tomorrow as my daughter and I share a car and tomorrow is my day. Will be heading to the dollar store to get wedding and birthday wrapping paper as I haven’t bought any in years and am finally out.
4. Planning meals to take to a family wedding this coming weekend – lot of relatives to visit with and enjoy.

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Amanda August 26, 2013 at 7:26 pm

I never really understood buying school supplies. Once I was pretty much in charge if it in high school and through college, I always used whatever pens and pencils I had (I always seem to have millions even though I never buy them) and work or someone was always getting rid of paper I could use as scrap, old letterhead and such. I three-hole-punched it and kept it in a binder for taking lecture notes.

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JaneUlness August 26, 2013 at 9:55 pm

Today I am enjoying the service club meeting tonight.
Nursing my daughter with a bad back and took care of granddaughter.
Put a London broil in the crock pot.
Finished my batch of work I needed to get done.
Am fighting the fruit flies too. I put fly strip and a trap too. I still have flys. Will try vinegar too.

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Jo@simplybeingmum August 26, 2013 at 11:11 pm

Today I am waiting for a lemon madeira cake to come out of the oven for my Mom’s birthday.
Then we are all visiting a reconstructed Victorian Town for which I have a family annual pass. Not one to pay in advance usually for such things, but this pass is well worn and has been used countless times – amazing value and a great day out! Only 2 days before it expires – getting my money’s worth…

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Kim August 27, 2013 at 4:33 am

Made and canned a batch of peach salsa and another batch of tomato jam.
Picked up some free canning jars from a fellow freecycler.
Line dried 3 loads of laundry.
Planting 2 giant leaf hostas that my MIL thinned from her garden.
Get the donations bagged and ready to drop off.

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kris August 27, 2013 at 5:48 am

Today I am…
1. Working
2. Hoping to get around to using up my way overrippened bananas (banana pudding and banana bread) before the fruit flies descend on my kitchen! lol
3. Clip my coupons from Sunday’s paper
4. Wash my sheets/comforter

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Betsey August 27, 2013 at 5:59 am

Today I am
1. attending Bible study with 2 of my beat friends
2. finishing fall cleaning upstairs ( 9 windows!)
3. starting to make peach jam
4. finish cleaning out my closet. I found that I don’t wear 1/3 of the clothes I have.
I will be glad when all are finished! I tend to start things and finish later,

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Cyndi August 27, 2013 at 6:09 am

…hopeful you’ll share the info for your friend’s beach cabin. We have a couple unexpected days of vacation and all I can find is about double the price 🙁

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Sharon August 27, 2013 at 8:51 am

What a fabulous find — but good things come to those with patience and a nose for a bargain!

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Sadye August 27, 2013 at 11:17 am

Enjoying the loads of tomatoes that came in my latest CSA box and planning for a long weekend with my sister!

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Carla August 27, 2013 at 5:58 pm

Today I am: slightly better from some kind of summer respiratory virus, which means I very slowly did a little (very little) housework but mainly tried to recover some energy. Later it will come back, I guess.

Your rug is gorgeous. I don’t know how you do it, finding these great things…

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Katy August 28, 2013 at 10:25 am

I just keep an eye out! 😉

Katy

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PoppyEcho August 27, 2013 at 9:08 pm

I am finally proud to share what I think may be an original tip on the non-consumer advocate:

I bought a dogbed at the thrift store for $8. It’s the super fancy good quality kind, costs about $95 in local stores. but, its medium sized. medium sized dog (poppy) doesn’t use it. Big dog (echo) does, but looks ridiculous half falling out. And she doesn’t have her own bed at the moment. (Don’t worry, they mostly sit on couch and my bed, they are comfortable.)

Wait! that’s not my tip. -Also, the dogbed is leopard print. not my style.
At another thrift store a few weeks later, I came across a large couch cushion cover. chocolate brown, sort of a tweedy chenille type thing. hardy, I think. For $2. Which I will stuff with an old sleeping bag that I already have. (and also bought at thrift store but it turns out sleeping bags are not as long as comforters and therefor is not a good long term substitute, unzipped, as I thought). And If I need more stuffing I have other rag quality blankets.

AND I will try to sell the leopard print one on craigslist for more than $8.

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