Two Frugal Things & They’re Both Rugs!
by Katy on June 16, 2025 · 21 comments
Remember this free wool rug that I curb picked a couple weeks ago from the neighborhood garage sale day? It was stained pretty badly, but I could tell it was decent quality. My instincts were correct:
Still actually available on the Pottery Barn website, if you’re looking to spend $499!
I wasn’t exaggerating about the grubbiness, but I possess a rug shampooer and delusional confidence when it comes to my stain fighting skills.
May I introduce my bottle of Folex “Carpet Spot Remover?”
The rug still has a few stubborn stains, but I’m not done working on it yet.
I also brought home this wool rug from a different garage sale pile.
Not as bad, but definitely needing some love. I hit the stains with Folex and went back and forth (and back and forth) with an Oxyclean solution in the machine until it brightened up. The binding needs some reinforcing stitches here and there, but that’s okay as I think I’m going to hold onto this rug for my daughter’s old bedroom. Maybe.
Here she is after her beauty treatment, sunning herself on the front porch.
These high quality rugs were free, but they required work to bring them back to life. These physical items were manufactured from raw materials and crafted by human beings and they deserve to be maintained for as long as they’re still functional. Something being dirty is not a reason to give up on it. Sure, I love sourcing stuff for free, but it’s just as important, (if not more so) that our landfills aren’t filled with still usable items.
Buy used, buy less, repair and mend. Don’t replace something just because it’s dirty.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
Click HERE to join The Non-Consumer Advocate Facebook group.
Like this post? Then please share it with your friends!
Like this:
Like Loading...
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m inspired! And the rugs look much better. I once got a great pair of kids hiking shoes at a “free store” in Canada. The only issue with them was a bit of dog poop in the treads. I cleaned them up and they were like new! My son wore them and then my daughter wore them.
Gray rug is so cute!!! You are a rock star when it comes to rescuing things!!
I’m also am not afraid of a bit of elbow grease or painting to fix up a free find.
I picked up quite a bit of plastic garden edging. A few blasts with the hose and it was ready to go. In the same pile I also got a plastic garden trellis that just needed a fresh coat of paint. It’s study and ready to go again! Now I just need a climbing rose for it! And I found a metal planter shaped like a watering can that also just needs a coat of spray paint. Keeping things out of the landfill is important t to me. Almost all of my garden decor and flower pots are rescues.
I love both rugs and the fact that you’re giving them new life makes it worth the elbow grease. A good quality rug made of natural materials is meant to be taken care of, cleaned when soiled, and used for years and even decades. It’s their rug destiny!
Love it. They look great. Can’t wait to see what you get for the one you’re selling.
Thanks for reminding me that I need to do a couple of upholstery cleaning jobs at my house. I’ve been meaning to tackle these for a while as I’m extremely reluctant to part with dirty but still in good shape items!
Great work!
Do you take things that smell of cigarette smoke? And if so, do you have any particular suggestions for getting that horrible smell out? (Clothing with too much fabric softener and scented detergent will immediately send me in the other direction as well).
Vinegar is fantastic for taking smells out of almost anything.
Coffee grinds work great for getting smells out of items you can’t wash good. Sprinkle them all over(inside if a dresser) and let sit open for a few days. It may take a few times. I find lots of open coffee cans at college move out and moving sales that are open so I grab them for this.
Good job freshening up those two rugs!
1. Recent favourite library read: The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah)
2. Recent favourite charity shop finds: 2 summer dresses, 8 Euro each. I don’t normally wear dresses but they were just so nice I couldn’t resist. I have already worn one of them to a rare meal out. I have decided this will be the year that I am wearing dresses!
3. On the recommendation of a friend I bit the bullet and bought a water flosser. I am hoping this will be my incentive to floss more/better, hence keeping down dentist fees! It will also avoid waste in the long run as I will no longer be buying disposable floss. I did some research as I wanted to buy from a company other than Amazon and finally found a product on a specialised website that was not too expensive but of good quality as per the reviews.
4. I have discovered roasted pumpkin seeds (the green kind) as a tasty and cheap topping for salads and soups. I just dry fry them in a pan until they pop.
5. I now add red kidney beans to my and hubby’s portions of any dinner with mince – spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne, tacos etc. – to stretch the mince which has gone very expensive. This also makes the dish healthier. Can’t do this for the rest of the family though, they don’t like beans unfortunately.
Frugal fail: I missed the deadline for using a reward coupon on a natural beauty care website. I use this website to order a specific facial care product which we use regularly so could have easily placed our usual order.
Folex is great! I’ve been using it for years.
One of the reasons I buy only wool rugs is that wool rugs are far more cleanable than artificial fibers. And with two kids and innumerable puppies over the years, my rugs take a beating.
Folex for stains, My Pet Peed for stank.
Beautiful job on both rugs!
I don’t understand the people who want everything to be new and pristine. It’s crazy how people will toss something once it has a tiny flaw, even when it’s a flaw that can easily be fixed. Their houses lack soul.
That said, I do generally draw a line at rugs found in free piles. My first assumption is that they’re drenched in pet fluids. Also, they’re not easy to carry home. I’m happy that someone is willing to take the chance and do the work to keep them out of the landfill!
Li, what you’ve said is pretty much what I’d have said, so I simply second your comments. I too leave rugs (and upholstered furniture) on curbs alone, for the same reasons. But kudos to Katy for her rescue efforts.
I do have a second-hand wool rug in my living room, but it was of known provenance. 😉
They look great!
There aren’t too many things that I can’t clean in the washer, dishwasher, or sprayed down with dish spray in my sink!
Great job on the rugs Katy! You saved them from the landfills.
Over the years DH has brought home many vacuums put out for trash pick up. They are always clogged (and gross) but he gets them working then we find new homes for them. We don’t make any money but it keeps them out of the landfill.
I love that your husband does that!
Both of those rugs are fantastic! We are a rug-free house because of a dog who chooses to eat them, so I wouldn’t grab a project like that, but I am willing to clean dirty things. This weekend I spotted a free pile and came home with several pieces of clothing, 4 hardcover children’s books, and a cute glass jar with a wire hanger. I thought maybe the jar would need vinegar to get out some hard water deposits, but no, all it needed was a good cleaning with Dawn. There was a table runner that needed stain treatment and is now stain free — even old set in stains usually come out with my Shout + Fels Naptha method. I also stain treated a Jones New York heavy cotton knit zip up cardigan sweater I paid $1 for and it came out perfect. MSRP on the sweater was $79.
We have 2 Vitamix blenders. One we bought, one my dad gave us when he moved. That one is having motor issues (9 years old), but we already know the process for sending it to Vitamix for refurbishment, as we had to send ours in a year ago (at 10 years old and used heavily). It cost us $113 plus shipping to Vitamix, return shipping was included in the $113. Sure that’s more than a brand new non-Vitamix blender, but fixing this Vitamix is the right thing to do. It may only be our “back up” blender, but we’ll spend the time and effort to get it repaired to keep it out of the landfill. We appreciate a company that’s willing to repair what they sell rather than creating landfill waste.
All this makes me wonder why it is that people don’t know how to clean things like rugs? Even if they don’t own a carpet shampooer, they are available to rent at grocery stores and home improvement stores. Maybe there are just too busy trying to make a living, but more likely the skills and values weren’t passed on because repairing/fixing/cleaning is no longer dominant in our culture. Instead, people are constantly marketed to encouraging them to buy buy buy, and stains, frayed edges, and general dirt are used as excuses to justify purchases.
There is also a culture of “that is old” which I’ve run into, as my FORMER handyman was sawzalling my beloved Shabby Chic sofa. (So comfortable, so nice. I was the third owner!). “It was old,” they said. I could say more but I’ll probably cry because I am so upset about it.
I wish any of you lived closer–a local-ish person is giving away tons and tons of really nice antique furniture for free. Leftovers from a tag sale. You guys would love it. Even I’m tempted though I own way too much stuff as it is. That ancient black wicker? God I just love it. (Have no room for it. Let someone else enjoy it!) This ridiculously expensive area does have some redeeming qualities, at least.