Five Frugal Things | a 1962 mirror
1. I got a free 1962 mirror
From where? The Buy Nothing group OF COURSE.
I thought it was going to be just your run-of-the-mill type of mirror, but this thing weighs over 30 pounds, and the label on the back says it was made in 1962!
I wanted to hang it over my bed, but I did not want to risk a concussion from a mirror landing on me in the middle of the night.
So my dad brought his stud finder over, and mercifully, two studs were perfectly placed to hang the mirror.
When we toured Monticello years ago, the tour guide said that Thomas Jefferson tried to make a habit of hanging mirrors opposite windows, to reflect the light.
So, now I have a mirror hanging opposite one of my bedroom windows, and I'm delighted.
Most of the seals on my rental's windows are broken, which makes the windows a little cloudy and dark. And that means a little more light reflection is a very lovely thing!
2. I bought a refurbished ice cream scoop
We've been getting by with a spoon-as-ice-cream-scoop situation here, but we all know that eventually leads to bent spoons.
(No spoon is made to withstand the force of ice cream scooping forever!)
I saw that Cook's Illustrated recommended the Zeroll scoop, and since I wanted to buy one and be done forever, I decided to spring for it.
But then I saw that there was an Amazon warehouse refurbished scoop for $19, so I ordered that one.
It's only a $5 savings, but it did make the scoop price point slightly more reasonable.
3. I got some free drill bits and screwdriver bits
I had a drill already, but no bits. Lisey has a set of bits I can borrow anytime while she's here, but obviously, she (and her tools) are only a temporary presence.
And even she doesn't have any screwdriver bits.
I almost stopped in at Home Depot to buy some for myself, but then someone on the Buy Nothing group had a few bits and screwdriver heads they no longer needed. Yay!
This isn't quite a full set, obviously, but it's more than I had before, and I'm especially happy to have screwdriver bits.
4. I bought snacks for my plane trip
I stopped in at Aldi before my trip and got some granola bars and almond-filled pretzels, and I stashed them in my bag. So, I made it through three flights and lots of hours at the airport while only buying one meal.
5. I've been making iced tea
A gallon of premade iced tea is not terribly expensive at the grocery store, but it is not quite as cheap as making it at home.
Also, the tea I'm using is some loose-leaf that a friend gave me when she was moving. So, that means my homemade tea is very nearly free; I'm just paying for the water and the electricity to heat it, plus a little sugar.
Incidentally, that pitcher is a $5 Goodwill find from some years ago. The brand is Walco, and apparently, it's a restaurant supply pitcher, which sells for $156 at Restaurant Supply!
Welcome back! I hope you had a great trip!
It is vastly important to hang heavy objects securely and I can imagine that you consulted your dad.
I
-Batchcooked/froze for busy weeks
-Found some marked down chicken and hamburgers
-Borrowed from the library
-Bought a second hand book that I could not find in our library
-Checked out a frugal blog recommended by one of your readers last week (Shoestring Cottage).
Between the blog and the books I expect to be very frugally inspired in the coming weeks!
Whoa boy. This one is a toughie for me.
1.) This one is a mixed bag money wise but my poor fridge was leaking all over the place. Come to find out the drain line was clogged with ice. I thawed it out and fixed it so I don't have to buy a new fridge but a lot of the food had to be tossed out and boy howdy did that make me sad.
2.) Found a TJMaxx gift card buried in my wallet and got a new pot there to replace an ancient one we had.
3.) Went to a town wide garage sale last weekend and since it was so hot people were either discounting everything or, flat out giving it away. I got a free bag full of sewing patterns for my wife (she kept a few and will list the others in a Facebook group) some free Corelle plates (which I will sell) and a lot of cheap or free books.
Of interest to Kristen would be a vintage ruler featuring Snoopy and Woodstock. I paid 50 cents for that.
4.) Found an Apple 30 Pin to Lightning adapter for my iPod speaker dock (I seem to be getting a lot of vintage iPod accessories lately) so my wife can use her last generation iPod on the docks as well (if she doesn't want to use the Bluetooth adapters I already have ...)
5.) Worked some overtime again.
@Battra92,
Such a bummer on the food, but I'm glad you were able to save the fridge!
@Becca, I keep telling myself that even a $150 fridge at ReStore is more expensive than the food lost (which was probably around $30 or so.)
Ok, jealous of your ruler!
And so sorry about your food loss in your fridge. Yay that you saved the actual fridge tho!
—As is tradition, the current dish sponge is given one last, truly gross job before being tossed. This time, it was deep-cleaning the washer, which gets shockingly grubby between our hard water and my husband’s cemetery work. A scrub down with Dr. Bronner’s, followed by a load of just hot water and bleach, worked splendidly.
—I returned something to Ace that didn’t work (house number stickers that didn’t stick) and used the refund for something we needed (a hand saw).
—I scored a second metal “C” table for $10 at Goodwill. The original price tag on the underside said $40! This one is the perfect size for an awkward spot in our mud room, where we keep my husband’s work clothes until I can wash them.
—We found a gorgeous, HEAVY leather and wood office chair for my husband’s desk at Habitat Restore. The closest equivalent I could find online was $400+, so yay $15!!! Half-price sticker color for the win.
—Target’s app had another $10 off $50 coupon, so I did a grocery and cat supply run. I focused on staples, sale items and/or items that also had coupons in the app. FYI, the app nearly always offers for 50% off salad mixes and greens!
The Coronavirus edition:
1. We were out of state when DH started feeling sick. We returned from our trip a day early and were fortunate to receive a refund for our unused night at the inn. We did not request/expect that but received it nonetheless.
2. We have plenty of Covid tests thanks to those the federal government sent and those our medical insurance paid for.
3. DH's doctor prescribed an anti-viral and it was $0 out of pocket.
4. Since we are staying home we are using food we already have in the house. It is enough though I would have gone to the grocery to buy more fruit if I hadn't gotten sick too. Both a neighbor and a couple of friends offered to pick up anything we need/want and I finally relented and let a neighbor drop off peaches, a cantaloupe, and also a bunch of tomatoes from their garden.
5. I have plenty of time to get things done around the house that I usually don't get around to. I also borrowed more electronic books from the public library.
@K D, Hope you feel better soon. Covid was a two day bad cold for me but I know everyone reacts differently.
@Battra92,
Thanks. It has been like a cold. This is day three and I already feel pretty good. Thank goodness for vaccines and booster shots.
I feel really good about the past week!
1. I picked up the last two Sprouts July freebies: Plant Roast "hot dogs" ($4.99) and a can of Mutti crushed tomatoes ($2.29). I also got a free Betty Crocker cake mix and a free Oikos yogurt at Kroger. Just a reminder-you can download Sprouts August freebies on Monday, August 1 only.
2. I had been waiting for a DSW coupon before buying needed tennis shoes. I received a $10 off coupon and was going to pair it with a $5 reward. When I checked out, the cashier said I actually had a $15 reward so I got $25 off my new Skechers! For those who don't know, you can donate shoes there and get 50 points per pair in your reward account. There are limits on the number and length of time between donations so be sure to read the "fine print."
3. I used $5 in CVS ExtraBucks to get two boxes of Kellogg's Crispix cereal and a $4.59 bag of Lay's chips for $1.37 out of pocket. I scanned the receipt to Ibotta and got $1 back for the cereal.
4. I attended another free adult craft class at the library and made a nautical themed bottle that I put on the counter in my guest bathroom. While at the library, I noticed a sign stating that all items will be free for checkout starting August 1st. There has always been a fee to get DVDs, audio books, and CDs so this is good news!
5. And a few more: I
-got 30 cents a gallon off using Kroger fuel points.
-redeemed Ibotta earnings to get a $35 Walmart card (earning this took a long time as I rarely buy the items listed there).
-finally received payment for the DVDs I shipped on June 22 ($37.59 in my bank account).
-won a $5 Amazon card on one of the receipt apps I use.
Exciting week for frugality!
I'm glad you made it home safely, although "lots of hours at the airport" sounds a bit ominous.
--I've been making lots of sun tea, but I don't have a nice pitcher like you. 🙂 I use an old half-gallon jar that used to have artichoke hearts in it.
--We still haven't put the A/C unit in our kitchen window, and probably won't this year.
--The lady who distributes the commodities food for our county stopped by yesterday after doing her deliveries to give us some of the leftover stuff, and this time that included two really big bags of pistachios in the shell. My kids LOVE pistachios, but they're pretty pricey, so they don't get to have very many. They were thrilled with this. Being on good terms with our neighbors has meant SO MUCH free food over the years.
--Between taking care of our neighbors' chickens for a couple of weeks, and our own laying, we've been awash in eggs. I've been hard-boiling the older ones every week and using those to make egg salad in place of the tuna salad I would usually make on hot days for my kids' lunches.
--I had a batch of yogurt turn out runny (this happens if the milk cools down too much, which it did because I got interrupted in the middle of yogurt-making to load lambs in the pick-up truck to go to the auction), so I've been using the runny yogurt for smoothies and apricot popsicles made with the large quantity of apricot jam I made from our neighbor's apricots.
--Third son announced his sneakers were too small. A rummage in the bins of outgrown shoes produced some Converse that fit him. Also, I bought new rubber boots for the oldest boys, and passed along all the rubber boots down the line so that every child had a "new" pair that fit. Now if I can find hand-me-down gym shoes for one or more children (they need separate, clean shoes for P.E. at school that are just for the gym) in those bins, I will consider myself lucky indeed.
FFT, Summertime Livin' Edition:
(1) Tomatoes and cucumbers are finally starting to come in, both in the fenced garden I'm sharing with neighbors and in other neighbors' gardens. I also continue to receive snow peas from Dr. Bestest Neighbor and salad greens from Bailey dog's humans. And I'm still using redroot pigweed greens in stir-fries.
(2) During the most recent hot spell, I started making up powdered milk a quart at a time instead of buying fresh milk. IMO, the Sanalac powdered milk tastes a lot better than other powdered milks I've tried in the past. I can also make it up in the smaller quantities I now need, and I can reuse a glass container instead of generating more plastic or carton trash.
(3) A. Marie's Late Summer Wildlife Sanctuary is in full swing: I've got goldfinches galore in the sunflowers, assorted butterflies in the buddleias, and hummingbirds in the beebalm. Prime viewing delights for free! (Of course, I've also still got the woodchucks and the deer, but let's not talk about that.)
(4) Now that the hot spell is over, I've turned off the AC and flung the windows back open. Ahhhhh.
(5) And the best for last: My most recent National Grid bill covered the period that ended just before the hot spell began--so not only was my electricity usage charge $0.00 for the third straight month, but my monthly budget payment has been reduced from $144 to $126!! With prices on almost everything else going up, and with continuing dental and home repair expenses, I'll take all the help I can get. Love those solar panels!
@A. Marie, my dear aunt, who has since passed away, always made up a quart of powdered milk in the evening before bed so it would be nice and cold for her morning coffee. When my kids were little I bought powdered milk to stretch the regular milk. No one ever said anything.
1. Used a service coupon to receive $25 off a car repair. Since this was to repair my A/C vent, it was practically a necessity.
2. Gave the car a free wash while driving in the rain. I don't think I'm ever been that excited to get an under-carriage wash.
3. Used leftover green twist ties to guide garden pea tendrils on the trellis.
4. Bought an insulated lunch bag at the thrift store. Originally $2 (still a good deal) but paid only 50 cents after learning at the register that it was 75% off that day.
5. Bought a crossword book of 500 puzzles for $1 at the library book sale. My heart raced when I saw it and I'm in love with it every day.
1. Continuing to get by with just fans in my bedroom. I do have a window AC but it's a royal pain to put in a jalousie window. Luckily, it hasn't really gotten above 85 here while everyone else bakes.
2. We've been eating far too much takeout because I've been too stressed to cook. That's about to change.
3. Last week I staycationed and did a zoom embroidery class instead of going away. It did seem a little silly to live in a beach town and spend a week embroidering indoors instead of at the beach, but whatever, I own being weird. Needlework relaxes me.
4. Read books from Open Library instead of buying new.
5. Made salads from the garden.
6. Didn't kill my former renter who I'm trying to evict. Bail costs too much.
@Rose,
Your 6.! 🙂
I find knitting very relaxing. You will find me knitting socks at 38celcius
@J NL, This person has four eviction cases in our town justice court and constantly stalls. This week, it was "I wasn't properly served" so the case was adjourned till August 15th. Weeks and weeks go by with this person living for free, running "his" restaurant for free, and the town court allows it. He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent to numerous people, including me, and apparently, the town court doesn't care. This is a beach town and he's once again robbed us of summer revenue. I sincerely wish my father were alive to beat the living s*** out of him.
Yes, probably need to do more embroidery now. Aaaah, so soothing.
My goodness, I can't believe he's getting away with all of this. Ugh.
I'm so, so tempted to give the judge a piece of my mind, but even I can see that would be a bad idea. I will, however, work hard to ensure she is not re-elected.
oh and the other hilarious thing is he basically will face no consequences from this. It's a civil matter, so if you steal $400,000 from local citizens, you can't be brought up on criminal charges. Nothing whatsoever will happen to him. He'll have judgments against him, which he will never pay.
@Rose, I had an experience with evicting my father's live in girlfriend after his passing and it was miserable. She sold most of his things and pocketed the money before she left and completely trashed the house. Plus I had to pay to file papers, attorney's fees and the like. Not to mention what is cost me to have to empty the house after she destroyed everything inside. I don't know why but the law is always on the side of the evictee and it is very frustrating at times.
@Rose, I, too, often fantasize about having a large angry man in my corner who will resort to fisticuffs when all else fails, as it often does. Okay, I know it's highly immature, but sometimes you just need movie story endings going around in your head to get through life. Besides, I'm only 73, I have plenty of time to growup. 😀
@Rose,
Before you do, please be fair. Is this the judge's decision or is the judge merely enforcing the law? If it's the latter, voting her out won't effect any change. Also, who accepted this person as a tenant without vetting them?
@Dicey,
OUCH! That was hurtful, and I am not Rose.
@Anne,
Years ago I had a boss who was giving me a lot of heartache and my boyfriend at the time was like "you want I should slash her tires?" He was only joking, of course, but it made me feel so much better for some reason.
@Dicey,
As I understand the situation, she DID vet him, but he had multiple pseudonyms because he is a crook. Rose, I am glad you got him out of your house. You might want to eventually consider just cutting your losses on trying to fight him since that is only keeping him in your life too. Sometimes it's worth it to just say "that was unfair" and move on so you don't drive yourself insane.
@Becca, I'm not trying to fight him. I know I won't get any money back. I just want him evicted. I legally cannot rent my house to anyone else until he is evicted, even though his lease ran out in May and he hasn't paid since last summer. But he keeps stringing me along just to be a sadist. That's all any of us in town want: to evict him. The young family whose condo he's squatting in are out many thousands in rent, and so on.
Yes, he is a con man. I did vet him, or try to, but I didn't know his real name then, sigh. His fake name is even on wikipedia as a doctor (ha ha ha) and a businessman. Also I thought a fellow business owner was vouching for him (which I still think is the case) although now he denies it. Believe me, he's taken a lot of people in. He also has a brother with the almost exact same name, one letter different, and uses that often. He also forged a lease from the owner of the restaurant building.
@Rose,
Got it. That sucks. I'm glad he's at least physically out at least.
@Becca,
Also...you want I should slash his tires?
@Becca, LOVE IT.
It's true, stuff like that really does release tension.
@Rose, the offer of the Magnificent Seven is still on. We can teach him something about the price of corn. Hands across to you from Central NY to Long Island.
@Rose, Not that I would publicly support this, but when my brother had a renter who would not leave, he waited until the guy was not home and released a huge bunch of bugs (apparently you can buy bugs. I did not know that) into the house. A few days later, he did it to the guy's car when the idiot left it unlocked. Within a week, the renter left. He could never prove that my brother did it but I guess he figured he had finally met his match. My brother had to pay for a company to fumigate the house, but that was cheaper then letting the guy continue to live there rent free. If you can't bring yourself to do this, maybe fantasizing about doing it will help you cope!
I once worked a court case where the ex husband was savvy enough that he used electronics to drive his former wife nuts. He was able to manipulate things like the heat, causing it to go way up. They had a smart home and he remotely triggered all sorts of things, like the dryer coming on and the oven coming on and the garage door going up and down, all without her touching anything. It took a very long time to figure out what was going on, but apparently torture of this sort is becoming more common in divorce cases.
@Lindsey, Huh. I like the way your mind works. Apparently I can get a LOT of cockroaches off Amazon. Send my son in to have a drink at the restaurant bar (he doesn't know him) and RELEASE THE BUGS in the men's room. I'll have to think about it.
Son is saying no. coughWUSSPATROLcough
@Rose, (((HUGS))) I hope he trips and falls into a vat of leeches. There ain't no justice like medieval justice, hon.
@Rose, #6 made me laugh! Bad tenants can be such a nightmare. I've thought many times over the years of buying another place for me to live and renting out my condo, but the chance of having bad tenants has kept me from doing so.
@A. Marie, @Rose I’m still in! Maybe Groupon has a horse rental coupon… just trying to keep this with the spirit of frugality
@JustAnotherJulie, oh I'm sure any horse owner would be more than happy to "donate" to this cause
@Lindsey, Whoa. Talk about gaslighting. I've never heard of that, but I believe you.
@Ruby, I hope he gets explosive diarrhea
That mirror is really pretty, and it looks so nice in your bedroom!
1. I used super gorilla glue to attach two ancient baby latches onto my chest freezer door to keep it closed after a certain child (who is definitely no longer a baby, but sometimes I wonder) pushed the door up too hard and bent back the hinges just enough so that the door wouldn't stay sealed on its own. Luckily my husband noticed it about an hour after he damaged it and before any food could spoil or the freezer could burn itself out trying to freeze my entire basement! Mothers of impulsive/destructive boys...please tell me it gets better!
2. I skipped grocery shopping this week to use up what we have in the fridge before our vacation.
3. We attempted to use the ACs just at night but did crack a bit during our heat wave.
4. I turned off the water feed to our rarely used basement toilet after suspecting a leak into the bowl. I'm hoping this will make our water bill lower, but as our bill is quarterly, it's kind of hard to track the effect of small changes like this. It's much easier to track electricity use which I may or may not obsessively check online these days.
5. I walked to the library to pick up books I had put on hold. The books were mostly frugal cook books.
Frugal fail: waited too long to open a wheel of camembert cheese and it was a month and a half past it's date. I thought we might still be able to eat it if it was just a bit riper, but when we opened it, it smelled like a rind full of solidified cat pee. A hard pass and a real bummer because I really like camembert.
@Becca, My dog used to open our fridge door, snack on whatever looked good, and then leave the door open. I then put baby locks on the fridge, but sometimes people would forget and then....it was maddening. I miss that dog, though. He was hysterically funny and simply did not give a rip for any scolding he got.
@Rose,
Funnily enough, when my husband went to open the freezer, he called up to me that he thought I had super glued the latches shut. After a brief panic, I discovered that he just has fat fingers and the latches open just fine for me. Phew! But I think this does mean that I'm the only person in the house allowed/able to open this freezer. In a way, I'm ok with that...no one else touch this magical box, damn it!
@Becca, it does get easier as your children age - at least in some ways. I always found that channeling my boys’ energy in positive direction was nearly a full time job. In the summer, we would get up, have breakfast and then go swimming at the beach or pool until lunch. Then perhaps they would be quiet for a little bit in the afternoon. Then I would take them swimming again before dinner. My mother, who raised a houseful of sweet-tempered girls, would always ask me why I couldn’t get anything done around the house.
@Rose, We had a dog who did the same thing!! The first time I accused my husband of eating the hot dogs and, worse, leaving the fridge open. But like you, I miss that dog even though he died three years ago. I would not care what he did if we could have him back in our lives.
@Lindsey, Mine died about three years ago too. Ate an entire deluxe pepperoni and sausage pizza off the kitchen counter once. And he was a beagle, not exactly a large dog. So sweet, so good with children, so naughty and terrible around food.
We were away camping last week and this week is VBS, so I don't feel like I've been home that much to be frugal, but I'll give it a chance.
1. So thankful that our church feeds the families that volunteer for VBS. The kids and I haven't had to worry about supper. My husband gets himself and my dad something when he gets home from work.
2. While we were camping, we hit up a few Goodwills to do some back to school shopping. My kids are quite OK with that for back to school. The 99 cent color tag really helped with my daughter's school needs. (I about feel over when another mom was talking about how much she spent at the outlets for her kids clothing...I just can't)
3. My son had an eye dr. appt and I was SOOO happy to learn that there is nothing wrong with his eyes and he does not need glasses.
4. On prime day, I completed the prime day "card" and was able to score some of the credits (for watching shows and listening to music)
5. Making my own coffee, packing lunch for work, packing snacks when we travel, mending a few items, etc. etc. etc.
We, like K from the country, also make sun tea, so no electricity needed! - we use cold water, which cuts down on the tannins.
1. Wifi was having issues. Rather than go to a cafe for wifi, we were able to borrow a personal mifi from our local library for free.
2. Picked 3 summer squash from our tiny garden as well as kale, arugula, green beans and our first tomato of the season.
3. Hosted brother-in-law and his 2 kids. Rather than go out for breakfast, I made a lovely spread with ingredients that I had on hand.
4. Conscious effort to eat all of the random bits from the freezer including some whey (made ricotta with that and some leftover milk) that I then made into a pasta sauce
5. Found the cheapest gas in town (was driving past it) and filled up.
1. I harvested enough cucumbers from the garden to make up a batch of sweet pickle relish. I have all items needed on hand and will end up with about a dozen jars to enjoy throughout the year.
2. I made a baked cod dish using up fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil from the garden.
3. 3 more zucchini harvested from the garden were shredded and put into the freezer for baking into zucchini bread later in the fall.
4. I am being more diligent about pulling plants from the garden that are done producing and replacing them with the next round of seeds or seedlings as needed. This week I will sow more seeds for squash, zucchini, green beans and okra.
5. I harvested zinnias from my garden as well to have fresh flowers in the house. This will also allow my zinnias to grow thicker and produce more blooms.
Kristen, estate sales with full garages are wonderful places to buy basic tools and fasteners. They are also great places to buy kitchen equipment. I suggest looking at the website, estatesales.net I can’t remember the last time that I purchased these items at retail.
My husband and I are entering our third week in our battle against Covid. Although we have tested negative, the symptoms —-tiredness and a cough — persist. We haven’t been anywhere or eaten much, so we have spent very little. It really brought home how much of our budget is now going to gas and food!!!!
My son shared his bounty of prepared dinners with his Dad and me. He and his wife were recipients of many meals after the birth of his son. A friend had set up a meal train for them. (This is an inexpensive way to bless someone in need). Since his refrigerator and freezer were full, he brought some things by for us to eat while we are convalescing.
We are making use of the library. We have been watching Season 4 of Yellowstone on DVD. I didn’t want to pay for yet another streaming service. So I patiently waited for this to become available. I also listened to books on Hoopla when I didn’t feel much like reading. Brain fog is real!
We are walking the dog twice a day. My doctor told us to keep moving, so we are. Walking is always free and almost always good for us.
Wishing everyone blessings of peace and good health!
@Bee,
I'm so sorry you are still feeling poorly, Bee! When I had covid, it took me three full weeks just to stop testing positive on rapids and another couple months to feel truly normal. My son had long covid for six straight months and it was a nightmare.
In case you're wanting some practical tips (I found the medical answer was basically "just wait") here are two things that helped us: 1. NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) is a supplement that you can get over the counter. It is a mucolytic, so helps with the coughing and it also helps detoxify the liver. It is given in hospitals in large doses to counteract the effects of Tylenol overdoses. My doctor sort of shrugged when I asked her about it, but until I started taking it in larger doses, I didn't start to get better. I had already been taking it prophylactically.
2. I got my son boosted when he was eligible and about three weeks later his chronic stomach pain and headache finally stopped. I don't know your feelings on vaccination, but if you are comfortable with it and due for a booster, at least in my son's case, it gave him enough of an immune boost to finally clear the virus particles from his lymphatic system. (We know it was in his lymphatic system because with all the tests we ran on him, the only thing that was ever found were enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes.)
Sorry to give unsolicited advice if you only wanted commiseration, but since I just went through this, I know how frustrating it can be to have doctors not really able to give you any helpful answers. And I really like both my doctor and my son's pediatrician. The reality is that the collective knowledge about this virus is just not that developed yet, despite loads of attention.
Oh my, I'm so sorry that you are feeling bad still.
The estate sale is a great idea! I have so few tools right now, and it is driving me nuts.
@Kristen, I wish you lived within an easy drive to my place. I'd be delighted to give you the run of DH's "man cave" garage, which is still pretty full of tools and hardware despite my best efforts at resale, barter, etc. One of these days, I need either to have that garage sale I've been vaguely discussing for some time, or to call in the Habitat for Humanity folks.
And @Bee, I'm distressed to hear that you and your DH still feel poorly after the COVID. Fingers crossed that you'll both be feeling better soon.
I was thinking of maybe putting a post up on the Buy Nothing group just to ask if anyone has extras they want to get rid of. Since I have almost no tools, it's not like I'd be picky!
@Bee, I'm so sorry about the Covid. One hard thing I've had to confront lately is that my long Covid is not going away by itself and I need either to go to rehab, which fills me with horror, or at least physical therapy twice a week. I can't keep going on like this. (I was hospitalized with Covid for ten days in November 2020.)
@Becca, Thanks for sharing your tips; good to know even just in case!
And Bee - kudos on keeping moving; so hard when you're constantly fighting exhaustion..
@Rose, good heavens Rose. I know next to nothing about long Covid. I'm assuming there is a point that you are no longer considered contagious?
@Rose, I had Covid for 2 weeks in Janurary. I was really sick. Covid changed me in ways I could have never dreamt. I saw a long term Covid Clinic MD where I live and he was amazing. He got me to the prople I needed for what was going on and now I have him as my internist. It was amazing. I strongly encourage you to seek out a clinic in your area. You need the emotional, psychological and physical care you deserve. You will not regret it.
@Anne,
Essentially you are no longer contagious when you test negative on a rapid test, but some people's immune systems hold onto the COVID virus and continue to have issues, primarily inflammation. And some people get better and then relapse. It is similar to how some people have issues with other viruses long term like mono becoming chronic fatigue syndrome or chicken pox becoming shingles. I hope, at least, as the world focuses on dealing with long COVID, some of these other viruses might also get sorted because many people have been suffering for years with little effective treatments once the initial acute phase ends.
@Becca, Thank you for sharing what worked for you.I’ll do some research.
@Suz, Rose, Kristen and Friends, thank you for your good wishes. I have come to realize now that Covid in all its many variants impacts everyone differently. Stay well, everyone.
@Rose, I have learned about long Covid recently. I hope you get some relief. I am hopeful that things will get better.
I hope your trip was well worth the "hours in the airport." That didn't sound so good. I'm sure you enjoyed seeing your friend, though.
My frugals:
1. I had blueberries in the freezer and leftover buttermilk in the refrigerator. Blueberry-Buttermilk sherbet to the rescue. I love my ice cream attachment for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, which had been a gift, so it was free.
2. I cleaned out one of my kombucha brewers and re-started it with a new batch of tea and the newest part of the mother (a "baby"). The mothers will grow multiple baby layers in the brewer over time. I saved one of the babies in a jar and covered it with kombucha to keep in case a mother fails. It's an expense to buy a new mother, but they produce their own babies for free, so this is the frugal way to keep a backup mother on hand. I will clean out the other brewer this weekend.
3. I made a big batch of "curried" stew and froze most of it in pint jars, leaving out enough for a couple of meals and a packed lunch. I also ate just squash and okra one night, both out of my raised beds, for a free meal.
4. I've been keeping the curtains closed on my bedroom windows, which face east. At this time of the summer, even the morning sun heats up the room too much.
5. I earned $5 on a survey and sent it to Paypal, applied my credit card cash-back money to my statement for credit, and stored some found cash in my savings account.
I love the pitcher, by the way, and wow, what a bargain!
@JD,
Forgot to add, I canceled my DH's coverage on my dental and vision plan. He is using the VA and the state for those now. My employer covers my premiums, but not my dependent's, so this is a small monthly savings for me of about $25. It adds up, though.
As we are setting up a second household, 5+ hours away, I am trying to shop our home for items to stock the new place. Here's to hanging on to some things, especially kitchen.
Picked up a solid wood table & chairs for $100 & hauled it home so husband could work on finish & re-gluing to make solid.
Only getting perishable grocery items as will be taking possession of 2nd place August 1. Since we have our own beef will be taking a cooler of meat to new place.
Getting ready to cancel TV subscription with local provider. Only watch a channel or two anyway so should have done this a long time ago.
Since we are using more gas now (used to walk to work) I use GasBuddy to find the cheapest fuel.
Glad you made it home safely Kristen - airport waiting is the worst.
Over here in earthquake country, no mirrors over the bed, ever! LOL
1. Lots of sun tea being made. Sun tea 'brews up' so nice and soft, we drink it straight without adding anything except ice.
2. Enjoying lots of free summer entertainment- pops concerts in the park, symphonies in the park, and next week a Shakespeare in the park event.
3. We've been extending the fun of the above events by having friends over afterward for drinks and dessert. Easy, inexpensive, and fun entertaining!
4. Buying used books from our local library for $1 a book. I enjoy taking my time without worrying about due dates, plus I donate them back when I'm finished, so a nice usage of a couple of dollars a month. Library used book stores are an overlooked resource I'm finding. Worth checking to see if your library has one. Ours generates almost $100,000 a year in revenue for our library, which primarily goes to programs for the community.
5. I repainted my stair posts myself, changing them from brown to white. I watched a video to make sure I did it right, and used sandpaper, primer, paint, and brushes of several sizes I already hand in my garage. It turned out great! (Side note that I use only two colors in my home, Swiss coffee for baseboards and trim, and a greige for the walls, so I am always able to locate matching paint in my garage for small touch ups.)
@Tamara R, when I first moved to California for college, I put books in the shelf over my bed in my dormroom. My roommate and friends looked at me like I was an idiot and told me that was a dumb idea. Coming from Texas and New Mexico, I had never experienced an earthquake. 25+ years later, nothing goes over the bed. Ever. 🙂
Made peach salsa and tortilla chips and hummus and pita bread as snacks for a get together instead of going to the store and buying something.
Line dried our clothes outside in the sun on the hottest days.
Made mint and chamomile tea from the garden instead of having canned soft drinks.
Finally did a bunch of returns that had been piling up. Yay for getting my money back.
Painted a bunch of mini watercolor and ink pictures on cards to use for future thank you cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards, etc.
1. Received a $30 check for my family doing a radio listening survey.
2. Bought a Kind bar for a dollar off the clearance rack at Publix.
3. Have been losing weight and a lot of my summer tops are too loose, but I decided to keep wearing them because summer is fairly short. Some of them can be taken up if the fit really bothers me.
4. Repaired another toy for the cat. She likes to pull the ears off her stuffed mice and I find them disturbing to look at like that, so I sew them back on more securely.
5. Looked up the off-rate hours for electricity and have been making a real effort to get my family to do their laundry after 5 p.m. during the week when the kw per hour rate drops by half. Laundry is probably our biggest electricity draw, after cooling, in the summer because I don't cook much in order to not heat up the house.
1. My husband and I have started the process of taking down a cherry tree that has been slowing dying since we moved into our house. We’re slowly removing the smaller trees to reduce the price that the tree trimmers quoted when they come back in the fall to clean up the oaks. By removing them slowly we will be able to have the limbs hauled away with our normal yard waste.
2. I’ve been staying on top of harvesting the raspberries in the patch. There’s more than we can manage so I’m freezing the amount needed for some of our favorite raspberry desserts.
3. I’m holding off meal planning until the day after I pick up our CSA – this way I’m using our veggies when they are at their best and not buying extras that will sadly go to waste.
4. I’m freezing whatever CSA veggies I know we won’t use right away. Last week we received four green bell peppers and four zucchinis (in addition to lots of other goodies). I knew we couldn’t finish those by the end of the week so I chopped the extra peppers and shredded the extra zucchini and threw them in the freezer for use this winter.
5. I ordered my son’s school supplies through his school. The overall price was comparable to what I would have paid for at the store. We’ve reused what we could all through elementary school but he’s moving on to middle school and most of what he needs is no longer reusable the way it was before.
Extra light in a house is almost always a good thing. Glad you're mirror is up!
Frugal things, moving edition:
-Cleaned/powerwashed/staged house on our own before showings
-Planned to crash at friends' house during showings, but 4/6 of them down with Covid, so instead dropped off supplies for them, returned library books and got Happy Hour Sonic Drinks. Not as cheap as friend time, but considering I had 2 dogs and 3 kids with me in 106 degree sun for 4 hours I think we did pretty well.
-Disenrolled kids from private school (starts three weeks earlier than New School District) since we'll be in new house prior to start of New School District.
-Eating through fridge/freezer so food isn't wasted; will have to give away condiments and any liquids. Already strategizing how to get that stuff to people who need it and will use so it doesn't get wasted.
-Bought bikes for New Home while they were $100 off. (bikes will make cheap healthy fun in Bike-Accessible New Home, even if it is an investment now)
-Requested medical records via email so as not to pay per page. One family member's record from one clinic was well over 300 pages. This will save us significant money as this member has been seen at 4 hospitals and 13 specialists clinics.
I originally thought I wasn't going to have much to share, but when I actually thought about the past few days, I think I've come up with enough worthy to share....
1. My neighbor stopped by one evening to meet our new puppies. She asked if I could use some lettuce from her garden. She gifted us a whole grocery bag full!!
2. My oldest and her boyfriend treated me to dinner one evening when Hubby had something to do.
3. I had some Kohls cash to use and got a free tshirt, no OOP cost
4. We had some fuel perks saved up thru one of our grocery store cards. Hubby used in his truck. $1.80 off per gallon. Saved us $43.90 on his fill up.
5. We had one whole week where we did not use our Air conditioning unit
6. Our neighborhood has a gage sale every other year. I didn't have much to sell, but I set up stuff I had listed on FB marketplace that hadn't sold yet. I made $68. (better than nothing!) Daughters and a friend also sold some stuff. We made almost $400 combined.
7. Our new puppy needed a new collar. I used a store coupon plus rewards to reduce the cost.
8. We had a shelf in our garage that we no longer had room for. Sold to a relative for $75
Every little bit adds back to our budget....!
@Gina, puppies are wonderful. How old is he or she?
Hi
In terms of wanting to be more frugal and also ingest less sugar, I'm getting into iced tea for the first time. We didn't drink it growing up so I'm not real up on making it. Any one have tips? Interesting things you have found to flavor it perhaps?
Thanks!
@Cindy, I haven't been a big iced tea person either, but this summer I've been making easy flavored iced tea just buying fruity flavored tea bags (currently orange passionfruit jasmine green tea). With the flavoring we'll drink it without added sugar.
@Cindy,
It's not tea, but I like to take a jug, put in a combination of a slice of a citrus fruit, with for instance a fresh strawberry or two, or some ginger. Pour over some boiling water and leave to stand for an hour or so, then top up with cold water and keep in fridge. It makes for a very subtly flavored drink, with no suger.
Many many more combinations are possible by the way-
@Cindy, I've been making sun tea with some bags of green tea, ginger, and lemon that I found at the back of my pantry. (In my pantry's depths, mysteries lurk.) This makes a very refreshing cold tea; I add only a little Sweet and Low.
@Cindy,
I keep a glass in the fridge with sliced lemons in it. (I just take everyone's after dinner because we have lemon in our water.) After about a week, I have the glass mostly full of lemons and they start to ferment slightly and I like the flavor. I add fresh water to the glass and the refrigerated lemons make it cold, lemony and slightly fermenty. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it better than plain water. At the end of the week, I compost them and start over.
@Cindy,
I make it with loose tea, but bags are fine. I brew it in a about a quart of boiled and slightly cooled water, then strain out the leaves (or remove the bags). I don't add sugar, but if you do, do it while the brew is still good and warm, so it will dissolve, then add cold water to make the desired amount that fits your pitcher. I make it in a gallon pitcher. Luzianne is an often used brand of bags around here - most of the folks I know use it or Tetley bags. We always keep ours in the refrigerator to keep it from getting moldy and/or bitter. I usually make mine using loose leaf rooibos tea and dried stevia leaf, brewing them together. With a diabetic spouse, I haven't drank sugar-sweetened tea in a long, long time.
A popular choice around here is half iced tea, half lemonade. Another one that I first tasted at the old House of Grace in Paducah, Kentucky, was iced tea mixed with cold white grape juice. It was very popular. You can buy fruit flavored tea bags or add real fruit juice to add a kick to your tea. I hope you find something you really enjoy.
@Cindy, I use an 8 cup pyrex measuring cup half full with boiling water. I add 4 black tea bags and one or two flavored tea bags ( my favorites in the summer are peach or mint), let steep for about ten minutes, the remove tea bags. Add sugar or sweetner to taste if desired, then pour over ice to cool and add water to get the strength of tea you like. The possibilities are endless. Hope you enjoy it and finding new combos!
We just put 5 store-brand tea bags in a pitcher and fill with cold water. Let it steep for a couple of hours and then pour over ice. We will switch it up with any kind of herbal tea that we also have, but find the herbal needs another bag.
I signed up for electronic billing with Frontier. I really prefer mailed bills but they were going to charge $2.99 per bill!
I purchased my 6th prescription from Vons and received a $50 grocery gift card. Although since we used the money to buy a special treat, maybe it is not frugal after all? (We bought an expensive bottle of wine for our anniversary instead of stocking the pantry.)
I picked peaches at a friends house.
We are eating up all of the left overs. My husband even ate my leftover gluten-free pasta! (He is not impressed by gluten free options.)
I can't think of a fifth frugal choice or activity, but when I hit "comment" it will come to me.
Absolutely love your stories of furnishing your home for cheap and free.
- The veggies from my garden were piling up, so I’ve been trying to make use of all my low cost food while I can. One evening, I made 8 jars of tomato sauce, pre-cooked two pots of edamame to freeze for later, roasted two pans of mixed veggies (tomatoes, okra, zucchini, yellow scalloped squash), cut up sweet peppers for the kids to snack on, made a tomato salad, and baked both regular and allergy-friendly chocolate chip oatmeal muffins. Those obviously aren’t garden related, but I figured I’d make use of an already the hot oven and it’s definitely cheaper to make than buy at the store.
- I re-purposed some boxes for my daughter to use as drawer organizers.
-We went on our weekly library visit.
- I’ve been reusing cooking water and rainwater for my garden, when I can.
- I got the kids’ supply lists for school and we “shopped the house” before buying anything new. Thankfully, I did a better job than usual with keeping track of everything after school ended this Spring, which made things much easier!
Just wanted to mention that my local Buy Nothing/Free site has started 3 new headings
“Wishful Wednesday “ where you post what you are wishing for and hopefully someone will have! Like today a person wished for the Volatren coupon in last weeks flyer. I had 6 to give! and already they have been picked up.
“Fat Chance Fridays” where you post a need that you think has a fat chance of being fulfilled (like an air conditioner/Kitchen Aid mixer)
There is also an interest in the donation of time/skills that is being weighed.
I'm glad to read about everyone's frugality this week. We had an emergency visit with one of the cats to an emergency vet, so $$$ here. Cat is doing significantly better and I don't regret taking him, but better luck next week for us to practice some frugality.
That pitcher looks like it is aluminum. I hope not because that affects the tastes of tea.
@Linda,
If it's restaurant grade, it's probably stainless steel.
Nope! Stainless steel.
1) Charged our electric car for free at work (also got meals on the two days I was in the office, & attended one workout class - all free). My favorite perk is easily the workout classes, & it's part of what motivates me to come to the office, after all of that time WFH.
2) Continued to use the many, many tomatoes we have from our garden. Shared them with someone who was offering me cloth napkins on BN. Win/win.
3) Traded garden zucchini for lemons with another neighbor
4) Made the most of leftovers, and turned fridge scraps into a chicken curry dish
5) Worked out elaborate plan to avoid taking Ubers on vacation in the next week. This is overly complex as my husband is flying out of another airport, on another day, due to a business trip.
I think we should give Rose the benefit of the doubt here. She's smart and savvy, and clearly this dude has managed to hoodwink scads of people, so we too probably could have been hoodwinked.
Rose, I hope you can get things sorted so you can rent your house to someone else!
@Kristen,
Very much so!
Someone who pays on time, keeps the house clean and tidy, gets on with the neighbours and is honest, kind and courteous. Sending thoughts your way!
Batched cooked and froze the following: pesto, chicken, black beans and mushy strawberries for smoothies.
I tend to wear the same things over and over ( for years!). Was getting the itch to shop before school started. Did a closet refresh. Put things together in different combinations ( seldom do I ever! WAH!) and also found two shirts that I forgot I actually like.
Scheduling and attending lots of medical appointments for entire family because we met the deductible!
Cooking and eating at home. Needing soft foods due to dental work.
Taking care of boring routine car maintenance to avert major trouble in the future ( hopefully!).
Used a student groomer to save 20 percent on doggie spa day. Her haircut was not perfect but I support the learning curve of students!
1. Did a grocery store shop and was paid for the shop plus was reimbursed for three pounds of ground beef.
2. Sold a book.
3. The timing was right and a post office shop paid for me to send the book, plus I made $12. And the post office was on the way to an appointment so no gas used.
4. Thanking myself every day when I go out to gather that day's food from the garden. No having to go to the grocery store this week.
5. I am starting to preserve garden produce and berries for the winter, which will save us money in the future. Accepted some free canning jars.
Frugal fail: We were given a mower that we didn't need. I FINALLY convinced my husband to let me sell it. Found a buyer who was to come by the next day to pick it up. That night we had a terrible wind storm that blew over a huge tree. The top part landed on our roof, but the tail end managed to crush the mower. Oh, yes, and the tree got tangled in the power lines so the electricity went off and we had the pleasure of watching electricity arc for a few hours before the electric company arrived. So, roof repairs and no mower to sell...
@Lindsey,
Yikes! That tree sounds scary! Sucks about the extra expenses, but I'm glad at least that you weren't hurt.
@Lindsey, your frugal fail sounds like the Storm from Hell. I'm just glad that you and your husband weren't hurt.
I pulled the friend card to get some out of town guest passes for our local museum. Saved $35 & went to get coffee afterwards. Fun time had by all.
Most dinners and lunches have been from the garden.
Got a great deal on a new large planter for my son. I did most his landscaping with plants I had at home. One spot where nothing will grow due to tree roots is where the planter will go.
I don't normally shop at Walmart but his morning I needed to pick up some meds that are cheaper there and they had 2# bags of cheese for $2.50 so I froze 3 packages.
I totally messed up on my Chewy order. My vet has not been able to get the script food my dog eats so I got the script and ordered from Chewy. I ended up having to call, they were super helpful at fixing the order and kindly gave me an additional 10% off which with the new script discount saved me $30. Having 2 medical issue dogs is a great drain on the pocket book. One has IBD and the other has dermatitis that has been so difficult to control.
Writing because some of you might have the same items from government give-aways:
I looked at our stash of home Covid tests and saw that most of them expire in mid-August.
We are fortunate to not have needed them recently. I might stretch them a few weeks past expiration, but not months and months.
@Heidi Louise,
They apparently last longer than their expiration dates. I can't remember exactly how much longer, but it was in the news not to throw them out yet.
@Becca,
Here's some info on the different tests and their extended life spans.
https://www.center4research.org/when-do-at-home-covid-19-tests-expire/
Basically, don't throw them out yet because as soon as the FDA has more data (ie over time) they will likely extend it again. As long as the control line shows up, it should still work. They are similar to pregnancy tests and those things work long after they are officially expired. Also, since it's not something you take internally, there's not a safety concern-just more of a "can I really trust this result?" concern.
If you're worried about the accuracy of an older test (like say you were definitely exposed for a significant period of time and are just repeatedly testing negative), you can always seek out a PCR because they are more accurate anyway, especially since they are usually administered by a professional instead of a person who is freaking out because they think they have covid.
@Becca, Thank you for all the information! I stuffed them back in the cupboard until they fall out on me again, and won't rush to get rid of them.
@Heidi Louise,
Hahaha! That's exactly what mine are like!
I hope that you had a wonderful visit with your friend.
I'm not sure if I have five frugal things this week.
-- Items from around the house continue to sell on eBay, which is great.
-- Instead of going away for 2 or 3 nights, I am spending my staycation doing things around my city that I haven't done in years, such as visiting the zoo.
-- I've borrowed two audio books from the library.
-- I've changed the valve and flapper in the upstairs toilet as it had been doing the phantom flush for a while and that wastes a lot of water.
I can't think of a 5th other than the usual of making coffee and meals at home, and using store offers / points offers when I need to pick up a few groceries.
I am sorry to hear so many in the comments suffering from COVID or long COVID. I am thankful that I have not yet caught it. I recently had my 4th vaccine/2nd booster.
You know, you don't even have to heat the water to make iced tea - You can just add water from the tap at normal temperature and let it sit with the tea overnight or all day, and the tea turns out fine!
1. Using gift cards only to enjoy summer iced coffee-BEST drink so far? The chocolate cream cold brew at Starbucks!
2. Using Yoga on YouTube to take care of me....Yoga with Adriene is my favorite!
3. Walks daily to stay healthy
4. Use Hotels.com to book hotel needs
5. Used AirMiles to book my summer vacation flights for 4
Frugal wins:
* Faithfully using my gym membership 3 times a week, for a small fee of 2,30$/session.
* Got family tickets for free entrance at the museum, saving us 65$
* Drowning in zucchinis from our garden at the moment. Shredding and freezing for later use
* Bringing my lunch to work everyday
* Spending time with friends and family without spending (much) : board games night, picnics, visit to their cottage, going for walks, etc
Frugal fail : a young lady hit my car. Upon quick inspection I didn't notice anything wrong, and the lady was deeply disturbed (shaking/crying hard) by something else (she mentionned that her best friend had died the week prior, I think the accident was just too much on top of this and she literally broke down in front of me). I ended up not looking at my car any longer and comforting her instead. The day after I did notice a pretty big bump on the side of the car. I have been mad at myself since. Lesson learned : if this happens again, no matter what I will take the time to REALLY inspect the car! This will probably cost me a couple thousands if I decide to have it fixed at some point (and she was not faking it btw, I did find out that the story was true : a 17 year old died in a 4 wheeler accident. Very sad).
1. I packed away all of my son's school supplies last month. His school published his supply list for this year already. I ended up spending only $15 on new school supplies because he had so many items on this list already.
2. I made corn muffins for my son's snack at camp next week. They used up 2 cups of milk that needed to go. I made banana bread for my kid's breakfast next week, using up over-ripe bananas.
3. I continue to forage for berries and medicinal herbs. This is free, I get exercise, and it's fun!
4. We harvested potatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and some cherry tomatoes from our garden.
5. I am getting my gallbladder removed in 4 weeks. Sad face. I started my short-term disability claim already because I know what a pain these companies can be.
@Corrine Wilson, I just had my gall bladder removed a month ago due to a gall stone blocking the bile duct. Horrible experience and only 4 weeks after having my second child. I was quite pleased it was able to be removed laparoscopically. Small little incisions. I get 90% normal after about 4 days. And 2 weeks later it was like it never happened.
1. We've been enjoying free entertainment, like bike rides and hikes.
2. I made most of our meals at home.
3. We borrowed a board game and a movie from the library. When I returned them, I was able to pick up an item on hold.
4. I switched out toys for my younger children, so they have "new" toys to play with.
5. I found swim diapers in the linen closet! I was so happy because our summers are short and the child had better be potty trained by next summer.
Love the mirror, and as a Biology major I TOTALLY see the red blood cell there (healthy one, not sickle cell!)
* Emailed my contact lens manufacturer when 2 of the 6 lenses in my pack were defective. After them taking waaaaaay too long to follow up with replacements, my eye Dr texted me to say she'd set aside 4 at the front desk so I wouldn't be without (I'm legally blind). So 4 extra lenses free, that's several months for me!
* Took our own snacks to a fun outing so we wouldn't be too tempted by concessions. Also remembered to redeem the kids' Book It free pizzas while we were in town.
* Said yes to any free food we were offered (VBS extras, garden produce, church social leftovers), even if we're "not fond of it" as my 5-year-old daughter says. Some weird stuff, sure, but lots of goodies to lighten the grocery load!
* I wanted to send a handmade gift to a friend whose dear sweet baby died right after birth, and was looking for a pretty box that would be keepsake quality to send it in. My daughter came home with a wooden box from VBS craft time that was just perfect. I contacted someone from the church asking where I could buy one. They had some left over and were glad to donate it to honor this little one. I would have gladly paid any amount but finding the perfect one was the best.
* Oldest son is having the time of his life at a magician's conference right now. He'd wanted to go for a while but it wasn't really feasible with travel expenses and being a teen alone. An older friend was going and at the last minute needed a sidekick to help him stay awake driving and help with his booth, so he's paying all expenses for my Houdini to go along!
* Went down the rabbit hole of Pinterest to see how I could re-jigger some of the clothes I already have. I'm a reasonably-experienced sewer (sewist, sew-what?) but sometimes my brain goes to mush when I'm trying to update clothes. Found some easy and cute ways to use what's in the closet already and am already happy with how they're turning out - looking at you, tight crew neck Tshirt with the great logo!
* Hopefully frugal and so much better, we'll see. Took my husband's grandmother in for a follow up visit today after an ER stay and pushed hard to explore the options open to get her some care at home. We'd love to keep her home as long as possible but she's declining with astonishing speed, dementia is hitting hard and she's resistant to us helping with things like bathing. The PCP ordered physical therapy and hospice consults. Grandma is hacked at being dragged to the Dr since she's "just fine," but hopefully her insurance will help with this much-needed care, instead of hiring someone ourselves or putting her in a facility just yet. Hoping so! I'm also glad that our children are getting to walk through this with us, and are learning firsthand what honoring someone who is elderly looks like day to day.
I love the mirror! That makes so much sense to hang it opposite a window. Also, I like Amazon Warehouse! I don't quite understand it, but I got a sheet pan for a bit saved and it was brand new! Hubby did the same thing with a headlight (that you wear for camping, not auto). It was a great deal and I think it was also brand new...
As far as frugal things, we had a free pizza meal with points last night. I found a book I had to read for $4 shipped on eBay, not as cheap as a library but still pretty good. I'm planning on organizing my basement pantry and checking expiration dates today. Our town has been having gas wars so we have filled up for $3.22 per gallon and $3.15 (I do wish they'd keep friendly feuding but I believe the war is over. It made national news even!) Fifth thing: I was gifted blackberries from two different coworkers! So some got frozen and one quart got made into a cobbler with lots of cardamom. If you haven't tried cardamom in a blackberry cobbler, do it!!
Make sun tea and the energy is supplied free by the sun! lol I remember my grandma making it all the time-in the summer months of course : )
A sinus infection (free RX antibiotic!) saved us from spending 3 days in Steamboat Springs. We did lose $18 on the first night's camping fee, but otherwise I'm sure we saved MUCH more than that! No gas, no eating out for lunches, etc.
I've been really paying attention to grocery bills lately and am pleasantly surprised and pleased with myself. Spending has been much lower than normal and we haven't missed anything.
I'm cooking ahead, freezing, and the garden is coming alive! So we're saving there too because we don't have to buy any of the following: basil, parsley, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes. Hooray!
Sweet Corn is coming in and is on super sale at the store so I keep buying 8-10 ears when they're .25 cents or less a piece and freezing them.
I totally see the red blood cell in your light fixture! I went through A&P for nurse's training when my son was about two and he used to crawl up in my lap when I was studying and ask to see the red blood cell. It was his favorite picture! He also used to put his chin on my collar bone during Mass and say, "Clavicle!"
Jefferson wasn't the only one who had a thing about mirrors -- Charles Dickens filled his writing chalet with mirrors, positioned so they caught the light and bounced it around the room, along with leaf shadows, bird movements, etc. He wrote about it in more than one letter, and said he loved it.
(I think he enjoyed this effect elsewhere in his house, too...like his dining room.)
I don't feel very frugal this week as we've had to do some necessary spending, but I guess that means it's good to look for the ways we have been frugal:
I've picked and processed (frozen or canned) over 15 pints of raspberries and blueberries, which makes me incredibly happy. The blueberries are wild and the raspberries are compliments of a generous neighbor. I love berries, but they are a definite treat!
My SIL was getting ready for a Goodwill haul, and I was able to take a small chair, a night stand, several pieces of wall art, 3 pairs of shoes and a few articles of clothing. She's happy; I'm happy!
I returned some rodent traps to amazon that my husband decided he did not need. I'm glad amazon makes the process so easy and that my very small town now has a UPS drop off point in our tiny grocery shop.
I've canned 4 pints of green beans and 5 pints of greens. At the current rate of inflation, I estimate that will save me $364 off my grocery bill. Ha.
We are at a point where I do not need to buy any fresh produce. The garden is giving us all we need with plenty to share.
Happy Thursday everyone!
Your ice cream scooper reminds me of the kind that were used at the Friendly's that I worked out. It was a restaurant that was famous for it's ice cream items. I scooped many a cone and made many a sunday or milk shake with those scoops.
Love the ice cream scooper and the great price. Your mirror story reminded me that we still have my dmil's living room mirror that weighs a ton. We should hang it in dh's bedroom so he'll get more light in there. I prefer to sleep in deep darkness.
Dh took one for the team and ate the leftover salmon and baked beans today for lunch, along with two (!) english muffins. He did have to put some good filling food in his belly to last him his 18 holes of golf that he played this afternoon into the evening.
I ate the second half of my 6" Subway sub. Since my sleeve gastrectomy I can eat about 3 bites of the sub which is about 3" of a 6" sub and have some left for the next day.
I went 40 miles today to my favorite oral surgeon for an appointment. The appointment was for an extra, nothing else. I will have the screw put in in September. I swear this whole process will take over a year - I'm getting an implant. Good news is if I have to wait til January to get the crown made I'll have new money in my dental account to pay for it.
Have to check into my FSA account. We have $2500 on it and there is almost $1600 left in it. Hubby and I won't use that much for prescriptions this year as I'm on a waaay lower dose of insulin and my meds are lasting longer as I can't get that many in my skinny tummy tube.
Other than that, cooking at home, monitoring electric and AC, running the dishwasher for 30 minutes after I rinse the dishes real good. Not driving too much and hubby has a company car and he only goes into the office 2x a week.
@Auntiali, Meant to type xray, lol!
Hi Kristen,
Thank you for your encouraging and uplifting blog. I have followed you for many years, but this is my first time posting. My reason is that I am concerned about the beautiful heavy mirror that you have hung over your bed. Even though the mirror is hung on 2 studs, it could shake loose and fall on you if you had an earthquake. I haven't read all the comments, so maybe someone else has already mentioned this. Regardless, I want you to stay safe.
Aww, thank you for your kind words and for your concern. The area I live in is not at all earthquake-prone, so we generally do not have to stress about hanging things on the walls. But if I lived in California or something, I would definitely put the mirror somewhere else!