Five Frugal Things | I got free furniture
1. My dad and I picked up furniture from the abandoned house
When my brother first bought the abandoned house, I had no idea I would have any use for the furniture in it.
But, here we are. Life comes at you fast!
My dad kindly helped me go scavenge a dining table, four chairs, two nightstands, and a small table, and now all of that stuff is in his garage, waiting for me to sand it down.
I have fun plans for the big round dining table, which I will hopefully share in an Instagram reel sometime today. Spoiler: I plan to branch out from my usual black or white paint choices!
So...some before and after furniture posts will be coming your way in the next few weeks.
(I'm guessing most of you have already seen this, but in case you are wondering why I need furniture...here's what's going on.)
2. I used a $15 birthday gift coupon
It's my birthday at the end of this month, so I have been receiving birthday offers from various companies. I know that people who are into digital privacy would never do this, but when I sign up for reward programs, I always opt to put my birthday in, and every April, it pays off pretty nicely. 😉
(If you are seriously into digital privacy, you could always opt to put in an incorrect birthdate...it's not like they check your ID before they send you a coupon/discount/freebie.)
Anyway, I had a $15 coupon for a restaurant near the college, so when Zoe had an evening class, I went and used it to order a shrimp sandwich and duck fat fries.
I know sometimes people feel very odd about dining out alone, but I just brought along one of my library books and happily ate my dinner in my booth.
My book this time was The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, which I have now added to my list of medical memoirs (along with two others, one of which I did not like. And it takes a lot for me to not like a medical memoir-ish book!)
3. A friend is giving me a frying pan
I deserve no credit for this, but I'm just sharing because I am so happy! One of my book club members, who is also a blog reader, emailed to say she has an extra All Clad frying pan that she doesn't need (she got a new pan for Christmas).
And she offered to give it to me!
So, a thousand thanks to my friend Elaine. What a wonderful hand-me-down.
4. I used a discount code to buy a mattress
I am a person who is quite willing to use secondhand stuff (see the earlier parts of this post.)
But when it comes to mattresses? NO.
So, I ordered one for myself and used a discount code to save 30%. And now it's sitting in a box in my dad's garage, waiting until I get a rental.
Thank goodness for my dad's big garages!
5. Um. I fixed my joggers.
You have seen me mend these American Giant joggers a billion times before; my goal was to keep them going through the cold weather walking season.
And I really will pay for a new pair in the fall.
We are almost past the cold days here, but my joggers sprouted a few new holes by the waistband and needed a quick mend.
So, I got out my mom's sewing machine (the one I learned to sew on!) and did a few quick zig-zag repairs.
And I think that will be the last repair necessary before these hit the rag bag because very soon, it'll be shorts weather for morning walks.
I am SO excited for your furniture finds, especially the round table and chair. So much beauty there waiting for you to uncover. I selfishly hope you decide to keep the natural wood look!
@Kim S., I agree with you re: the natural wood. I know that painting furniture is all the rage these days, but I'm a mid-century relic with some natural patina myself (ahem), so I prefer the natural look.
I think I will probably do a combo. One of the pieces is a little table that has water damage to the veneer, though, so that's definitely going to need to be painted.
@A. Marie, ha ha!! I have a great patina too. lol
@Kristen, There is a product called Howard's restorative something or other that you can use on natural wood to restore the finish. Look it up on the Home Depot website. The Freakin' Frugal Family loves to use it, especially Frugal Daddy who restores clocks.
1. Big frugal win this week as I found an old classic bike in a recycling center where they had refurbished it. I love getting around on a bike in the city, but there is a huge chance of your bike getting stolen here so I don't want to spend a lot on a new one (my old bike was stolen in the fall, which stung as I had just gotten it for my birthday).
2. To prevent bike thefts I needed a really heavy duty bike lock for my new bike. The day after getting my bike, I spotted one in my FB yardsale group for next to free, the exact kind I needed.
3. It's finally warm enough for me to pull out the trick of using leftover coffee for iced coffee, saving up on coffee brew.
4. Last fall, I purchased a cardigan I've been wearing a lot through the winter. I saw that it was marked down 70% for the spring, so I bought a second one in a lighter spring color for less than 10 dollars.
5. Frugalish Easter dinner with roasted root veggies as the main course, dressed up with a yummy tahini sauce. Root veggies are definitely worth the effort to bring out their flavor.
Can't wait to see some furniture photos!
I love your rescued furniture. It bet it is well made compared to what you would buy in a store, and it's classy looking.
1. I went to the dentist for my six month check-up/cleaning and our dental insurance covered the bill. It's better to keep on top of these things. We don't love this dentist, he bought the practice from our long time dentist, but he does accept our insurance so it's cheaper to use him and we have not settled on an alternative yet.
2. I'm saving on haircuts, unintentionally. I skipped going during the Omicron surge because of the surge and the fact that my stylist just was not doing a good job and my hair really needed some growing out after the last time she cut my hair. I switched to a friend's stylist and last contacted her about ten days ago to request an appointment. I haven't heard back so things are a bit shaggy but that never killed anyone.
3. I went to lunch with a friend and ordered soup. I received a last minute lunch invitation. I'd already eaten most of my lunch, at home, but said I'd be up for soup. We both ordered soup, which made it quick and cheap but I tipped as if we'd ordered meals. Tipping is the opposite of frugal these days as I think essential workers deserve to be well tipped.
4. A neighbor had surgery and was not allowed to drive. I asked if there was anything I could bring him and he was craving a veggie tray. The store was out so I asked the neighbor if he had ranch dressing, since he did I bought a bag of carrots and a bag of ready to eat broccoli & cauliflower. It was much cheaper than the tray would have been and it was a lot less plastic.
5. I am taking one for the team by eating toast made with sour dough bread and spreading it with pumpkin seed butter. I am also topping that with delicious blueberry jam.
It’s great that those items will get use for many more years.
I sold a few more items, it’s always a surprise what is picked. Though at this point I have a idea what the pickers like. One bought $150 another $40. Some of this I would have tossed so it seems like a real win. I have a few more things that they liked but with the price of everything else, sales are slow and the stores packed. I’m selling cheap enough so they do make money but as with everyone space is precious.
I’ll be bringing home some things to makeover. Some is getting donated and the rest will go out for the trash pickers. Savings for everyone.
Wanted to do adult Easter basket with nice chocolate. Didn’t want to buy anything so made paper baskets using what I had here. This has been my main frugal activity lately. I’m not buying anything when I can almost always find something that will work.
Alone the same line my file folders are all ragged looking. I was going to buy some new ones but only the top tab part looks bad. So I’m trimming them and cleaning out the cabinet at the same time.
Used a staples coupon, spend $10 off $20. I bought coffee and tea. Which is how I’ve been spending, consumables not more stuff that hangs around.
I can’t wait to see what you do with the furniture. I just saw a similar oak table painted the prettiest shade of navy blue.
It has not been a particularly frugal week, so I am struggling as I try to remember anything that I did that was at all thrifty.
1) I have dealt with the remaining Easter ham freezing the leftovers and the bone. We had Easter breakfast at my house immediately following Sunrise Service. There were only 6 of us, but my husband purchased a 10 1/2 pound ham. (He loves ham and thinks more is better.) I think we had 9 1/2 lbs leftover.
2) I scanned all my receipts to Fetch and Ibotta. I also shopped at the vitamin store on 20% off Thursday.
3) I helped my adult son with his taxes. Not frugal for me, but it did help him out. This is not his strength.
4) I picked up several books from the library including Sally Rooney’s new book, Beautiful World Where Are You. I always find her books interesting and a bit challenging at first. Although there is character interaction, there isn’t any actual dialogue.
5) All the usual things - drinking primarily filtered water, brewing my own coffee, and cooking from scratch.
Wishing everyone peace and good health.
@Bee, Thank you for the book recommendation. When I went to the library last time I realized 2 of the 4 books were from recommendations here.
In fact right now am reading The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan about England's cooking/rationing during WWII it is very interesting. I like it a lot.
@Bee, somebody once said, “Eternity is two people and a ham.” 😀
Sounds like that would be fine with your husband!
@karen, I really enjoyed The Kitchen Front. Basically any book set in a small English town during WWII is gonna be a hit with me...Currently I'm reading The Rose Code by Kate Quinn and like it as well.
@karen,
I happened upon The Kitchen Front at the library one day. I really enjoyed it. I enjoy historical fiction. I tend to do follow up research of subjects.
@Molly F.C., Did you read The Huntress by Kate Quinn. That was good.
@JEG, I did not but am requesting that title from my local library now. Thanks for the tip!
@karen, I read the Kitchen Front and loved it.
1. Did not put the window units in when the teenager whined about the heat a few days ago.
2. Did turn the heat back on when it got cold again, but only when it dropped below 60 in the house.
3. Topped off both cars before the gas tax holiday expired.
4. Reused wrapping paper from shipping and old gift bags for birthday wrapping.
5. Over spring break, made only one outing: library and health food store and spent less than 100.00 total.
Did you get any comments about your book when you were eating at the restaurant? On the very rare occasions I eat by myself or have to wait somewhere, I always read a (physical) book, and EVERY TIME, someone comments on how unusual it is to see anyone read a book anymore.
Anyway. Frugal stuff--Easter edition.
--The only church clothes I had to buy this year for Easter was a dress for my daughter, which I got secondhand for five dollars. I managed appropriate clothing for the rest of us from what we already had. My children were shocked to see my wearing ACTUAL HEELS. (Said heels were purchased on clearance for ten dollars ten years ago for my sister's wedding. 🙂 )
--Same Easter baskets we've had for years now, lined with a cloth napkin in a spring-y pattern (I absolutely detest plastic grass). I did buy the books and chocolate that went in them, but I consider those worthy puchases.
--Still dye actual hard-boiled eggs, and now I do it with natural dyes I make myself, because I dislike those kits. I used the skin and top from a cooked beet for purple, curry powder for yellow, and paprika for orange. The beet remains went to the chickens. I drained the water off the spices and used the curry powder to make curried split peas last night. I'll use the paprika later this week. And of course, we eat the actual eggs. Zero-waste dyed eggs are my favorite.
--Our Easter meal was a leg roast from the ram we butchered a couple of months ago, covered in a green garlic paste made from the abundant green garlic in my husband's mini garlic farm. Yogurt sauce made from homemade yogurt and more green garlic. Homemade sourdough pita bread. And tomatoes and cucumbers, which were from Misfits Market, but only because my own tomatoes are still six-inch plants and I haven't even planted the cucumber seeds yet. I also decided last-minute to make a carrot cake. Never made one, but I had all the ingredients on hand. I didn't do a breakdown, but I suspect that was a pretty frugal meal.
--The rest of the lamb juices went into the giant batch of venison chile I made from a very rough chunk of deer ribs given to us by an elderly man we know. Like many of the older people here, he grew up in a subsistence life and is horrified by waste of any kind. So he rescues meat that hunters would throw out and brings it to us. 🙂 I usually make into a chile for my husband, who doesn't mind rough meat and the occasional bit of bone in his chile. It's a lot of work to get a throw-away hunk of meat wrapped in a garbage bag and often covered in bits of grass or hair into a state fit for eating, but it is essentially free except for my time.
No one said anything to me! Maybe the combo of eating alone + reading a book made people think I was too weird to talk to. lol
I feel the same as you about Easter grass. What a terrible invention that stuff is.
@kristin @ going country, I am a doctor and I always feel extra warm towards the patients who I see reading books in the waiting room. 99% are on their phone. Extra kudos to parents who are reading to their kids while waiting.
@Sarah K, my kids still bring books to read while waiting for appointments (they are 16- and 18-years-old). We frequently get comments about that. To be fair, sometimes I read a book on my Libby app while waiting--so much easier to cart around than a phone is.
@kristin @ going country, I'm another weirdo who reads hard-copy books in waiting rooms. And I think it's delightful that you put books as well as candy in your kids' Easter baskets!
@Sarah K, I am generally reading a book on my phone, or a newspaper. Ditto for my kids.
I am really tired of people privileging paper books over e-books. If you prefer them, fine, but don't assume everyone "on their phone" is playing a game or scrolling social media. I usually have at least two books on my phone at any one time and ditto for my kids.
I just like paper books better! There are so many ways that ebooks are more practical, but I have not been converted so far. I stubbornly choose physical books.
I really like the idea of a nice Easter- or spring-themed cloth in the Easter baskets! I have been unable to think of a good alternative to the grass (probably because I could take or leave Easter baskets, so they are my husband's territory). This year he went with paper grass rather than plastic grass, which I would say is a step up, but it's only Tuesday and I'm already completely over finding paper grass on the living room floor.
@kristin @ going country, I use pastel washcloths for my Eater basket liners. The paper grass would always get all over the house despite my best efforts, and the cats would invariable digest some to ill effects.
@Lori, "Shredded" cloth works-- Rip up remnants of your choice into thin strips. I had some pale green stuff for some years.
(Can later be used for stuffing or composted if cotton. Or cut even shorter and hung out for the birds to use for nests).
@kristin @ going country, Years ago, my husband and I were sitting in the living room, both reading books. Our foster kid walked in and started laughing, saying he had never seen one, let alone two people reading books. He thought teachers were the only ones who read when they did not have to! It was a huge victory for us when we got him interested in graphic novels so he would sometimes join us in reading, although he asked that we did not tell his friends that some nights we all read together.
@Lori,
I've dug up clumps of dandelions from the yard and put them in empty Easter baskets before. I just put them in a little bowl and put the whole bowl in the basket. It looks quite pretty. This year I just reused some paper grass that I had from a basket my mom gave me last year. After about ten minutes on Easter morning though their little candy-addled brains could not handle it and I had to disappear it all for next year... assuming I forget how annoyed I got...
@kristin @ going country, when my kids were of Easter basket age I used the same bag of plastic grass for at least 10 yrs if not longer. I stored it in a ziploc bag (store brand) and brought it out every year.
@Kristen, I don't get that comment either. I'm glad about it - I'd find it annoying to be interrupted like that.
I wish you could get some of the things you had at your former home. You spent time and effort acquiring them.
@Michelle, I keep thinking the same thing! Like really...is Mr. FG going to use the sewing machine? Her favorite loaf pans for bread? Her lekue watermelon cover?
@Michelle and @Lauren, see @Rose's comment farther down that we don't know all the facts about what's going on, and Kristen's reply to it. Kristen will update us in her own good time. Patience is a virtue.
FFT, Frugal Stuff I Still Enjoy Doing Edition:
Last Wednesday's post and comments on frugal hacks that haven't worked for various folks got me thinking about frugal hacks I still do enjoy. (Different strokes for different folks, our mileages will vary, etc.)
And I've had time to think about it this week, in self-isolation following exposure to DH's COVID last Wed. afternoon (he tested positive on Thurs. morning). Fortunately, I continue to test negative, and his case continues to be mild as far as I know.
(1) Hanging laundry. I gave up hanging it outdoors, back when the crazy cat lady still lived next door and her cats were peeing on my sheets--but I love my collection of old indoor drying racks and enjoy the activity. It also does make a small but noticeable difference on the National Grid bill, and the clothes last longer.
(2) Keeping the heat low in the winter and the AC high in the summer. Now that I'm living alone, I can do this again; poor DH had only a narrow range of temperature comfort during his last few months at home.
(3) Thrift shopping, which remains a favorite sport for me, even though I'm trying to buy less. It's the thrill of the chase.
(4) Cloth napkins, as well as cut-up worn-out clothing for rags. I can't remember the last time I bought paper napkins, and I haven't bought a pack of paper towels in months. (But I do agree with one commenter last week that "some messes are just too gross for rags.")
(5) Cooking from scratch whenever possible. This is another thing I've been able to get back to since DH's placement, although (as noted in earlier comments) I'm still working on Cooking for One 101.
@A. Marie, I'm glad you haven't tested positive as of yet! I am feeling much better but now my husband has it despite our best efforts to avoid that. I hope you can see your husband again soon.
@A. Marie, praying that your husband continues to have only mild symptoms and that you stay negative.
Frugal for us - Our farm office was in need of folders and banker's boxes. Cleaned out 2 years' worth of old files to re-use the folders and boxes. This was also part of my decluttering goal.
@Ohio Farmwife, I feel you. Our farm files are in plastic stacking file boxes and for years we bought just enough hanging file folders for the previous year's stuff — and then ran out of space. Now it's this dance of "how many years can I throw away this year?" Heh. But feels like a real accomplishment to shred all that old expense paperwork and get it gone.
I'm so excited about your furniture finds and can't wait to see what you do with them 🙂
This week:
1. I bought Disney gift cards at a discount (at Target) and used them to pay off my upcoming hotel reservation. It saved me enough to cover a Disney meal!
2. I bought groceries, mostly snacks, to take with us. I paid a fraction of Disney costs to get snack bags of popcorn, and I bought individual packets of drink mixes to add to water to stay hydrated. We usually take enough food to eat breakfast in our hotel room, but this time it's just snacks.
3. We have a credit card with Disney rewards, and I've been saving up our Disney dollars over the past few years to use on this trip. (We've also received Disney gift cards as gifts, woot!). I tucked these into my luggage so they don't get misplaced.
4. I did most of my shopping at Target and filled in with items from Publix. Publix is much more expensive, so I almost never do all of my grocery shopping there.
5. I reserved the guest suite at my dad's facility for my upcoming visit. They charge less than half what hotels cost, and I'll be staying just down the hall from my dad's apartment. They also include meals when you stay in the guest suite, but I usually take my dad out while I'm there so he gets a little more variety in his diet. And let's be real, that usually means Arby's and pizza and Chick-fil-A. 🙂
Glad you were able to rescue some furniture. I know it look amazing when you are done with it!
1. Roasted potatoes for Easter meal that needed to be used before they went bad.
2. Sent leftovers from Easter meal with both kids and took a plate to a friend that had recently taken a fall and didn't feel up to coming for lunch. We ate what little leftovers remained so no food waste.
3. Made a batch of muffins using leftover carrots from making carrot cake for Easter.
4. Dropped daughter and SIL off at airport so they didn't have to pay to park for 10 days. Not frugal for me but happy to see them off and help them save some money.
5. Brought lunch to work every day
Wonderful furniture finds!
At the risk of sounding rude why is it that you can not take/share any of your household belongings?
It seems so sad and unnecessary that you have to completely start all over.
Looking forward to watching your furniture magic!
I have had covid the last week, so I have been very frugal. I have not eaten out once. I have not driven a car. I have not online shopped. I did not host an Easter brunch as planned nor, sadly, did I send my college kids Easter care packages. My youngest did commit to a college for the fall, so there was a big spend! However, while she did not choose her cheapest option, she did opt out of the 3 choices that would have cost an extra 80-100k over the school she picked so I'll call it a moderately frugal win. 🙂
1. I filed our taxes! I had never filed a tax return myself before and felt embarrassed, but I learned how to do it and it wasn't too hard, in the end. Next year, it will all be easier.
2. We're making all of baby's food, except for cereal. We're hoping that we'll soon be able to puree our food for her, instead of making her stuff separately.
3. Since going back to work, I'm walking there and back every day. The morning commute is a 45 minute brisk walk uphill with a heavy backpack (and yesterday, the walk home was in freezing rain), so it's not the most delightful, but it saves a lot of money is and is good for my health.
4. I've been listening to free podcasts while I walk! I've been inspired by Kristen and am giving medical podcasts a try. I'm enjoying it--it's allowed me to review some topics and gave me confidence returning to work.
5. Hm...well, it's Passover so we won't be able to get takeout at all this week. And Passover finally prompted me to stop.
I'm excited to see what you do with the furniture, Kristen!
Woohoo for you filing the taxes. Yay!!
Once I have a rental, I will take some of the furniture (like, I will grab the bed frame from Lisey's old room to use for myself), but obviously I will not take all of it.
And the dining table at my former house would probably be to be too big for my rental anyway, so I am thankful to have a smaller table to use.
@Kristen, I'm fairly certain the law will allow for the belongings to be a 50/50 split. And there is no good reason to leave things that are rightfully your fair share. Be good to yourself through this tough period, and take the things that bring you joy and will help you begin this new period of your life. No reason to spend money unnecessarily on things that are rightfully yours.
I really wish people would leave Kristen alone about getting the stuff in her house. Kristen is a smart person--there is certainly a reason she cannot get the stuff right now and that reason is none of our business.
It's ok. I understand that there are a lot of questions about what's going on, and I do appreciate people's concern over me getting what is rightfully mine.
I will eventually be able to get my things; just not right this moment.
Hubby won a $100 giftcard from the wellness challenge at work. It will be nice to go out for dinner as a treat one night for free.
Found a huge oyster mushroom on a dead tree in our friend’s yard and they let us keep it. I love mushrooms so it was free yummy eating for us!
Used the library for paw patrol dvds for the kiddos, as well as a free Easter egg hunt.
Made homemade rolls instead of buying them from the store.
Made tea instead of drinking canned diet soda this week. My husband loves it and dislikes water, so that’s his business. But I will drink it just because it’s there and it’s so expensive! Herbal tea is so much better for you too. So I’m trying to just leave it for him and stop drinking it.
I am traveling today and brought snacks! The progressive insurance guy would be appalled. Haha.
My parents are kind enough to pay for my flights home, which is truly a blessing, but it doesn't make me any more willing to splurge on airport food if I can avoid it!
Other frugal wins...no food waste this week, paid my bills on time ... Nothing particularly impressive!
@Julie, I also have no problems turning in to my parents in many respects, especially in not paying 3-4x more for in-airport snacks.
(I appreciate that pretty much all insurance companies are attempting humorous ads, but none of them have made me check out their rates and switch companies, which means the campaigns aren't working).
I'm happy for you about your furniture! I had asked if you might deviate from your usual colors when you got an apartment - it sounds like you might. I'm looking forward to seeing what you choose.
1. I had a second autoimmune event in two weeks, unhappily, so I am back to drinking fluids for 24-36 hours. It saves on groceries even though it is not fun. I'm glad my freezer has a number of jars and freezer bags of bone broth and stocks made from leftover scraps and bones. I always cook them in the crock pot for at least 24 hours, which lets me skip browning the bones first.
2. I am contesting a bill for $160 from DH's rehab stint a year ago that was just sent to me for the first time this March. I had already written them back to tell them I don't owe it. After sending only that one bill, they sent me a letter saying they would have to look at our assets for payment if I didn't pay it. Yeah, I'm not taking this lying down.
3. After our coupon discussion the other day, my sister sent me two coupons I actually can use, for a dollar each to purchase a single item. So I'll use these.
4. We had a small ham at Easter but it was plenty and then some. My daughter cooked it but I had bought it, so she gave me back a bag of some of the ham meat and the bone, because she knows I use the bone.
5. I'm looking for a second hand lamp to replace a broken one. I don't like most new or older lamp designs, for some reason, but I am being patient. I don't want to settle, because I know I'll just end up replacing the replacement if I do.
Ugh, I hope that you feel better soon, JD!
@JD, best wishes for a good outcome on your #1. And re: your #2, I'd contest that one too. Grrrr!
1. Sewed up a rip in the side of my husband's sandals and did surgery on the back of my sneakers to tack up the stiff fabric that forms the heel cup.
2. After three weeks of coming in 25% under budget on groceries, we were 50% over this week, but it was the week I use store coupons for practical things like apples, potatoes, jelly, milk and do a lot of stocking up.
3. Just returned from a short vacation -- our first in five years -- during which we were frugal enough that we bought our son a new mattress and box springs out of the vacation money when we returned. He has needed this, but we figured we'd have to tweak the budget some. However, we were the only customers on Easter Saturday, had bought the last set at the same chain, and the salesman knocked enough off the price that the box springs were free.
4. I spent so little pocket money on vacation that my extra cash was put toward an annual subscription (my only one) that was expiring. I usually have to pay it six months at a time, but was able to pay for a year this time.
5. Keeping on keeping on: Packing my lunch, snacks and tea to work every day; eating 99% of meals at home; rocking the cute thrifted outfits daily; not disturbing the bats roosting in my wallet :-D; buying only what is absolutely necessary; and driving my car like it's an egg.
@Ruby, love your #5, especially the "bats roosting in my wallet." Thanks to my self-imposed quarantine, I may have spiders and other creepy crawlies in my wallet (not to mention bats in my belfry). Can't spend money if I haven't gone out!
I am thinking about heading up the food pantry at our church (it stopped completely during Covid as there were just a couple of elderly folks volunteering at that point, so basically we're starting over), so I volunteered at another nearby to get some ideas. SO much work goes into these! It was a blessing though, and we had 161 families come through. People are really struggling right now. At the end, I was able to take a couple bags of groceries, which I split up between our family and several others.
This is my husband's spring break (he teaches), so I opted to use some hotel points I have for free nights, and we are staying here in Maine (mostly) and seeing local attractions. I made sure to stay in places with free breakfasts and then we stopped at BJs Club and bought some snacky food for other meals. Today we are doing a drive by of Walker's Point and going to the LL Bean flagship store.
I really enjoyed all the comments about "frugal things we don't do anymore." It got me thinking about how we all evolve in our frugality depending on what season/location of life we are in. I still line dry my clothes in the warmer months here in Maine, but in Hong Kong, we didn't even have a dryer for most of our time there, so we hung everything on racks. Also, couponing has changed so much here since I left and I am learning the ropes again, but in HK, they were nearly nonexistent.
Kristen, I am so excited to see what you do with that furniture!
1. I took advantage of Easter sales and added another half ham to our freezer @ $1.29/lb & dozens of flowers for our yard that will spread and be divided to cover the space. I also used some gift cards to cover some of this cost so my out of pocket was very low.
2. Kroger sent us some coupons for $7 off of a $70 purchase but they were date restricted. I am horrible about losing these coupons when they send them or forgetting to use them entirely but this time I remembered them and used them to save.
3. We planned our trips and combined errands so that we could gas up at Costco for $3.54/gallon. This is a savings of over $0.70/gallon over other gas stations in our area.
4. I resisted the urge to buy more flower seedlings and opted instead for flower seeds. I am a bit late getting them in the ground but hope for the best. $3.00 for a packet of 30 seeds is better than $15 for 12 seedlings.
5. After our Easter feast ham will go into the freezer for quiche and beans later in the Spring. I also froze the ham bones as they make a lovely addition to dried beans or soups & hooray for zero waste!
Happy Tuesday!
@Angie, I write the expiration dates in big letters on store coupons so I am less likely to miss out on them. Many companies seem to think that tiny print is ok; grrrr.
The table and press back chairs!!!! wow!!! I have a few press back chairs that I bought about 40 years ago at an antique shop and they were expensive. Antiques don't seem to be the trend now. I'll be interested to see how you renovate them. I may copy you. ha ha!!
I've been traveling more than usual for family interests recently, and that's not frugal in the least considering fuel prices and reduced work time, but it's nonetheless very rewarding.
The one frugal-yet-time-consuming thing that I'm pretty proud of accomplishing during a very busy week was visiting a new eye doctor (actually both my husband and I went), and since he was new to the office and wasn't yet accepting insurance, his rate was reduced for cash patients; he has been practicing in an urban area 26 years so by no means is he inexperienced. Then, whether by cookies or by coincidence, PayPal offered a $10 coupon to use at Zenni at the same time Zenni had a 30 percent off sale. Yay new eyeglasses! Plus, it is sweet to take a chance on a different practitioner and have it go really well.
How lovely to have the abandoned house come along at the right time—at least the contents. And your Dad's personal help along with his truck and garages is love in action. Your Mom, too, of course! Their support is beautiful to see, week after week.
I just love that round table. One DS has that exact one and we’ve had so many memorable dinners on it helped along by the shape, which brings everyone closer together.
Can’t wait to see the rehabbing color choices. I look forward to seeing the pieces you collect in a place of your own. Always rooting for you!
1 Our boxer is on a prescription diet post-pancreatitis. It's expensive!! I cut her treats up which is a double win. Fewer calories and they last longer!!
2 My hubby and I did some landscaping over the weekend. Much cheaper than paying someone to do it!! And good exercise.
3 Not frugal for me, but took our son some home cooked food when we picked him up from the airport last night. Healthier and cheaper than fast food for him!!
4 Drinking mostly homemade unsweetened iced tea, coffee made at home and hot tea made at home, depending on the crazy temperature changes here in North Texas.
5 Bought nothing for Easter. No clothes, no chocolate.Made dinner at home.
Praying for you, Kristin!!! I love this blog and am so thankful for you!!
So many fun things you can do with your new-to-you furniture. I also spy a bookshelf .... I wonder if you want to consider nabbing that, as well? They can be super helpful as space savers/for storage in a smaller area. My personal opinion, which you are free to reject, is that you should have fun with your furniture and go a different direction with decorating than you have in the past. Let your wild side out! New times, new Kristen. 🙂
I can never think of frugal stuff to list. Um .... went to the library for books, have been continuing to make use of my new gym membership (which IS a frugal deal, but only if I use it!), made an egg salad sandwich (using Easter eggs) yesterday out of 2 bread heels (I think that counts as a two-fer!), used Duo to talk with my son on Sunday rather than a traditional phone call.
I love the detail on the back of the chair
There is a lot of free furniture/home goods available, use this site: https://trashnothing.com/beta/
I use it for giving away and getting stuff. One time there was a whole house full of furniture, it included the house! I always wonder if someone was able to move it.
I love round dining tables! I know you will make it beautiful.
1. We plan to move closer to family, friends and activities, so we contacted our local realtor for a market analysis and was astonished to learn what our house is "worth" in this ridiculous market. Fingers crossed that we can find a new house in our price range.
2. Went to look at a house (a 2-hour round trip) so we batched errands in the area.
3. Stocked up on bulk walnuts that were on sale for almost $4.00 less per pound.
4. In the same trip, I doubled the amount of bulk I usually buy as I'm weary of grocery shopping (says my privileged self).
5. Received a large container of fruit left over from family Easter meal.
Good luck on the house hunting!
Paint each chair a different color!
Interested to see what you do with the furniture! Years ago I got a set of dining chairs from a Habitat ReStore for about $3/each (they look like they came from a family-style restaurant that went out of business), and they are just looking really tired. But, they are the sturdiest dining chairs I've ever come across and super comfy. So my plan once it warms up is to sand them down and paint them a fun color (maybe a purple, since that's my favorite). But this is a project outside my wheelhouse.
Frugal things:
1. This one probably qualifies for not doing un-frugal things, but when I finally did my taxes, I was reminded why I always take less than the maximum subsidy we qualify for on the health insurance marketplace. The first year we had a marketplace plan, through what I think was some combination of error in filling out of our tax return on my side but also having taken the whole subsidy, we ended up owing $6000! Since before and after we have always gotten at least $1000 back, that was a really unpleasant surprise. This year I took less than the maximum subsidy again, and we should be getting $4400 back, which is very exciting (and will be going mostly toward some home repair stuff).
2. This is more aspirational, but I have a pretty stocked pantry right now, and a bunch of random stuff in my fridge and freezer, so my intention is to see if I can avoid a midweek grocery run this week and come up with some meals using what we have.
1. I’ve generally been getting rid of baby stuff as soon as we are done with it since we aren’t having anymore kids. I had an attachment to their sleep sacks for some reason though, maybe fond memories of snuggling my small sleeping babies while they were wearing them. I finally decided to get rid of them though as they were taking up an entire drawer in my daughters dresser. I posted them for sale on fb marketplace and have sold one so far. I’m glad they will be useful to another baby!
2. We finally did our taxes on the last possible day and we are getting a ton of money back! I’m glad for the unexpected windfall but I’d rather have that money throughout the year in the form a bigger paycheck so I already adjusted my deductions to hopefully prevent this next year.
3. I have a lot of old seed packets with seeds that are 8+ years old. I read online it’s possible they could still sprout but fewer of them will so just plant a lot. My son and I essentially dumped entire packets all over our garden box a few weeks ago and we are getting some that have sprouted so better than nothing and better than throwing away the seeds.
4. My sons birthday party is this weekend. It’s the first birthday party we’ve been able to have for him in a couple years due to the pandemic so the temptation was to go big. He only wanted to invite his grandparents, aunts and his closest friend and her younger brother though so it’ll be a nice small party at our home and it’s what he wants so I think he’ll really enjoy it (and it won’t cost us much)
5. My husband has an electric car and mine is gas, so I’ve been driving his car as much as possible to save on gas.
Furniture paint color ideas: navy blue or greyish black
I have been painting all my junk furniture finds navy blue and loving it.
Can’t wait to see the process.
Stay strong blog friends!
Go check my instagram reel! There's a navy blue in the one about my dining table plan.
_The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat_ --- Seeing that photo made me smile today! I read that book back in college as part of a class called "Human Social Context" and still remember many of the stories! It would be interesting to re-read it as an adult.
One of the stories from there that I reference most frequently (to this day) is a story of a man who lost his sense of smell, but eventually started to be able to smell his usual morning coffee and doughnut again -- but nothing else. A thought-provoking story/question of how our sense of smell and our brain interact. Anosmia (the loss of smell) was not a highly covered topic when the book was written. As someone with congenital anosmia, the topic is always of interest to me. Covid-19 has definitely brought acquired anosmia and parosmia to the forefront of society over the last two years.
Frugal things:
* Using plastic easter eggs we already had and clearance candy from Valentine's day for the kids to hide eggs in our yard.
* Finding the game Exploding Kittens brand new at the thrift store for $2. My kids have loved it!
* Grocery shopping sales and picking up butter for $2/lb and "going bad" apples for .70/lb.
* Using fabric I had on hand already to test out the Pfaff embroidery machine that someone passed down to me.
* Combining errands and picking up top quality granola bars for .50/box at the dented-and-dinged store while I was in that part of town.
Now I kind of want a doughnut. And I don't usually even want doughnuts!
Can you smell things at all? Or is your smell just a bit limited?
@Kristen, I've scrubbed skunk oil off my car with my bare hands and never smelled it. It's safe to say that I have zero sense of smell.
That does make food waste interesting as I can't tell by smell if something has gone bad. The number of times I've given myself food poisoning....
Oh wow, that's wild. Can you still taste food ok? I mean, I guess that's hard to answer if you've never known anything else.
This must be very handy at diaper-changing time!!
Other non-smelling bits of life... My husband had to teach me what a bathroom fan was for when we got married. I still have no clue when my deodorant has worn off. I gave my babies diaper rash on a regular basis because I couldn't smell when they did a surprise poop. One of my boys still regularly poops his pants and I am clueless until our air filter turns red saying something is amiss.
On the frugal side, food aromas at amusement parks and state fairs never make me hungry... because I can't smell them. 😉
*air purifier
The chair you rescued is beautiful. I can't wait to see your DYI painting reel. I'm guessing it will be a bold color to cheer you up
1. Did a mystery shop on our trip last week for a money-making dinner (okay, only about $8, but that is on top of the free dinner). Two more grocery story mystery shops, which helps with the grocery bill.
2. While at in-laws, ate no meals out (except for mystery shop) and even brought picnic lunch to brewery (not yet serving-food season). We splurged for locally made charcuterie at local farm, but still less expensive than buying charcuterie plates for 4 at a restaurant and had enough to snack on for next day's lunch.
3. Found frozen shrimp "pieces" and reduced ground pork at grocery. We make a few recipes that call for chopped or pureed shrimp, so paying less per pound is a great option.
4. Trying REALLY hard to have no food waste. Making homemade veg stock and throwing in kale stems in the soup. Homemade bread, and eating up leftovers that mil gave to us when leaving. We love the "Little Leaf Farms" lettuce, but are buying a different lettuce mix as it is the same price for twice the amount (by weight).
5. Getting lowlights this week on hair. I used to dye my grey, but I calculated cost until I retire: +$10,000! (100 every 5 weeks x 10 years). I can do this every 3-4 months, instead, and save over $6,000 (and I'm apparently a bit vain, as it would be cheaper to not do anything, I do realize). Also skipping cut & dry this trip.
I admire folks who know what everything they use costs and are able to know which store is currently the cheapest, but I just can no longer go there. And dang, the prices change so fast I don't know how anyone can do this with any certainty. So, having more financial wiggle room than I had years ago, I simply limit our shopping to Costco and Winco for groceries. And then hope for the best.
Also, because I am sooooooo sick of shopping, I do check Amazon often. Which actually leads me to my frugal win this week. We needed new toothbrush heads for our electric toothbrushes and I saw that Costco was selling them for $50 for a pack of six. I certainly didn't remember them being that high, but it's been awhile since I bought them. However, Costco was going to have them on sale for $40 in a few days. Okay, better than $50. Then it dawned on me that I really should check Amazon, and perhaps brand mattered. I found them there for $10 for a pack of six for our brand of toothbrush. Major win......and I still haven't figured out what the heck Costco was selling for $50. Perhaps a designer brand?????? 🙂
@Anne, if it makes you feel any better, super-frugal me decided two years ago at the start of the pandemic that we would do our shopping at one local grocery store and our local hardware store because they both had excellent Covid protocols in place. No more shopping around in multiple stores. Some weeks we don't get the best deals, but the amount of time and stress it saves me is just amazing. And we manage to stay on budget or quite close to it.
@Anne, Good move on your Amazon toothbrush heads! I will remember when my son's electric toothbrush finally dies that the cost of replacement heads needs to be figured in to the cost of the brush. The one he has uses a larger head and newer ones are smaller with less plastic, older ones getting harder to find.
Rather like printer ink: A less expensive printer seems to have more expensive ink cartridges.
I paid our taxes the day they were due. (I prefer to pay taxes rather than receive a refund as I view a refund as giving the government an interest free loan. Not that my money earns huge amounts of interest while sitting in my bank.)
I got a $25 gift card from Vons for transferring a prescription to their pharmacy.
We ate leftovers on Saturday instead of ordering delivery. (Saturday was filled with chores and I desperately craved pizza at the end of the day.
I did yard work with hand-me down tools. (The previous owners of the house left behind very old shovels, rakes and pruning shears. It seems they believed these items where junk but we are finding that they still work well.)
I chuckled out loud about your joggers. I love that you still mend them!!!
This week didn't feel particularly frugal as this past weekend was our most splurge-y weekend of the year. We always go away for one night for our anniversary and so I paid for a night in a hotel and 4 meals in restaurants. This year it was my turn to plan...
1. I used a website that compared prices of the hotel I wanted and I think I booked through the cheapest option. (*Think* because I upgraded to a suite so we could have a table to play board games on.)
2. We had the hotel's free breakfast and coffee.
3. I used my library card to access a Michigan Activity Pass and got buy one get one free admission at the Gilmore Car Museum. It's the first time I've taken advantage of the MAP offerings through the library and I'm so glad I did! Now that I've figured out how it works I plan to use it again in the future.
4. I picked a destination that was less than 3 hours from home. At one point I had thought about venturing farther this year, but with gas prices so high right now I figured it wasn't the best year to go far.
5. The kids' Easter baskets from us consisted of each kid getting a book I got on clearance after last Easter and a special candy we picked up on our trip. They got plenty from my parents and I didn't feel the need to compete or try to give them everything under the sun. It was still special to them.
I'm happy that you are getting a lot of stuff for your needs but sad at the same time that you can't use *your* stuff. If that makes sense.
I've not been frugal lately (a lot of reasons, I guess) but here goes:
1.) I replaced a regular electrical outlet and a GFCI outlet. I only paid for parts. An electrician would've been a couple hundred in labor, I'm sure.
2.) Eating lots of leftovers.
3.) Avoiding grocery shopping and just using what we do have.
4.) Did our monthly Costco trip for meds and other stuff. Got a good deal on pork loin and didn't leave with all the cool stuff we saw (e.g. the Peter Rabbit tin full of tea - I've got a soft spot for the Beatrix Potter original illustrations.)
5.) Took a little overtime.
@Battra92, I have bought truckloads of tea because of the tin on more than one occasion. My sister lives in Brussels and in the downtown area is an ancient store filled with tea in incrdible tins. She too can not resist. I totally get the yen.
This is just a comment about a mattress!!
We had a very expensive king size mattress that we didn't like, and stores won't take them back, so we just had it sitting out in a room unused. Eventually we got tired of it and made a plan to throw it out, which felt horrifically wasteful, as it was almost new and cost thousands of dollars, and was enormous!!
In a final attempt to find a different home for it, I posted it online for free in a bunch of local Facebook groups. In a matter of minutes, I had people absolutely fighting over who should get it!! I had no idea so many would be interested!! (Including some with stories that my partner insisted were grifters of some type, but who would fight over a used mattress they don't need??)
Interestingly, I also had people who were very angry I was giving out a 'used' mattress, even though it was free. But as several other people pointed out to the angry people, if you've slept in a hotel bed, you've slept on a used mattress!
In the end, we got the space in our home back, and someone got a really nice new mattress. I also connected a couple people who had an extra mattress (people who said, tell me how you end up getting rid of yours!), with people who needed one (including a mom and kids escaping a bad home situation). So in the end, while it wasn't frugal for me, it helped a lot of other people!
Happy early Birthday, Kristen! 🙂 I am a huge birthday freebie fan as well. My birthday was in the beginning of April. So far, I've gotten: free drink at Starbuck's, free bag of cookies at Potbelly Subs (thanks to your recommendation last year, I think), free sub at Jersey Mike's, free sub at Firehouse, free pizza at NYPD Pizza (local chain), free pastry (brownie) at Panera, and free pizza and dessert at Humble Pie (local chain). I don't mind eating out by myself, either. I travel a lot for work, so I'm used to it. The furniture is a great find! I can't wait to see what it will look like after you've refurbished it. That's awesome that your friend gave you a frying pan, too!
Great score on the furniture and frying pan!
1. Redeemed points on one of my apps for a $25 Walmart gift card. I used it to stock up my pantry and freezer.
2. Redeemed the free 18 count eggs coupon at Kroger.
3. Redeemed credit card points for a $13.79 bill credit.
4. Bought 6 bags of garden soil using a buy 3, get 3 free sale and partially paid for it with a store credit from two years ago.
5. Planted 3 tomato plants in the laundry baskets I found/already had. My brother-in-law drilled drain holes in the bottoms before I planted. I hope these produce some great tomatoes!
The furniture finds will be looking fabulous, I'm sure! Great score!
Not much going on this week in the Frugal dept but here is what I've done:
1) The easter ham will be turned into breakfast burritos.
2) I've been dehydrating lots of fruits and storing in mason jars.
3) The lemon and goji plants are producing and I'll look forward to putting one in the yard, which will free up the pot for something else. Herbs?
4) That massive car repair bill got paid with me working lots of extra hours. No interest payments to the CC company this month.
5) I'm harvesting the chokecherries from our tree this year. To prevent the birds from eating them, a net will be used to cover the tree. I went on ebay to buy yards of tulle fabric as my net. I spent $10.50 for 40 yds. Considering Joann Fabrics charges a clearance price of $1.25/yd, it was a bargain.
1. Started some more seedlings to be put in the garden and greenhouse in June. Much more frugal than buying transplants from the nursery.
2. Needed chives for a recipe so instead of buying them, I trimmed back some of our hundred plus leek seedlings. I need to do that anyway, to encourage girth over height, but it saved me the $5.99 it would have cost us for fresh chives at the grocery store and gave me something to do besides feed the trimmings to the baby chicks we are rearing in the kitchen until it is warm enough for them to go into our coop.
3. Did a mystery shop that I usually avoid, and it was located in a town on the road system but a pain to reach. Husband and I packed a lunch, an audio book we both wanted to hear, and the dog and off we went on a day trip that netted us $263 after gas costs. It was a nice way to spend the day.
4. Got a new puzzle at the library puzzle exchange, a packet of seeds at their seed exchange drawer, and a free book off their take one/leave one paperback rack. Our library rocks! And they have a tool exchange in another part of town that we are going to visit for a weird wrench the husband needs for some project.
5. The husband and I exchange Easter baskets. I made him very decadent chocolate chip cookies put into an edible Easter basket made of snickerdoodles. His basket to me was a handmade wood planter I had showed him a picture of and lusted after but was too cheap to buy. He managed to used lumber he already had and the final product was pretty much identical to the picture; he is such a talented wood worker. He filled it with straw from the bales we have around for the chicks and hedgehog, and rested one of my favorite candy bars on top of the straw. These were thrifty but baskets we both appreciated. I already ate the chocolate bar; since I had given up chocolate for Lent I practically devoured it. My husband is much more reasonable about sweets so he froze all but one cookie and I am sure the rest will last him until July or August.
Terrible frugal fail: took a roast out of the freezer and put it on the counter for an hour until we went to bed so it could start thawing. And then forgot it was out so it was not discovered until morning. So, no Easter roast...
1. My 4 year car has had lots of mechanical problems (blew pistons, etc), so we decided it was time to cut our losses. The dealership gave us more money than what we paid for the car and I got a much more reliable car with a very long warranty! We paid in cash, so I guess this is the frugal part. We also save $50 per year on car insurance because the new car has more safety features.
2. Went to Goodwill for shorts and t-shirts for my son. Typically I get all of my kid's clothes off Buy Nothing, but I haven't had any luck with his current size. I spent $25 at Goodwill for all his shorts and t-shirts for this summer.
3. We cooked a ham, and sides, for Easter dinner. It will feed us all week for dinner and then be turned into Hawaiian pizzas and ham soup. We used homemade chicken stock to make one of the side dishes.
4. We used our zoo membership yesterday and brought lunch and drinks. We went to the trampoline park today and brought lunch and drinks again.
5. Instead of lots of candy, we gave the kids snacks they normally eat (applesauce pouches, fruit leathers, etc) in their Easter baskets.
One frugal thing I can think of right now: my son and I picked up 4 boxes of irregular granite for free from someone offering on NextDoor. We have a stubborn area in our backyard which is always just a sea of mud and I think I may make a patio there with these.
And yes, four boxes of granite fieldstone weigh about 200 pounds each. Good thing I'm strong even though I have chronic fatigue syndrome. My fibro is gonna be off the charts tomorrow, but hey, free patio.
I think that frugal thing counts as five! Good for you!
Thrifting. I went with my best friend over the weekend and got:
A Levi's shirt for my daughter for $4. $4 Birkenstocks, 3 pairs of Spandex, a cute shirt, and a bathing suit.
Yesterday my husband took the kids and got: some shorts, a bathing suit, and cleats for the kids. We're fortunate enough to have a number of very great thrifting shops where we live, and I just love the hunt and finding the treasures.
We all have very small closets, so it's all about upcycling what we have when we grow out of things (at which point we donate the clothes that no longer fit - this happens a lot with the kids who are currently going through growth spurts - and the cycle continues!
Some frugal-ish stuff for this week:
1. Two of my medications work like diuretics, so I am supposed to drink non-alcoholic liquids, of course) like a sailor. Sometimes I'm just tired of water, plus walking more and starting to work outside in the nicer weather tends to dehydrate me, causing some awful leg cramps. I was watching to buy Gatorade on sale, but not happy about all the plastics, when I discovered they have powder! I'm diabetic, so I have to use the 10-pack zeros instead of a canister of powder, but still--30 cents for a tall water bottle of gatorade beats plastic quarts or bottles that must be tossed.
2. Last summer, digging around flower beds, I unearthed some old, faded, concrete style plaques and stepping stones left by the previous owner. I have begun scrubbing them up, and repainting them with some acrylic and patio paints and partial cans of spray paints I had and then spraying them with a sealant. New-to-me yard art and in the colors I like!
3. Popped more bread heels into my freezer bag for French toast later!
4. Bought an instant pot a couple of years ago, and never used it. I'm retired and don't have to rush home to fix dinner, and I have a crock pot already. So did manage to sell it via the Book of Faces for less than half of what I paid for it, but the 30-ish guy who bought it was so excited (he DOES have to rush home and cook) and grateful, it gave me more pleasure than dollars ever could. Now if I could just sell those jewelry making supplies I've never used....
5. Made a batch of Refrigerator Soup last night, inspired by the late surprise snow we had yesterday. Anything that hasn't gotten green and moldy goes in the pot! Ended up with such a large pot, half of it will go into the freezer, because temps are going back up into the 70s and 80s this weekend.
@Stephanie D, I've just discovered Gatorade Zero packets myself. A huge frugal win over buying GZ by the bottle!
1. Rather coincidently, I slept for the first time last night on a second hand mattress. I totally understand people only buying them new though. We cleaned it, mended a hole and put a mattress protector over it before using.
2. Sold some unused sheet rock on Fb. $10 into the pocket!
3. Picked up 30 cents on my run last night. Usually I just find a penny or two, and sometimes nothing at all!
4. Washed our van and my brother in laws car myself instead of taking them to a car wash.
5. Plan to eat a meatless meal tonight of beans and baked potatoes.
Yay for the furniture!
My frugality is a little sad, I live overseas and couldn't go home for Easter. So I saved money on that! Otherwise I ate meals at home and borrowed library books. One nonfrugal thing: I bought a ticket to see a band!
I put 30 litres of gas in the car, not exactly frugal, but then gas jumped 10 cents a litre! I do not drive often or far, and this will last at least two months.
I’m making kefir with milk on the cusp of expiring as I write.
I received a gift card for my birthday this weekend, and I’ll take my boyfriend out to dinner...we don’t dine out very often so this is a treat.
Excited to see you transform the furniture!
My mom used to have a Sears sewing machine for many years - I mostly watched her use it and helped her thread the needle. I remember being fascinated by the fact that she used her feet to control the speed - it was before I knew how to drive a car so to me, it was neat.
You know, it's kind of an odd thought to have but a few days ago when I was making the bed I literally had the thought that one of the perks or silver linings of ending a relationship is that you can buy whatever the heck kind of mattress you want. So I hope you thoroughly enjoy yours!
Ate up all leftovers.
Made Pineapple juice from scraps. The resulting pulp went out onto the compost pile.
Made dehydrated pineapple core and banana chips.
My son brought home pineapple scraps, overripe bananas and strawberries from work, saved them from the landfill.
Made smoothies!
Cut my own hair.
Skipped a regular grocery shopping trip, just eating from the freezer & pantry.
All meals and coffee from scratch.
Instead of soda, homemade ice tea and (Pineapple) juice.
Kristen You are creative and use your eye well to see what something can become, not what it is.
For me for Easter not necessarily frugal but useful. I had recently learned of a citizen scientist program using sunflowers to document pollinators. So I bought the sunflower seeds and bee houses for the kids to work on the project over the summer. No candy this year. We were invited to my daughter's in laws for Easter dinner--I brought local honey. No chocolate, no candy. There was plenty of that going around.
For lunch today at work, I brought a bowl of corn and black seed salad (leftover from Easter) and a naan. It was quite delicious.
I finished and blocked a cute cowl scarf from some stash and I have started a little sweater and scarf from some more stash. There have been 3 little children born this year.
The funny thing is: I really did like the mattress we had. That bed was so freaking comfy! So...I ordered a twin size of the king mattress I used to sleep on.
It was actually an expensive week since we went to wine country for spring break. However, I did get a free pizza with grocery points. I gave it to my daughter’s family. They just moved here, and it covers dinner for one night for their family.
1. I meal planned for a whole week. I haven't done that in months if not years. I'm already changing it but at least I have a plan.
2. I'm making confit with duck fat (not frugal). However I'm going to use the fat to make smashed potatoes and I cooked the marinade (parsley, onion, shallot, and garlic minced together) to use later.
3. Lunch today was scrambled eggs made with: the leftover panko-parmesan mix from last night's asparagus, the egg dip ditto plus the cracked egg.
4. I tried my hand at making cheese using fancy delivered milk that my neighbor didn't cancel in time, and saffron because I don't have tumeric (saffron is vastly pricier than tumeric, but saffron I already have is cheaper than tumeric I'd have to buy).
5. I failed at making cheese because my candy thermometer is broken, but my roommate decided that milk very lightly flavored with saffron and smoked paprika tasted good enough to have with cereal, and the dog loves the coagulated milk solids.
6. Called AAA to check my battery rather than going to the place that sold me the battery because only will AAA come to me, if the problem wasn't dirty connectors (which the shop would fix) but a dead battery, AAA's prices are lower than most stores and their price includes on-site work and disposal.
1. Sewed up a hole in my son's pants.
2. Used apples that were getting old to make some apple bread.
3. Got 50 cents per bag back on 5 bags of Kraft cheese. The Walmart brand where I am has lots of their Great Value products more expensive than name brands, Kraft cheese was already cheaper, plus the additional rebates was nice.
4. Saved $30 by buying an open box high chair. The only thing wrong is the packaging is supposed to be a bit rough and that happens a lot anyways so hopefully it'll work out in my favor (it's not arrived yet).
5. Got 30 free cans of food. My aunt is disabled and receives a lot of free food from programs. She is picky about what she eats and when they start piling up she gives them all to my parents and they split them between us and my siblings.
I have lived being on a Facebook group where you buy nothing. Some if the items are really neat. Everything is listed and a person can express an interest in the item. All the items are available for porch pick up. It has been a perfect way to find great treasures and meet neighbors that are helping to prevent waste and improve the environment.
1. Signed up for another three free months of Panera’s unlimited coffee. They are about 20 minutes away, so I will not get much use out of this, but if I am in the area… sure!
2. Just now realized I should have already mentioned this on a FFT, but we regularly walk to church rather than driving as it is only a mile each way. We listen to the birds, enjoy the weather, and save a little on gas.
3. Finally got around to cutting DH’s hair after several months. Much better now!
4. My parents came to visit and brought lots of food including a ham, which was a delicious Easter dinner and the bone will be turned into ham and bean soup. Mom also bought some freebies and discounted baked goods she thought I would want.
5. Have been using up honey butter and salad dressing that we saved from takeout. Also have been using slightly sour milk that was previously frozen for baking. Trying to avoid food waste... but I just saw that one of the jars I froze the milk in cracked (despite leaving enough head room, having a jar with straight sides, etc.). Oh well!
I was wondering now that your are staying at your parents home what has become of your cat? Is she/he with you? Is she stressed not being at he/ her home.
Once I get my rental, then I will be able to take the cat with me. I just can't have her here at my parents' house because there are some extended family allergies.