Four Frugal Things (and a fail)
1. I snagged some Safeway savings
I needed to pop in for a few things, but I opened the app at home first and discovered a $10 coupon for an online order.
I added items to my cart, and then I realized there's a $3.95 fee for orders under $30.
That eats up a lot of the $10 discount! So, I poked around on their online deals page and found enough things I needed to get to the $30 mark.
And of course, my student discount applied as well; usually it's 5%, but for some reason, this month it's 10%.
(I have no questions or complaints. Ha.)
2. I ordered a smaller planner pad
I use the simple design from 3-2-1 Done, and my current pad is just about empty.
The 8.5x11 size is $17.99, which is not a big expense for a year, of course.
But I decided to try ordering the half size ($11.99) to see if that works just as well. I don't find myself filling up all of the space on the big sheets anyway.
3. I printed a free monthly calendar sheet
I always keep the current month and then next month up on my bulletin board, and since it's just about a new month (October starts on Thursday!), I needed to print a new sheet.
I always use a free printable from Home Printables; you don't even have to register or anything!
And since my printer has big ink tanks that are refillable with ink bottles (no expensive cartridges), printing these at home costs almost nothing.
(This printer is similar to mine; my model is several years older.)
I just recycle the calendar page when the month is over, so it's pretty low-waste too.
4. I got the BLS license issue fixed (I think!)
I'm pretty sure I told you that my school was going to make me take a whole new BLS course because the one at my hospital (where my current license is) is from the Red Cross instead of the American Heart Association.
This is particularly stupid because my clinicals are at the outpatient wound clinic at the hospital WHERE I CURRENTLY WORK WITH MY RED CROSS LICENSE. If it's good enough for the hospital, it should be good enough for the school.
I sent multiple emails explaining the situation, and no one was responding. So, I kept following up, and finally yesterday someone got back to me!
It sounds like I am not going to have to take a whole new course, which is a relief because that was going to cost $120, and that would be maddening to pay given that I am already licensed.
So, yay! My persistence has paid off.
(I maintain that it should not take 8 emails from a student to elicit a response, but that is neither here nor there.)
5. I missed the Goodwill return window
I had a doctor's appointment near the Goodwill I used to frequent with my kids, and I stopped in on the way home.
I picked up two pairs of shorts, wanting to try them on, and then discovered they no longer have fitting rooms.
They do, however, have a 7-day return window now (they used to not allow returns at all), so I took the shorts home and tried them on. Unfortunately, neither of them fit right.
And since that Goodwill is not particularly near where I live, I accidentally missed the return window. BOO.
Another boo is that even if I had made it in time, the return is only in the form of Goodwill credit. Annoying.
So, I am chalking this up as lessons learned:
- Only buy clothes at Goodwills that are near my usual routes.
- Wear leggings and a tank top if I plan to look at clothes, because then I can try them on right there in the store over top of the leggings and tank top.
You will note I am not following the How To Make Yourself Miserable After a Money Mistake steps.
I'm just saying, "Ok! I learned a lesson, and I won't make that same mistake again."
Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to?
Feel free to share a fail too, if you'd like. 😉
Well done on the persistence! That's an area of weakness for me.
Frugals:
1. I baked more banana bread. I am excited for the end of sugar-free September so I can bake something else 😉 I also made smoothies using some of the bananas.
2. I baked a loaf of bread which was a total fail (it was incredibly flat) but it still tastes okay, so I'm eating it.
3. I got round to replacing the filter in my water jug. I bought a brand which is cheaper than the usual one and was compatible with the jug.
4. I walked somewhere rather than taking public transport (it was a pleasant day so I walked through the park).
5. I have some yoga blocks in my apartment which have been a little neglected so I made a conscious effort to use them last week.
Finally, I used the library, saved cans for deposit tickets, used the gym and went running and swimming outside for exercise.
We have lively fall weather in our area and the water is still so nice!
It feels like a treat to swim.
It does here as well! It's lovely.
frugal weekend:
1. Used my CVS points to buy bday cards. I still think giving cards is nice.
2. Decluttered: felt mixed emotions about this. I have had a corner of my office reserved for when the grandkids visit. They are all older now, so I deconstructed the "dress up bin", gave most of the costumey things away on Buy Nothing. Gave away some but not all of the stuffed animals too.
3. Reorganized my closet, swapping summer for Fall. That always cures me of wanting to buy new clothes, because they feel new again to me.
4. Took home a bag of veggies from work and roasted them for dinner.
5. I've been watching Techniquely on Netflix and learned some new cooking skills. She explains the science behind the cooking and its so interesting!
Frugal Fail: I pointed out to DH that one of our ceiling fans only went one way. He ended up buying two new ceiling fans. Oh well. The old ones were about 25 years old.
MommaJo,
I'd say you got your money's worth out of those ceiling fans! We have two ceiling fans that don't work, waiting on DH to investigate if they just need something fixed or or a part replaced. They're both about 17 years old.
that makes me feel better!
Since Goodwill nixed the fitting rooms, I now shop for clothes with a tape measure. Women's sizes never match between brands, anyway, but I know my measurements and can winnow options down from there. Tape measures of course won't tell you if something just fits wrong, so I'm thankful our small town thrift shops still have fitting rooms.
FFT
--The handle on our push mower broke in a weird place. Replacement parts were $40, but one of my husband's coworkers offered to weld/reinforce the handle back together instead. I dare say the repair will outlast the mower! I gave the coworker a gift for his toddler (he's a doting dad) as a thank you.
--Before food prices jump again in response to gas prices, my husband and I spent $50 restocking our freezer meat stash from our favorite local meat monger. It's a third generation shop, everything is processed in-house, and the prices are often better than or competitive with supermarkets. Since we're vegetarian four nights a week, that $50 In burger, ground pork, chicken, etc. will stretch!
--Thanks to free bricks and pavers, the back porch now has a little patio, and I finally have a stone walkway to my garden shed. Both places became mud pits in the rain, so this is a vast improvement.
--Free cinderblocks helped raise my master water barrel by eight inches. The other four barrels have top access for dipping out water, but the main 60 gallon barrel (head of the line/attached to the gutter) has a spigot. I didn't have my Roman aqueduct brain on when I first installed that barrel, so it wasn't raised quite high enough for gravity to fully empty all the water through the spigot. That problem is now happily solved, just in time for a forecast week of rain.
--I used dirt from digging the aforementioned redone pathways to fill/weigh down the cinderblocks beneath the water barrel. I initially thought about buying sand but then realized that both projects could compliment each other.
1. I earned $100 on my employer's health app. I was paid $37 for a class action law suit. I received $5 from the Census Bureau for filling out a survey.
2. We found a barely used power washer on the curb for free. My son and husband cleaned the carburetor and it started right up.
3. I bought my son's Halloween costume from Savers for $10.
4. I took my daughter to a free event at our local quarry. It was lots of fun and included free ice cream, drinks, activities, and a goodie bag.
5. My mom gave us fruit, bread, eggs, and vegetables.
Since when does the Census Bureau pay for filling out a survey? Doesn't pass the smell test for me. Phishing attempt to see if you are legal? Zero trust in this "administration" (and even in quotes it is a joke).
It did not ask any information about our citizenship. It was a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Survey of Children’s Health. It's completely legitimate.
8 emails before a response! That is maddening.
FFT:
We filled up our car at the cheapest place en route;
We restocked on our way home from our holiday, as Germany has a good price/quality ratio;
We bought marked down meat and vegetables on offer (price per head of broccoli instead of per pound? Choose the biggest!)
I am reading a library book;
We got a second opinion on maintenance insisted on by an odd jobs man helping out on some carpentry. Long story short: not necessary, no unsafe situations, tests run, keep money in pocket.
We are getting to an age where we may be considered gullible. This was a good warning.
1. made banana chocolate chip muffins with the last of a bag of chocolate chips and 2 bananas that needed to be used. I shared with my neighbor and brought the rest in to work.
2. I had another Marketplace and Vinted sale.
3. There was an event at work and there was a lot of left over food. I took home a takeout container with two dinners worth of food - and it was delicious.
4. A friend was in from out of town and she insisted on paying for our dinner out.
5. Waited until after 9pm to run the dishwasher to take advantage of the lower electricity rates.
1. Clearing out Mom's things, I found multiple sets of cheesy but fun holiday earrings. I wrapped them in an old velvet jewelry box to mail to my great nieces. The post office said it would be $10.00 What!! I bought the envelope they had for .67 cents and repackaged. I saved $7.00.
2. I live in the country now. I mismanaged the gas tank. I filled up with 1 gallon at the tiny little store we have. It will get me to Sam's club tomorrow which will save me over a $1.00 a gallon when I am in for the gym.
3. We are renting out ground for melons this year. The farmer harvests and takes only the best. This means for the next two weeks we can drive to the field and take our pick of the best honeydew melons you ever tasted for free. Yum!
4. The bed I am sleeping in has my son's 23 year old mattress on it. It is killing my shoulder which was hurt in weight training. I moved into the guest room and am sleeping on the queen cabinet Murphy bed we just purchased. I don't have the money right now for a new mattress. We don't have queen sheets so I used the second set of Cal King. As we know, frugal is often just delaying instant gratification and getting everything "the way it is going to be."
5. Our new ( old) house has a pomegranate tree. Ideas for recipes. I am about to pick. Before I have just peeled under water, frozen and added to smoothies.
We have a friend in your area who grew watermelons for seed one year. It was weirdly fascinating to watch them get harvested and squashed in the process with juice pouring out of the machine. Of course he gave us several melons to take home, and they were utter perfection.
Right? Anyone who has eaten a melon from the field sneers at anything in the produce aisle.
1. I drove home during the week to follow up my knee injury at an in system Orthopedic Urgent Care so I wouldn't have to repeat steps and costs if I had it done out of state. It was the best of all worlds because it basically will take time and exercises to heal. Whew.
2. My husband and I won a gift card on the restaurant's trivia night which we used on our bill.
3. I used a discounted Aldi sheet set to line the curtains I made for the RV
4. I got free photo printing from my T Mobile Tuesday rewards. I covered the scratches on my rv fridge with a free photo gallery of my family and adventures.
5. I took empty drink cans back to stores to get my deposit back before I leave the state soon.
Just wanted to say that I bought the same style of printer because of you and it's really great not having to buy cartridges anymore!
The Goodwills in our area male you use the store credit immediately, it's more like an exchange.
1. I earned a $5 Amazon giftcard with fetch rewards
2.I'm saving money on watering the garden, since we got rain.
3.I bought a book off ebay, it was $6 cheaper than Amazon.
Fail: I have an overdue library book, it's sitting by the front door collecting late fees.
more detailed version here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/09/27/frugal-three-plus-a-fee/
1. DH went through our big (acquired through having four boys) stash of Playstation and Playstation 2 games, to see if there were any multiplayer ones we could all play together. I was amused to see how many were bought used at the Half Price bookstore or GameStop. He found a very old Playstation Scrabble game, and though we only have a refurbished Playstation 3, it works! Part of being frugal is using what you already have, or revisiting what you have on hand.
2. We have discovered that many of the foods we routinely buy at Kroger are cheaper or the same at Aldi...the other day we made a little trip there and spent $52 on what would have been $87 at Kroger. I'm still geeking out about it. DH calculates if we do this regularly we'll save $500 a month on groceries.
3. Discovered that our Goodwill has a Senior Discount day every week. DH qualifies, being over 55, and he's excited to use it!
4. Ground a batch of rice flour from whole long-grain rice. This is waaay cheaper than buying pre-ground rice flour! All you need to do, if you're picky, is sift it a bit afterwards. But my Vitamix does a great job.
5. Keeping windows open all day to catch the fresh air; not having to have the AC or furnace on is lovely.
And the usual things...reading library books (from both the main and the Little Free Libraries!), making tea and coffee at home, hanging out laundry, bicycling whenever possible to save gas.
I love your #1! My kids and husband have recently been enjoying playing FIFA 98 (as in, you know, 1998) on my husband's Nintendo 64. We've also got a couple of Mario games that get good use on there!
Kristen, I stopped buying clothes at Goodwill a couple years ago for the reasons you mention.
1. Had a LOT of leftover pasta salad from a potluck and have been eating it for the past several (hundred) days. To finish it, I actually heated it up and added a generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some ground pepper to make it more palatable. The previous day, the gag reflex was starting.
2. Turned the heat on when overnight lows were in the 40s. I don't know how anyone in Minnesota can make it until "no heat until trick or treat" Halloween, unless they have a fireplace. We have two but neither of them are functional; the attractively arranged firewood inside the hearth is all show.
3. To conserve water for handwashing some dishes, I waited until the dishwasher got started so that hot water came out of the tap immediately.
4. Received notice from the Minneapolis Star Tribune that my online subscription now includes a free New York Times online subscription for one year. Woot-woot! My library doesn't offer an online NYT subscription. Will make sure to cancel the NYT subscription at the one-year mark.
5. Received two outdoor pillows from Buy Nothing to replace the ones we were using that were not made for outdoor use.
Found a couple of items needed for a book club meeting (themed bookmarks and fruit sparkling water) on sale today. The grocery store had a "thank you for being a repeat customer" digital coupon for an OTC med that saved me $3. Used a register rewards coupon for 50 cents off six cans of cat food. Got two large boxes of Cheerios for nearly half price on sale.
I accidentally got a spot of paint on my navy blue slacks. Removal efforts lightened the fabric a bit, and I was thinking about trying to re-dye them but decided to demote them to yard work clothes (dyeing means laundering separately for a long time) and bought a replacement pair off eBay. These are Liz Claiborne cotton chinos that seem to be no longer made but I love them because they fit shortie me perfectly.
Could you color the spot with a Sharpie?
I hate it that Goodwill stores are getting rid of dressing rooms! It is so widespread, I wonder if they were having problems with theft.
I haven't done much in the way of frugal things this week. But I have stayed home a lot, and have not really spent much.
I found a box containing a doorknob and lock set -- brand new, it appears, and all the parts are there as far as I can tell. I'm going to donate it to a Habitat ReStore, which will mean taking it to Indiana next time I visit my friend there. Ours closed, and I don't care to go into the city (Chicago) if I don't have to.
The errands I've run this week I have accomplished by train (free to me) and my car hasn't moved. Today, though, I will go to Goodwill, Dollar Tree, the library, and to an auto rebuilder to discuss my auto carpeting. I will probably get gas too. I like to bunch my errands when I go out.
I am trying to use up cheese before it gets too old. I made a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday, and I'll make an omelet today. I think I had better grate what I don't use and move it to the freezer.
That's about all I can think of!
- Returned items I purchased online that didn't fit or I didn't like the color.
- While next door, I got gas at BJs since it is cheaper than the other gas stations in town.
- Baked bread for the family and also a loaf as a thank you gift to the young man that pet sat for us while we were on vacation.
- Canceled a subscription before the next charge hit.
- Made granola using Kristen's recipe. I'm hosting a brunch baby "sprinkle" for our daughter this weekend and will use some of the granola for yogurt parfaits. For the sprinkle, serving the parfaits in jelly jars, using real plates and drinkware that I have on hand to reduce the amount I'm spending for the sprinkle and reduce the waste products.
1. I got to go to the Detroit Tigers game where Justin Verlander pitched his final game thanks to some friends generously giving me their tickets they couldn't use. (I could gush about this game forever, but will try to refrain.) My dad went with me and bought parking ahead of time ($15 instead of the game-day price of $60), we got there in time to get the freebie (a hooded jersey), we brought water bottles in, and since I ate some trail mix right before I got out of the car I only ended up buying french fries for $9. It was an incredibly special day for $9.
2. I signed up early for two events for my kids to get the early bird discount. (Saved $20.)
3. I gave my son a haircut at home before picture day.
4. Used a number of CVS coupons to basically get free Day-Quil. Checking ahead of time helps!
5. Helped my daughter make a costume for today's Spirit Week theme and it cost less than half of what we would have paid to purchase a costume.
Glad you enjoyed your fries at Comerica. I made the mistake once getting fries at Wrigley (along with a mystery meat "burger"). Before my next trip, I "scouted" food - as in read the ingredient list. Fries without potatoes only being an ingredient was a non-starter. Wrigley has horrid food - better off with peanuts and a hotdog from a vendor in the stands.
Sometimes you find out why clothing was donated to Goodwill! It’s a shame there are no changing rooms. I think a lot of them went away during the pandemic. I wonder why some stores didn’t bring them back?
1. Studied up on the loss leaders and digital coupons before I headed to the grocery store.
2. Stuck to my grocery list.
3. Used some freezer bolognese sauce for dinner.
4. Spent Sunday making lefse (Norwegian potato flatbread) with my women’s club, which provided hours of free fun, and one of the ladies brought in apples from her tree, so I got some free apples!
5. I saw that goodwill was having a half price sale, so I checked it out. I didn’t buy anything. Luckily, my goodwill has a changing room, and that’s saved me from a lot of potential missed return windows!
1. Sold 10 more items on ebay/vinted. Total earned after fees/shipping...$111.16
2. Took a half day off work last week on my birthday and redeemed some birthday coupons and other offers I had. Most notable item was a free cookie from Panera.
3. My grocery store had an offer for a free bottle of cold brew coffee so I picked that up for my husband. My parents also gave me their freebie, so we have 2 now.
4. I was able to snag 2 free iced coffee codes from Dunkin last week and made sure to redeem them before they expired.
5. Finished up a few random freezer items...some Tuscan bread and cheesy garlic bread come to mind but I think there was more I'm not remembering.
Maybe I should sell my shorts on Vinted. Ha!
Kristen, I actually had that thought. It’s surprising easy to list and you never know what someone might need.
I have followed you for quite awhile and I am betting that you will sell those shorts on eBay for twice what you paid for them. You can't keep a good woman down!
A friend and I were browsing at the Goodwill in her town (3 hours away) last week. I found 3 pair of jeans that looked as if they would work, and then we walked around the store looking for the fitting rooms. We learned they are gone. Gone?? Sorry, Goodwill, no try, no buy. It is because of theft, but I wonder if the loss of sales will cancel out the "shrinkage". Part of me says "So what? You (Goodwill) didn't pay for the merchandise anyway!" But maybe that is the mentality that drove the thieves.
We found a better thrift shop called Hope where I found better jeans that fit, and I bought them.
The Goodwill's by me do not accept returns at all, and I was in one over the weekend and the women's tops were priced at $9.18 each!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For that kind of pricing I can get new at Ross/TJMaxx!
I found 2 pennies.
I made banana bread with the freezer bananas I rescued from my office.
I made a small jar of sun tea with free tea bags.
I used Upside for Gas, and scanned all receipts to Fetch.
Argh, thrift stores got rid of changerooms during the pandemic here, too. It's so annoying; I used to buy so much of my wardrobe at thrift stores, and now I only buy stuff like scarves and kids' clothes.
Frugals:
1. Shopped at the children's thrift store. Got my girl an orange shirt for school on Thursday, plus a fleece-lined raincoat.
2. Frugal-ish: We were so lucky to go apple picking for free for a few years, as a lovely older man at my husband's work had a hobby orchard to which he invited all staff and their families. He's retired now, so we went to a paid farm that we've been to before. I figured out that the cost-per-pound of apple is about the same as a fancy grocery store. That's not the point--the point is that we had a lovely outing that we only do once a year--but it wasn't outrageous for the amount of food we brought home, plus they include a pumpkin or squash for each person.
Fails:
1. I missed out on a really great FB marketplace deal on a winter coat because I was waiting to bundle the trip...but I should have just made the drive.
2. I bought a "raincoat" on FB marketplace but it turned out to be a (not-great) winter jacket. It's definitely not warm enough for my daughter, but too thick to be a fall coat. It was only 10 bucks, and I can pass it along to my cousin's daughter, but I'm still a bit annoyed with myself (and the seller, who said it was a raincoat when I *specifically* asked.) But Mr. B was picking it up for me, so I couldn't reject it.
Yes, this change REALLY makes me rethink buying any clothes there. I can't imagine this is a solid business decision for them; most of their inventory is clothes, after all!
This week has been filled with fails turned frugal, if I look at the bright side.
I deep-cleaned my own car, instead of paying to get it detailed. But I accidentally tripped a dome light, so I drained the battery. I only noticed when I went to drive to a Friends of the Library meeting, and my car wouldn't start LOL. Frugal upside: I rode my bike instead!
I misunderstood the silent auction bidding system at a fundraiser, and attempted to bid $20 for a basket only to learn the starting bid was $140. Too embarrassed to remove my name (especially as I was the only bidder), I pledged $140 and won the basket. Apparently one of the items in the basket was worth $165, so at least I'm net positive. LOL. And it's for a good cause!
Postpartum life: I'm kinda stupid these days but at least I'm cheerful about it LOL.
How wonderful it is that you bid for a good cause!
I think that’s especially nice of you to go back and correct your bid.
1. Minimal grocery shopping this week – I’m still following the plan to only eat from the freezer but my husband was craving a dish that his mom made when he was little. We had to pick up a few ingredients, but we had most on hand. She passed away before I met him so these are the times I feel like I get to “meet" her.
2. I switched where we getting our dog’s flea and ticks meds from and got $75 off the order!
3. We went out for our monthly free pizza – we tried a new pizza on the menu and it was so good!
4. I made sure to check all the online offers before ordering my son’s club uniform. I was able to get a discount and cash back into my Acorns account.
5. I found a fun book series and am happily finishing the third book – all books came from the library!
That’s really sweet and thoughtful of you to make a dish your husband loved that his mom made!
I love how doing things like that helps us to keep the memories alive and feel closer to our love ones who have passed.
I rarely go to GW stores unless I have a need. I do go to the bins. We also love St.Vinnies, The ARC, and a local thrift store that supports CASA.
We have a funeral this weekend for a sweet southern Kentucky raised woman. I went to a local thrift shop and bought 6 sun hats, then went to my friend's floral shop to use her ribbons to make fascinators.
I'm wearing one of her dresses from 1958, so fun! She kept 57 yrs of Derby dresses.
I’m picturing you wearing her older dresses. Sounds like so much fun!
I love the 57 years of KY Derby dresses. What a lady she must have been.
There are 12 of us wearing her dresses to the funeral. She was 104! Her younger (101) sister is wearing a dress, too. We're having fun planning the potluck.
There is a wonderful book about St. Vincent's thrift store by Jane Knuth. She volunteered at one for years and though I don't think I've ever used the word 'heartwarming' before, I found this book heartwarming! I read it several times. It's called 'Thrift Store Saints' and I recommend it highly. (I bought it used, at a Goodwill thrift store, LOL!)
I used my last bit of garden produce to make freezer meals. I used free huge zucchinis given by my neighbor to make 12 loaves of zucchini breads for my grandsons.
Eat home made meals whole week,
Wow! I’m amazed. That’s a lot of baking.
Great job—your persistence really paid off!
My Frugal 5
• I’ve been sticking to driving my Corolla to stretch every gallon while gas prices stay high.
• I bought a discounted purse and a used-like-new book on Amazon, along with another book and some wall art that were both marked down. Since our local library didn’t have the books, I went ahead and bought them. The wall art is stashed away for my daughter’s birthday in mid-October. All of these items had been sitting on my wish list with price alerts set—they were all at or near their 365-day low. Amazon’s built-in price tracking makes this so much easier to manage than relying on external tools like Camel Camel Camel.
• Through my weekly volunteer shift at the food pantry, I picked up a few baked goods, two Costco-sized Oral-B electric toothbrush head refills, and a few empty storage containers for free. These were items we couldn't distribute to clients because of opened or damaged packaging.
• We spent time as a family walking and biking at a local park while taking in the fall foliage. The girls also rode their bikes around the block and played at the school playground across the street.
• We stuck to low-cost fun: streaming movies, watching DVDs we already own, and reading books from home and the library. The girls stayed entertained playing with their dolls, Legos, and Nerf guns. They even had a sleepover in their room, complete with a blanket fort decorated using things they already owned.
• Frugal Fail: My husband bought quite a few convenience foods this week. You win some, you lose some—on the bright side, we still managed to avoid eating out!
FFT, Shoulder to Wheel, Nose to Grindstone (But Some Fun Included) Edition:
(1) Late to the party as usual, this time because I've been fully engaged on both NDN1 and JASNA business. Re: NDN1, I've been doing what I can to re-kick-start the tardy junk cleanout at her house, and also to make contact with the head cleanout guy to make sure that a broken window (collateral damage from the attic cleanout) will be boarded up before the weather gets any colder here.
(2) Re: JASNA, the publications committee (of which I am a member) is going to have an online meeting soon to discuss a draft document about the use of AI in JASNA publications. I've been making a PITA of myself to get JASNA BFF included in this meeting, since she's already run up against the AI issue in her role as essay contest chair, and I think that her contributions will be valuable.
(3) And I'm also doing all the usual Tuesday trash takeout stuff, plus putting another two bags of NDN1's old financial documents into a contractor-weight trash bag with some of Betty's well-used cat litter mixed in. This makes 6 bags of documents down and 16 to go.
(4) But since all work and no play make Jill a dull girl, I did have a lovely time on Sunday. We were on the fringes of the predicted nor'easter rain on Sunday anyway, and the rain held off long enough for me to get in visits to our local lefty cultural fair and the adjacent library book sale. I came away from the book sale with many treasures--including several books for holiday gift giving to friends, as well as a massive "Martha's Entertaining" book from 2011 that I intend to cut up for source material for future Martha Stewart calendars for the Bestest Neighbors. (I've probably paid more in my feckless past for single issues of the MS Living magazine than I paid for this book. Hee hee!)
(5) Finally, I've put up my bird feeders, and the birds are as usual providing me with better entertainment than any TV or streaming. Watching four blue jays gang up to chase a squirrel off the peanut feeder yesterday was worth the price of the peanuts.
Bleahhh, I feel you on the AI. It is so so frustrating when people use it in lieu of actually, you know, WRITING.
Yes, and when people use it in lieu of actual, you know, THINKING!
I can’t stand making returns. So.. I no longer shop at Goodwill.If I can’t try it on I will not purchase.We have several other great thrift stores near me, one run by the Mormon church, it is HUGE clean and way cheaper than GWILL too!!!! DRESSING ROOMS!! I have 2 fave consignment stores, a bit more $ than thrift but worth it to get good basics that last a long time. ANd every 3 years or so I get a good purse there.I don’t like crappy pocketbooks. lol.
We are in the process of clearing out my mom’s house to put it in the market (she has moved to assisted living). I have been listing many items on ebay for her, and the more I list, the more disgusted I get at all the fees.
So, when I ran across a pair of vintage Houston Colt 45’s inaugural day tickets, along with parking stub, season schedule card, and the envelope they were mailed to my grandfather in, I searched Facebook for any Colt 45’s ( now the Astros of course) fan pages. I ended up selling the bundle for $750.
Sandy, that's amazing, good for you!