Mrs. Fix-it

On May 10, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Frugal LifeLeave a comment

Last night I washed a load of Donny’s work clothes. This morning when I went to get them out of the dryer the timer knob had never moved and they were wet.

If you read my blog you know that our very old dryer went out over a year ago. I found a storage locker auction where the only thing in it was a dryer. I bid $23 and won. We took a chance and it actually worked. Lately though I’ve been having to keep the door open and push down the door switch and the start button at the same time while shutting the door quickly. Today the door switch finally gave out.

i used a flat head screw driver to pop it out and remove it.

I called Nipper’s, the used appliance place around the corner and they told me they had one.

i didn’t think 30 bucks was a bad price considering used dryers are running over $300. Well, I got it home and the prongs were different.

I went back up there and they didn’t have the one that I needed. The man there asked me that if I wanted he could fix my old switch. Well, yes I did. He opened it up and filed down the corroded parts. They tested it and it worked. He didn’t charge me anything and refunded my money on the other part that didn’t fit.

I took it home, plugged the part in and now it’s like I have a new dryer and have still only cost me $23.

My whole point of this is, don’t jump to get rid of something if there is a way to fix it. I will always try to buy used things, especially appliances. We won’t buy appliances with the computer boards in them because when they go out it costs a fortune. Older appliances were built to last. I have an ancient Galaxy gas stove that keeps perfect temperature. It’s not pretty, but works so well.

i realize that some people may just prefer brand new items and that’s fine, it’s just not me and that’s fine too.

Under the Weather

On May 9, 2024May 9, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Estate Sales, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Last night after we had dinner I felt awful. i had spent over two hours ironing. Why does it seem like I never iron winter clothes, but all the summer ones are always wrinkled? I hadn’t eaten much all day and then Donny went and picked up Jucys. It must have hit my stomach wrong because it tore it up. I ended up falling asleep on the couch and didn’t get a good rest at all.

Luckily Donny was off today so while he took the kids to school and ran by the radio station to record some commercials, I slept.

My thyroid is, as my doctor put it, very serious right now, so I’m thinking a lot of my symptoms are stemming from that.

Around noon I took a quick shower and we decided to get out of the house for a little while. We ended up at an estate sale. The house was gorgeous and since it was the second day a lot has already been bought. I did manage to find this pretty, gauzy, tie dyed maxi skirt and sleeveless T-shirt, so it wasn’t a totally wasted trip.

Donny cooked dinner because I’m still feeling puny. I’m going to try and get a full night’s sleep tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll feel better.

Pillows

On May 8, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Yesterday when Jackson and I were leaving our favorite thrift store I saw two pillows. They weren’t with the other pillows. They were on a shelf and I stopped to look at them, but Jackson was already headed to the door. I told myself that I absolutely did not need any more pillows.

Well, I kept thinking about them. They were only $2 each, had zippered cases and looked to be pretty high quality. I knew the chance of then still being there was pretty slim, but I drove over anyway just to see.

Sure enough they were still there.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the designs are appliqued on.

Then when I was checking the inside tag to see how to wash them I found out they were from Crate & Barrel.

I googled how much their pillows are and they run about $60. Not a bad find for four bucks. I’m surprised they were still there because the rule of thrifting is, if you find something you really like but don’t get it, it won’t be there when you go back. I lucked out.

i also found the perfect picture for the little frame I picked up yesterday.

My mom is on the far left. I have no idea where this was even taken, but I thought it was so cool.

Treasures

On May 7, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Today Jackson and I decided we needed a mom and son thrifting trip. Donny has asked me if I could make a quiche for dinner since we have so many eggs. Well, of course I can. Only problem was that I needed a deep dish pie pan. So off Jackson and I went to find one.

We normally have our three staples we always go to, but today I remembered about a store named Treasures that I went to about 5 years ago and then it just fell off my radar. I didn’t find the pie plate, but I did find some goodies. I hit the jackpot at the second one we went to and a few more things at the third and fourth.

Let me show you.

i got a cotton tablecloth for the outdoor dining table. I found what I actually went looking for, a deep dish pyrex pie plate and the best baking cookbook ever. I CANNOT WAIT to start delving into all of the recipes.

i hate paying full retail for ceramic pots so I’m always on the lookout for them when I’m thifting.

i picked up this heavy bad boy for 4 bucks. I love jewel tones so I grabbed this little frame for $2.

I don’t really need any more summer clothes, but Born Again thrift store always has such cute clothes and I found this chambray lined skirt and cute tank dress for a steal.

And Donny got his quiche.

It was really good.

New Lights

On May 6, 2024May 6, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

I was planning on being a hermit all day, never leaving the house, but then I remembered I needed an oil change. Got that done. Started working on chair number two. Ran out of paint so I had to go to Walmart. FYI, don’t try to spray paint on a really humid windy day. Anyway, I got chair two finished and decided to do something to make our flowerbed look a little better.

We’ve had the same solar lights for 4 years. They just recently quit working so well.

Not a bad run for 98 cent Walmart lights. I stepped it up this time and got $1.25 ones from Dollar Tree.

Because it was so cloudy in not sure how they look yet, but they are a little fancier.

I still need to weed. I actually want to put down new weed barrier and of course more mulch. Baby steps. It’ll get there.

And I picked up my favorite oranges at Aldi. If you haven’t tried Cara Cara oranges, you should. They are so sweet and juicy. I had two for lunch.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be very rainy. The forecast has been so wrong lately. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

i just went outside and the lights are awesome. They are the flickering kind that I just love. I 100% recommend them.

Productive Day

On May 5, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

I love the rare Sundays that Donny is off. Today was that day and we got so much done. I vacuumed, dusted, scrubbed the bathroom and the main thing was that I finished all of the laundry. It’s a chore I’m not very fond of, but I am able to get through it thanks to Supernatural. I had never watched it before and I was scrolling on Netflix and started it to see if I’d like it and now I’m hooked.

We have to keep a blanket on our bed because the cats like to take naps there. But anyway, gotta love those Winchester brothers.

We are always missing charger blocks and cables. Always. I did a round up in someone’s room while they were gone and look at what I found.

I still cannot find the big charging block to my laptop. I don’t know why hair brushes and chargers always disappear in this house.

My very favorite part of the day was Donny making dinner. He made brussels sprouts, homemade steak fries and grilled steak. OMG, everything was so good. I swear food you don’t have to cook yourself just tastes better anyway, but everything he made was delicious.

The only problem was that on his steak he spread black truffle butter. All he did was spread it on the steak before he took it outside. I smelled this awful smell from our bedroom and sure enough it was the butter. The smell literally makes me so nauseous. I googled it to see why that was and apparently there are a certain number of people who just can’t stand the smell. It’s kind of like people who taste soap when they eat cilantro. Super weird, but this saved me. This and staying in the bedroom.

And just because this cat is always on patrol at night saving our lives from stray neighborhood cats.

He was exhausted from all his hard night work. Milo is the sweetest cat ever and comes in the house whenever he wants, but he feels like he must be on duty at night. Ya know, saving us from all the bad stuff out there.

One Done

On May 4, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn WeekendLeave a comment

Today I finished one chair. I just wanted to see if I liked the colors we chose. If I didn’t, I didn’t want to keep sanding down all of the bases because that is hard work.

Anyway, I absolutely live the way it turned out. The warm caramel is more of a terracotta color. The oil rubbed bronze base plays off of it nicely.

Now only 3 more to go.

Hannah and I also created and ordered her graduation announcements today. I think they turned out fabulous. Go Walgreens!

Paint

On May 3, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

This morning I woke up before 5 a.m. and that, coupled with the fact that I couldn’t fall asleep last night, meant I felt lousy. I need at least 7 hours of sleep a night. According to my Fitbit I only achieved 4.2 hours and it was fitful at best. Thankfully Donny took the kids to school and ran our errands after he dropped them off.

I finally started feeling a bit better and we were able to run to Walmart to pick out paint for the chairs. I was going to leave the bases plain metal, but there is a lot of rust on one of them and so we decided it would look better to paint them. I don’t like chrome or anything really shiny. I’m also not found of light wood. All of the wood in our home is dark. We settled Oil Rubbed Bronze for the base and Warm Caramel for the chairs. I was leaning toward a warm yellow, but Donny thought the caramel would work better. I only got one can of that so we are going to test it out when they are ready for paint.

We are also thinking of getting a new TV for our bedroom. The one we have is really big and we wanted something newer and smaller. We need to measure the chest of drawers that it sits on to make sure that it will fit. There are some really big TV’s out there. I feel like ours is way too big for our living room, but it’s what we have and it works so we’ll be keeping it. Our bedroom one only gets netflix. For some reason it won’t let us load any other of our streaming services. It’s old.

Because I felt not myself we decided to make paninis for dinner. The kids like them so that’s a win and it’s easy. Mine was veggie because meat has not been in my taste buds lately.

It’s 9:20 so I’m going to try and get a full nights sleep. I’ve got to much to do tomorrow to feel this way again.

Chairs

On May 2, 2024 By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Normally, on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, Jack and I have a mom son date to our 3 favorite thrift stores. We haven’t been able to go lately, so since the kids were off from school today, we decided to make it a day. Donny was off today too so he decided to tag along with us.

The biggest find I found today were 4 chairs. Do I need dining room chairs? No. But they were so comfortable and I really liked the look of them. They were also only $5 a piece. That sounded like a deal to me so I had one of the workers take them up to the front. When I paid for them, they ended up only costing $10 for all four.

Now these chairs are rusted on the base, but I knew that I could fix that. So that’s what I started on when we got home.

Here are the chairs.