East or West, Free is Best

The best things in life are free.  But how can we Frugals get the free stuff?

Well, you can win stuff (see Luck of the Draw).  You can’t count on it.  But it does happen.

More often, people will give you stuff.  They will do this especially if you are Loud and Proud about your Frugalness (”We’re Here.  We’re Frugal.  Get USED To it!”).

There’s the Freecyle movement. Find a group near you at freecycle.org.

But a lazy person like me is most likely to “make” her own free stuff.  Here are some examples:

1. I have a dishwasher I use every day.  But, still, there are lots of things that I wash by hand (everyday).  Besides my dishdrainer (that was free, given to me by my little sis when she moved to Texas 10 years ago), I need some extra drying square footage.  My first impulse is to run out to Walmart and buy another drainer.  It wouldn’t be too expensive, but I am just too lazy to get in my car and drive over there.  So I look around my kitchen, and Viola! - there is the perfect solution.  My cooling racks (you know, those things I cool my buns on after a heavy date with my oven).  I have six of them that I paid for.  But they can be pressed into service as  “free” dish drainers as the need arises.

2. I need to do something with the decor around here.  In fact my house needs a complete makeover.  The phone is in my left hand, the credit card in my right.  I’m about to call in the experts -  Dan’s Designer Decorating Den.  But wait a minute! What am I crazy?  I put the phone down.  I put the credit card down.  I look at my stuff.  I put half to two thirds of it away in boxes and put it in the attic.  I give the house a good clean.  I rearrange the left out stuff in new and different ways.  I have just “interior-designed” my house myself for free.  I only have to please myself, so I am happy and comfortable with the results.  Also, I have a “free” source of decorating materials waiting for me in the attic when I get ready for a change.

3. My little tiny checkbook register fills up super fast.  I need a new one right away- my financial life hangs in the balance.  I’ve never been too happy with those little things - there’s never enough space to write everything you want in there.  Oh, well, what can I do?  I grab my car keys to make a special trip to my local bank.  But wait - I am lazy.  It’s cold outside, and I don’t feel like driving.  What can I do when my financial life hangs in the balance, given that I am lazy, and it is cold outside? I look around the house.  I spy an old notebook from my college years.  Only the first few pages are filled out.  I see those pages are notes on a short story that resulted in a “B+” paper.  Rippppp!  Not worth saving.  I turn this notebook into my new “free” checkbook register.  It’s way better than the tiny ones.  Plenty of room to write stuff.  I’m going on three years with this baby, and there’s still plenty of pages left.  As a bonus, I tape a picture of a cute black lab puppy to the front (from an old calendar).

4. It is Thursday night.  I have cooked Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday  nights.  I am TIRED of cooking dinner.  I will order delivery pizza.  But hold the phone!  Every single night there have been leftovers.  I take all the leftovers out of the fridge.  I put them on the counter.  They are no longer leftovers.  They are a “free” dinner buffet.

5. My free dishdrainer from my little sis comes to me sans the bottom part.  I have lots of dishes to wash.  I will have to get in my car and go buy a new bottom part.   Whoo! I’m just too lazy to do any driving today. So I look around.  I see that I have a large serving tray, decorated all over in apples, from my apple phase.  I hardly ever use this tray, because I am now in the rooster phase.  This tray is just the right size to fit under the gift dishdrainer.  It really jazzes up the plain blue drainer, too.  Yay! my old tray is now a new “free” dish drainer bottom part.

Ok, by now I’m sure you get how this works.  Just like me, you may have a huge source of “free” stuff just sitting around your house.  Yes, money was paid for it orignally, but using these things in new and creative ways nudges them over into the “free” category.

Some of my “Free” things get together to discuss their hopes, their dreams, their fears. Hey, were did that banana come from?!!?: