Five Frugal Things | DIY nail clipping (I hope!)

1. I got 50% off a breakfast sandwich

I met a friend at Panera for breakfast, and my app blessed me with a 50% off discount on a breakfast sandwich. Sweet!

I drank a cup of tea there too, which was $0 because of my Unlimited Sip Club membership.

2. I inadvertently got a great deal on a skirt for Zoe

I had stopped in at Hot Topic to buy her a birthday gift, and I happened to notice a little Godet-style black skirt that I thought she would love. It was her size, and it was marked down to just $15 from the original $37 price.

And then at checkout, another 30% came off.

Sweet!

3. I got a pair of Dr. Martens for $16

About 3-4 years ago, I’d used Sixth Continent (remember that site?? It’s been defunct for a while now) to get a Zappo’s gift card for 50% off.

I think I ordered some rain jackets that didn’t end up fitting, so I returned them and sort of forgot about the whole thing.

Well, I have been wanting to buy a pair of slip-on Dr. Martens boots, and I thought, “Oooh, those are probably available on Zappos. I wonder if my store credit is still there.”

And it was!

So a pair of these boots is on its way to me for $16 out of pocket.

Yes, I know I did pay for part of that gift card initially, but that was long-sunk cost at this point.

Give that Americans have millions of dollras of unused gift cards sitting around, I’m pleased that I managed to use mine. 🙂

4. I boiled my washcloths

I have some plain white washcloths that I used to wash my face every night; I think they were an organic cotton set from Costco eons ago.

Anyway, they were starting to get slightly discolored and a few smelled a bit funky, so I boiled them on the stovetop for 10 minutes, gave them a soak in a vinegar/hot water mixture for a half hour, and then threw them into the wash.

I figured this would kill any bacteria and also get rid of any soap residue.

In case you’ve missed this before, boiling kitchen dishcloths for 10 minutes is a magically easy way to get rid of dishcloth funk.

Also, here are my best tips for keeping linens sanitary.

5. I ordered a set of cat nail clippers

I have given up on the idea of DIY-ing Shelly’s nail trimming; we tried that years ago and were unsuccessful.

(we even watched, “How to trim nails on your fractious cat” videos on YouTube!)

So now I just have the vet do it. Shelly’s nails grow pretty slowly, so it’s not like I have to take her in very often.

But Chiquita’s claws get sharp so fast, and it is annoying to have to pack her up and take her to the vet for a trim so often.

Sooo, I ordered a pair of trimmers on Amazon, and so far I have managed to get almost all of Chiquita’s front claws trimmed (with the help of treats as a bribe).

The clippers were only $10, which is less than the cost of a single nail-trimming appointment, so these could pay for themselves very quickly.

Your turn! What frugal things have you been up to lately?