What I did during my no spend month
January 29, 2016
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Happy Friday!! I'm back today with a recap of all of the projects I completed this month without spending any dough. I do one no spend month each year and the past couple of years I've done it in January -- perfect after the holiday madness.
Sometimes I use scrap wood to create stuff, sometimes I organize a lot, this time I was focused on getting projects knocked off the to do list. And that I did! Whoot!
First up, I shared more of the same…my plan to finish what I've started this year and to at least begin a few more spaces, like the plan for our loft space:
I'm so stinking excited to get that room started. The first step will be the new floors which will also be the most expensive. I hope to defray the cost a little by pulling up the carpet ourselves. We'll see.
I did get a little organization project completed in the mud room -- I've had this wire kit sitting around for years and got it installed:
Funny, but so far it's been the easiest and best "command center" I've used yet. It's so easy to see what's up there and so simple to change out art/notes.
The main focus of this month has been to finish the painting in our master. I've put it off because of the tall ceilings in this room, but as with a lot of projects I delay, it wasn't as bad as I thought. You really have to see the before pics to see what a difference this new, lighter color has done for the room:
There are a few more projects to finish before I'm done with this space but I absolutely love how it's come together. I think my favorite spot is the TV wall, which is the one I put off the longest:
Years ago I decided to change our rarely-used dining room into a library/lounge space that I knew we'd use more often. In the process I added a TON of storage with the DIY built in bookcases. I finally finished up the last details of this space this month and am calling it DONE:
I think one of the hardest parts of decorating is knowing what to do around the TV. So often it's just this black hole sitting on the wall by itself. I shared a bunch of ideas to incorporate it into the design of your home here:
I have been avoiding the temptation of shopping this month, but that doesn't mean I can't check out the goodies online. :) I shared my favorite Target lamps (both table and floor) in this post:
Turns out I have quite a few of them in our home already. I was a little surprised at how many. I have a thing with lamps, what can I say.
I get questions about my fiddle leaf plants often -- they are my favorite plants to grow (inside)! I shared my tricks to keep them happy and healthy:
I also talked about where you can find these beauties for a great price. They are so full and lush, I absolutely love them.
Last year I started making some much needed updates to our guest room, but I've been spending as little as possible because…guest room. I had been eyeing this bed for a year and got it for a great price last fall. It's finally installed in the room and I LOVE it. Now I kinda want to sleep it in every night:
And finally, the last project of the month (so far, I hope to finish up some smaller things this weekend) was to make a small update in our master bathroom that I think made a big difference:
Soon after we moved in nearly 12 years ago I made some changes to this room that made a big difference, but I won't be doing much else with it till we renovate it (which will be awhile). I'm content where it's at now!
There you go! I think I accomplished more this year than ever before in this month. The projects this time were much grander in scale, at least they felt like it. :) I'm thrilled with what I accomplished.
I love no spend months -- I spend way more time at home (I actually start to loathe running errands of any kind), use less gas, thoroughly enjoy my home and family and get a lot done. I highly recommend it! Have you tried this yet?
I love the loft area and the library....so cute and cozy!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for a coffee table for our living room because I really want one but our living room is pretty small and we have an ottoman for our couch so it doesn't leave much room for a coffee table unless we want to close off the area, which I don't want to. So now I think I'm going to search for a really nice end table LOL
-Ashlee Michelle
www.makeupandmodifieds.com
productive month! Everything looks great!
ReplyDeletewhere are the bamboo shades from??
ReplyDeleteErincyoung (at) yahoo.com
Home Depot -- I believe the Home Decorators brand (in the store)
DeleteWow, you sure got a whole lot accomplished this month! I love the idea of a no spend month, but I feel like I would just overspend the month before or after to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I used to think the same! I do want to go shopping after but not spending on things for that time changes your needs a bit. I don't want to bring in as much stuff and I think a lot harder about what I spend on -- it's very interesting!
ReplyDelete