I have to be honest with you....

 I never wanted my blog to be one where I share all my personal secrets and inner most thoughts. I wanted to share the crafts I do without exposing my life on the internet.  So I have have gone back and forth with the idea of sharing this with you...Well since I am posting it, obviously I am going to share.

My husband and I have decided to make March a 'spend free' month....a moneyatorium month...a spending moratorium month. What does that mean? Well, we aren't allowed to spend money on anything other than what is absolutely necessary. No, we aren't having financial troubles; we were just shocked at how much we spend! We took a serious look at our spending habits over the past few months and realized we need to pull back and re-evaluate what we need to spend money on.

I have been going through a serious spring cleaning and it has felt amazing! I have brought bags full of clothes, toys, books, you name it,to charity. I feel so much lighter! But then I go shopping. Why do I do that? I give stuff away only to replace it. So I spend money to buy it, I get bored of it, I get rid of it, and I buy something new. The never ending circle of spending.

As you know, I am a strong believer in recycling items in my house as much as possible. I move items from room to room to make them look new and fresh. But even by doing this, I still buy things. There is always something else I need...even though I have three massive tubs of fabric, enough mod podge and craft paint to cover my entire house, a million cans of spray paint, scrapbook paper that is almost a foot high, wood and trim galore!

 I don't need ANY wood!
Fabric? I have three huge tubs of it..just in case I ever want to sew something.
 Spray  paint anyone??? The worse part is, they are three deep!

So...I made a promise to myself to only buy fresh produce, dairy and bread this month. We have a full size freezer (I won't share those photos!)  that needs to be cleaned out plus a freezer on the side of our fridge. I think I can go a month without even finishing everything that is in these two freezers.  I will not buy anything for crafts! I will not simply go to the dollar store and pick up a few things. Trips to Michaels and Walmart are out of the picture. And I will avoid Costco!

So you might wonder what the impact this will have on my blog? I don't know. I have so much crafting, home decorating, etc. stuff in my house, that I might actually come up with truly unique ideas. Or I might just post junk. Either way, it isn't going to cost me anything :) But don't worry too much, I have a few ideas that I know I have all the materials for that are very exciting for me..I will share a great one early next week!

Have any of you ever tried this? Any advice?

So I hope I can inspire you with crafts things this month on a $0 budget and inspire someone else to save a few dollars.

Thanks for reading and understanding.

Stephanie

Comments

  1. What a great experiment! I'm sure that you will come up with some great projects this month and I'm excited to see them. Don't they say that necessity is the mother of all invention? So excited to see what you will create from your stash.

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  2. It seems from what you have said that you have all the materials available to you in your home to have a very crafty month without having to spend anything. Just think how you can get your creative juices going, making do with what you have. Why don't you document your ideas and what you come up with? We all need to spend less and your tips will help all of us I'm sure.
    As for having a freezer load of food, perhaps do a quick inventory of what you have and get creative in the kitchen. Check out those recipe books you might have sitting around and see what you can come up with. I think you are going to have a very exciting month and at the end you will be so proud of yourself.
    Another postive in this spending free month is that you might able to break the habbit of endless spending, think about what makes you feel the need to spend endlessly. Just food for thought.
    Looking forward to seeing what you come up with and good luck.
    Anne xx

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  3. Bravo to you!
    I can so relate to the giving stuff to charity just to go buy more things that I think I need.

    Have a great month being creative!

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  4. I was thinking the other day that I need to do this with my freezer as well. It's not huge, so I don't think I could go a whole month, but I'm sure a solid two weeks, maybe even 3. I think the convenience of having a store close by so we can just pick stuff up makes us only use items (food or otherwise) in the same ways over and over. We use the same recipes and just pick up what we need, even if we only have one ingredient. I'm sure its similar with crafting. We get all the supplies for a project as they are listed instead of seeing what we have that would work just as well (maybe even better!). I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress!

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  5. Great idea! I'm interested to see what you come up with from your own stock.

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  6. Brandy J. here. I'm new to your blog and love it. My husband and I re-evaluated our spending several years ago and were shocked by how much we could save without feeling as if we were going without. The family est. plaque you have on your sidebar is fabulous and free for me because I already have the IKEA frame!! Happy saving!

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  7. This is a great idea! I think it'll be interesting to see what you come up with.

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  8. Awesome! I'm doing the same... only out of necessity! I too have 3 tubs of fabric... and have even been sewing with only white and yellow thread bc I don't want to buy the thread!

    visiting from
    allaboutmommies.blogspot.com

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  9. I love this idea! I found your blog at the DIY Showoff. You have such great ideas here and I'm your newest follower! I'd love it if you'd follow me back: http://stillwaterstory.blogspot.com/

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  10. Thank you everyone for the words of encouragement. It has been one week and we have only bought fresh fruits/veggies, bread and milk! One week down, three to go. I am really enjoying this and recommend you give it a try.
    Stephanie

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  11. I bet you could do this for a few months if you wanted to... you have quite the amount of supplies! I wish you good luck!

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  12. Good for you you will probably be more creative!
    dreaming-n-color.blogspot.com

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  13. You go girl... I know how you feel. I have so much craft and sewing stuff it's crazy.

    Jeanna @ dramaqueenseams.blogspot.com

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  14. I can't wait to see what you come up with. You have a lot of great materials :). I am only spending $10 a month on groceries this month for food too. Why stock a freezer just to let it sit there, haha.

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  15. My hubs and I did the same thing last September. We realized we were spending money without thinking about it! We bought only groceries and gas and ended up saving an extra $1,000 that month. It was hard but we were determined. It's amazing how much you can save when you don't tempt yourself by going to Michaels!

    Check out our September Frugalness Recap

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  16. Welcome to the not-spending-any-money-club! I'm doing that right now out of necessity and have found that my creativity has actually flourished. I don't "need" this or that. I don't "have to" run to the store. My experience was brought on by a layoff, but I really don't want to go back. And if/when I do, I know my approach and spending will be much different. Good luck to you and I can't wait to see what you come up with!

    Nike@ Choose To Thrive.blogspot.com

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  17. that's an awesome idea. we need to try this. sometimes, i can't believe how we blow through money on, seemingly, nothing. i think we may be trying this soon!

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  18. I love this post! Love it! I'm following this blog now :) Your awesome!!

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  19. I did this last month. I was got a lot done. It was funny though I didn't post much because I was so busy sewing.

    Good luck!

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  20. I decided to do this as a part of Lent. I read this quote on someone's blog - not a cent during Lent. I'm sorry I can't remember where. Today is my first day of not shopping, thirty-nine more to go. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone.

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  21. I'm so glad you decided to share, that's an awesome idea! It's amazing (horrifying?) to think of where our money goes (so quickly... and easily..).

    Love this post!

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  22. That is an amazing idea. I applaud you! I will have to talk to my husband about trying this...although, cutting out trips to McDonald's playland might kill me! Thank goodness its getting warmer here! I think you'll come up with some amazing ideas. Can't wait to see them!

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  23. Hey! I'm a new follower. This is a great idea. We've done a "no grocery shopping" week that was quite good for us. (We've done that several times.) As we live in a small apartment, we only have the freezer above the fridge, so I don't think we'd make it a month. But that's a neat thought about doing the same thing about crafting. Huh. I don't have a huge stash built up, but I'm sure I have some things I could do :)

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  24. Good for you!! Can't wait to hear what you come up with, I am sure you will find some good ways to recycle a few things in your home and turn them into great projects!!!

    BTW, I love your blog header, can you tell me who designed it? It's so pretty!!

    Thanks!
    Karen

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  25. Whoa--I just yesterday totalled up our monthly outlay from Feb (thanks to Dave Ramsey) and saw we spent 1000.00 on non-necessities...and thats just on a debit card. I resolve to do this too. Would be fun if you did a "aprty" type thing and we can all share our no-cost projects at the end of the month! You go girl!

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  26. This is such a great idea. Although, I must admit, the idea of going an entire month without going to Michaels leaves me shakin' in my shoes! Does is count if you make a shopping trip first- and then declare the moratorium on spending?
    I love your blog- I am a new follower! Good Luck!!

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  27. Hi Karen,

    Thank you for the wonderful comment. I actually designed the header and buttons with Publisher. I am so happy with the end result. I am not 100% happy with the background but when I have some time I might try to create one from scratch. We will see.
    Thanks,
    Stephanie

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  28. This is a great idea! It is truly amazing when you sit down and see how much $ you spend on items that aren't necessity. We have tried to cut back on the wastefulness as well. Bravo to you... will be interesting to see how it goes. Thanks for linking my Flaunt it Friday! :)

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  29. What an amazing idea! My husband and I too are amazed when looking at our spending habits. Where DOES all that money go? I think I may try this as well :)

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  30. I really love this idea!!! Super kudos to you!! I am going to talk to my husband and try to get him on board to try something like this too!!!

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