Frugal February

A few weeks ago, I read an article on MSN about ways to save money in the new year. It provided tips on a monthly basis. I felt like I already had completed most of them so I did not find the article all that useful. There was one suggestion which was not to spend any additional money,.discretionary money, in February. Rationale being that February is the shortest month of the year. I laughed at it at first, but this tip really stuck with me. I mentioned it to a friend a work who shared that she had done this when saving for their down payment on their home. After a few days, I decided I was going to see if I can do this. Part of me thought there is no way that I can only spend money on bills, gas, and groceries in a month, but then I would think of the money I could save.

In the weeks leading up to February I thought....what am I going to do with myself if I can't spend any extra money. I then started looking around the house. I have all these "little" things that I want to get finished, I have lots of books that I have purchased in the past and have not read. Suddenly, I can not wait for February as I am excited to cross off some items on a large To Do List.

Here are some of the items on my list for February:

• Paint first floor bathroom (had $5 off coupon at ACE for January, so I bought some paint)
• Clean baseboards, fill in nail holes, recaulk where necessary, and repaint in kitchen
• Clean baseboards, fill in nail holes, recaulk where necessary, and repaint in guest bedroom
• Clean baseboards, fill in nail holes, recaulk where necessary, and repaint in master bedroom
• Clean baseboards, fill in nail holes, recaulk where necessary, and repaint in office room
• Paint master bedroom closet (don't ask!)
• Paint guest bedroom closet
• Paint basement bathroom shelves
• Re-grout kitchen tiles
• Clean and paint walkway into kitchen
• Sew place-mats for dining room table
• Make cards for various upcoming occassions
• Read some books
• Clean, fill in nail holes, and paint steps to the basement

As you can see, there is lots of cleaning and painting to be done. I am fortune that I already have the paint. I bought a bunch when we moved in and the previous homeowners left all the paint they used to paint the rooms behind too. This is not a fun list, which is why I have not completed any of it since we moved in a year ago. I will have to say, I am excited to know that by the end of February, most of this tedious work will be completed. I did the dining room over the weekend and it made a HUGE difference. Even though it felt like torture!

And since I won't be spending any "extra" money (I think that is an oxymoron), be ready for a bunch of post on my before and afters!