The big February update

Well it is that time of the month again...time for an update on how we are doing with our 2013 resolutions!

Personal:
~So far I am down 28lbs and doing well with the Trim Healthy Mama plan. I am loving my stationary bike and looking forward to working out more in the future.
~Screen time has been reduced quite a bit. Actually I am finding it hard to get to the computer to write these posts and to get new recipes these days.

Financial:
~The envelopes are amazing! I thought they would make my life more complicated but it has been just the opposite. They have made my life so much easier. No more tracking every little thing and trying to keep up with our accounts. Much easier!
~We are 51.2% to our savings goal for 2013!

2013 No new "stuff" challenge:
~I have been so tempted to do some shopping for "Stuff" but so far I am doing well and holding out.

**While scrubbing our bathroom this afternoon I noticed that our shower curtain was all "yucky" and told my husband that we needed to buy a new one. However I remembered this challenge and started thinking how to get a new one without buying one new. Then it hit me....our shower curtain is a sort of composite fabric material and I can just wash the thing! DUH! So once I get my laundry caught up I am going to be washing it with some spray stain remover. Honestly no one ever sees our shower curtain so once it is clean it really won't matter.

**Also I was tempted to buy a new cardigan to go over my nursing camisoles during the day. I like to wear the camisoles while I am home to make for easier nursing sessions however it is the middle of winter in NJ and I am cold! A cardigan that buttons down the front is ideal for allowing for easy nursing sessions. My first impulse was again to just order one off of amazon. Then I started thinking "okay I can check ebay surely there will be lots on there for sale." The first I cardigan I saw looked great, only $8 Then I realized they were new cardigans. *Sigh* So off I went to look for used ones instead. I was shocked! The used cardigans were all in the $20 range! For a used sweater?! No way! I started  to just post on our local facebook yard sale site asking if anyone had any in their closet they were looking to get rid of, then I decided to just look harder in my own closet first. Guess what I found in the waaaaay back?

Is it beautiful? No not so much. Is it warm? Yes. Did it cost me anything? No.

Win!

I also happened to find a much needed belt I didn't know I had and two nursing bras I forgot I had that will come in VERY handy!

Triple win!

**Next on my list of things I "needed" but couldn't buy new....some of those little command hooks. You know the type that attach to the wall with the little stickers and then pop off without damaging the wall? Yeah those...try finding THOSE used! So I am laying in bed the other night trying to figure out how to suspend my daughers GIANT bath flower above the bathtub so that it drains and dries without damaging the shower stall. The only thing I could think of was the command strips. They however are not a consumable so I couldn't buy them. I then remembered that I had two of the little sticky strips left from the last pack of hooks I bought...I just need the hook. I put it on my "figure it out list" and moved on to other things. Then what do I find while I am cleaning out my 6yr olds toy box?

I seriously couldn't make these things up! There it was!

Doesn't it look great up?!


**And lastly while I was laying in bed contemplating my lack of command hook I also started thinking about my next organization project and began thinking how I needed some type of shelving system for my daughters closet to control all her small toy clutter. Again I added it to my "to figure it out" list and went on with my life. I log on to facebook the next day and what do I see?

One of my friends is selling her sons toy storage shelves for $10. I was on that sucker in seconds!

Honestly I thought this was going to be harder to do. I expected to be overwhelmed by my lack of ability to buy "stuff". Just the opposite has happened I have felt so blessed and honestly feel like the Lord is with me and showing me that I am doing the right thing for our family. I truly feel it is important to use the resources that the Lord has given us wisely and that we were squandering them before. This has been a eye opening experience!

Total for all of the above if I had bought them new? $69
Total I paid? $10

There you go our big February update! I am looking forward to seeing what the next month will be bringing us!