It was 56 degrees this morning at 5:00am. Warm, light and muggy. Although not in the forecast, we did have several rain showers yesterday and today rain is in the forecast.
Yesterday I spent the day cleaning the upper level of the house including working on the starter seeds. Today's plans include cleaning the lower level of the house, making dinner and catching up on emails.
Do you have unique ways to handle a 'spend less' month? I do have a few tricks that I use. I'm sure you will find these ideas listed all over the place...that may mean that these ideas work for a lot of folks. For groceries...
1. Make a list and stick to it
2. Check the sale and loss leader items and create your menu around those items
3. Don't go on an empty stomach...the munchies can really do damage to your budget.
But how do you handle those spontaneous items that pop up when you're working on line:
1. Have you ever put items in a 'cart' but then delete them later? For some reason, it does seem to satisfy the desire to purchase without buying anything
2. When considering a purchase, wait a week or ten days before buying it and see if you still want the item.
3. When you want an item, find ways to secure it free. For instance, instead of purchasing a book, use a library (most are online) to find the book to read for free.
I spent more time in the studio...guess the muse is back! And in a nod to the 'spend less' month, I wanted to find more ways to create junk journals using items on hand.
Remember the 'wallet' origami fold? If you're not familiar with it, google 'wallet origami' online and you will find dozens of directions. I folded three of them using basic copy paper (8 &1/2" by 11"). I had some washi tape that I used to outline the pockets. Check this out. It shows the inside and outside of a wallet fold...
This shows that there are six inside pockets using a pink index card...
And this picture shows one side of the outside of the wallet fold with two pockets...
I outlined the pockets with washi tape and then made a journal out of three wallet folds. To get the different colors, I used stamping ink but you could color the paper with crayons, or paint it...
You can make the wallet fold out of any type of paper. Here's one using a paper bag...
And here's one out of a magazine page...
You can use newprint, the packing paper in shipping boxes, wax paper or parchment paper. Heavier papers don't always work well like construction paper or card stock. Give the wallet fold a try and see what you can make out of it!
Well, it's time to start cleaning...
Have an amazing day. Try using your creativity to make something using only what you have on hand...
Talk with you tomorrow...