Since March is already over I figured I would go ahead and combine the recap for 2023 No-Spend February with the wrap-up of Minimalism in March. Two birds with one stone and all. So, without further adieu…
NO-SPEND FEBRUARY RECAP
The no-spend challenge has been pretty simple for the last couple of years. You can read the full post containing the 2023 No-Spend Challenge Guidelines. The basic idea was to do once-weekly grocery trips with no convenience food items, limited dining out on weekends only, and no clothes shopping.
The exceptions were Valentine’s Day traditions and sports fees and equipment. Pretty simple right? I messed up on the groceries the first week, and it seemed like we ate out every weekend, but for the most part we did stick to the guidelines fairly well.
So how much did we save? When all was said and done, we earned almost $875 more than we spent in February. That’s a pretty big deal for us with only one full-time income! Yes, I work part-time, but most months our budget is pretty close. We definitely don’t have that much unspoken for at the end of the month very often!
That money provided a nice buffer in our joint checking account going into March, which was a big spending month that included a short Spring break getaway, two car batteries, spark plugs and coils for the husband’s car, the husband’s fortieth birthday… the list goes on. It’s a very good thing we hadn’t spent all of our tax refund; it contributed a lot to the auto maintenance fund last month!
No-Spend February recap: I would call this one a success. And getting in the no spending, no thrifting habit carried over into March. I didn’t spend money on random stuff or non-essentials (other than our trip) since I was already out of the habit and decluttering.
MINIMALISM IN MARCH RECAP
While I wasn’t very active with challenges on the blog for Minimalism in March this year (or guest posts, or round-ups, my bad), I was quite successful in the decluttering department. I even organized the bathroom and kitchen cabinets (including vacuuming them out!). Sadly, that one is less obvious a few weeks later. I’ll have to add it to my April to-do list.
So what did we declutter you ask? For Minimalism in March 2023, I decluttered the kitchen, bathrooms, console table drawers, my clothes, and both kids’ rooms. The full list of decluttered items to donate or pass on to friends is below:
MY STUFF:
- ill-fitting sports bra
- 4 pair of socks
- 2 sweaters
- 3 scarves
- 3 pair pants
- 1 bathing suit
- 1 nightgown
- 6 shirts
- 4 dresses
KIDS STUFF:
- 5 pair pants
- 4 kids leotards
- 2 dresses
- 1 fleece jacket
- 2 pair of shorts
- pair of snow boots
EXTRAS:
- 2 hand sanitizer holders (they’re cute, but the kids waste so much hand sanitizer I don’t keep it in their backpacks anymore)
- resistance band set (because we had two for some reason we don’t use)
- solar powered garden butterflies (gifted, too windy to leave them out)
- embroidered handkerchief (nothing special, just picked it up a long time ago because it was pretty)
- 2 sachets (freebies from my oily loyalty rewards program)
- kids stocking cap
- toddler spiderman backpack
- thanksgiving door knocker
- Halloween puzzle
- mug
- Eat to Live book (thrifted, read once, “returning”)
- box of unused Valentines
- popup fort set (rehoming with a friend)
That’s a total of 55 items to be rehomed. And it all fits in one box and two trash bags.
ITEMS TOSSED:
- nasty pair of earmuffs
- mateless kids glove
- 4 pair of ankle socks with no elastic
- box of sidewalk chalk containing only a couple of broken, discolored pieces of chalk
- mosquito repellant clip that no longer works
- a good bakers dozen pair of underwear in the wrong sizes
I could probably be more responsible concerning the things we tossed, but I don’t typically donate panties (simply because I would have reservations buying them second-hand), and yes, some cloth items probably could be used as rags, but I didn’t keep them.
Going forward, I can be more responsible concerning the items that come into our house in the first place, and continue to try to reduce consumption, recycle whenever possible, and repurpose items rather than buy something new.
SO WAS 2023 MINIMALISM IN MARCH A SUCCESS?
To recap, I would say I was very successful in decreasing our possessions back to an even more manageable level. Given that it’s April 1st and I still have a load of laundry of my daughter’s to do, I am sure a few more things will find their way out the door this month as well. In fact, this is true most months; decluttering is an ongoing process!
Another thing I like to do when decluttering in closets is to go through and assess wardrobe needs. After going through and getting rid of what no longer fits or needs to be thrown out, I make a list of holes in our individual wardrobes.
This gives me a good reference when I go shopping; I come out with items that fill needs, not create new wardrobe gaps. In fact, I’ve even got a YouTube video with my Top Tips for Thrifting if you’d like more info on how to be successful in your thrift store endeavors.
THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE ON NEXT YEAR:
For the 2024 No-Spend February challenge, I think I want to set a more specific savings goal. I feel like we did well saving money, but I could probably do better with a little more prep work and a concrete goal.
When it comes to the 2024 Minimalism in March challenge, I need to come up with some new challenges and include some guest posts. I would also like to do more round-ups. Actually, those last two would be good to incorporate throughout the year just to give a few more perspectives on the blog in general.
TO RECAP
I think these two challenges went well in our household, even if there was considerable room for improvement. How did you do?