No-Spend DIY Month is On!

After tackling the laundry room refresh and my cloffice in the last 2 months, I decided (well, my wallet decided) we needed a little break from spending money on the house. But, I wasn’t ready to say no DIYs for the month. So, I decided to try a no-spend DIY month for August.

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Here’s How It Worked

I made a list of all the projects I had around the house that fit into any of these categories:

• Projects that needed to be finished
• Projects that I had all the materials for but hadn’t started
• Home maintenance projects that needed to be tackled

I gave myself a budget of $100 to buy those “I could finish this project if I just had the right screws/paint/etc” and off I went!

There was no rhyme or reason into how I organized when to get these done. I just tried to work them in around nap times and bedtimes, or in what parts of the house we were playing in at that point of the day.

Week 1

Here are the projects I tackled this first week:

• installed primary bedroom curtains (gifted by the brand)
• installed screened porch curtains (gifted by the brand)
• organized the scrap lumber (free)

Week 2

Here are the projects I tackled the second week:

• Cleaned out the garage ($25 on a new surge protector for our deep freezer)
• installed bamboo drawer organizers in the kitchen (gifted by the brand)
• reinstalled the laundry room ceiling vent cover (free)
• installed the primary bedroom cord cover ($20 for cord covers for here and the playroom)
• installed Hazel’s video baby monitor (free)

Week 3

Here are the projects I tackled the 3rd week:

• mounting the playroom tv and cord cover (free)
• building a First Day of School chalkboard sign ($1.49 for screws)
• organized the primary closet (free)
• cleaned our 2nd floor light fixtures (free)

Week 4

Here are the projects I tackled the last week:

• whole house paint touchups (free)
• trimmed our bushes and weeding all the garden beds (free)
• cleared out the vegetable garden of any dead/dying plants (free)
• installed a smart switch in our second floor hallway (gifted by the brand)
• organized the cleaning closet (free)
• organized the primary bath (free)
• installed wire shelving from the closet pantry and laundry and neighbors into the garage for storage (free)

What Was My Favorite Project?

Emory’s chalkboard sign is definitely one of my favorite projects for the month. I used scrap plywood from the laundry room shelves, scrap 1x2s from Emory’s board and batten walls, scrap paint from the girls’ bathroom and playroom, and scrap chalkboard paint from my home gym in our town home.

And, with all these things I had just laying around, I created a special piece that will be part of our lives for the next 16 years.

Did I Get Everything Accomplished?

There’s a few things that I wasn’t able to get checked off. Pressure washing the front porches and creating a planter out of an old filing cabinet were really the 2 things I didn’t get done. But with all the things I was able to check off, I’m calling this month a huge success!

How’d the Budget Do?

After spending almost half the budget in the first week, I got really worried about how the rest of the month would go. But, the rest of the month went super smoothly, and I ended up only spending $65.14 for the whole month!

So, I may or may not have grabbed some cute fall decor from Home Goods with the remainder of the money 🙂

WillI do a No-Spend DIY Month Again?

10000% yes! This was a great way to clear off my ever-growing to-do list and save a little money, so I’ll definitely be making this no-spend month a thing every 6 months. Or maybe even every quarter.

What do you think? Is this a no-spend DIY month something you’d tackle? Let me know if the comments!

Have Questions? Looking for Budget-Friendly DIY Tips?

Check out our posts How to Create a Removable Vinyl Decal Accent Wall, How to Refinish a Table, and our Redfin feature on How to Create a Luxury Look for Less.

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