2016 - A year of 16 Challenges

Philliper

Well done on the decluttering Craftingmad. Here's my update for today:

1. Read 16 books this year
Finished Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory - 1/16

2. Save £1 a day in the Xmas challenge
Done

3. Declutter 2016 items from my home
Stayed late at work and won't get time for decluttering today

4. Have 16 no spend days a month
Yes! 5/16
5. Keep up with the Fly Lady challenge
No time today

6. Have a handmade Christmas (we did this a couple of years ago and it was well-received)
Not working on anything yet

7. Save in the 365 Xmas accumulator (not sure what to call it - 1p on 1 Jan, 2p on 2 Jan, etc throughout year)
Done

8. Make at least £16 extra per month (Ebay, writing sites etc)
Very slow start this year on the advertising revenue from writing site; items listed on Ebay not sold yet.

9. Make a meal from store cupboard/freezer etc once per month
Yes - feeling tired, so took dinner out of freezer, it's in the oven now


10 Try a new recipe once a month
Nope

11 Create 16 items (knitting, sewing, artwork)
Nearly finished a jumper, but not quite.

12 Lose 2 lb a month Jan - Jun (I don't have a lot to lose, but need to drop a dress size)
Starting at 10 2 - not lost any yet.

13 Pay off £1600 of debt
Doubt there'll be progress this month - already had to order tyres for van

14 Write 16 blog posts this year (my blog has been neglected to the extent that I've unpublished it for a while)
Not looked at this yet
15 Write 500 words on book at least 16 times per month
Not today!
16 Eat at least 5 fruit/veg each day
Yes, once dinner is done, I'll be on five - not great, but it will do

craftingmad

Great start Philliper Well done :T


Here's my efforts for today (I shall keep updating this post as when I have any progress) :-


1. Stash Busting - 12/365 days of no spending
Items made 32/2016
Not through the day yet no yearnings to buy any stash yet so I should be ok:) Also made 10 cards today to help my stashbusting makes total along a bit Now declaring a craft spend day as computer will be turned off soon so no opportunity to spend after that

2. Decluttering 271/2016
Quick declutter from me on the landing and a further 10 items now in the bins Also started spare room dressing table which is a real dumping ground so can add a further 21 items added so that 31 for today

3. Make £2016 - £44/£2016
Still no more actual money to declare today but I'm hoping I'm laying the groundworks to some coming my way very soon Found lots more bits ready to sell on facebook or at a car boot later in the year

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Bad day again today. I blame the animal bars and the Christmas chocolates

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
Nothing added today

6. NSD - 7/120
Planning on another NSD today which will be 4 in a row and take my total to 7/120 Declared now.Pretty pleased with that total seeing as it's only 12th today

7. Amazon Pot - £39.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
More swagbucks and gifthulk coins earned today taking my a little bit closer to more vouchers

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
No actual progress yet but I have started a list of places to contact

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 1/52
Hoping tonights the night. Going to have a pasta bake using a sauce which has been in the cupboard for a while. May also add a can of spam to it which I found lurking today Macaroni Cheese pasta bake in oven with not spam but chicken as I had it left over from Sundays roast

10. New meals 0/12
No not this week but I'm planning on looking through the receipe books I got from the library tonight so hopefully something different will jump out at me

11. Flylady Challenge 5/352
Yey I have done todays and also caught up on yesterday's so 2 more to declare today

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress here today:(

13. Save/pay off 16k - £124.84/£16k
Hoping to go through some clothes bought near Christmas and hopefully being ruthless and seeing if I can take any back (as they have an extended return procedure due to Christmas) Found some of the clothes but cannot currently find the receipts :mad: Will keep looking tomorrow

14. Project Life 1/13
No new progress

15. Quality Time 2/52
Hoping to read Enid Blyton with the kids tonight after their guitar lessons and dinner. We got it out of the library and its a choose your own adventure version so should be fun

16. Phoning Parents - 3/52
Might try phoning tonight

craftingmad

Sorry been absent for a few days but still plodding along with the challenges


Not loads to report but a little so here goes:-




1. Stash Busting - 14/365 days of no spending
Items made 45/2016
Made 13 more items from existing stash and although I almost succumbed to buying a few crafty bits yesterday I stopped myself so can declare I am still craft spend free

2. Decluttering 283/2016
More decluttering taken place in my office/craft room so a bit of progress made here :_

3. Make £2016 - £44/£2016
Still no more actual money to declare but the car boot pile is getting bigger, I have advertised my sons old bed on facebook and I'm waiting for another £10 Amazon voucher from swagbucks

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Bad day again today. I blame the animal bars and the Christmas chocolates

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
Nothing added today

6. NSD - 7/120
No more NSD to declare yet as the car had to have its MOT yesterday but it passed so yippee

7. Amazon Pot - £39.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
More swagbucks and gifthulk coins earned and am now also waiting for a £10 card from Amazon so hopefully £20 to add to total soon

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
Contacted person regarding having a stall at a craft fair in Feb so should get this total off the ground soon

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 1/52
No,no more added

10. New meals 0/12
No new meals tried yet

11. Flylady Challenge 5/352
No more yet

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress here

13. Save/pay off 16k - £124.84/£16k
Nothing new yet but hopefully on 21st January I will be able to transfer £2k into the savings pot as hubby has been paid backdated pay increase owed from previous job he was made redundant from. Dare'nt transfer yet as quite close this month but going to try and be very careful as this total would be great to add to the pot

14. Project Life 1/13
No new progress

15. Quality Time 2/52
No

16. Phoning Parents - 3/52
Might try phoning tonight

Pay_4_You

I wish you well in your list. Some are more easier than others but good luck. I have no will power so not sure i would get to 3.

craftingmad

Hello,


Thought I'd post a quick update before settling down to eat our dinner:-

1. Stash Busting - 14/365 days of no spending
Items made 51/2016
No craft spending yet today and I've made a further 6 bits so totals progressing nicely here

2. Decluttering 283/2016
No decluttering done today

3. Make £2016 - £44/£2016
Just got two facepainting jobs come in for end of Jan so should be able to add something to this total very soon

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Bit better day today. I've had an apple, orange juice and some melon but also a lot of chocolate

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
Nothing added today

6. NSD - 8/120
NSD today. Had to go into town for a course but got business partner to pay for parking as I drove there. Also resisted the urge to spend anything whilst I was out and I got a free lunch at the course so very happy

7. Amazon Pot - £39.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
Still waiting for the two £10 codes to add to my account from swagbucks and gifthulk. Earnt a few more swagbucks today

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
None yet but slowly building up stock again so can approach some new places

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 1/52
No, not today. Having a freezer ,ix and match day with homemade chips

10. New meals 0/12
No new meals tried yet

11. Flylady Challenge 5/352
No more yet

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress here

13. Save/pay off 16k - £224.84/£16k
£100 added to savings today. This was the money my parents gave us for Christmas so instead of spending we decided to add it to the savings so it can earn us a bit of interest

14. Project Life 1/13
No new progress

15. Quality Time 2/52
No

16. Phoning Parents - 3/52
Might try phoning tonight

craftingmad

Yey my £10 Amazon code from swagbucks has arrived

emg

Wow - you three are impressive....and inspiring, room for one more? You have given my loads of ideas, it was quite hard to choose only 16 but I have and I think using this thread for accountability will really help me stick to them. I started some of these on 1st Jan so have added current stats for those ones....

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month (7/16)
MSE demotivator says this will save me about £1000 :eek:
2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day
Have dabbled in the past but need to get back on track
3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (4/31)
Aim is to increase target through the year but so far not doing very well despite a very low one!
4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month
Should help with steps target too, two birds/one stone!
5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (1/10)
Starting today but today is going to be one :T
6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes
I am using this to work out how much I can use as mortgage overpayments
7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
Would like to move in the future and really need to build up my equity while the interest rate is low.
8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (3/30)
I'm signed up to loads but then never do them (and then wonder why i never have enough points to cash out!)
9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
We have a new 'easier' system, there is really no excuse!
10. Meal plan for all week day meals
No popping into M&S on the way home cos I cant think what to have
11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016
12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep!
I'm a comper and things have got a bit out of hand in the spam department!
13. No buying books or magazines in 2016
I live 2 minutes walk from the library - might help steps target! Also discovered I can look at e-books and e-magazines for free through the library app.
14. Read 16 books
Love the idea of this challenge
15. Make one new recipe a month
Even better if it is from one of my ridiculous number of cookbooks
16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month
Can hopefully include the new recipe - should help with challenges 5 and 10 too.

Wow, a long list but hopefully achieveable. Hope you don't mind me joining your thread and please feel free to give me a virtual nudge if required!

craftingmad

emg wrote: »

Wow - you three are impressive....and inspiring, room for one more? You have given my loads of ideas, it was quite hard to choose only 16 but I have and I think using this thread for accountability will really help me stick to them. I started some of these on 1st Jan so have added current stats for those ones....

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month (7/16)
MSE demotivator says this will save me about £1000 :eek:
2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day
Have dabbled in the past but need to get back on track
3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (4/31)
Aim is to increase target through the year but so far not doing very well despite a very low one!
4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month
Should help with steps target too, two birds/one stone!
5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (1/10)
Starting today but today is going to be one :T
6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes
I am using this to work out how much I can use as mortgage overpayments
7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
Would like to move in the future and really need to build up my equity while the interest rate is low.
8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (3/30)
I'm signed up to loads but then never do them (and then wonder why i never have enough points to cash out!)
9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
We have a new 'easier' system, there is really no excuse!
10. Meal plan for all week day meals
No popping into M&S on the way home cos I cant think what to have
11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016
12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep!
I'm a comper and things have got a bit out of hand in the spam department!
13. No buying books or magazines in 2016
I live 2 minutes walk from the library - might help steps target! Also discovered I can look at e-books and e-magazines for free through the library app.
14. Read 16 books
Love the idea of this challenge
15. Make one new recipe a month
Even better if it is from one of my ridiculous number of cookbooks
16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month
Can hopefully include the new recipe - should help with challenges 5 and 10 too.

Wow, a long list but hopefully achieveable. Hope you don't mind me joining your thread and please feel free to give me a virtual nudge if required!

Hello and welcome emg :j


Love your list. You sound like you could be my sister. If not my sister then you must definitely be related to me


Good luck with your challenges and looking forward o your updates

emg

craftingmad wrote: »

Love your list. You sound like you could be my sister. If not my sister then you must definitely be related to me

Heh! Probably even more similar than you think I considered the crafting stash challenge and rejected it as completely unachievable, not buy anything? Not even lots of gorgeous paper?? What will I do all year?? You know that thing where even if you live to 100 you wont be able to use up all your stash/finish all your projects? That's me!

Planning a very worthy and industrious day today, will update later, hopefully with this emoticon :A

craftingmad

Here's my weekends progress and how my totals are looking:-


1. Stash Busting - 17/365 days of no spending
Items made 56/2016
No craft spending this weekend although I did add a bit to my stash by using my Works Loyalty points (£5 in total) but as I didn't spend any money I'm letting this count as a NCSD Also made 5 more things - 2 Project Life pages completed and 3 lots of bunting made using a very old Twinkle annual somebody gave me a year or so ago

2. Decluttering 284/2016
Small progress for the weekend. I got rid of an out of date Tastecard which expired in October last year Hoping once hubby goes back to work on Tuesday that I will start the decluttering again

3. Make £2016 - £59/£2016
Total increased by £15 as have now been paid Amazon voucher from Gifthulk and used £5 works points

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
No, this one is not going well. There's far too much Christmas chocolate left in the house

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
Nothing added today

6. NSD - 9/120
NSD Sunday

7. Amazon Pot - £59.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
Finally got the two codes I was waiting for so another £20 added to total this weekend Also gained a few more swagbucks and gifthulk coins to get me a tiny way nearer to my next vouchers

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
None yet but printed off a couple of booking forms for local craft fairs coming up

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 1/52
No, not today. Having sausages out of the freezer

10. New meals 0/12
No new meals tried yet

11. Flylady Challenge 5/352
No more yet

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress here

13. Save/pay off 16k - £239.34/£16k
£9.50 added to the savings this weekend. This is from coupons used on weekly shop (£8.50) and £1 from a scratch card win which was a present for Christmas Also choose a free parking space in Norwich on Saturday which saved us a few quid (saying £3) and meant we could only stay there for a couple of hours so no extra time to browse the shops and be tempted. Also although we treated ourselves to a KFC (the kids love it!) I took water for us to drink so also saved at least £2 there so a further £5 added from this

14. Project Life 1/13
Finished two January pages today

15. Quality Time 2/52
No although have helped my son build his Lego Dimensions game

16. Phoning Parents - 3/52
Tried phoning but out