2016 - A year of 16 Challenges

emg

Day one (kind of) so full of enthusiasm and being good! :A

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month (7/16)
not a work day but I have made lunch ready for tomorrow and it's waiting in the fridge (smug!)

2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day
Pleased to see that the MSE flylady thread gives me the weekend off. Did do about an hour of housework though so counting it as achieved. Wish I could carry it over for the weekdays though!

3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (5/31)
Only 90 steps away so will easily reach it by bedtime.

4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month
there is still time today, it could happen!

5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (1/10)
Did a top up shop today following a proper fridge/freezer/store cupboard audit. Was really well behaved though. Walked to the supermarket, pretty much stuck to my list (yellow-stickered cinnamon buns excepted) and carried it home (which definitely stopped me buying random things). I also chucked a handful of change into the self-service machine before paying the rest off on card. I have a big jar of change that nothing happens to so have decided to take a handful each time I go to the shop and start using it up. Every little helps, right?

6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes

7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
no change but on track

8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (5/30)
+2 Also finally managed to sign back into a few that I had lost the passwords for and pleased to see my points are still there.

9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
aiming to get them done at the end of next week

10. Meal plan for all week day meals
Done

11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016
13 items either in charity bag or clothes bank bag. One an unused xmas present from around 2005, why have I given that house-room for so long??

12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep!
Bye bye Leisure Lakes Bikes

13. No buying books or magazines in 2016 yep!
Went down that aisle in the shop this morning with blinkers on.

14. Read 16 books
I tidied a bookcase, does that count as progress towards this one?

15. Make one new recipe a month - not yet

16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month - done
Actually did 3 - Hoisin noodles, bolognaise and corned beef hash. Told you I had beginner's enthusiasm! Don't know why I didnt make a new recipe though, could have ticked that one off too :mad:

I know the weekdays are going to be harder but looking forward to the challenge and loving the feeling of being a bit more organised.

I love the idea of the Twinkle Bunting by the way. Someone posted some really cute book bunting on the craft board the other day but I wouldnt have thought of using comic books. Mind you I think i would be sad to cut it up. My sister and I have collected a load of old Jackie annuals and they are hilarious to read but would actually make really good bunting for her 40th, hmm!

Philliper

Hello 16ners!

I was busy with work and after work stuff last week, so didn't get around to posting.

Here's how it's been going:

. 1. Read 16 books this year

Started book no. 2 - James Ellroy The Cold Six Thousand

2. Save £1 a day in the Xmas challenge

Keeping up with this one

3. Declutter 2016 items from my home

Cleared out a cupboard, so getting there.

4. Have 16 no spend days a month

Oh dear - none to report.

5. Keep up with the Fly Lady challenge

Nope, not every day

6. Have a handmade Christmas (we did this a couple of years ago and it was well-received)

No progress

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

Going well on this.

8. Make at least £16 extra per month (Ebay, writing sites etc)

Sold some stuff on Ebay so the total is creeping up.

9. Make a meal from store cupboard/freezer etc once per month

Yes, did this.

10 Try a new recipe once a month

Yes - new vegetable soup recipe, prefer it to my old recipe.

11 Create 16 items (knitting, sewing, artwork)

Still working on a jumper - nearing the top of the second sleeve!

12 Lose 2 lb a month Jan - Jun (I don't have a lot to lose, but need to drop a dress size)

Going well - 1lb gone.

13 Pay off £1600 of debt

Not going so well - new tyres on van, hole in roof of house.

14 Write 16 blog posts this year (my blog has been neglected to the extent that I've unpublished it for a while)

No.

15 Write 500 words on book at least 16 times per month

This is going really, really badly - 500 words written once.

16 Eat at least 5 fruit/veg each day

Yes, going well - usually 6/7.

Hoping to do better this week - need to manage my time (as well as my money) better to keep up with the rest of you.

craftingmad

Wow great progress emg and Philliper


Here's my (small) progress for today:-


1. Stash Busting - 18/365 days of no spending
Items made 57/2016
Another no craft spend day for me and one more items made

2. Decluttering 284/2016
No progress at all today

3. Make £2016 - £59/£2016
Nothing new to report

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Going to have lots of veg with dinner tonight but lots of chocolate has also found its way into my body

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
No new money added:(

6. NSD - 10/120
Yey a NSD for me

7. Amazon Pot - £59.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
Nothing new added but did meet swagbucks target today and gained 300 gifthulk coins so working my way up to more vouchers slowly but surely

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
No progress today

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 1/52
No not today but planning for this to be on Thursday with another pasta meal

10. New meals 0/12
Planned this for tomorrow. Going to make tuna fishcakes using left over mash from last night. Not sure how these will go down as both my son & I are not keen on tuna but hey ho nothing ventured nothing gained

11. Flylady Challenge 6/352
Hubby cleaned kitchen today so counting that as task complete

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress

13. Save/pay off 16k - £239.34/£16k
Nothing to report but am looking into broadband deal with BT which will save me a massive £250 over a year. Will finalise tomorrow

14. Project Life 1/13
Filled a couple more pockets today

15. Quality Time 2/52
No guitar lessons today and homework

16. Phoning Parents - 4/52
Spoke to mum and dad today

emg

Day two and the motivation is still strong

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month - yep (8/16)

2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day - yep
Level one done (cleaned kitchen floor and cupboard fronts - mind you, kitchen is tiny!)

3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (5/31) - failed today

4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month
two days in a row...:D

5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (2/10)
Yes (hooray for the packed lunch!)

6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes

7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
no change but on track

8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (8/30)
+3

9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
aiming to get them done at the end of next week

10. Meal plan for all week day meals
Done

11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016 - 15/2016 :eek:
2 more items in bag, starting to feel a bit daunted by this one already, what if I only own 2016 things???

12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep!
It was Paul's Boutique's turn today

13. No buying books or magazines in 2016 yep!

14. Read 16 books in 2016 0/16
no progress (yet)

15. Make one new recipe a month - not yet

16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month - done for Jan

Keep up the good work thread-mates :T

craftingmad

Quick update from me today as not much progress made but a bit of groundwork laid ready to (hopefully) reap rewards in the future


1. Stash Busting - 19/365 days of no spending
Items made 57/2016
Nothing made but no craft spending so the total is looking good

2. Decluttering 286/2016
Tiny progress but a pile of junk mail thrown away along with a paper carrier bag I had been saving just in case

3. Make £2016 - £59/£2016
No progress but working hard on the survey sites etc

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Still too much chocolate in the house but I did eat broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn at dinner time

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

6. NSD - 11/120
Another NSD today taking me over my target for the month

7. Amazon Pot - £59.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
Nothing new to add but beavering away with swagbucks and gift hulk earning more points

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
No new progress but booking form filled in and given to daughter ready for her to take to school tomorrow

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 2/52
Counting today as a store cupboard day as had everything in to make the meal for over a week

10. New meals 1/12
Yey - off and running on this one. I made Tuna fishcakes with left over mash today and although they weren't a roaring success (daughter was not that keen), everyone ate them so at least that's something Will probably try making them again later in the year but will try and think of something to add to them to make them tastier. They lacked a bit of flavour.

11. Flylady Challenge 7/352
Yes. Stairs cleared and cleaned:)

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress

13. Save/pay off 16k - £239.34/£16k
No new progress but definitely going to switch internet so that will save us a few ££'s and also balance looking good to transfer the £2k mentioned previously on Thursday

14. Project Life 1/13
Took a couple more photos today so will hopefully complete at least one more page tomorrow

15. Quality Time 2/52
No pesky homework got in the way and an early night is needed by us all

16. Phoning Parents - 4/52
No


I actually made a bit better progress than I thought I had. Will be nice to see the totals moving a bit quicker though

emg

Day three and starting to slide

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month - yep (9/16)

2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day - no

3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (6/31) - although ashamed to say that those steps were mostly bumped up by walking round the shops!

4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month - not today

5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (2/10)
No, paid for a leaving do, some UHT milk (to make yoghurt with) and some chocolate.

6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes

7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
no change but on track

8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (8/30)
no extras today

9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
helped someone else do theirs today, does that count as working towards?

10. Meal plan for all week day meals
Done

11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016 - 15/2016 :eek:
no new things decluttered today

12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep!
Bye bye Mills & Boon (how?????)

13. No buying books or magazines in 2016 yep!

14. Read 16 books in 2016 0/16
no progress (yet)

15. Make one new recipe a month - not yet

16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month - done for Jan

Cross with myself that I didnt do 2 and 4 today. Would only have taken 22 minutes for goodness sake!

Crafting - Glad everyone ate their fishcakes. My go-to solution when something comes out a bit bland is Sweet Chilli Sauce, it just goes with everything!

craftingmad

Feel like I've had quite a productive day today.


Here's the list:-


1. Stash Busting - 20/365 days of no spending
Items made 59/2016
No craft spending and two pages of Project Life completed

2. Decluttering 314/2016
28 more items gone from the house including a screen demister pad which was very useful in the car this morning

3. Make £2016 - £69/£2016
Cashed out £10 voucher from Isay

4. Starting weight - Weight Now -
Managed my 5 a day today

5. Sealed pot challenge - money started to be added
Emptied a load of change from my purse and pocket into the pig

6. NSD - 12/120
Another NSD for me today - that's 4 in a row

7. Amazon Pot - £69.76/£200 (£29.76 left over from last year)
Finally managed to get another survey on I say surveys which gave me enough to cash out £10 voucher

8. 16 outlets - 0/16
No actual sales from outlets yet but I have been working on my stall at Supermums online craft fair today and loaded 10 more items on to sell

9. Store Cupboard Challenge 2/52
Having jacket potatoes tonight using bits and bobs from cupboard and fridge but not counting

10. New meals 1/12 - tuna fishcakes
No jacket potatoes tonight

11. Flylady Challenge 9/352
Declaring 2 today as done yesterday's and today's tasks
Have also decided that as Flylady does not run over weekends that every day I do housework I am going to count it

12. Handmade Christmas 1/50
No new progress today

13. Save/pay off 16k - £239.34/£16k
Another no spend day today means that I am on target to transfer over the extra owed cash paid to hubby can be transferred tomorrow once his salary arrives in the bank

14. Project Life 1/13
Two more pages completed today which means I'm all up to date

15. Quality Time 2/52
Hoping to read a bit of Enid Blyton after tea

16. Phoning Parents - 4/52
Tried but remembered they were out at the theatre

1974nicola

I love this! Appeals to my sense of trying. Keep going. I might copy this. I have "fluttered" for a couple of years now. I like that too! Good luck

emg

Day four and doing a bit better :T

1. Take a packed lunch to work at least 16 days a month - yep (10/16)

2. Do at least 15mins Flylady-ing a day - yes, did the floordrobe and put away some laundry

3. Reach my step target on Fitbit 25 days a month (7/31) - counting as a yes as will definitely get there by bed time

4. Use the 'seven' fitness app at least 25 days a month - yep, back on the wagon

5. Achieve 10 No-Spend-Days a month (3/10)
Nothing today.

6. Keep YNAB up to date daily - yes

7. Overpay mortgage by £3600 (£264.24/£3600)
no change but sold something on ebay today and will be adding that to the pot as soon as the payment clears

8. Complete at least 30 surveys per month on survey sites (9/30)
one done but annoyed at how many I screened out of today :mad:

9. Claim work expenses on time every month (due by 4/2)
no progress - need to schedule a bit of time in the office to do this next week

10. Meal plan for all week day meals
Done

11. Declutter 2016 items in 2016 - 15/2016
no new things decluttered today

12. Unsubscribe from at least one spam email everyday - yep! 2 today


13. No buying books or magazines in 2016 yep!

14. Read 16 books in 2016 0/16
still no progress on this one

15. Make one new recipe a month - not yet

16. Batch cook two things for the freezer each month - done for Jan

Knowing I was going to be reporting in on this thread definitely motivated me to do some of these things todays, thanks everyone! :T

1974nicola

Hello 16ners.

Been thinking about your ideas all day since I read them. Please ..... Can I join you? I think it's just such a good idea!!