budget friendly

Yes, you read that correctly. If you’re new here, don’t quit reading on me. This blog is typically about my house and how I decorate on a budget, but this post is more personal. Bear with me.

For the month of January we decided not to watch TV at the house at all. It wasn’t really a new year’s fast thing, it was just something I thought would be fun to try. Sometimes I (and most Americans probably) can get sucked into sitting on the couch for hours on end. Which is totally fine. I work really hard during the week and sometimes I just need to do nothing.

The problem is that when I sit around doing nothing for multiple hours, I just feel unproductive and gross. So when I brought up the possibility of not watching anything for a whole month, Ethan was on board. He may have been a little bit reluctant, but if he was, he didn’t let on. I wanted to see what it would be like without it in the house. And let me tell you: it was awesome. Here’s what happened.

First, I just did more. More of everything. I worked on projects more frequently. I actually got off my butt and got into the garage to get stuff done. I painted more, finished a lot of things that had been in my garage for months, and got ahead on pieces for my upcoming spring shows. That alone would have been enough to call it a success, but there was so many other benefits.

I read more books. On a normal weeknight, when I would normally be watching my shows, I was reading books. I frequented the library much more often, and read four books this month. Which is a lot for me. I have always enjoyed reading, but I’m not what you might consider an avid reader. I have always used the excuse that I didn’t have time. Which wasn’t really true. I had the same amount of time, I just didn’t prioritize well.

I also felt more rested. Somehow even though I was getting more accomplished, I just felt better. I had more energy, and I wasn’t a total zombie when it came to the end of the day. Teaching can sometimes drain your energy, and so when you’re teaching all day you tend to be exhausted. And there were those days. But overall, I wasn’t super drained. I felt all around good. I cooked at home more and even baked some too! At first I thought that we would spend more money because we would be bored at home, but honestly I think we spent less money than we normally do because I was so much more productive and energetic.

There were things I thought I’d miss, and I’ll be honest, it was hard not tuning in to the newest episode of Fixer Upper each week when everyone else was posting and sharing photos of the great episodes, but there were other things I didn’t even miss (cough* The Bachelor *cough). As the month went on, it seemed like the feeling of missing out on things kind of passed.

Overall, it was a month of rest and rejuvenation. It was the perfect way to start the year off right, and it set the tone for what’s to come this year. I think it might be a good tradition to continue into the years to come, but we’ll see. Ethan may not quite agree. 🙂 Either way, I’d recommend it! I enjoyed this month, and I think if you gave it a try, you’d be surprised at how it turns out! That’s all for today, friends. Have a fabulous day!