No spend scrappy challenge

Find an amount of time that works for you and doesn't seem overwhelming. Like, maybe you decide I can work on stash sorting for 10 minutes. Just 10 minutes. Set a timer.

I do that with Lightroom photo organizing. I tell myself 15 minutes. And if I want to keep going after 15 minutes, I'll do a few more. But if I stop at 15, that's fine. I did what I wanted. And I find that 15 minutes 5-7 days a week keeps it fresher in my mind than 2 hours once a month. So, for me, it goes faster because I don't have to remember what I was doing last time because last time was only a day or so ago. But that's what works for me. And it took a while to figure that out. I'm still working on them, but I've made a lot of progress 15 minutes at a time.

You'll find what works for you!

 

Another thing I do when I'm trying not to spend is I don't look at the newsletter or store until the sale is over. So I finally open the weekly newsletter on Monday. That way I know if there's something I should add to my wishlist but I'm not tempted to buy it right then, at full price. As for SOSN, one thing that helps me resist is to think about how much I'd actually save by buying it that day rather than during a storewide sale. Often the difference is minimal, and for me that makes it a lot easier to tell myself that it can wait on my wishlist a little while longer.

 

@bestcee has great advice. Do whatever you can while not being overwhelmed. It may take you longer but when you are done, you will feel a real sense of accomplishment and you'll know what you have!

It took me a few weeks to do it and I didn't mind spending time on it since you know... stay at home during a pandemic was happening. But it gave me more motivation to scrap when I was done because of finding kits I had forgotten about.

I've also been more prone to shopping my stash since then as well!

 

I've been doing this for years with iTune gift cards ... I've never attached a credit card to my account b/c I have no self-control when it comes to buying music.

I've currently on a spending moratorium, so one of my tricks is to simply delete any store/designer emails ... I can't want what I don't see, lol!!!

 

@littlekiwi have you been thinking or applying for CT for some designer(s) that would increase your stash, getting brand new stash to play, allowing you save money and have fun, just an idea.

 

Scrapbooking is an art, and art has many different ways to express itself. @littlekiwi I went thru your gallery, and I love your pages, you have to believe more in yourself girl!

 

I am a sales girl too but I didn't know about the coupons for slow scraps and chats. I will have to check this out. I have recently found the extra designer discounts for their challenges. Also the hue/challenge challenge from the MOC will help to make any stash go further. I also like the suggestion of sorting and this might feel like shopping. It might help too with what I call the "proscraptination." Sometimes to avoid marking papers I would make a deal to scrap a page and then mark 10 exams...

 

Bless you.
The way I force myself to stick to a budget when I need to is to limit my access to funds. So when I go to a craft store I take cash instead of my cards so I don't splash out on lots of cuteness I don't immediately need, and only buy what I went there for.
When I need to budget myself here at the Lilypad I buy myself a gift certificate at the beginning of the month. Once it's spent it's used up I can't spend again until I buy next month's budget gift certificate. Maybe you could try something like that?

 

I love to treat my stash as a store. Something was retired last week that I had never even gotten around to using. Sooooo bad.
I saw someone in the forum say she decided to use every kit, one at a time. I love that idea. Does it sound like fun to you? I'm in if you're in!

 

Same in Canada, the exchange is HORRIBLE! Things that seem reasonable just aren't when you add on the exchange.

 

Assuming you have the room in your budget, maybe split the difference from what you routinely spend, and what you want the budget to be at? I do this with my grocery budget. I want it to be x, but it's at y, so I'm trying a spot in the middle to see if it will work. I also know that some months are higher because of sales I know come around, and others are lower - like when summer comes and produce is in season and cheap. So, I look at the bigger picture and see if it balances out.

The gift certificate idea is great! Have you considered making a note about which sales you like the best? Like, you know iNSD will have sales, so saving for that is brilliant.