I know what you mean about having too many unframed pieces---I do watercolors and I usually change the paintings when the season's change-

Good Luck with your framing projects.

Florence

IÂm an artist and my sales last year were dismal. My income was 1/3 of the usual. My husbandÂs company is laying people off and those who are left have to work harder; even so, thatÂs no security. I had a lot planned but just decided to be more creative at home. In the past we hired people to do some big things because we were too busy. IÂm going back to doing more things myself. DIY is still kind of new for my husband but he is learning fast. For example, we installed some new doors and woodwork, all of which I stained and varnished myself. My husband just installed a new parquet floor in our daughterÂs room. We borrowed a chop saw from a co-worker of my DH and spent a marathon week cutting pieces out for various projects that will probably take me all winter to assemble! I added tiling to my skill set last summer, now IÂm making trivets from the leftover marble mosaic and wood. The materials still cost money but I shopped around enough so that they didnÂt cost much. I want to re-do a huge bathroom base cabinet, I have not figured out how to do that myself but IÂm looking into it. Growing up, my family never hired anyone to do work for them, if they didnÂt have a skill they asked around among their friends. ThereÂs more than one way to be creative, and itÂs a huge boost to self-esteem. Brings to mind in a positive sense, my grandparents and their depression era, "make-do" philosophy.

As part of my renovation IÂm planning to get rid of clutter and sell some old furniture on CraigÂs list. I sold a table today, one down! In years past I donated everything, now if I can I will try to sell it first.

Good luck to all of you!

Yes and it's killing me since I get so much satisfaction from having a nice home.

I have been unemployed since July and my DBF (who owns this home with me)has started a new business in the midst of a lousy economy. He is keeping his head above water so far.

I am trying to do some otherwise expensive framing completed on the cheap. Looking up Larson Juhl frame resources for a modern art lithograph piece I have wanted to put up above my FP. Can't be that hard to put together once I get all the materials since I am floating the picture (another way to save on matting).

Also, I have one more closet to paint and organize.

Just trying to do things we can afford to do. No big projects until Spring when I re-landscape the front of our home a little which I can do myself probably better than a landscaper.

"Anyone else on a home improvement diet for the next few months?"

Not really... because not much will be changing for us in the "next few months".

We have the money already saved for the things we want to do this year, so we will go ahead and do them.

I can relate to the OP. DH and I have made an agreement that there will be no more "new" projects until all of the materials that are laying about unused are utilized. (He has rolls of insulation unused, he has tubes of putty and filler for finessing certain projects that he hasn't opened yet - lights that are hung but not wired properly yet, etc) Also, I am trying to do the "free" things that make a difference (big organizing projects like closets and things, and liquidating our attic contents and selling on CL)

We've been on a decorating diet for a while. Some of you may remember my post from last fall about whether or not to do a landscaping project -- we had the money put aside, but I feared that we may prefer to have the money in savings instead. We opted to pull the plug on the project and I was laid off two weeks later. (Whew!)

The projects on the list are all sort of "big" so too much to do while I'm still looking for a new job (kitchen, flooring, landscaping). So I've focused on planning, budgeting and prioritizing. That way, when things turn around, we can jump right in.

Like others, I have also worked on cleaning, purging and organizing. But I need to work harder!

Instead of hiring someone to paint our living and dining rooms, we're doing it ourselves. What fun, ugh

DH has been encouraging us to scale back for sometime now and with the economy as it is, I've agreed. What I am doing is being more careful with my purchases--not getting something unless we really need it and then making sure that what I've got fits the bill. So many times I've bought stuff because it's inexpensive only months later realize it's not really the right thing and end up spending more to get what we really need. I also have a bunch of stuff to sell on CL as well as donate to the local charities. I pretty much use my CL profits to fund my new decorating projects so I can break even. My outstanding project is DIY which I already have all the supplies for and that is to reupholster/refurbish my DR chairs. I also want to do some spring planting and will probably go forward with that, but will again be DIY and just the cost of plants.