Shopping Ban: Month 4 Update

It has now been 4 months since I started the shopping ban on 1 October 2018.
Parameters of my shopping ban
Month 1 Update
Month 2 Update
Month 3 Update

If December was weird, then January has been downright bonkers. The government is STILL SHUT DOWN, I'm still furloughed, and that led to some house projects I'd been meaning to do. So despite the lack of income, I did spend some money, but accomplished some of my list!

Things I purchased in January
- Toiletries
- fabric to make den curtains [on the approved items list!]
- 4 used books [OC books]
- stick vacuum for all the dog hair [on the approved items list!]

I maybe didn't need to buy the 4 used books however I only spent $17 and they're all conservation related which is allowed.

Since I had all this furlough time on my hands, I remodeled my den this month, which was ~$900 spent in materials but way more in equity to my house. House improvement stuff is also in the allowed category. My house is 60 years old - home improvement is necessary and will happen. In the process I trashed the old makeshift curtains and curtain rod, so had to replace both of those. I bought fabric to make new curtains, and that is the second item off my approved list I've bought! Pretty good considering that list is pretty short.

After the remodel, since I have considerably less carpet now and the same amount of dog hair, I finally ordered a stick vacuum since that's way better for tile/wood flooring than my regular vacuum. That's also an item on my approved shopping list, which makes 3 now purchased.

In regards to the approved item list, I'm nixing the prints for existing frames category. I used the frames and put prints I already had in them. 1 is a piece of art I bought in Greece, and the other is a piece of art my friend made and sent to me.

So after 4 months here's an updated list:

Updated Approved Item List:

Prints for existing wall frames - nixed
Smart thermostat for the house - no real desire at the moment to upgrade
NOLS course supplies that are required for the course - 1 item left to purchase
fabric to make curtains - purchased
stick vacuum for all the dog hair - purchased

So February is coming up quick and hopefully the government shutdown will end before I write the next update about Month 5...