With spring right around the corner and a bit more time at home to take advantage of, do-it-yourself projects can give us something to focus on that doesn’t involve spending a lot of money (if any). After all, what’s better than doing something fun and productive that also doesn’t take away from your financial goals? 

DIY projects like the ones we see all over Pinterest and Instagram can help us save money, get inspired, and avoid overspending, or other financial missteps. Ranging from small home-made planter boxes to entire room renovations, the options for do-it-yourself spring projects are endless. Here are some of our favorites (plus a fun bonus project for those at home with young children):

Six Fun and Inexpensive DIY Spring 2020 Projects

1. Turn your empty wine bottles into flower displays

With this DIY project, you have a few different options. Gather up your empty wine bottles and all the supplies you’ll need to brighten them up. This might be paint and paintbrushes or it might be craft glue and loose scrapbook pages to cut up and attach to the bottle, it’s up to you. If you prefer the paint so you can use them outside, pick your favorite colors, a spring-themed design, or a character to paint on. Get creative! They work great for both real and fake flowers.

If you only plan on using your wine bottle flower vases inside, you can cut strips or designs out of scrapbook paper, or pick one that you like enough to leave intact, and glue them to the bottle. No matter which way you choose to take it, this project is fun, pretty, free, and easy! And, it’s a great project for young kids that are home and in need of something to keep them occupied. When you choose DIY projects like this one, you can use the money you save to pay off credit card debt faster or make an extra mortgage payment or turn them into thoughtful hand-made gifts to help limit your holiday spending. Grandparents love homemade gifts from the grandchildren, so this is a great gift to make now to give later.

2. Use large empty candle jars for bathroom storage

This one is really simple, but it’s also incredibly useful. Chances are, you already have a ton of mostly-burned candle jars or candle jars with wicks that are now too short to ignite. So, gather up your favorites and get ready: there are a couple of different ways you can do this. Some people choose to pour boiling water into the candle jar, but others have found that it’s less messy to pop it into the freezer (without the lid) for a few hours.

Once the remaining wax is frozen, slice it up with a butter knife. It’ll glide through pretty easily, and breaking it up while it’s frozen will allow you to dump most of it right out. Use a paper towel to remove any remaining pieces. Now, run the empty candle jar through the dishwasher and it’ll be perfectly clean and ready to go! You can use the empty jars to store cotton swabs, hair ties, or cotton balls. You can also get creative and use the jars in other rooms for things like pens and small craft tape rolls.

3. Make candle pillars out of cinnamon sticks

Rustic cinnamon stick candle pillars are easy to make, and they look and smell incredible too. You can wrap candles that are contained in jars already or wrap the cinnamon sticks directly around solid candles without jars. You can also decide how involved you want to get in this project because it’ll work with twine, ribbon, elastic bands, or hot glue. The elastic band is the easiest method.

First, wrap your elastic band around the candle (either plain or painted if you want to make it extra festive), then tuck the cinnamon sticks into the space between the elastic band and the candle jar or the candle itself. Keep tucking them in until it’s covered all the way around and no cinnamon sticks slip out when you lift the candle up. If you choose the twine method, just tie a piece loosely around the candle and then tuck the cinnamon sticks into it. Either leave it exposed, or wrap it in a ribbon.

4. Re-purpose your old colander into a flower planter 

Now that it’s spring, you may have flowers on your mind. But with the need to be thoughtful in spending and limited ability to get out and about to a store, you don’t necessarily need to forgo your spring dream. With a few handy items you probably already have lying around the house or garage, you can make a beautiful, unique flower planter to hang outside or in a sunny corner of the house. All you’ll need is a colander you no longer use, twine, a touch of glue (optional), sheet moss, potting soil, and your favorite seasonal plants. Remember, if you can’t get out to a store for seeds or starter plants, it is easy to find low-cost seeds online that can be shipped directly to you, often with no shipping fee.

To start your flower planter, wrap the twine tightly around one of the colander handles. Don’t leave gaps, tie it off when you reach the other end of the handle, and consider adding a little hot glue to make it extra secure. Repeat on the other side. Now, tuck the sheet moss, soil, and plants into the colander and adjust until it looks the way you want it to. And the last step is simple: cut two pieces of twine to the length you’d like them to hang from and secure them to the handles. Having two pieces of twine instead of one gives it greater stability, and it looks better too.

5. Create a wall clock out of your favorite photos

This project may be the simplest one on the list, but it’s also one of the best for anyone who’s feeling cooped up, ready for better weather and things to normalize across the nation, and looking for the ultimate cheerful touch. Simply collect 12 framed pictures in your house, pick prints that are lying around, or choose 12 to print out at home and either hang, tape, or pin them to the wall in a circle to create each hour.

You can get creative and put old clock hands in the middle, make some out of construction paper, or let it brighten up your space without them. Take some time to go through your favorite photos. Reflect on vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, and time spent with people you love. Winters only last for so long, and not long after spring will be summer and hopefully, an ability to resume normal activities. Now is a great time to create something that will remind you of that. 

6. Make your own spring bunny garland

If you have young children at home, you are probably trying to think of something fun to do with them. Little kids have a lot of energy to burn, and with so much time spent cooped up indoors and away from their friends, refocusing their energy on a spring Easter project could be just the ticket! With this project, you’ll have pretty much everything you need at home - some construction paper, child-friendly paints, cotton balls, ribbons, glue, and clothes-pins or paperclips.

Sketch out the shape of a bunny on a piece of thick paper to create your template. Once you have your template ready to go, allow your children to trace their own bunnies on separate pieces of paper. Either cut-out the bunnies for your children, or provide them with a child-safe scissors to do the cutting on their own. Then, allow your child to decorate the back of their bunny. After the decorating is complete, glue a cotton ball to the back of the bunny to represent its tail. Allow it to dry. Then, clip your bunnies to a ribbon using a clothes-pin or safety pin, and decorate your front door with your new garland. Kids will love this activity, so be sure to share this idea with others too!