Woman's Day: 20 things to do for FREE

Yesterday, I received a copy of Woman's Day in the mail, completely free of charge (gotta love that price!). On the cover were the words: "20 Great Things To Do That Don't Cost A Cent". I was intrigued. However, I forgot about the magazine, so it sat in the car over night all alone.

This morning I noticed it, so I remembered to bring it (and the rest of yesterdays's mail) into the house. It was a decent article, but I felt it left a few things out. Anyway, here's a short list of what it suggested (without the long paragraph talking up that action).

1. Learn a new skill online
2. Treat yourself to a Pantry Spa- go to life123.com and do a search on "Pantry Spa"
3. Play Games Online
4. Start a photo project
5. Take a nap
6. Go camping in your backyard
7. Make a playlist for a family member- this one suggests iTunes, and downloading, so it's not free. I recommend playlist.com, where it stays on the website, not your hard drive, and is free to use.
8. Visit a museum- check for free days, or check out Bank of America's free museum program: promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums
9. Go Geocashing
10. Swap stuff- swapstyle.com
11. Find a scholarship online for you or a student- fastweb.com
12. Attend a home improvement clinic- both Home Depot & Lowes offer these free, check their websites.
13. Take in a local event- find local summer fairs, or concert series, and find something free to do at them.
14. Take a factory tour- FactoryTourUSA.com lists over 500 factories that offer free tours.
15. Treasure Hunt- Log into Freecycle.org, or the free section of Craigslist, and hunt for some treasure.
16. Set up a game tournament- haul out the board games, and start a tournament.
17. Volunteer
18. Continue your education by attending free lectures, or watching video lectures online at ocw.mit.edu
19. Catch up with your friends- use skype, or a webcam, and chat with friends you don't see often.
20. Clean out a closet- clean out, and resell some items to earn a bit of spending cash. Use Craigslist, eBay, or have a yard sale.

Overall, it's a decent list, but I was hoping for some ideas I'd never thought of before. I was also disappointed that visiting the library wasn't included. Libraries have fun summer programs for kids, including prize programs, book clubs, story time, and more. Additionally, you can find a book for yourself, or even rent a movie (though some libraries do charge for movie rentals).

For a rainy day, take a walk in the rain. Get some water shoes on, or shoes you don't mind getting soaked, and go walk in the rain. Umbrella's are optional. Stomp in the puddles, jump the puddles, and get wet! This is especially nice if it's been overly warm or humid. Don't walk around, however, if there is lightening.

Set up a fort in the living room. Who didn't love using the sofa cushions, the dining room chairs, and mom's fancy table cloth and sheets to make a fort? As much as you loved it, your kids still do, so make a fort with them on a rainy day. Bring in pillows, and flash lights, and tell silly stories.

If your city or area allows it, have a camp fire. If they don't, fire up the grill and roast marshmallows over the grill for some S'mores.

Make a silly dessert with the kids- put gummy worms in jello, make an easy pudding pie with a graham cracker shell, and make a silly face with chocolate chips on top, or more. One recipe in this month's Woman's Day was "Jellin' Melon".

Take a small melon- cantaloupe or honey dew, for instance, and cut it in half. Remove any seeds from the center of the melon halves, then prop the halves up in bowls. Make up your favorite flavor of jello, then pour it into the centers and refrigerate. You could also add in other fruits to the jello. When you are done, slice the melon, and serve.

There are a lot of things you can do for very little money, or no money at all.