Did you know that October is Buy Nothing New month?!
I was inspired by a book called “Not Buying It” by Judith Levine. My goal was to only purchase necessities for myself and my family, and to resist and avoid buying anything else; no treats, no luxuries, no impulse buys.
I thought I was rather clever, timing my 40 days without shopping to kick off immediately after the craziness of Christmas – by which time I’m usually heartily sick of the shops anyway. But it was not as easy as I thought ….
From My Diary: 40 Days Without Shopping
Day 1: That first night, I couldn’t help feeling rather smug as I watched the frenzy of the Boxing Day sales on the news – I’d avoided all the mayhem!
Day 3: The strap on my only pair of white sandals broke. But under the rules of my 40 days without shopping, replacing them would be a luxury – I just couldn’t justify it when I had at least a dozen pairs of shoes already.
Day 8: Of course wouldn’t you know it, I saw the cutest pair of white sandals on sale! Somehow I managed to resist temptation and kept walking ….
Day 13: My birthday fell right in the middle of my 40 days without shopping. To celebrate, the hubster took me out so we could choose my present/s together. Technically, *I* wasn’t the one shopping or buying … so I figured it was okay. It wasn’t til later though that I realised I *should* have chosen some white sandals while I was at it!
Day 17: I was home with the kids for the school holidays. Ordinarily that would mean regular trips to the shops just for “fun”. But in order to avoid temptation, I had to work extra hard to come up with other fun activities to fill our days …
Day 24: While doing some research online, I stumbled across an Aussie writer’s magazine. Normally I would have subscribed straight away, but didn’t want to break my fast. So I made a note of it, deciding that if I was still keen AFTER 40 days, I could go back and sign up then. Guess what … I never did.
Day 35: I’d avoided shopping centres for over a month, but temptation was everywhere! As I made a cup of tea in the lunchroom at work, there was a new Book Club selection to browse through – with a gorgeous craft book and kit for just $5. I knew Miss 18 (who was several years younger back then) would love it, and if I waited til my 40 days were over, it’d be gone. Dear reader, I cheated – I ran the idea past the hubster and he told me to get it, so I’ll blame him for my little slip-up! (But you know what, all these years later I can’t remember what it was … so how important was it really in the scheme of things, I wonder?).
Then there were the challenges that grocery shopping presented. Is a packet of chocolate biscuits a luxury? I justified it by figuring that we needed something in the house “in case” visitors turned up!
While not something I’d like to do again anytime soon, it was definitely a valuable exercise. It not only made me stop and think before making every purchase, reducing my impulse buying habits, it also made me reflect on how the activity of shopping has become something we equate with “fun”!
Was I really any worse off after 40 days without shopping? My only regret was that by the time my fast was finished, the summer sales were over. Not only that, the shops were filled with winter stock so I had to wait months before I was able to replace those white sandals …
Could you go 40 days without shopping?!
Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.
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