Buy nothing new for a year...

Sometimes we commit to something and then wonder what on earth we were thinking, why are we making life harder for ourselves!? Our decision to buy nothing new for a year has left me feeling the complete opposite. As I have mentioned before we are trying to buy nothing new for a whole year. The aim was to save money, reuse, recycle and also there was the curiosity of what life would be like.

So what has life been like?

I don't spend time at the shops. I go up to the local grocery store for our food but I very rarely venture to the larger local Westfield, expect if I am going to Medicare etc. I also spend less time at the shops as I am not going back to return my impulse buys before the exchange time runs out! It was amazing the things I would buy with the intention to decide on them later because I could always bring them back. I have learnt that if I cant decide then and there then I really don't like/need it.

When I am at the shops I just get the things done I went to do. No browsing and picking up little goodies or things on sale that are so cheap I cant not get them! So we are definitely saving money.

I have discovered op-shops and all the great treasures that there are. It satisfies the part of me that does like shopping but I have learnt that just because it is cheap, doesn't mean I need to buy it. I refrained from a pair of roller blades for MiniMe today!

There have been a couple of slips ups but I thought about them and decided that they were worthy exceptions. The main one has been Goofy's birthday. MiniMe and JJ both had birthday just as we started no buying anything new so I had already purchased their presents. We felt that buying some presents for Goofy was only fair. Interestingly when I did go to buy hers I bought only a few things, relatively quickly and was happy with each purchase. Not my usual shopping experience. We have also decided our trip to SA at the end of the year will be a break as we are unlikely to return there again.

So I think my attitude to shopping has changed. I think I will always enjoy the occasional walk around the shops but the temptation to want everything I see has definitely waned. The shops have lost a little of their shine. I have also enjoyed thinking a bit outside the box and being a bit more crafty as a result.
I have been enjoying the challenge of not buying anything new and think it has been a very worthwhile experiment for me to learn about how and why I shop. I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. My buying patterns will definitely be changed when the year is up and in a positive way. So I am very grateful to my friend who put me onto this challenge in the first place. Thanks, MM!

How do you think you would go if you stopped buying new things for a year?