Author Topic: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021  (Read 4317 times)

meadow lark

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Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« on: March 08, 2021, 07:11:53 AM »
I have decided to do a low buy year and hope others will join me!  These things are much more fun with friends. 
First off - what is your why?
My why is that I buy way too much shit.  Especially on Amazon.  The fantasy me is a minimalist, the real me (right now) is not.  So I want a more minimalist house, I want to decluttering and not keep adding, and I want to break my Amazon habit, which is really just an instant gratification habit.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2021, 08:18:22 PM »
Today I wanted to buy a house, so I almost failed on my 2nd day.  🙂. It’s under contract as of this afternoon so I was saved by my realtor’s inability to take me to see it this morning.  Other than that I did spend some money on a burrito, groceries and my personal trainer, but those I am okay with.  It is just the physical goods I am trying to not buy.

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2021, 10:54:12 PM »
ML, thanks for starting this thread! I've noticed that even though I *feel* like I don't spend a lot, I own a lot of stuff. So my why is to stop adding to that pile and get lean and ready to take whatever opportunity presents itself next.

This is not really a recent trend, as I've not really increased the pile during the pandemic, but I've hoarded a bunch of things for the last year that I've not needed and now I'm having to pare down to fit into a new living space. But I don't want to go back to old ways once the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

Plus it always seems my answer to any problem is to buy something. I'd prefer to settle for "good enough" more often, or use ingenuity and creativity.

I'll also focus on physical possessions, as I'm doing a pretty good job on reducing monthly bills, but I don't want to forget to shop around auto insurance, etc. That particular bill hasn't been challenged for over 2 years.

Serendip

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2021, 04:33:55 PM »
I'm already on the no-clothes thread but am trying to keep my unnecessary buying on the low-side this year. I was really getting carried away with random, online things and ordering books through our local bookstore. I'm also aiming to lose another 5-10lbs so that all my older but still great clothes fit again (5 lbs already gone and it's a funny motivation but is really working for me!)

I won't be No-buy since I have some outdoor gear I'd like to replace before some big adventures (hiking boots, etc)..but am aiming to end the superfluous spending.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2021, 05:17:32 PM »
One day - nothing like moving to make you realize how much you have!  I should shop my bills, too.  Eventually!

Serendip - the no clothes thread is a good idea.  I should get on there too.

I think the 4th was the last day I bought something other than a consumable.  It feels like every day I think of something else I need to go buy.  I want to get out of that habit.

I am going to go visit my 10 month old grandson for Easter ( we’re a few states away).  Today a friend told me I needed to get him an Easter basket.  Then I started  thinking I needed to buy him a toy and my brain started spinning.  So I changed my thinking -  This year I am going to just give his mom a little money.  She can handle what to get a 10 month old!  She certainly knows better than we do.


meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2021, 03:56:53 PM »
The Thing Of The Day I Needed To Buy - TTOTDINTB  for short - cuz there is usually something, was Pyrex containers.  I am meal prepping (first time in a year at least) and I realized I needed individual glass containers to store my food in.  Obviously needed to run to Walmart ASAP.
 Then I remembered I have 13,000 glass jars in my closet.  So now I have 12,996 jars in my closet and 4 in the fridge.

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2021, 02:50:25 PM »
TTOTDINTB: something to hang on the wall or shower wall or maybe edge of the toilet tank to hook my shower shoes on so they can dry out between showers and avoid mold. There *may* actually be a product out there that fits this description, but it's very specific so I'm not really sure it even exists. 

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2021, 01:41:54 PM »
Like this?
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Flip-Flop-Hanger/

I’ve seen them with instructions on Pinterest, too.  If you don’t have a wire hanger I am betting one of your friends will happily give you one.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2021, 04:28:32 PM »
ttotdintb: A she shed.  I feel like I really need one.  It seems like some kind of horrible injustice that I have to share with 1 other person a 3 bedroom 2 bath house.  I got on Pinterest and decided I could probably build one from scratch.  Please note I have 2 bookcases in my house that I refuse to put together because “that sounds like a lot of work.”
ttotdintb#2: a hot tub.  Because why have a she shed if you can’t put the hot tub next to it?

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2021, 10:36:27 AM »
@meadow lark I should have known that there was a product out there for me. Humans are so ingenious! I don't have a wire hanger, but this has sparked my thoughts and I'm sure I'll come up with something.

You are suffering less Injustice than others. I share a 1 bed  1 bath with another person.

I went on a long hike yesterday which was good for not buying anything yesterday. But I'm also very tired today and I think it will help me not buy anything today, too.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2021, 10:55:28 AM »
   A long hike sounds lovely.  I am currently at work in a tiny cold office with no windows, trying desperately not to fall asleep.
   I know the horrible injustice of my life is ridiculously luxurious.  I read the statistic that until the Industrial Revolution 19 out of 20 humans lived on the current equivalent of $2/day or less.  And now 1/10 humans do.  Amazing that change!

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2021, 11:23:30 PM »
Geez! $2 per day? Wow, just not sure how that works. well, maybe an inkling. I just finished Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickled and Dimed. And also Adam Shepard's Scratch Beginnings. While I don't recommend the latter as quality reading material, it does give a first-hand account of living in a homeless shelter. (Both from the library, BTW) Anyway, $2/day is a bleak existence.

I sure hope you are able to ward off sleep while in the office! That could get awkward.


As predicted, I didn't have any expensive desires today, being worn out from yesterday. I cleaned and unpacked half heartedly and chatted with several friends via phone and web meeting. It seems to help to be not only tired, but also distracted from spending opportunities. Well, I did offer to buy my sister a DVD, but not until the fall, for her birthday. That is something I would allow in my low-spend year anyway, though.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #12 on: March 15, 2021, 09:25:25 AM »
I think the 1/10th of people that currently live on <$2/day tend to be mostly in Asia and Africa.  As sad and full of holes as the US social safety net is, we don’t have very much of that level of poverty.

If you find this kind of stuff interesting, and want a reminder to feel grateful:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty

I read Nickled and Dimed several years ago.  And I have worked with a lot of CNA’s and Psych techs.  $10-11/hr is pretty common, and a lot of these are single moms with several children.  It looks like a rough life.  I’ve been poor - as a child and a young adult, but I was a tourist.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2021, 10:24:31 AM »
TTOTDINTB:  noise cancelling headphones.  Maybe I won’t need a she shed or a bigger house if I have these.  I am very auditory - noise is hard for me to ignore, and I get overstimulated by too much In the back ground.  Going to put them on my birthday list for my wife to buy.  My birthday is 4 months away so by then we will see if I have lost interest.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2021, 10:33:14 AM by meadow lark »

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2021, 07:18:30 PM »
TTOTDINTB:  noise cancelling headphones.  Maybe I won’t need a she shed or a bigger house if I have these.  I am very auditory - noise is hard for me to ignore, and I get overstimulated by too much In the back ground.  Going to put them on my birthday list for my wife to buy.  My birthday is 4 months away so by then we will see if I have lost interest.

If in 4 months you still want them, you should have them! I am also sensitive to mouse, unless I'm in a flow state. Then I'm deaf.

Today I removed the showerhead installed by the landlord to replace it with the fancy one I got a couple years ago for like $60 from Costco. There was so much sediment in the pipe and on the tiny screen the covered the opening to the old showerhead! Makes me think there's a breach in the incoming line somewhere. Anyway, the point is that my fancy showerhead was worth every penny. I've been dreading showers here because of the poor pressure and long wait for hot water. Not anymore! Money well spent. I wish it was easy to know ahead of time when a splurge would turn out to have such high utility.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2021, 08:09:08 PM »
I replace shower heads when I move, too!  Although yours sounds nicer than mine.
I agree - it would be great to know ahead of time what is worth the money to upgrade and what isn’t.

I’m going on 2 trips this month, to Minnesota and Wisconsin.  I live in Louisiana and my heaviest ‘coat’ is a shawl for when it gets down to the 50’s.  (It gets colder, but not often)  Tomorrow it will be 80 here - I am not prepared for Minnesota!  I called a friend (who wears the same size as I do) and she is going to let me borrow a coat.  Coat shopping averted!

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2021, 07:00:57 PM »
Good save!!

I was in Louisiana in Feb 2020 for Mardi Gras...extraordinary weather! I say this as a resident of California!

No desire for anything large today, but I did buy a few things at Target. Mostly replacing consumables, but bought a packet of picture hanging hardware for $4. BF has so much art to hang and not all the frames are in good condition. Plus we are running out of nails. Unfortunately, neither of us own any kind of hardware that will be "good enough". At least we did check.

The hardware will allow more artwork to take its rightful place on the wall and not sit in the back of a closet. And the leftover hardware can go into the tool box, not taking up more space. So I think this is a purchase that fits my goals of trying to avoid stockpiling objects and avoiding perfection.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2021, 07:56:46 PM »
TTOTDINTB: a hanging mobile.  With colored glass or birds.

I think hardware is very reasonable!

I got the coat today.  Very excited my friend is letting me borrow it.  Just a little worried I’ll damage it ( I get anxious whenever I borrow things).

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2021, 08:13:56 PM »
Are you OK, OP?

I'm serious. You sound like you need assistance. You're either broke and can't afford the things you desire, or financially solvent and denying the things you desire. Saving money/being environmentally responsible is one thing. And then there's another thing.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #19 on: March 16, 2021, 09:47:29 PM »
   Am I ok?  Not really.  2020/2021 has been very rough.  All the usual reasons plus several other reasons I talk about in my journal. 
  What kind of assistance do you think I need?  (I need several kinds on a regular basis).
  What don’t you like?  That I talk about wanting things and don’t buy them?

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #20 on: March 25, 2021, 11:19:11 PM »
I guess low/no buy is out of fashion, even around here. I'm still doing it, though. I don't think I made it as far as you, @meadow lark on the no-buy portion. Today I bought a power strip. It's sorta necessary to be able to plug in electronics while keeping everything grounded. Plus keeping cords out of walkways. Not quite sure why more of them are needed in our combined household than what we each had in our separate abodes. [shrug]

Doing OK even with that. Not the greatest, but OK. Spending about $250/month on entertainment/dining out. Negligible amounts on clothing, gifts and household folderol. It will accumulate over the course of the year, though. Especially gifts...birthday season is later in the year in my family.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #21 on: March 26, 2021, 05:01:01 AM »
I think I got embarrassed after that comment, and didn’t want to keep writing.  Which I know is the whole point of trolling behavior, so I shouldn’t respond that way, but what do you do.  I’m sensitive at the best of times, and I am certainly not in the best of times.  So @oneday thank you for writing.

The point of this for me is to be super aware of buying things.  And only buy things when I have closely considered other possibilities.  I bought a $20 picture frame for a paint by numbers picture of a yellow lab that looks just like my Daisy June Dagger Paws.   I searched Pinterest for ideas for homemade frames, I considered making a backing of cardboard, etc.  Eventually I decided I wanted to buy a frame.

I am debating buying an over the toilet storage thing.  Picture below bc I don’t really know what it’s called.  ($17.86) I have a minuscule bathroom with very little storage.  My house in general has very little storage, so having something like this would open up room in the other places I store things...

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #22 on: March 26, 2021, 12:31:41 PM »
I've been doing pretty well with the no/low-buying. Still haven't purchased any clothes, and haven't been indulging my book habit--lots of trips to the library help quell that one.

Basically I spend money on food & alcohol right now (both my SO & I enjoy cooking so we do spend quite a bit on groceries, plus I live in an area with only small grocery stores so you pay a premium) But I am content with this spending, feel it adds to our quality of life..

Doing a spring cleaning will help too--I love putting away winter gear and bringing out the summer stuff. Feels like a re-set :)

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #23 on: March 26, 2021, 06:01:53 PM »
ml, you're welcome. I will be honest. I struggled with how to bring the thread back alive/on topic.

I have seen those things called étagère. Which has a broader meaning than just that kind of shelving, but it might help the internet searches?


Quote
The point of this for me is to be super aware of buying things.  And only buy things when I have closely considered other possibilities.

Yep! Same.

@Serendip I'm the same with food. Until I can return to my prior shopping habits, I'm beholden to the whims of the grocery delivery deities. Sometimes they make substitutions I wouldn't have, like more expensive berries of the same type when the sale berries are not available. I would have switched to a different sale fruit. So that's kinds yuck, but it won't be long now. My BF is in the group who can be vaccinated starting 4/15. Probably half the year will be more expensive groceries and half lower cost. But I had an expensive year last year, so I'll still consider it "low buy"! :)

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #24 on: March 27, 2021, 06:19:09 PM »
I find that reading a book about debt (The Spender's Guide to Debt-Free Living) is really helping me not spend money (I don't have debt currently but when I was paying off student loans I was really good about limiting my purchases). It becomes a bit of a game for me.

It's a creative pursuit as well isn't it?
 To live beautifully with what we already have and cultivate appreciation for simple things like the returning sunshine and such ..

I almost bought a few things this week, but thankfully it all easily lost interest to me :)

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #25 on: March 27, 2021, 11:40:46 PM »
I want a screen door closer, but decided today that I would wait a little while longer and just use the stick to prop open the door when I want it open, and be careful to close it when I'm trying to keep the cat in. It won't be long until I am comfortable letting him out unsupervised, and the door closer will be moot.

Cassie

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #26 on: March 29, 2021, 10:26:32 AM »
The older I get the less I buy. Also when I am shopping I ask myself if in a few years I will be taking this crap to the thrift store and that’s often enough to not want to buy.

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #27 on: March 29, 2021, 06:21:13 PM »
@Cassie that's a great way to look at it!

In the case of the door closer, I would install it on the door and leave it there when I move out of this rental. Not being able to benefit from it's whole life span (whether abandoned or given away) is part of the decision process for me, too.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #28 on: April 04, 2021, 07:29:36 PM »
I am on vacation to visit my 10 month old grandson.  I bought an Easter Basket, a book, a box of diapers, wipes and a T-shirt for him.  I am fine with gifts during my low buy year. 

I did have something I decided I absolutely needed to buy immediately.  I can’t remember what it was now.  I checked Amazon to make sure I hadn’t bought it, and nope.  I do remember it being very important.  :-)

It’s been about a month since I started the Low buy year.  I have drastically changed how I buy!  Very excited.  At this point, I got presents for my grandson and a frame for my Paint by numbers picture.  Oh, my wife bought me the headphones I told her I wanted in July.  So turns out I can not tell her what I want for my birthday early.  But compared to how I was buying things, this is an excellent drop!
 
I added the over the toilet storage thing to my Walmart list for my next grocery delivery butI just removed it.  I may change my mind later.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2021, 07:59:14 PM by meadow lark »

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #29 on: April 04, 2021, 11:01:19 PM »
Got busy at work and didn't have any desires to buy. Actually, I probably did have some things, but forgot to log them. With still keeping away from physical stores in order to keep BF safe from contagion, if I've forgotten what I want for a day or so, it doesn't get bought.

I did buy some sandpaper for a specific project, Command hook refills of the sticky part, and potting soil for the jade plant clipping that was a gift (so, not really free). No more buying until the sandpaper project is done, that's my rule right now. And I didn't work on that project this weekend, so likely will have another spend-proof week. Not bad.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #30 on: April 05, 2021, 10:07:07 AM »
Trying to buy less plastic:
I bought bar shampoo at Trader Joe’s. ( I live in a town without TJ’s and Aldi’s so I try to go there when I travel.)    I’ve been wanting to try it, and it was $3.99.  I’ve seen it before and it was always $7 or $8 (could be bigger size) but I bought it bc it seemed a reasonable price. 
 I am also going to change to bar soap instead of liquid hand soap.  This is a big deal for me.  My mom taught me as a little kid that bar soap was dirty and full of germs, and I should only use liquid hand soap.  But what I am reading says that even though there is bacteria on the soap, it does not transfer to you when you use it.  We already have bar soap, so I don’t need to buy it, but I don’t have and soap dishes!  Will have to be creative with that.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #31 on: April 05, 2021, 11:15:04 AM »
I am interested on how you like the bar shampoo. Because my ex and I are splitting all the stuff I am having to buy some things. For instance he is keeping the sleep number bed so I am buying one and they are expensive.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #32 on: April 05, 2021, 12:48:28 PM »
I purchased two bras (supporting a small business and myself at the same time :) )
and a wide-brim sunhat (lost my old one a few years ago and I am sun sensitive)

Feeling fine with these purchases even though I had been on a no-buying roll..these are quality items that will be used frequently/daily and hopefully for a long while.

Resisted purchasing some lovely earrings. . I get restless for beauty at this time of year..must go gather some pussy willows or something to quell the urge.

Am going to the eye doctor today to see about turning some frames I already own into sunglasses.
I guess I am in the mood for summer even though we just had a snowfall two days ago!

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #33 on: April 05, 2021, 04:21:40 PM »
Clothing is one of my few spendy categories left and I am in the no-clothes buying thread so it didn't occur to me to join this one but I do like the idea of the thing I wanted to buy today
:)

This last week, I noticed a new crack on my phone screen. I've been researching and for the size of phone I want my options are the Google Pixel or the iPhone mini or the phone I have (Sony Xperia ZX2 Compact), which is exactly the same as last time I was researching and how I ended up with this phone. At this point, I am just holding off on handing even more of my life over to Google vs having to learn a new phone OS. Or put my SIM in my ancient Samsung Galaxy 6 and see if that still works. I reckon I can ride this one out for at least a few more months, probably 12.

oneday

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #34 on: April 05, 2021, 11:04:08 PM »
I wanted to pay the toll and get in the express lane, but instead slogged through the traffic. Was patting myself on the back for sticking to principles, when all of a sudden there was a street sweeper convention in the slow lane, forcing non-express traffic into fewer lanes and making congestion pretty cruddy. The highway was red on Google Maps.

There was no longer an entrance to the express lane available, so this no-purchase decision was out of my hands. 🤷‍♀️

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #35 on: April 05, 2021, 11:43:52 PM »
Does the bar shampoo have sulfates? My hair looks much nicer now that I'm avoiding sulfates and silicone.  So much less frizz. I wash less frequently and use a lot less product too. Took me almost 40 years to figure out something that worked. Donated three boxes of hair products from my couponing horde after that.

I remember going to the UK in the early 2000s and public restrooms still had bar soap and those roll towels.  I grew up with bar soap, never had liquid until I worked at the hospital. I also used to skinny dip in the lake so my immune system is pretty good lol.

I am interested in more sustainable ways to live.


meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #36 on: April 06, 2021, 07:18:23 PM »
I don’t know about sulfates - I already threw away the cardboard package.  I know, I know - our area has crappy, crappy recycling.  I used it yesterday and my hair looks good today.  So far so good.

Decided to go look for a soap dish at the thrift store.  Really was a bit down and trying to get out of my house.  I went to 2 and neither had one I wanted.  So I made this - a plastic jar lid with sea shells in it to give it space for air movement.  If I hate it I just put the shells and lid back I where they go!  The soap is from a hotel I just stayed at.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #37 on: April 06, 2021, 07:37:15 PM »
Hooray for good-looking hair!!!! I just donated a little bowl to the animal shelter that would have been a great soap dish. I could have mailed it to you.

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #38 on: April 07, 2021, 07:46:14 PM »
That would have been fun!
I didn’t shop today and I have nothing I want to buy.  It’s like they are related somehow.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #39 on: April 07, 2021, 09:17:51 PM »
That would have been fun!
I didn’t shop today and I have nothing I want to buy.  It’s like they are related somehow.

You are funny!

Maybe you'd be better off playing games on your phone than browsing/shopping.

I'm plotting a way to not-buy a roll of packing tape. It would involve an hour of driving, washing beer bottles and probably stopping at Starbucks (although I should have a free drink by then). Not quite sure what is the better option...competing priorities.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2021, 01:56:08 AM »
I was wildly responsible with my credit card points and used them for dept store vouchers which I then used to buy much needed sports bras. I can now get rid of the old too-big/too-smelly ones that have >6 years of running on them.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #41 on: April 08, 2021, 04:56:51 AM »
Popping over here to join in if I may, and cheering everyone on, as IRL everyone thinks I am slightly insane for doing this!

Have been doing a low buy year since January and am obsessed with the No Buy subReddit (it is highly addictive and the posters are very supportive). January was excellent in that the only 'stuff' I bought were 3 op shopped t-shirts for my teen son. Feb and March were a bit more spendy, as I took my daughter to the big smoke for an Ikea run and treated her to a new doona cover and some clothes storage as a reward for her completely decluttering her bedroom. Also bought a 2nd hand vintage wicker washing basket for myself as I had it on my wishlist for years (they are usually sooo expensive new). Also purchased $100 worth of perennials for our huge garden, with the plan to propagate them to fill in more spaces.

So far April has gone well with 5 completely no spend days out of 8 (the other 3 days only buying groceries and contact lens solution and 1 coffee out). My lovely husband did find me a vintage Yamaha piano stool for $4 as I had been on the search for one for months, and had been making do with a kitchen stool I picked up of the side of the road!

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #42 on: April 08, 2021, 10:57:53 PM »
@mspym well done being responsible!

@lazycow you've had a great year so far! Reddit intimidates me; it's so high volume. I'm glad for you to bring any good vibes into this community, though.

No desire to buy anything today other than a whole new clothes washer and dryer. I found out the dryer we have cools down the clothes before it releases them back to you. One of my joys in life is warm clothes fresh from the dryer, and that is now being denied to me. I may not survive. ;)

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #43 on: April 09, 2021, 09:10:25 AM »
Good work everyone!
Have had two more days of no-spending..(i highlight them in my calendar as I'm trying to have 10-15/month)

Sewed a t-shirt out out of a long sleeve that I wasn't wearing and have another repurposing sewing project on the go.
 Will try to make it through the weekend with no purchases at all (even comb the freezer/pantry for creative dinner ideas :) )

I do have to pay the optometrist for putting lenses into my frames however..

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #44 on: April 09, 2021, 08:47:30 PM »
Getting off Facebook has really reduced my volume of ads seen!  And I almost never shop.  I get my groceries delivered and it’s so good for me to not even walk into the store!

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #45 on: April 09, 2021, 10:04:53 PM »
Confession:

Spoiler: show
I am going to buy something. I've been thinking about it for the month and a half that I've lived here, and it's clear that it's necessary.

I've been avoiding washing my hair frequently enough* because there isn't a shower curtain liner. Only a shower curtain, which is water repellent, but not water proof. I need waterproof. I just do. Tomorrow I will get one at the dollar store.


*I wait until after I've developed an itchy "hot spot" on my head. If I wash enough, this doesn't happen.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #46 on: April 09, 2021, 10:36:56 PM »
Contemplating replacing uncomfortable thin leather backpack straps with more comfortable webbing straps and even found a cute one on etsy for $60 that the shop owner would make to the length I want, and then I tried changing how I looped the existing strap and may have solved the problem without spending a cent. [I reserve the right to buy the straps if the problem resurfaces on my next commute+laptop]

meadow lark

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #47 on: April 10, 2021, 08:04:00 AM »
  One day, I think a shower curtain liner is a reasonable expenditure.  I personally prefer the water repellant cloth shower curtains, but bathing should be a delight, not a misery!  I’m a bubble bath, essential oils type.  Bad days are often denoted by the number of baths I take, as in ‘this was a 4 bath day.’   I believe in the old adage, ‘when children are crabby, put them in water.’  In this case I am children.

Ms Pym, I hope your hack works! 

I still haven’t ordered that bathroom storage thing.  Maybe I don’t need it.  I would still like some shelves or something above my toilet, but maybe I should just let it be.  My main storage desire is more TP in my bathroom.  It’s a tiny bathroom and zero for space for a TP holder.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #48 on: April 10, 2021, 06:42:50 PM »
Could you put a basket with TP on top of your toilet tank? I have a small garbage bin there because since Maltese love paper they will dump and shred it if on the floor.

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Re: Low Buy Year / No Buy Year 2021
« Reply #49 on: April 10, 2021, 07:42:22 PM »
My toilet is tiny too and the top of the tank slopes so can't store tp there. I keep spare rolls in a drawer in the adjacent entry/mudroom.

No buy 6 out of 11 days (and 4 out of those 5 days were juat groceries, yay). Off to a fortnightly crafternoon with friends. We take turns hosting, so free fun. We often bring stuff we are decluttering/plant cuttings/jams we have made/excess fruit we grow and everyone takes what they want. Substituting doing fun things for shopping brings me great joy.