Wednesday 3 January 2018

My Try to Buy Nothing New Year in 2018

As the title of this post suggests, I think that I am going to attempt a big challenge in 2018, one that I'm not at all sure that I will be able to meet, but one that I will attempt non the less.

I am going to try to attempt to buy nothing new for myself this year and see how far into the year I get with it. I've read a few posts and watched a few videos towards the end of last year, where other people are doing similar things and these have inspired me to have a go.  At the moment, I want nothing and seriously need to start saving some money, so it should help me with these aims.

I think the excess of Christmas has also made me feel like exploring this kind of avenue and I felt particularly inspired by David's post on Raptitude.com, about going deeper not wider in 2018.

Of course, there will be lots of things that I will be buying new, i.e. groceries/household/toiletry products and other every day necessities, but I'm going to try to avoid buying anything new for myself that doesn't fall into these categories, unless I  get lucky and find something new in a Charity shop and thereby benefit a good cause.

I will still be buying new items as presents for other people, for birthdays and other celebrations, but even here, I will try to buy presents that are either consumable, so won't add to the number of items entering our or their house, or I will try to buy some things second hand or new from charity shops. If, however, someone wants something specific, I will be buying it new for them, as I don't feel it is fair to inflict my beliefs onto others.

In addition, one of my aims this year (with OH's help) is to redecorate our house, so any items I might need to buy in order to do this are also excepted from this challenge.

Lets see how far I get with this.  I will keep a record of all the items I do buy new and will post about them here on my blog to hold myself accountable. I'm not necessarily expecting to get through the whole of the year this way, but it will be interesting to see if I can last at least a month or two without feeling the twitch.

10 comments:

  1. Good luck with your challenge.
    I shall be interested to see how you get on with it.
    Hugs-x-

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    1. Thank you and thanks for dropping by and leaving your kind comment.

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  3. Good luck, I sort of did this challenge a few years ago. Did not too badly until I realized I needed some underthings. Those I just refuse to buy second hand!!!

    God bless.

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    1. I'm pretty well stocked up in that department for the moment, but like you, if needs arise, new is the only option.

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  4. Love the concept of deeper not wider
    I will definitely take this on board.
    I haven't bought anything so far this year! Sounds good but considering this year is only 3 days so far - will it last- probably if I don't go out LOL!

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    1. Yes that's how I feel. I'm still trying to avoid the shops. The real temptations will start when I go back to work and see things in the Sale in our shop.

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  5. I read that "How To Treat Yourself In 2018" post too, it was genuine food for thought. I can't do anything really well, but how can I when I'm having my head turned by new things all the time?

    I really look forward to following you this year, if you haven't already read "Better Than Before" I really recommend looking up Gretchen Rubin's "strategy of loophole spotting" they really can help any time you're looking for an excuse/ reason to break your rules.

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    1. I hope I don't disappoint. I think I've tried so many new things in the last three years, i.e. decluttering/paring back, using more natural products, re-organising my finances and budgeting. I've kind of got to a place where I feel happy with what I'm doing and want to stop looking for new all the time and just enjoy my life on a daily basis, and try to just be more efficient and considered instead of jumping from one new thing to another. I've also lost my focus with regard to a few things in the process, such as actually making things and keeping waste down, so I want to focus a little more on these areas this year.

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