The Purchase-Free Challenge

Quite unintentionally, 2015 has become The-Year-of-Me-Sort-of-Turning-Into-a-Hippie. I use soap nuts instead of laundry detergent. I recycle like a fiend and have started attempting (mostly successfully) to reduce our trash to one bag a week or less. I've tried my hand at composting (I won't know whether or not that's working for a couple more months). And I've sworn off pesticides and fertilizers because not only does Q like to take off her shoes and socks and run barefoot in the grass, but she still puts her mouth on EVERYthing, both inside and outside. The other day, I found her sucking water out of her socks that had gotten wet outside. And today, she scooted on her stomach along the living room floor as she licked it. Eww. For the same reason, I've also started to make my own cleaners out of non-toxic things like vinegar. So yeah, Year of the Hippie. I honestly did not see that one coming.

Hippie Exhibit A: Homemade Compost Bucket

Hippie Exhibit B: Homemade Granola

Hippie Exhibit C: Soap Nuts

My newest Kinda-Sorta-Hippie-Project that I am really excited about is going an extended amount of time without purchasing any non-essential items. I stole the idea from several different sources online, but I am excited to make a go of it. That means: no presents, no clothes (I'm going to make an exception for shoes if Q grows out of them), no toys, no books (this one will be tough), no items for the house... Basically, if it can't be consumed within a year, we don't need it. On the one hand, I don't feel like I am a big spender. The last new item of clothing I remember buying was when I was in Florida in November. On the other hand, I think that this challenge may prove to be more difficult than I anticipate. As soon as I decided to do it, I began coming up with a mental list of things that I should buy before it started. I ultimately decided that this defeats the purpose, so I am going to try to resist.

I will have to hold off on purchasing that "essential" banana slicer.

I'll try to blog about our progress periodically. To be honest, I haven't exactly solidified the idea with my husband yet, so I'm not yet sure whether this will be a one-woman project or a family effort. I'm worse about smaller, multiple purchases, but he is more likely to splurge on the occasional big piece of camera equipment or computer hardware. Here is a lowdown of the "rules" that a particular family used during their No-Purchase Year (I'm not gonna go a whole year. I'm going to shoot for 3-6 months.) Like I said, I'm making an exception for shoes.

I also think I should confess to you that I am going out to hunt for a small area rug for Q's room, this afternoon. I plan to start this challenge on June 1, but I will try to keep the purchases to a minimum until then. Still, to assuage the guilt of my overburdened soul, I admit that yes, I will go shopping today.

I hope this picture of a dog forgetting how to dog cancels out my forthcoming infraction.