Pray with the kids every day. Run three days a week. Stop
drinking coffee. Create and stick to a new budget in an effort to save more
money. Read and write more. These were
my New Year’s Resolutions this year. These are pretty typical resolutions;
typical in intent and in execution. I
did not set out to rewrite legislation, or save enough to put a kid through
college, or do anything to help people less fortunate in the world. As ordinary
as my goals were I still was not able to follow through past the second week of
January.
Thankfully I don’t need to wait until next January to try
again to make positive changes in my life. Last week I came across a group of
friends who have challenged themselves and will hold each other accountable
during a yearlong buy nothing new challenge. I thought about the way we
currently live and was immediately excited for this challenge because I don’t
think I need to change much to “succeed” at buying nothing new for a year. My
favorite stores already include the Salvation Army and Good Will. I am a sucker
for yard sales and every antique shop owner in a 50 mile radius knows my kids
and me by name. I am also fortunate to
have a very giving family who loves to spoil us and denies us almost nothing.
This should be easy so I signed up. Beginning May 1st we will buy
nothing new for a year in hopes of saving and giving more by having less stuff!
Once I signed up I started reading the blogs of the other
women in this group. I quickly realized that for most of them, this challenge
was much more than just buying nothing new. It was their reasons for accepting
this challenge which made me look again at all I can achieve in a year of
buying nothing new. There is so much more to learn than just how to shop for
used things. I am extremely excited to embark on this journey with some very
amazing and inspiring women. I have much to learn from each and every one of
them. It seems that many wish to live more simply in an effort to lessen their
environmental impact and have less clutter. More nobly however, most wish to
focus less on worldly riches and more on the richness that God will provide for
them. Admittedly, I hadn’t considered either of these reasons until I read the
other blogs, but now I have many new reasons and goals for the buy nothing new
challenge.
Goals:
1.
Find happiness in God and family and in the
process realize that happiness is not having the newest things or a house full
of stuff.
a.
Daily devotional
b.
Daily prayer
c.
Daily picture to share with family that is far
away
2.
Live more in the moment. Stop rushing around and
really listen to people
3.
Be more aware of the money we take in and especially
the money that we spend
a.
Monthly budget to know how much we are spending
but also to see how much we will (hopefully) save thus year too
4.
Lessen our environmental impact
a.
Recycle more
b.
Buy used or make things
c.
Shop local
d.
Lower electric bill
e.
Use less gas
Guidelines:
1.
Buy nothing that you can’t use. I can use food, toiletries,
medicine. I cannot use up toys, clothes, books, decorations etc so I will buy
them used.
2.
I will make/bake/barter/re-gift/or find vintage
gifts.
3.
I will shop local for produce/eggs when possible
to lessen environmental impact
4.
No more coke zero- to save money and consume
less caffeine
5.
No more pizza out every Friday night- our baby
steps compromise- make pizza at home every other week
6.
Trade for or buy used clothes, books, toys,
gifts, craft supplies.
Exceptions:
1.
If something that we use everyday breaks I can
replace it (refrigerator, coffee maker, blender, printer)
2.
I can buy new fabric to make something only
after searching first for used fabric
3.
If we move, I can buy new paint to freshen up
the rooms
4.
Photographs
5.
Shoes- I already exceed the 300-500 mile rule so
usually when I buy new shoes I really need them and don’t want to risk injury
by not getting something new.
This
is my first attempt at blogging so my goal for now is to blog a few times a
week, include a bible verse, pictures for family members and all my ramblings
documenting my journey at buying nothing new, strengthening my faith and
deepening my personal relationships with my family and the people around me.
“But
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
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