How it began

I've been giving a lot thought lately to trying to steer my life in a positive direction.  Most things are great, but even having two amazing children and a supportive husband, living pretty simply and consciously, working only part-time, I still frequently get that hamster-wheel feeling.  I still want to give my boys a better, cleaner world than what they have now.  I still have a striving to bring something meaningful and lasting to the world around me.

Don't get me wrong.  I do my best; at least I usually think I do.   Though at the close of the holiday season I know that I made several purchases of things that weren't really needed, out of obligation or habit.  We "celebrated" buy nothing day.  There were, however, plenty of times in the weeks that followed to make up for one day free of spending money.  What if, I thought, next year I didn't spend anything between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day?  Well, we have to eat, so purchases of food would be OK.  And drinks are OK because they're kind of like food.  But what about nothing new, no new stuff?  It seemed that I was getting closer.

I'd been pretty inspired a few months ago, after reading The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living.  He, basically, removes himself from the cash economy altogether.  While inspirational, it's not, however, anything I feel like I can do at this time in my life.  But if he could live his full, rich and pretty comfortable existence without any money, couldn't I do with buying nothing new?

The intent wouldn't be a boycott of the holidays or, really, a boycott of spending.  The point is that I have everything I need.  My life is rich and full and comfortable, too.  Everything in addition to that is superfluous.  So...

Why not a year?  Most people in the world don't get to choose their consumption levels or restraint duration.  What I'm doing, really, is nothing new.