The Confession Post

So, I knew as soon as I started the Buy Nothing Challenge that this post would be coming.  It's been 3 months exactly and I have broken the rules.  Four items and about 48 dollars later, I have to confess.

Previous to Buy Nothing Year I took a little artistic license with the project and bought a couple of baby shower gifts and also a new door for our bathroom.  It had previously swung the wrong way and looked like (a probably was) a clearance item from a 1980s hardware store.  We have been wanting to replace it for the entire 10 years we've lived here.  10 years!  The thought of waiting til the end of Buy Nothing Year lit a fire under me.

But I digress.  Buy Nothing Year started and I was there, swooning over the fact that this new door, when open, doesn't block the way to the room next door!  You now don't have to leave one room and enter another with a pause, then back up and get out of your own way.  And I was feeling great about these facts until I realized that in mere days the door knob was going to hammer a hole in the wall being it.  So, short story long I went to the Re-Store and bought a 27 cent door stop.

The second misstep happened when I was leaving a restaurant located in a bookstore with my sons.  We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us (without my husband) and on the way out we walked by a display of kids' books, stealthily located near the door.  My older son would.  not.  leave.  There seems something wrong to me about the "fine-I-give-up-I'll-buy-it-so-we-can-go!" attitude but speaking in my other ear was another voice saying "It's-just-Curious-George-and-look-it's-bilingual!"  It wasn't until I was at the register with my credit card out that  I remembered the Challenge.  $10.85 and one more strike.

The last two items are diaper related.  As part of this Challenge my plan was to use only the washable diapers that we already had, but for both my kids at night, pre-folds do not cut it.   My older son had a rash on his bottom that I could not justify to myself.  So, both kids got a pack of diapers, just for sleeping.

On a positive note, I am in love with the toothpaste I've been making as a result of the challenge, and have been doing no-poo with the kids.  Before the challenge, I tried to minimize the amount of things I purchased, but feel much more aware now of the even edible purchases I make.  Here's to this Confession Post having no sequel!    

DIY Face and body lotion

My lotion switch was a result of reading the ingredient list on face/body lotion and finding, nestled among the unpronounceables, alcohol.  In my naivete, I wondered why a substance that is drying would be included in something intended to moisturize.  Perhaps as an antibacterial agent?  Maybe so we use more lotion once it soaks in?  Whatever the reason, I figured leaving it out and having a reasonable expectation of shelf-life would be a good alternative.  This recipe is amazing!  It is a little shiny at first, but that usually goes away before I leave the house.

Face and body lotion

1/8 tsp baking soda

1.4 c distilled or boiled water

½ c light unrefined oil, like almond, sunflower, canola or olive

1 tbsp grated beeswax

1.     Dissolve baking soda in a saucepan

2.     Mix oil and beeswax in a double boiler and heat slowly until melted.  Put water and baking soda in another pan until it reaches a similar temperature (100 degrees or so).

3.     Mix everything together and cool, stirring occasionally.  It will become cloudy as it cools.

No-poo

Switching to no-poo hair care was kind of a gateway DIY project for me.  All over the internet I had read about people opting out of shampoo/conditioner and opting in to baking soda/vinegar instead.  Chemically-laden store-bought hair products, even the natural ones, are pretty unhealthy for our bodies.  Interestingly, so many anecdotes I came across told of hair becoming less greasy when they gave up “poo,” because their scalps no longer had to over-produce oil to make up for what they kept stripping away.  People with dry, itchy heads also report improvement. 

I love this recipe because it is so easy and doesn’t have anything artificial in it.  It is good for the health my family and our environment.  The banking soda and vinegar are produced in the US and come in easily recyclable containers.  They also happen to contain the same cleaners I use on the shower, and that doesn’t hurt either. 

Shampoo

1 part baking soda to 3 parts water

Put into a bottle with a small hole for distributing.  I use the spout of an old dishsoap container.  Shake before using.  Leave in for about a minute while you soap.  Rinse.

Conditioner

1 part apple cider vinegar and 4 parts water, essential oil.

Use a bottle like the one for your shampoo.  The one I use is pretty spacious so I use 1/3-1/2 c vinegar, and 5-10 drops of lavender essential oil.  Shake, administer and rinse.

The Rules

My husband arrived home and I was a little nervous yet very excited to tell him about my idea.  He looked at me,… paused, and said, "Yeah, I don't think I'll do that."

Well, dang.  That is not what I had planned but it's still a doable challenge.  We'll have to establish some shared ground rules and understand, meanwhile, that we'll have some exclusive governances.  It may be hard, or at least a little awkward, but not impossible.

So, aftermuch thought, I've decided that the rules that I'll be living by are as follows:

• No buying any new things for a year except for edibles (with a  couple of exceptions* for hygiene and transportation).  
• I will not be buying used things.   No new things, even things that are just new to me.
• Included in this challenge are all of my cleaning supplies for self and home.    I must make everything I use out of edibles, unless I really can't find an adequate recipe that contains all edibles. Then I can make the supply of some non-edible ingredient.

*About the exceptions-  I'm allowing myself to buy (recycled) toilet paper and garbage bags, though a big bonus to this project will be lowering the about of garbage my family produces.  Gas for my car is a big one that I am not excited about adding to the exception list, but my older son is in childcare that we all love and are not willing to part with.  The only thing I do not love about his pre-school is that we cannot walk there.  We are, regardless, going to keep him in that program and continue to be able to work.

The rules that my husband will be living by:

•  Basically just because he can buy things, he can't buy anything for me.  This may seem like an obvious rule, but I feel like it should be said out loud.  He can buy all of the disposable diapers he wants, but I cannot use them.  

Feeling just a bit nervous and alot of happy about the project, so we start! 

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.