Two Steps Back

I didn't post yesterday. Perhaps because I was embarassed. One reason I started this blog was to hold myself accountable. I truely want to make this a permanent change in my life, but so far I'm finding it much harder than I thought. I'll post on WHY I've decided to "Renounce Retail" soon.

My in-laws are taking us to Disney World at the end of this month to celebrate my twin's 5th birthday. Ironic to choose this time to renounce retail when we are going to be vacationing in perhaps the most retail mecca of all. But if you're gonna go. Well. You gotta go. In style. I had planned to buy the tots some costumes of their favorite characters. And I did. And they weren't used. Well one was. So last night I blew some cash on some costumes. I don't feel too guilty but I didn't feel great either. But it's done.

I realize now that had I planned better I could have made sure everything was used, and paid less. Two things that would have made me happier.

Day 2

We spent several hours this weekend cleaning out closets and cabinets. We are a family of 5 in a modest house, which means we usually need to get rid of stuff. We filled 4 moving-size boxes, and boy did it feel good! So then we took it to Goodwill and that felt good too. I love thrift stores and so we did some browsing and did not leave emptyhanded. I got real Pull-Ups still in the box for $4, and we found 2 brand new (retail $20) air filters for $3 each, and we actually had a legitimate need for these items so it felt like good purchases. I did not buy "retail" and I don't consider these items to be "stuff," which means I think I stuck to my resolution today. In case you haven't noticed, yes, I am one of those people that loves to tell everyone how little they paid for something.

So now our home looks a little less cluttered and it's a nice feeling. In fact Paul is tearing up his closet as a write. I suspect we'll fill a few more boxes before we're through.

The funny thing about cleaning out closets and cabinets is finding what you didn't even know you had. For one, I found what looks like a brand new pair of Gap jeans on a shelf in the far back of my closet, stacked with other pants I never wear. I have no recollection of ever buying these jeans so who know how long I've had them. I had just been thinking last week I could use a new pair of jeans. And they fit perfectly, so there you go.

Today I cleaned out our kitchen cabinets. We found two identical vegetable grill pans in the cabinets. Identical. I even remember buying one for Paul's last birthday because he loves to grill and I knew we'd enjoy it. I guess we had already enjoyed it. Amazing what you don't even know you have if you'd just look. I'm sure this can apply to almost any facet of life.

Day 1 = FAIL

OK so it's not that suprising but really I had hoped better. Here's my excuse:

Every New Years Day, Dillards (a department store in our area) has a HUGE sale where everything that is marked down is an EXTRA 50% off! Unlike other stores, they really do only have this sale just once per year, so it's a big deal. There is madness. People running. It's a little crazy.

Paul likes to go and stock up on some of his favorite high-end work shirts and sweaters. I ended up with a dress for Lilly and a hat for myself. A total of $20. But that's not the point, and I know it. I'm not determined to stop shopping to save money, although it will hopefully be an added benefit.

Truth be known, I kind of knew I would cave today, and it could have been worse. I also am thinking that I will be back there at Dillards when the doors open on Jan 1, 2013 to celebrate not shopping one year, by, um, doing some shopping. Sigh.

The Day Before

Paul and I watched a great documentary on Netflix last week called Dive. It's about a group of twenty-something adults in the LA area who sustain themselves by dumpster diving. They would go to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc at night and take GREAT food out of the dumpster. Of course they had to dig through some yucky stuff too, but it was evident they were eating very high on the hog. Free range eggs, grass fed meats, organic produce. You get the idea. The amount of great stuff going to waste was disarming, especially taking into consideration the hunger epidemic plaguing our nation and world. Check out the show, it's worth 45 minutes.

Anyways, that show got me thinking about wastefullness, and how I am personally guilty of it. As always, the thought of the New Year gets me thinking about goals. By the end of watching that show, I knew my 2012 goal. NO RETAIL SHOPPING. Wow! Lots of details to follow! I could not be more excited, and I hope you'll be part of the journey.

This is obviously not a new idea, but it's new to me. I was even more motivated by reading a few stories such as:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/19/credit-card-crunch-budget

http://www.blogher.com/year-not-shopping

Happy New Year everyone!

http://www.myyearwithoutspending.com/