Thursday, September 3, 2015

Shopping Ban Update: Month Two

   

  The shopping ban continues… bringing plenty of adventures with it! I still have successfully not bought anything on the list of stuff I can't buy, and it honestly is really not that challenging! The things I have bought this past month have been approved food items and DIY supplies, and that's all.

     Recently I realized that I really enjoy the shopping ban because when I see something I like and want to purchase, like a poster or cute pair of underwear or whatever, as long as it doesn't fit into one of the approved categories, I don't even have to think about purchasing it! Before, I would go back and forth in my head, thinking about how nice it would be to have the thing but how the thing is expensive and buying the thing isn't sustainable and the thing isn't going to give me any actual fulfillment and so on. The daily tennis match that occurred whenever I logged onto Etsy is now happily over. Not shopping is quite relaxing! 

    I also have really enjoyed not being able to buy new clothes because it is making me get more familiar with and more appreciative of what I have in my closet. I'm also much more sure of what I wear and what I don't, which is making it easier to get rid of things as well.

    Early in August, I had a dinner party at my parent's house, and served all my friends some delicious food. I was cooking literally all day, since I made it all from scratch, but it was all really good, and worth it to see other people enjoy what I'd made. Another thing I'm enjoying about the shopping ban is that I'm eating pretty healthy and whole - limiting yourself from most packaged foods has a wonderful effect on your diet, as it turns out! 


    One thing that's been surprising and delighting me since I started the shopping ban is how easy it is to find stuff for free. I've gotten free underwear, free candles, free produce (check out those pear slices up top, heck yes) and lots of free kitchen items, to name a few things. Free stuff is everywhere, especially since everyone has so much stuff, they're constantly getting rid of it! Buying things is looking less and less necessary these days. Also, public libraries are the BEST THINGS EVER. I've gotten so many great and wonderful books from the library lately, and none of them has cost me a cent. Yay!

     I do have one thing I'm still stuck on, however. I have not tried out any shampoo/conditioner alternatives yet, and since most of this month will be filled with travel and then school starting, I probably won't get to try one this month at all. However, I do have a few DIYs up my sleeve, so when I try them, I will report back on the results. Speaking of DIYs, I made candles! They are awesome and were very easy to make, and I'm planning on showing you all how I did it in an upcoming post. I also made a text banner, as you see above, declaring "Satan is my homeboy". One thing you might not know about me is that I can't resist a good Satan joke! I made it to decorate my wall rather than buying a banner, poster, or something else for decor. It was very fun and easy to make!

    I didn't do much grocery shopping this month since my parents are back in the house right now, so I did not track my food purchases as planned. However, I will begin to do so when I move into my apartment towards the end of the month. I'm in the midst of packing up all my things as I write this post, and I'm so excited to move in and really put the food aspect of the shopping ban into greater action.

   On the whole, this has been a really good month of no-shopping. I'm realizing that I find it very relaxing to not buy things. I made several gifts for people's birthdays, which they seemed to appreciate, and I feel no need to purchase anything on the don't buy list! Life is good :) I hope the next month goes just as swimmingly. What do you think of all the points I've just made? Would not being able to buy things be relaxing and simple, or limiting and stressful? Why? Let me know what you think! 
                                                                         Love,
                                                                             Madeleine
Photos: Both are mine, the first one is a pear that I sliced up that came from our pear tree (it was delicious!) and the second is a banner I made to decorate my wall and add a little humor :)

5 comments:

  1. I am excited by your challenge! Way to go!

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  2. Madeleine!! That first pic made me crave a pear! May I ask, where do you find free produce?
    So glad everything is going so well for you.Can't wait for the upcoming DIYs ;)
    //regarding shampoo: I've been using (diluted) castile soap which works well but, w/o a conditioner my hair is slightly dry. Yet I feel that once I do a hair mask my hair will bounce back again. **fingers crossed** (I'll do my best to keep you posted on how this progress)

    ♡ Dulce

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    1. Hi Dulce :) Thanks for the report! I'm definitely going to try Castile soap! I appreciate the tip very much :) The free pears came off our pear tree in my front yard, but I also sometimes get free veggies and fruits from my aunt and friends who have surplus. I'm going to write a piece on foraging for free produce soon also!

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    2. Thanks for replying! Definitely, sometimes we get free veggies when family friends have a surplus too. Also, I've switched to African Black Soap instead of Castile Soap and that seems to be working nicely atm.

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