Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Sunday confessional - Week 3

Sunday confessionalIt has been 7 days since my last confessional and I haven't spent anything except for food and a bottle of wine. The wine isn't exactly essential, but after reading In Defense of Food, I'm gonna argue that it's a medical necessity. Well, maybe not.

I got my two books from the library and that has sated my interest in buying something. My daughter is asking for new dresses as she's outgrown last year's spring/summer dresses but we didn't find any at the second-hand store, so no purchases there. I have been drooling over a food mill but will wait and most likely the desire will pass.

Other than that, I've gotten into the groove of not purchasing crap I don't really need. I can't say that my husband is following suit, but I have little control over that.

How was your week?

67 comments:

Robj98168 said...

I have nothing to confess! OK OK put down the paint stick Chicken Lady-I did but a pack of fuses for 2.99 but only because my car blew a fuse and I thoought it was better to drive with headlights than without. Otherwise than that- I bought nothing- nada- zip! except for groceries, dog and kitty food.

lauren said...

Nada for moi...I did buy my boyf. a thing of shave oil by Pacific Shaving Co.--an eco-friendly co.

Anonymous said...

Well yesterday was the townwide yardsale, and I must confess that my partner and I engaged in a fearsome bout of town social/house tour meets hunter/gatherer smackdown. BUT everything I bought was used (or at least preowned) and immediately useful in the kitchen or garden except for 20 cents worth of guitar-shaped christmas ornaments. Nothing however was technically necessary.

Anonymous said...

I have to confess, I didn't sign up for the challenge. I'm getting married next month and thought how much I'd love to do the challenge, but how it was in no way feasible with our expectations of things we'd need for the wedding.
Looks like the message sunk in anyway and I've ended up buying nearly nothing despite not having signed up. Weird.
For the wedding, I bought a recycled paper guest book, some paper supplies to make place cards, and some thank you notes. Other than that, without actually committing to the challenge, the only things I bought were a few used books at the local library's annual book sale, and a drying rack so we won't use the dryer as much.
Maybe, after the honeymoon, I'll try buy nothing June instead! If this is how my non-buy-nothing April came out, I bet I could do it. Thanks, Crunchy, for the idea and the support!

Deb G said...

I confess. I was weak and bought a couple magazines. At least I can take comfort that they wouldn't have been at the library and that I'm enjoying them immensely.

Anonymous said...

I confess this week I bought some Rimadyl for my aged dog and Turbo tax for the hubby who was slaving over the taxes!
CLM

Joyce said...

I've done really well; my husband, not so much. In his defense, he was sort of a tag-along on this venture any way. I don't know quite how much he spent eating out, but that's where he falls down.
Otherwise, we haven't bought anything non-food, except gas for the cars.

Anonymous said...

This was my worst week ever! I went walmart for a new mop head (desperately needed) and bought some fabric to make a new purse (rather than ordering a new verabradley) So while the cloth only cost me $7 vs $65 for the bag I wanted - I totally forgot the mop head I went in for.

Luckily for me I had some rattyish towels and found directions for fashioning a 'replavement' online. Seemed to work fine but I doubt it will last long.

Anonymous said...

OK, big confession. I bought 25 books! The Friends of the library book sale is only 2 times a year, so I could not put it off till next month. All books were used, all fell into gardening, cooking or environmental categories. All told I spent under $16.
I also have to confess that I missed last weeks confession where I needed to state that on my behalf my mother purchased fabric for my daughter to make an outfit for a 4-H show. One of my blog readers thought that was cheating. So I said I would confess it.
That's it.
Cindy in FL

Anonymous said...

I confess that this week I bought a Red Sox t-shirt for my best friend's son and a Red Sox baseball cap for my son. We were in the city at the game and I just HAD to walk through the shop attached to the stadium...

I did check out a few local resale shops for baseball caps and tshirts before I left, but I must have gotten there too late since there was nothing.

JR said...

I have nothing to confess. Except for the fact that I really, really wanted to buy the book "Food Fight" about the farmbill but our local store doesn't carry it. Thank God.

Anonymous said...

I had no intention of doing so, but ended up buying my daughter a new bag and hair clip for her junior prom - didn't even look at a resale shop! I should have been stronger, but it is a one time event (okay two, if she goes next year - but, then she can reuse the bag!) and I just caved to sentimentality.

Sam said...

I bought sandals. I didn't want to wear sneakers for another summer.

Burbanmom said...

I haven't spent anything, but OOoohhh, I've been having spendy thoughts. I've been looking at insulated curtains for our south facing windows, cedar wood for my raised planting beds, summer pj's for the kiddos and a new, stainless steel mug for my coffee (the plastic / hot coffee combo is starting to freak me out).

Haven't purchased any of these things yet... but have been looking!

Ananda Devika said...

Argh - broke down and bought a bunch of gardening supplies - mulch, etc. As punishment I suppose, it rained for 2 straight days. :) I also, uh, purchased a couple of sewing patterns that were only sale for $1. I really really (ok, not really) tried to resist, but failed...miserably. At least I'm not out buying new clothes!

Jenn said...

Wow. I don't think I even had time to go out for groceris this week, so I have nothing to report on that front. However, I don't know if it's related to no shopping or not, but I seem to have developed more of a social life over the no-shopping period, which is rather neat.

CatMominPhilly said...

AGH...oh my confession for this week. I BOMBED this week. LOL, buying things like:
-socks
-haircut + pins to hold hair back
-glasses (did not own a functional pair to wear for times when contacts/eyes are irritated.)

Now given, socks aren't that frivolous, but I'm trying to BUY NOTHING. In my defense, I just recently finished graduate school so their are many basics I can only just now afford. I've needed to look more professional for all my work presentations, and that was becoming difficult.

Also, I took a 'day off' the challenge and bought things to organize our storage/garage/area. We are in a 1 bdrm apt. w/ 2 cats and the 2 of us...and have been talking about organizing this area for a while. I'm glad we bought the things we did b/c they will help clean up/clear up the space. Small space living is a CHALLENGE.

Going well= not buying magazines. BLAH...this week.

Jenna said...

Pull me from the thrify ranks.

Three words to explain -

Naked Drunken Wii.

I was feeling guilty and more then a tad bad when we bought it yesterday, but a thought occured.

Bills are paid, savings put away, we donate (more time and effort then money I'll conceed), I'm pretty cheap. We camp, travel, excercise, and get out in the fresh air lots. It was there, we've wanted one for over a year, it was the last in the store.

No more guilt from this nerd. Ah well... maybe another challenge.

ANewDay said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tina Cardone said...

I'm pre-confessing that when I go grocery shopping today I am going to buy matches, so that I can try going without electricity on Earth Day. I'll also need to get new bedding for the pets, but its made of the leftovers from paper processing, so I'm helping the paper companies be less wasteful!

ANewDay said...

I have one thing to confess. We have bought nothing but food stuff this whole month but yesterday.

We bought a new dog water fountain. The dog and cats have been sharing the same water fountain and the cats have not been happy about it.

Yesterday on our grocery errand the store finally had a large water fountain that our dog can use and that way we can move the cats fountain to a non-dog accessible position.

We sat there in the store agonizing over it. Should we wait until after April? Would we be smothered in our sleep by cats exacting revenge for the doggy drool in their water?

We ended up getting it after hubby made the case that he feels bad for the cats and the looks they toss him whenever they go to the fountain.

But I'm pretty darn happy that has been our only real transgression this whole month.

Now for the mildly scary part, our bank account. Umm....I was able to make a significantly larger payment on ending our credit card debt yesterday. Which had my hubby and I looking at each other and once again proclaiming "What the HECK have WE been spending so darn much money on????"

Goodness.

Lisa Zahn said...

I realized yesterday that since we haven't spent money on anything else, we actually had the money to buy a couple of bottles of wine and a case of beer and have the neighbors over for a backyard fire last night. I consider that money well spent! And the purchases were entirely consumable, well except for the glass bottles which will be recycled.

We also bought two straw bales and some peat for the garden. But again, that's for future food.

So I'm doing good!

Anna Banana said...

Temptation! Yesterday at the farmers' market a cookbook author was showcasing the farmers' produce and her cookbooks. I wanted one of those cookbooks, but told her I couldn't because of the April BNC. She was encouraging, but noted I could get her cookbooks on Amazon in May. We'll see. This has not been a good week as far as eating out. Not for me, but for the rest of the family...

Melissa Anderson said...

The annual Tulip Festival is this weekend and I bought yesterday! Not as much as I have in years past. But I spent $20 on five hair twisties for my daughters. They are so cool I couldn't help it!That was my only splurge this week. I notice I'm going to the store less and only buying the essentials. Thanks Crunchy, this is a great challenge!
Melissa

JessTrev said...

Hey Crunchy! I'm with you, all I bought besides food was a bottle of vodka. I think it's easier when it's so nice out tho (it's been sunny and 70s-80s all week -- we've been at the playground nonstop). Oh, also we got takeout one night but the place uses entirely paper packaging (mostly rough brown paper to boot) so it seemed ok. And we went out to dinner last night for a family bday to a restaurant that sources local ingredients (yum! baby arugula). Also? You've inspired a bunch of my friends to take on your no-consumption challenge. The Crunchy wingspan expands...

Unknown said...

My friends loaned us seasons 2 and 3 of The Office, a show which I've only recently started watching. Which means every waking minute (that I'm not working or with the kids or doing a minimum of housework:), I spend watching it. Leaving me no time to shop - I think I've found my solution...

Anonymous said...

Not only have I bought nothing except food this week, but I didn't buy that train ticket that I thought I was going to buy last weekend. Yay! Next week will likely involve major purchases at the local fiber festival. Eep.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

i was doing so good all week and really thought i'd get away with nothing to confess and then on friday i blew it and we got takeout dinner from a mexican restaurant. then on saturday, i blew it again & we bought the kids new summer shoes which they arguably needed, a pitchfork for turning our compost, as well as some nylabones for the dogs to chew on. so while they were not frivolous purchases per se (other than the takeout), we probably could have done without. sigh.

Kerry said...

I think we did really well! My purchases this week were 2nd hand - I found out at the last minute that my daughter needed a white blouse and black skirt for a choir festival this coming week and I got them at a thift store. Before buying them I called around but no one had anything they could spare - her friends are in the same choir. We also put down 40.00 on a pole for our clothes line - at the enviro-depot metal scrap yard. We picked out a 20 ft pole from the scrap and they are welding on a cap and attaching two eyelets for me. Total cost will be 120 including delivery and borrowing their fence pole digger. Oh and I got each kid an apple juice popsicle at the farmer's market when we bought our organic apple juice and apple sauce for the week.

lae21 said...

I really fell off the buy nothing wagon this week. Two concerts that I really wanted to see sold out months ago. On Thursday they released an addition 3 tickets each, and I scooped them up. I would have bought them months ago if I could have.... Then at the concert my boyfriend and I got a little too excited over the good music, good company, and good times being had, and ended up with a sweatshirt and 3 CDs. I guess making it 2.5 weeks before buying stuff isn't so bad. Hopefully next week will be better.

Segwyne said...

I think I have done well overall. Last Sunday night (after confessional), I bought a soda and a snack for the final hour of a 4 hour road trip which I have to take most Sunday nights. I did discover that the reason I get tired while driving at night is not a need for caffeine as I thought, but the fact that my eyesight is going and those reflective signs that don't bother me during the day give me a headache at night. So I am putting an eye exam and possibly glasses on my list of stuff to do after the month is over. I also bought new sheets for the last two of my kids and myself, but I had planned on making these purchases back in February. It just so happened that yesterday was the last day of a 50% off sheets sale.

We are also looking to find a mortgage for this wonderful piece of property we found for sale, but I don't count that as a sin in the BNC. We have been wanting to quit renting for years.

Ellen said...

I had a great week-thank you so much for this challenge! I did purchase:

a clothes rack (mine disappeared)
new clothespins (mine were moldy)
a clothesline (being installed today)

but nothing dumb, like random things for the house. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Theresa said...

I had one lapse when I bought lunch at the cafeteria instead of bringing my own, but other than that I have resisted. It's starting to become more normal for me not to buy something, than to buy it which is very cool!

Frisky said...

i was good this week! i had a themed event to dress up for last night, but found some things to put together for it. did buy a beer in a plastic cup. (sigh.)

Anonymous said...

I did great! I did splurge of fruit salsa and the farmers market but we had that for lunch with company.

Today is our anniversary and we are going out to dinner though. After 12 years with me, he deserves it!

Anonymous said...

Still no confessions. I think I'm going to make it!

Unknown said...

Nothing to confess except food! BWA HA HA HA! AM A ROCKSTAAAAAAAAR!

Ashley // Our Little Apartment said...

FIRST EVER CONFESSION, here.

Oh man, I fell of the wagon and it was BAD.

...I had a job interview out of town on Saturday and was staying with my parents...

...I hated the 2 shirts I had brought to wear, they looked awful...

...SO I WENT TO TARGET!!

$42.31 later, I left Target with a blouse and jacket in hand. I felt like I had no choice. It was either look professional and go to Target, or look sloppy.

It was bad. I felt awful. But the interview went well! :)

Going Crunchy said...

Bought: seeds, soil and a "bar" of shampoo. All serve a greater good for the most part. Got seeds started in yougert cups I've been hording for months so no spending there!

Did Spend to Much: On food. I found a locally owned grocery store where I can buy lots of things plastic free and really blew my food budget. Fresh baked goods, cheese, veggies and such with no plastic and reasonable prices. I overspent......

Unknown said...

i said at the beginning that i would buy nothing except for needed garden supplies and a bit of lingerie for my husband's leave. i've kept true to that...but it seems that i'm "needing" a whole lot more things for the garden than i imagined i would at the beginning of the month. i guess i have a problem. hmmm.

this week, i had my hair cut and colored; it's been four months since i've had my hair done and i only get two weeks with my husband. i bought groceries and one bar of handmade soap at the farmer's market. today's rainy day has me rethinking things, and i could have survived with most of the food i had at home.

Anonymous said...

My husband bought a pack of DVDRs because we had to wipe our computer to remove a virus (and wanted to save stuff on it). It was a good opportunity to do spring cleaning on the computer.

I bought a scone on Monday. We had a pitcher of beer last Sunday. That's it.

Amy Paden said...

We did pretty good this week. The only unnecessary buying we did was for a dinner meeting at Panera, and I think my husband ate dinner out one night last week. Overall we spent less on groceries too. I'm having a hard time not buying yarn-I have a project to knit by the end of May and I'm a slow knitter and wanting to get started! Here's hoping this week goes as well as last!

Donna said...

I confess that I'm not part of your challenge! But like annonymous said, it's rubbed off on me anyway. I had an unexpected "buy nothing" week when I had to stay home with a very sick toddler. It went great. I wrote all about it on today's post on my blog.

Mrs. Gray's Class said...

I haven't bought anything - I do find myself thinking and saying I'll get that next month so I'm a little concerned about reigning myself in after the challenge is over. The only thing I'm having problems with now is clothes for the kids - it was 80 degrees the other day and my children still had on their winter attire.

Anonymous said...

I have a bunch of confessions... *sighs*
1)I had to buy some allergy medicine, because I was hardly able to think. BUT! I didn't pay for it, because I found some face cream (previously purchased) that I hadn't opened yet with a receipt, so I returned it and bought my medicine.
2)I bought a book. What's really sad is I had been at the library that morning, I felt so incredibly guilty about it though that I went back the next day and returned it. I'll just wait for it to show up in the library.
So I'm not sure if technically I really purchased anything, but I sure did feel guilty about it, I won't fall to temptation this week!

Anonymous said...

I confess that I made some purchases that could have waited- 3 birthday presents, 2 dresses for my daughter that were greatly marked down, and a shirt for myself that was above the value of the coupon I went into the store with. Totally contained myself yesterday when I went to the mall with my parents. Yeah, me!!

ehmeelu said...

I had a bit of a shopping spree at a second hand store: a big bag of crochet cotton (I crochet string produce bags), a drying rack with little clips (to hang hankies to dry), glass canning jars, two shirts, and a pair of sandals. So I feel like I was madly shopping, but it's all used and thereby guilt-free!

Anonymous said...

Forgive my Crunchy, for I have sinned. Not so much though. Derailleur on kid-seat equipped bike gave out after I picked up my daughter from daycare leaving us with a long walk and some fiddling with my bike to get it working enough for us to get home. Needless to say, it was replaced. Also, on a long ride over the weekend, I got a flat tire, and will need to repair or replace that tube when I get around to looking at it. If the purchases support lower-carbon usage overall, does that make them less sinful?

Chile said...

We bought one thing new, but it was a necessary item. We bought one dinner out after a visit with a friend ran longer than expected and we wanted to eat now. No trips to the salon for me, but Angel got a bath and dry today. In our opinion, a necessary expense in the fight against ticks.

Becky @ BoysRuleMyLife said...

I did pretty well this week - except for the slice of pizza at the mall. I didn't buy a single thing at the mall, just the pizza. And I regret it. I do. I repent. I won't do it again. It was too expensive anyway. This next week's gonna be a doozy... my birthday. I'm already searching for a new pair of pjs (my weakness - love pajamas!) Maybe I can wait until May... maybe... :)

The Simpleton said...

I have not bought the item that I pre-confessed. I am wondering if canon law allows then for the substitution of a gallon of interior paint. Hmm. I guess this is what they mean by "indulgences."

P.S. I haven't bought the paint yet either. I guess *that* is what they mean by sinning in thought.

cindy24 said...

Bought a new charger for my camera since I have not been able to find mine since December - was $10 from ebay. Bought some items to send to my niece who is in Niger with Peace Corps. Overall a pretty good week.

Melissa said...

The only thing I bought new was a 2pack of 9V batteries. It was cheaper per battery to buy two, and our smoke detector was beeping since the one in it died, so at least one battery was a safety necessity. I actually wanted to buy a charger for the 9V so I could get rechargeables, but couldn't find it...do they make them for this size battery?

Also, to the person who said they are just "putting the purchases off till May" - I've started forcing myself to put my planned purchases on a written list. If they're still there after at least two weeks, I normally allow myself to buy it. It's amazing how many times I find I no longer really want the item all that much.

I'm finding this gets MUCH easier with each passing week (which I guess is the point...making a lifestyle change, not a one month experiment to see if we can tough it out).

Anonymous said...

i got gas for my car (still gotta finish my final papers before i can shop for that bike...)
i also got a couple of things from ikea with a store credit.
and i got a couple of coffees/teas while out of the house.
i'm starting to think that i'm not so good at this...

Britta said...

You might as well remove me! I think I've officially dropped out of this project.

Bought: dress for a wedding, wedding gift, large amounts of gardening supplies, ate out...

Laura Kaeding said...

I must leave a confession today, sadly. I did purchase some MTG cards (5 specifically) but they did not come in any packaging or plastic wrap, just the cards on their own. We also had to buy a new bike and accessories for my SO as he doesn't want to be driving all over the place with gas prices as they are, and since it is nice out finally. And finally, I also bought my daughter a chocolate bar, which I would not mark as necessary, as there is much better and better packaged food I could have gotten her to satiate her sweet craving. Sigh. Aside from that, I'm doing quite well!

Stephanie said...

I must confess I bought a Sigg water bottle last week for my future child. I know it could have waited, but I had to buy it. This was my first and hopefully only slip-up. My husband bought a tire for his bike, unfortunately it was for his mountain bike and not his commuter so it is definitely not essential.

maryann said...

I'll confess my pre-challenge - house paint, house paint and more paint. Yuck. Other than that just groceries, one take out lunch, and a pizza.

Jamie said...

well unless you count the house we bought on Friday I'd say we did pretty good. otherwise we went out to dinner Thursday and Friday. hmmm - actually that was pretty bad of us and totally not necessary.
it's going to a rough next 9 days though being in a new house and all!!! all the new spring patio furniture is going to kill me!! ahh!

Anonymous said...

I was much better last week. I bought food (including Wine and Beer, but we had guests over)

I did buy my lunch at work twice. I'll do better at that this week.

And that's it!

Our Lovely Life said...

I confess! I finally bought a few things after not buying the previous weeks. I bought a few outfits for my kids. It has been warm here and they didn't have any summer clothes that fit. I also bought myself 3 short sleeved shirts. I had a baby 8 weeks ago and all my shirts are now to small in the chest area. That is all.

Anonymous said...

I was doing so good! But as I predicted last week, that trip to Target was detrimental. I spent $150. Uhg. New t-shirts for me (I threw away all of my old breastfeeding/spit up stained shirts last year), new t-shirts for the 4 year old, a shredder for our bills, and a personal fire proof safe (we're preparing an emergency kit). So I guess while I can justify all of them, they could have been put off until next month. I know that I'll be good the whole rest of the month though.

Anonymous said...

Okay, okay. I have to admit. I bought a lot of stuff this week. However, none of it was for me.

One of my best friends had a baby on April 15, so I bought gifts for the two of them.

And birthday gifts for my niece and two of my nephews.

And a birthday card for another friend. Yes, I should have just made one. Or skipped the card altogether (seriously, what IS the point of a greeting card?).

I also bought socks and new markers for my daughter, to replace the worn-out ones.

And stamps to mail my tax return. Yay.

Jennifer said...

Again, nothing except a couple bottles of wine... agree on the health benefits. :) This is a lot easier than I thought it would be! I think I will keep it up.

sweetp said...

Forgive me crunchy chicken for I have sinned. Week one and week two I had nothing to confess. Week three has not been so good. We just moved to the other end of the country and there has been much spending of money this week on setting up of house items. This has included things for the garden (worm farm, garden tools etc - we got a 2nd hand lawnmower) which I guess are exempt. Also some essentials for DD's new school (and I did get as much of her uniform second hand as I could)also exempt. I did go clothes shopping. We are all freezing so I bought some warmer clothes for me and some thermal tops for the kids. I didnt buy 2nd hand, shame on me, mainly because we didnt have internet to use the online auction site. I will be making gloves, felted slippers and a warm hoodie for me though - all from wool I have in stash. I also bought DD2 some new winter shoes (one thing I wont buy 2nd hand anyway) and a birthday present book for DD1 for next month (I will be making the other part of her present though). Ummm theres been lots really... DH bought firewood, sets of drawers for the kids (cheap but made locally), a fireguard (surely exempt). We also bought a new (used) car (we are a one car family and he is looking for a suitable bike to commute to work in too) so yeah, I probably deserve to go to buy nothing challenge hell or something. Probably not the best month for us to do this but I will be back on track next week , promise!

Anonymous said...

I have a confession.....I spent $1.00 on a blank journal to make a wedding gift. Better than buying a whole gift *wink*.

Jenette said...

I confess that I bought lunch out 2 times and dinner from Taco Bell one night. I have been feeling an overwhelming urge to buy stuff for our new baby due in August now that we know its a boy! But I have resisted, found a baby bath on freecycle and set up a baby registry. Next month is going to be so hard! Will Velcro on cloth baby diapers count as plastic?