linda may

Well, I’ve done it now. I committed to a year of not buying stuff, and reporting to you weekly whether I’m sticking to my resolution. Deep breath! Here is my progress so far.

January 3rd: Deleted the Poshmark app from my phone. No more stocking up on makeup and sunscreen.

January 4th: Immediately recycled Stitch Fix postcard advertising “Free Styling Fee!” I am more tempted to have a peek at their website than I’d like to admit.

January 5th: Reviewed Amazon purchases from the last 4 years. In 2023 alone, I spent $943 on Amazon.com on housewares, cleaning products, toiletries and last-minute gifts. I made a list of 3 approved items I can order from Amazon this year that are not available at my local stores. (Biodegradable flossers, flock-lined dish gloves, and Clairol Natural Instincts 6.5G lightest golden brown.)

January 7th: Phone call with my friend Kenya. We’ve been out of touch for the past year or so, but when our kids were little we used to get together with a group of moms to talk about budgeting. She’s working on cooking from her pantry and not stockpiling food. We talked about food waste and I committed to meal planning and keeping track of what is already in my fridge. Kenya is also working on avoiding the craft stores – she already has a large craft supply stash. I am allowing myself to purchase yarn & fabric – but I have to have a specific project in mind that I intend to start within 7 days. We plan to stay in touch and help hold each other accountable this year.

I later meal planned with Nate and the kids, and placed our grocery order for the week based on our meal plan. My 9 year-old doesn’t want to eat meat and we want to support him – so the meal plan was all vegetarian. I asked Nate to bake a buttermilk coffee cake to “save” the buttermilk lingering in obscurity in the depths of our fridge! And it was delicious.

January 8th: Unsubscribed from Crate & Barrel, LOFT and Old Navy emails.

January 9th: Wrote down the Approved Purchases for 2024 list with my family:

• Clothing:
  • For the kids: leggings, gloves, shoes, snow boots, and underwear.
  • For Nate: shoes. He wears out several pairs a year.
  • I need a long-sleeve black t-shirt – the one I’ve worn for the past 7 years finally got a hole in a spot I can’t mend.
  • I also haven’t had a new bra in 4 years. The 3 I have are pretty ratty.
• Household items
  • We eat LOTS of yogurt in my house, and I want to see if I can make it myself: 1 yogurtmaker.
  • A duvet cover to replace the 20 year-old one I mended multiple times and finally threw away.
  • A new showerhead and toilet seat – the final pieces to complete a 4-year bathroom renovation.
• Outdoor items
  • A second camp chair so we don’t all have to fight over mine when we go to the beach!
  • And a new (or used) rake, again, to prevent the kids fighting over the “good rake.”
  • 2 kids’ kayaks – they had so much fun kayaking in Bend last summer.
  • Both kids have outgrown their bike frames, so: 2 kids’ bikes. Nate has an unrivaled track record at buying good secondhand bikes.
  • My daughter, who loves decorating for Christmas, also asked for outdoor holiday lights for next Christmas season. I budgeted $500 for all of the clothing and shoes, $440 for the household items, and $900 for the bikes and other outdoor items.
• Gifts: We are allowed to buy gifts for family & friends.

January 10th: Wouldn’t you know it: in my sewing bag I found a brand-new bra, never worn, with an annoying seam that had I intended to cover with fabric about 6 years ago. I actually got my sewing machine out and sewed some soft flannel over the offending seam. I wore it the next day, feeling silly for putting it off so long. New bra? $0.

January 12th: After calling around, Nate finds a like-new pair of Keen kids’ snow boots for our son for $40 at a local consignment store, just in time for the week-long snow & ice storm that blew into Portland, Salem & Eugene. He’s barely taken them off since!

After the fact, I had lots of feelings arise while typing up our list of approved purchases. The total exceeds $1600. Can I really say I’m “not buying stuff” this year? Then I reviewed my spending on clothing – the area where I do the most impulse shopping – and realized I’ve spent that amount on clothing alone in just the past 3 months for my family of four. So yeah, this limited list of purchases will be tough to stick to. I definitely have a habit of shopping to relieve stress, or popping into a store on a whim. I work in downtown Portland, with stores like Madewell, Anthropologie, Splendid and Athleta just a couple of blocks from my office. So the most important strategy I’ll be using this year is: Don’t go into the store.

I also managed to pack my lunch for work every day but one for these first 2 weeks – I had a pre-arranged lunch date with a coworker. This is the area of my endeavor where I feel the shakiest. I know that it takes consistent pre-planning and intention to maintain this habit. I know myself; when I get stressed, my planning ahead suffers and convenience often wins out. I’ll be relying on my meal-planning habit with my family to keep it going.

I’m feeling all of the naive hope of someone 3.8% into a year-long project. Readers, keep the good vibes coming!