Robin has requested that I post THE rules I am going to follow. . . I guess she also means succinctly (NOT my strong suit)
So:
“The Megan Rules” for my Buy Nothing New year
1) I will not buy anything new that is not essential (essential including things like: food, lightbulbs, hygiene products, toilet paper, possibly cleaning products [but baking soda does an awful lot])
2) I can spend money on experiences (This includes things like films, dinner parties, theatre, gigs, art museums, days out with friends, AND includes the transportation involved in going to said experiences.)
3) Gifts for people are exempt, but I will try my hardest to get services, experiences, second hand gifts first. I will then move on to handcrafted new gifts. Only after that will I buy a regular-ol’ new item.
4) I will still aim to limit my consumption overall, and not binge on second hand kitschy sets of dishes or vintage clothing.
That’s pretty concise, right? 4 rules, and the 4th is a kinda guideline rather than a rule. So three rules and a guideline. Not bad.
As for how I’ve been doing on these, I’ve been so busy with meetings I haven’t had the chance to spend anything!
My £74.65 has NOT been taken out from the cash point yet, so I haven’t officially started counting down on that.
I DID manage to spend £6 so far at the Art House on cake and donations, AND I’m going there for lunch today. But I think that’s it so far. Seems like, once again, food will end up being the bulk of my £74.65.
I was considering buying tights before I started this challenge so I could wear skirts to work. Tights are NOT essential, so I’m just wearing trousers every day. I get goosebumps in the shower most days, so I often can’t shave my legs anyway (too much information?)
My first gift purchase is coming up—I need to get a belated Secret Santa present. The only suggestion I was given was “he likes Guinness. Get something Guiness-related in the sales.” . . . . Now, as much as I’m sure he loves random tat (a great British word meaning “worthless knick-knacky junk”), I didn’t see the point in spending £5 on a novelty Guinness Christmas ornament/hat/egg cups/plaque/whatever. So I’m getting £5 worth of local stouts so he can compare them to his favourite beverage.
As it starts to get warmer, I want to do some gardening (despite losing our allotment….. stupid lazy Megan). We have some supplies, but I think I’m going to have to work NOT to buy anything new. That means no bags of peat-free compost to start off plants, no seed packets (or does that count as food??), and no additional tools (where could I get used tools?). It’s not like I’m starting off a smallholding, but still—gardening is a hobby. Hobbies breed tools. It just happens.
Friday, 9 January 2009
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3 people left comments - you should too!:
I would do a "wanted" post on Freecycle for the tools.
If the seeds are seeds for food, then I say it counts. Seeds for pretty flowers would not count. But if they will become something that you can eat and cook with, it counts as food.
I want dad to grow lots of nice vegetables this year (zucchini, summer squash, some eggplant!). But it is most definitely not "getting warmer" here. It is getting colder. Much colder. Another storm is coming! Stupid New England, why can't you be like Old England?
Don't wish for that. It's down to freezing most days here. It's a bit weird at the moment. Of course, it's making dumb people think that global warming is a bunch of hooey. Silly.
Anyway, you get snow!!! AND you get really nice hot summers. SPring will be there soon enough. Help in the garden this year--I think dad doesn't have enough time to take care of it all, and you'll learn a lot from trying it. I've heard newspaper covered with hay is a GREAT mulch to keep weeds away--they'll still come up, but less of them.
Oh my goodness, I JUST clicked on that link for the egg cups, and they are actual Guinness egg cups! I thought you just added the link for people who didn't know what egg cups were. That's crazy.
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