My Year of Going Without.

[Pequenita]

So, is this a not buy physical stuff challenge or a not buy anything (e.g., services) that's not a necessity challenge?

I don't like owning physical books, actually. I'm not the type who re-reads them, and now I'm in the unexpected predicament of having a bunch of books because I've been receiving them from a friend who works at NPR and has access to advance copies, etc. for reviews.

 

[ski diva]

So, is this a not buy physical stuff challenge or a not buy anything (e.g., services) that's not a necessity challenge?

It's a not-buy-anything-that-I-don't-think-is-a-necessity challenge. I'm not trying to do without everything and live like a monk in a cell. I'm just trying to reduce the amount of crap I accumulate, at least for a year.

So, maybe this will clarify: It does not include food, eating out, hair appointments, toiletries, gym membership, cable and/or internet, phone, and of course, my season lift pass.

It does include clothing, shoes, sports equipment (including ski gear, except for the boots for which I made an exception going in), and any discretionary spending for stuff (like books, jewelry, etc).

It's what works for me.

I don't like owning physical books, actually. I'm not the type who re-reads them, and now I'm in the unexpected predicament of having a bunch of books because I've been receiving them from a friend who works at NPR and has access to advance copies, etc. for reviews.

And as a writer, and someone who's married to a writer, Booooooo, Hissssssss.

 

[VickiK]

@Pequenita and @ski diva , I see an opportunity here, where one woman's unwanted books are another's treasure.

 

[Jenny]

I didn't want to say it out loud but since Pequenita did . . . I don't buy books, unless I've already read them and know that I absolutely will read them over and over again (although there is a limit to that, too). If I'd had to buy every book I'd ever read there would be no money for anything else, ever.

Thank goodness there ARE people who buy the books, though, because that means people like Ski Diva and Mr. SD can keep writing and I have something to read. (I AM responsible for our library having Ski Diva and Mr. SD's books in them, so that's something.)

 

[Skier31]

Here is an interesting article posted by Sarah Susanka. Sarah is the author of the "Not So Big House" series and the "Not So Big Life" book. She is someone that I have followed for quite some time. She is an architect/writer who talks about how it is more important we live in functional places that we love and that there is so much more to life than the accumulation of stuff.

https://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/

 

[bounceswoosh]

On the clutter / physical books subject - I mostly buy Kindle books these days, but I still have, well, I packed up 42 cubic feet of books when we did our floors. I should remember to use our library more often. Their eBook selection is pretty minimal, at least for the books I want, although I think it's super cool that the library offers digital content at all, and that I can browse and reserve and download it from home.

I tend to buy reference/technical books in physical form, whereas I tend toward the Kindle for casual reading. There are very few books so good that I want to be able to see them on my shelves. But I read somewhere that we don't retain digital content in our brains as well as we do the contents of physical books, and that rings true for me. I just blast through book after book, and a month later I rarely remember the titles or what they were about, really. I just noticed a book review on GoodReads, clicked on the book, and discovered I'd already read it - but I can't remember what it was about, even though I gave it four stars and a very favorable review!

Anyway, for me, I just can't see books as clutter. Books are books.

 

[ski diva]

Here is an interesting article posted by Sarah Susanka. Sarah is the author of the "Not So Big House" series and the "Not So Big Life" book. She is someone that I have followed for quite some time. She is an architect/writer who talks about how it is more important we live in functional places that we love and that there is so much more to life than the accumulation of stuff.

https://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/

Thanks for posting that. Very, very interesting. It kind of validates some of the stuff I've been thinking about lately.

 

[geargrrl]

Accumulation can be down right scary. I know more than a few people that have serious emotional connections to stuff. Not hoarding, but definitely a shopping problem. I was recently at my FILs. The Step MIL has recently passed. She loooooved to shop. The house looks like Martha Stewart threw up in it. In addition to a double car garage that can hardly be driven into, there are three storage units. Not piles--- very organized. 22 bins of holiday decoration. There was a clipping from a magazine thaqt was along the lines of "you deserve to buy things that make you feel good". All I can say to that is "wtf?"

And then there's my 87 yr old mother, who has made an extreme conscious effort to decumulate. (I just made that up) She has a sparse amount of things, minimal art and tschatzkes... everything has a note on it saying who it belongs to when she goes.

I still remember when we moved DH's disabled SIL up to live near us. She is another keeper of stuff. We crammed everything she owned into a decent size Uhaul. There was quite the scene: imaging two or three people leaning on the stuff, another two trying to pull the door down, and she is throwing a tantrum because DH wont' pack a concrete bench that probably cost $30 at Target...

Me, I'm a Don't Keep, DH is Keep We Might Need It Someday.

 

[bounceswoosh]

We just bought two new sets of silverware (we wanted to just double the number of pieces, but they don't sell the pattern anymore). It's easy enough to know what to do with the old set (box it up for when we have our own place in the mountains) - but OMG do we have a lot of "stray" items. I cannot believe how many old kitchen knives have been shoved in the back, never to be touched since we moved in. Going straight into a box for donation.

 

[Pequenita]

Sorry, Ski Diva! I was probably one of the 20 people who read the Washington Post Book Review section regularly, though, and get the NYT book reviews emailed to me, so I will buy a book I want to read if it's not in the library. But I live in such a small place that storage is an issue, I don't go out of my way to buy books. I will, of course, keep books that were gifted to me.

 

[mustski]

Hair cut & color = necessity. For me, anyway, and not included in my resolution.

This is only a luxury for those who change their hair color and styling as often as the rest of us change ski jackets! There is a *koff* point in life, where hair services are a definite necessity. I will give up almost everything before my monthly salon visits. P

I didn't want to say it out loud but since Pequenita did . . . I don't buy books, unless I've already read them and know that I absolutely will read them over and over again (although there is a limit to that, too). If I'd had to buy every book I'd ever read there would be no money for anything else, ever.

I have bought every book that I have ever read, and I was a lit major so we are talking about a lot of books in my lifetime! Probably my book habit has cost me way more, in the long run, than my ski habit! I can't help it though. I like to hold a book in my hand. I am not adverse to used books if they are in good condition. I avoid libraries because I life soft cover books so I can fold them and curl up and not worry about ruining them. I read to enjoy! I also enjoy ebooks - especially when traveling. On a good vacation (summer) I will read a book in a day no problem. It's a VERY expensive habit!

 

[VickiK]

The average American woman owns 30 outfits—one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine.

Wow.

 

[santacruz skier]

Wow.

What about shoes? Oh dear.

 

[sibhusky]

I stopped dying my hair years ago to save money for skiing and then about ten years ago I stopped getting it styled/cut. I just shove it in a ponytail and done. Once in a while it gets raggedy and I go to the discount hair place and they cut off the ends. That's one or twice a year. Combined those two visits are less than I was paying for one dye job, times ten a year. Oddly, with white hair people notice it more. I have the kind of white hair that looks nice, different streaks of silver color and not yellow.

 

[Pequenita]

I stopped dying my hair years ago to save money for skiing and then about ten years ago I stopped getting it styled/cut. I just shove it in a ponytail and done. Once in a while it gets raggedy and I go to the discount hair place and they cut off the ends. That's one or twice a year. Combined those two visits are less than I was paying for one dye job, times ten a year. Oddly, with white hair people notice it more. I have the kind of white hair that looks nice, different streaks of silver color and not yellow.

I've only seen one or two photos, but I do like your hair!

 

[Jenny]

I've always hoped that I'm lucky enough to go white.

 

[Ringrat]

I think this is great. I feel like most of my possessions are sports equipment, and judging by the contents of my storage room and locker I'm probably right. I have the luxury of having a job I don't need to actually get dressed for (company provided coveralls) so I never shop for either regular clothes or shoes. Every time I do buy something I have a bit of a pang of "do I really need this?" because it seems like I have plenty, though to be honest a lot of the contents of my closet and drawers wouldn't fit me if I tried to put it on. I have a few specific things that I need or want for my upcoming trip to Nepal, but then I should be set for those things for years. I will be starting to shop for a new pair of skis next year, and probably need to think about boots in the next year or two. Again, that pang of guilt. I think "do I really need a storage locker", but the fact is that even the second set of tires pushes me into that situation with my teeny apartment. Then I look around me at so many of the people in the valley I live in that have a massive trailer, boat, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc. and I think that I'm probably not doing too bad.

I think that anything that challenges our prespectives and how we view ourselves and the world is a good thing, though obviously not so much when it's forced upon us by medical issues or something else that's outside of our control. Whether that thing is a challenge to accumulate less stuff, or a challenge to go without TV, or to ski more, I think it's good for us.

Side note, I use GnuCash for tracking finances. I used to use Quicken but when my computer was stolen the program and files were lost so I started with scratch on a free program. It definitely has to be a habit to keep it up, because getting behind on entries and then trying to catch up is a royal pain. It has options to link directly to accounts but I haven't used that.

 

[gardenmary]

When I move to Berkeley in August to finish seminary, I have to figure out what I will need that I can personally transport for a 1 BR apartment (about 600-700 SF). My son is going active duty Army so when I move him out of his condo I can just take his stuff with me for the apartment (I'm renting my house fully furnished). Obviously I can't take everything I've lived with for the last 20-plus years! I am looking forward to a year of living with what I need, not the detritus of a lifetime. I'm hoping that will help me then sort & de-own intentionally and intelligently when I've graduated, since I'll likely be selling.

 

[santacruz skier]

When I move to Berkeley in August to finish seminary, I have to figure out what I will need that I can personally transport for a 1 BR apartment (about 600-700 SF). My son is going active duty Army so when I move him out of his condo I can just take his stuff with me for the apartment (I'm renting my house fully furnished). Obviously I can't take everything I've lived with for the last 20-plus years! I am looking forward to a year of living with what I need, not the detritus of a lifetime. I'm hoping that will help me then sort & de-own intentionally and intelligently when I've graduated, since I'll likely be selling.

Last December I totally sized down and bought a small 1 bedroom condo 1/2 block from the beach… I got rid of tons of stuff, you wouldn't believe… Either sold, gave to friends, or took to Goodwill. I love it and now realize I didn't need all that "stuff." Sadly, I still have lots of clothes……and shoes. Good luck in Berkeley! Great city!

 

[Christy]

I got in the habit of not buying anything in grad school. It ended up being easy not just because I didn't have any money, but neither did any of my grad school friends, and we were all too busy to spend money anyway. The habit of not buying things got so ingrained that I still have to sometimes make myself buy work clothes or whatnot that I know I need, even if I don't feel like spending the money.

But spending on food and travel...that I have zero problem doing now.