I’m having a No Buy Year. A spending freeze.

What do I mean by that? It means I am buying necessities, food and toilet paper and things to help the home function. Insurance, rates, power, internet, water, petrol and phone bills are part of the necessities. Netflix is staying. Not a necessity but an exception.

What I won’t be doing is retail therapy or online shopping. No book shopping. No clothing shopping. No random items just because it’s on sale. Nada. No eating out. No gadgets.

There will be two exceptions. A book festival and the paving stones need changing. Correction: I think that the old paving stones are looking shabby and new ones will look better. It is a want rather than a need. So and the Netflix makes three. Make that four. Paint. When
I run out of paint for my art I will buy more.

This means hopefully I will become better at planning meals. I will appreciate what we already have. Spend more time following creative pursuits, reading, writing, getting dirty in the garden, cooking and walking.

I am doing this as a fun challenge. I’m looking forward to this. I’m not depriving myself of joy. I am focussing on what I have today.

Join me.

And the first job I have is decluttering the house. This will help me with an inventory of what we have and what we don’t need, what we can sell, what we can give away and what needs to go out in the bin. I have started. I can’t say the method is orderly but the first room is the bathroom. I decided that the bathtub needed to be a place of calm. Then after that the bedroom. I have started decluttering so many times over the years but never finished. I gave up part way through because it was overwhelming. I am determined this time. I want to be organised. The declutter will allow me to be so.

Sober as. A rubbish bag.