Modifying the Vows

(I was in NYC this weekend, it was amazingamazingamazing. More on that later.)

So I have 2 days until I take my vow of Nonconsumerism for the month of February.

It started off with my just not buying things other than necessities for the entire month. I don’t neeeeed Mineral Fusion’s foundation powder in Cool 1. I have powder, it’s just not as good, but it’s okay for a month. But in reading the rules, it turns out that I just can’t buy anything NEW. I can’t go out and buy a Prada bag . . . but if I see a used one on eBay, I can buy it? Hm, this really doesn’t sound any different from the way I already live. Now I can see why people are able to do it for a year.

Even though this is the shortest month of the year, it’s still busy, shopping-wise. I have 2 family members’ birthday parties, a bridal shower, Valentine’s Day, and a wedding in March. Valentine’s Day isn’t complicated- I just told Dave we won’t be exchanging gifts this year, instead we could get creative with some ribbon and a jar of honey or something. He was down. Other things I’ve thought of for the birthdays are coupons: One free dinner prepared by me, etc. I can’t knit scarves since I did that last year . . .

But back to the actual consumerism, I started thinking about it this weekend. In NYC, I knew I wanted to shop, but my Nonconcumerism was totally on my mind. I could only find one pair of underwear in my suitcase. I remembered packing that one pair and could have sworn I’d packed more, but couldn’t find them. I also meant to pack my face cleanser and body washes. I didn’t. If it had been February, I’d have hand washed my panties in the shower like I did in Europe and let them dry overnight. But it was January and I was 7 blocks from an H&M. If it had been February, I’d have used my Aveda shampoo as face wash and body wash and no doubt would have survived. (I know! It would be miraculous!!) But. It was January and I was 3 blocks from a Whole Foods with their organic body washes.

I think my biggest challenge will be actually using the resources, like freecycle, etc. I’m more inclined to put off repotting my plant for 28 days and pick up a pot at Teas next month than I am to post a “WANTED: used 20-inch flower pot” post and read through them. But if I don’t, then what will I have learned?

Anyway, should be interesting.