Mid-ish Year "No-Buy" Check-in
How much stuff have I actually bought this year?
When friends check in with me about this project, one of the most commonly asked questions they have is: How’s your No Buy Year going?
It’s always out of genuine curiosity. I think a lot of people just want to know if it’s something they should try. Does it really work? Is it even possible in our late-capitalist society?
For those of you newer to this newsletter and this project altogether, at the end of 2022, in the wake of the Black Friday madness, I declared that I would make 2023 my No Buy Year. This is a concept that I didn’t pull out of my ass, it is, in fact, a commitment that many people make a year and even a few people have written books about it. The concept is to resist buying anything–or most things–brand new for a whole year. It’s meant to help reset one’s mindset around accumulation of shit that has been so ingrained in our capitalist society. It’s an attempt to do our best to not contribute to the 380 million tons of plastic each year, 10 millions of which gets dumped into the oceans.
It’s also a step to take to rediscover and reinvest in the kind of society that is built on relationships and cooperation and mutual care. Part of that is actively participating in systems that run counter to the individualistic, accumulation-based approach that capitalism drives us toward by way of participating in the gift economy.
As such, this No-Buy Year had greater implications beyond just buying less stuff, although that was necessary in its own right. I was keen to rewire my brain to think less about buying and more about the community writ large.
So, how has the No-Buy Year been going?
Well, if you ask my husband–and our bank account–the verdict would be that we’re doing a terrible job. We have not stopped buying shit at all. Which is absolutely true on many fronts. But as I was reviewing the rules we set out for ourselves and the things we are spending our money on, I realized we haven’t done that bad.
The dwindling bank account largely is due to the investments we kind of knew were coming: electrical work that needed to be done to install both a new induction stove and an EV charger, the new induction stove itself, and the down payment and monthly installments of the EV we leased in January. Certainly, these are things and I’m still reckoning with the fact that so much investment in cleaner energy is both 1) financially off limits for the vast majority of Americans, and 2) still part of the same ‘ol consumeristic capitalistic society we are already invested in.
I have bought a few new things, specifically for some travel we had this year such as a very specific neck pillow, a travel planner, and paddle shoes for an upcoming kayak trip to Sweden (stay tuned)—not without doing my due diligence to find the stuff in my neighborhood Buy Nothing. But a lot of the money that has flown out of our bank account this year has been for aforementioned investments, not-so-fun home improvement projects that come with owning a 100-year-old house, and experiences (many of which are going out to eat which I feel like I’m in the constant battle of trying to rein in). Essentially, we spent money on not too much “stuff.” Although, admittedly, I do have a penchant for buying books when I know I have no time to read them and often put “but it’s for book research” as my justification for it. I am, thus, drowning in books and I don’t really feel that bad about it. Alas, this check-in reminds me to stop buying books.
On the stuff front, there’s one area that I can say has been a pretty big success. That is buying clothes. I’m a person who loves clothes and generally finds some kind of capitalistic stress relief via retail therapy. Given that around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to the fashion industry, this feels like a big feat for individual action on my part. And truly, I have managed to rewire my thinking about clothing because of the intentionality that went into this No-Buy Year.
In past years, I’ve probably spent hundreds–if not into the thousands cumulatively–on clothes annually. And more so even in recent years as I opted for buying higher-quality, but more expensive items. Yet, clothes purchases are often made on a whim and then I’d go through what I had in the closet and cull what I wasn’t wearing and put it into some giveaway bag and sometimes consign. I have always been a big thrifter and over the years have trended toward more thrift-store purchases than brand new. But it wasn’t until this year that I became almost exclusively a thrifter.
By way of the No-Buy Year, I made a pact with myself to 1) only buy thrift through my consignment credits at my fave local shop that actually takes my clothes, or 2) allow myself to buy something from a thrift store while traveling (within reason). I have largely kept to this with a few exceptions. I’ve done a bit of extra-thrift purchases locally. And, I’ve purchased a few high-quality this-will-forever-be-in-my-wardrobe new items (aside from underwear and bras). I can count on one hand the brand new items I purchased this year including a non-thrifted Icelandic sweater in Iceland.
The only-buy-with-consignment-credit option has given me a new relationship with the clothes in my closet. I know that if I feel like changing up my wardrobe, I need to first go through my closet and find the things I’m ready to pass on, most of which tend to go right into the consignment shop I’ll then buy my clothes from.
I realize this isn’t an option for a lot of folks given the nature of consignment shopping really depends where you live. Portland has a huge thrift scene and a consignment shop for just about every style out there. Not so for other places. A friend in Spokane does clothing rental. While pricier, it’s another option to change things up without participating in the consumption of more stuff. I’ve found that Buy Nothing is still a great place to acquire and gift your clothes–I never pass up the “clothing train” that goes through our group every few months.
I’m sure I’ll post more on this soon. But in the meantime, I’m going to chalk this up as a success. Yet I still have several more months in this No-Buy Year and this check-in is a good reminder for me to re-commit and continue to be extra conscious.