My Summer of Buying Nothing Challenge

I am giving myself a Summer of Buying Nothing Challenge, June 10th to September 10th.  The following items will be exempt from "buying nothing" but will be restricted to a budgeted amount:

• Groceries and Jenny Craig food
• Gas for Zoё
• Maintenancefor Zoё
• Pre-existing bills
• Medication and doctor's visits
• Yoga monthly membership
• Magick and coven supplies
• A small Father's Day gift and/or card
• DMV fees for Zoё and new driver's license

Along with buying nothing, I will also be evaluating where I can reduce the things I don't need/don't use now that I have a clearer understanding of the items I use in my much smaller (but bigger than I hoped for) space--yah no more two bedroom apartment, hello shared house.  I will also be looking at where I can make changes in my current routine that will allow for me to make further reductions, such has using the communal microwave down stairs and selling my personal microwave.  Sadly I had to purchase a refrigerator because there was literally no room for me to even have a gallon of milk communally stored (but I did choose a small energy star fridge/freezer combo).

So what does this mean right now?  Well it means I'm gonna have to find a hair detangling option from what I got that doesn't leave my hair greasy and actually detangles.  I've tried ACV, lavender water and coconut oil and I'm still shooting blanks.  This weekend is DMV, Zoё maintenance and recouping from my reunion last weekend.

This week...

I'm alive, but haven't been feeling too grand lately. I'm still not feeling too good today, but I finally got some much needed sleep last night which will hopefully help me kick whatever has infected my body. Due to my illness I feel like I've fallen off the Buy Nothing Challenge bandwagon with my over consumption of fast food this week.  I had manage to go the entire Buy Nothing Challenge without my beloved fast food breakfast, but said illness made me crumble and I bought breakfast two or three times this week, plus fast food for diner/lunch at least another three times, and then there was my pizza extravaganza on Friday night.  The only non food purchase I made this week was a trip to the movie theatre last night after I gave my cat Oscar to my parents for good.  I was very upset because Oscar is my first cat, but since the last time he spent a week at my parents' house he's been peeing on my furniture.  So he is the first of my cats to be rehomed before I hear about a new job.  I am confident that I'm going to hear something soon, it just sucks not hearing.  I really would like to hear soon, but I've got around 40 applications in so something got to come up sooner or later.

Day 6 and Food is Going to be the Problem

Alright, so it's day 6 and I've caved three times already for fast food. I see a pattern and I'm gonna try to tackle it. I can do this. I will do this. Yes food is important, but fast food is not. I knew this was going to be challenging, I just didn't realize how challenging. One idea for tackling this that I'm going to start implementing next week, is to go to the grocery store and buy just what I need for the next day. (I have, lets just call them, food issues.) This challenge is highlighting where I need to work a little harder than I have been.

In other news, the universe must be aligning in preparation for me to hear about a job as my mother and grandma are both in full on freak out about me possibly working overseas. I'm calm and waaay more collected than I ever thought possible about the opportunity to go and learn (and grow). I have arrangements for my car if I can't sale it before I leave, I'm desperately trying to find foster homes for my kitties, and I'm feeling good about the decluttering and lightening efforts (even though I keep finding more stuff...I think it's multiplying while I sleep).

I got compliments on my hair today, so the no 'poo must not look as bad as it feels to me. My hair is oilier than when I was using the LUSH shampoo bar. But the ends have a cute little curl/wave to them that I could get used to if the top didn't look so oily to me.

I also finally finished my beret I have been working on for a few weeks. It of course is way to big, but that's what I get for attempting to adjust a pattern for size 10 and 12 needles for a size 13 needle. The pattern was supposed to be a super easy beginner's pattern, but it totally baffled me. I am proud that I got something that looks close to a beret, even if it doesn't really fit. I've learned a valuable lesson and got to work on my purling in the process.

I started a few cloth produce bag tonight as well from some fabric that I had been saving. I cut a bunch more out, so once I have the collection a picture will follow.

I was ready to give up my Buy Nothing Challenge...

...and go pay for a drop-in yoga class, but it seems I thwarted myself. I hopped in the car and started driving to the yoga studio that Fatty and I found on our walk around Occoquan a few weekends ago. I was half way there before I realized I didn't have my wallet! I had moved my wallet to my book bag and failed to remember this, thus not grabbing the book bag as I headed out the door completely prepaired to give myself a pass for spending on a yoga class.

So while I was completely ready to give up my challenge on day four, a simple change in my routine prevented me. Instead of doing yoga I went and did some window shopping and price comparisons. And you know what, leaving the stores empty handed felt pretty good ('cause I know if I had my wallet I would have found something that I would have wanted to buy and then I would have had to drag it out to the car and then eventually into the apartment).

Even though I came really close to failing at my challenge four days in, I found other way to entertain myself and not spend any money too. It's pretty easy to say no to buying things when you don't have your wallet, so I could look at everything and not have to drag it all around.

Day 3 and Going Strong

The last of my Freecycle claims where successfully picked up last night! I'll wait until next week to relist my rolling duffel that everyone seemed to forget (all my other items had multiple replies) and maybe I'll find a few more things to list along the way.

I feel really good about the decluttering process in my bedroom and the living room/kitchen. They aren't 100% decluttered, but a huge dent has been made in the clutter. My next two big decluttering challenges are my filing cabinet and my craft room.

I'm definitely using my handicap parking less, and finding it way less stressful. Now I just pick an aisle and drive down until I see an open parking space. Depending on what time I make it to work I can either find an open parking space or I'm stuck using the handicap parking space unless I want to park outside the compound. I'm talking about a 30 minute time difference, not a two hour time difference.

My dad's supposed to come up this weekend and get the hutch and chest of drawers that I managed to empty. Once he does that I can move my desktop computer from the living room to my bedroom and finish cleaning off the desk out there. And then I can sale that desk. The cats will be very sad as it's become their new lounging place (well it was always Bubbles' lounging place even when it was covered with crap).

As for as my Buy Nothing Challenge goes, I'm doing pretty good after the initial laps. The only thing bought yesterday was some much needed groceries, and I only spent $16. The loot wasn't huge: milk, two boxes of fiber filled cereal, low acid orange juice, sugared ginger from the bulk bins, a gluten free (as far as I could tell) granola from the bulk bins, and a peach and nectarine (my only impulse buy and my fruit salad lunch today). I restrained from buying tea (a weakness of mine) and borax and washing soda (I want to make my own laundry and dish detergent....but I gotta use up what I got first).

Day 1 of Challenges

Well I survived day one.

Did pretty good on my 52 Weeks challenge. Today I had to go take a one hour class about my Directed Research Project (ugh. 80 page min.) and run a few other errands. I did really good and didn't park in the handicap spaces once, even when one was more readily available than a general parking space at one stop. Also made a huge dent in the clutter on my main computing stations out in the living room. Had a few pick ups scheduled through Freecycle. While none of them went without a hitch, and I had several no shows I gave it a good try and will try again and be more specific with the people who are picking up to hopefully avoid any more no shows. I even listed a bunch more things this evening. So I haven't given up hope for Freecycle.

I didn't do as well on the Buy Nothing Challenge as I had to buy lunch before my class, poor planning on my part. But I'll be more prepared next time. My only other purchase today was some B-2 for my migraines (per my nuero) and gas for my hungry car and both are within the rules.

An Interview, HR, and Buy Nothing Challenge

Well I've had my first interview since finding out I was getting sack at the end of the month. The interview was last Friday and I felt like it went really well, but I haven't heard anything back yet and it's been six days.

The HR department is finally starting to look for positions for me internal to the company. Yep, they've known since the first week of June and it's now the second week of July. Real encouraging folks. After meeting with HR yesterday the plan is to find me an internal job using my connections from my first job with the company, help desk, as many of my help desk co-workers have moved on to different technical jobs and I'm desperate to get back into the technical work (though graphic design, when I go a chance to really sit and do it, was way more technical than anything else I have done over the last two years). If they are unsuccessful in finding a position by the 31st I will be officially laid off with a severance package while they continue to look for a position for me.

So really August is the perfect time for Crunchy Chicken's

I can continue to declutter my apartment and will have to officially break my fast food breakfast addiction (which I've been really good about this week, but that's probably because my bridge fell out Saturday and I ended up having a root canal on Monday). I'll have pictures soon to show my progress of decluttering my desk and hutch in my bedroom. The hutch is officially empty now, and the only things that don't currently have a "home" are three things that need to be framed. Not bad. Now just to get my dad to come by and get it and the chest of draws that I managed to empty.

I'm off to the 'Noke this weekend to see my best friend, Laura, and destress. I was supposed to go down over the Fourth but was sick and in bed the first two days with the exception of getting up to get pizza (which was delivered, bad me on so many levels) and then I managed to make it from my bed to the couch on that Sunday. I come bearing gift on this trip: Christmas/Yule in July little presents and kitchenwares for Laura and Sarah's house. Oo, I've got to pack the car and my overnight bag tonight since I'm leaving after work tomorrow (goes and writes self a note).