Feb. 28. No buy day

 

One Day Easy, 2009 I did a No Buy Year

 What can you do to stop the destruction of America? Some are doing it already by:

• Calling Congress
• Writing Congress
• Flooding Town Halls

However: as individuals it is hard to stop wars, closing of departments and ending vital services. More needs to be done. Now there's a plan to economically boycott those who support that people are losing rights and necessary programs such as:

• Cancer research
• Health information
• Health care
• Consumer information/fraud protection
• Safety in the work place
• Much much more
  

These and other agencies are being accused for fraud and mismanagement. So what if a family is hungry. Jeff Bezos with his networth of over $230 billion will be able to choose which of his 25 bathrooms in his New York mansion he can use to go potty while limiting potty breaks for his employees and fighting against a union. Musk will have less regulations to hamper his wealth growth.

Feb. 28 will be a No Buy day of anything that is not essential. Hitting the donors to this travesty of a government is a good place to start. It's a modern Boston Tea Party, only no need to dress as Indians. We know the long term result of that demonstration.

A day of buying only essentials shouldn't be that hard. I did it for all of 2009.

My motives weren't political. I wanted to declutter and not reclutter.

I prepared. I made sure I had all the paper, printer ink, underwear, socks, cosmetics I would need for 12 months. I even made sure I had enough red hair dye. 

How was it?

• Wow!!! It made life easier. Take the red hair dye. No longer did I have to hold my breath to not be overwhelmed with the odors walking through the perfume department to the hair coloring part of the store.
• I had more time to curl up and read. Thank goodness for the library since I didn't buy books or magazines. I read newspapers on line from several different countries.
• There was more time to walk along the lake. I learned how many colors the lake could be going from brown, through green, through light blue to navy blue. I watched white caps and guessed at their varying heights. 
• I saw families of ducks and swans go from baby birds to toddling to their first swim.
• Because I worked for home, I didn't need any special outfits. Most in my closet were seldom worn anyway. I emptied my closet of things I wouldn't wear again giving the clothes to charity shops.
• I didn't have to fight other people to rummage through racks of clothes in a store that held no interest of me.  
• I could wander in museums, historical sites, and enjoy just looking at things I might not have seen had I been shopping.

I did buy bus and train tickets since I didn't need to buy gas for a non-existent car.

Admission: I did buy two things during the year, one necessary and one emotional.

1. A mop. Mine broke in early September, and I had no intention of washing tile floors on hands and knees for another four months.

2. A poster, a very special poster of an Underwood typewriter. I passed it in a street marché. My father had a franchise when I was a child and spending time at his company held special memories. I did wait until 2010 to have it framed. I get great pleasure out of it 14 years later every time I look at it.

I didn't regret any thing I didn't buy. 

I had more money in my pocket and had put less money in the pockets of others who didn't need my contribution.

At the end of 2009 my buying habits were different. I would think do I really, really, really need that.

I developed three criteria for a purchase:

1. Is it useful?
2. Is it beautiful?
3. Does it have a memory?

My not shopping on February 28, there's a third category...fighting the destruction of my birth country. Please join us.