A New Beginning...

With the beginning of a new year my mind is always thinking about things I can do to make this year a better one. With Christmas behind us again and the VISA at its limit it has got me thinking about ways to save money this year that are actually possible to achieve. I have been thinking about some of the frivolous spending we do that doesn't actually improve our quality of life and considering how to change it. I have also been thinking about our consumerist society and wondering how we can all do better to slow the demand for goods that are cluttering our homes and clogging our landfills.

I have been thinking about humanity's need for new stimulation and feel that our desire for new stuff is a way to try and satisfy this urge but it is such a short-lived fulfilment that has us going back to the stores for more. How do we stop?

Being in the holiday season at present every time I visit the supermarket (and this seems far too often at the moment) I feel the urge to buy a new magazine. I am seduced by the enticing covers and the promise of pretty pictures inside. This despite the 2 new magazines I have waiting at home from my regular subscription and a pile of glossy home and garden magazines given to me by my sister in law when she had finished with them. I have resisted to buy more but the pull is still there to purchase something new. I have watched how my children, who have just received Christmas presents, can go to a mall for one errand and still be saying how they want this and that. I have seen the advertising of the post-Christmas sales and in the past have seen pictures of people queuing to get into shops on their day off! This past Christmas for the first time we actually went shopping on Boxing Day as my teenagers were keen to spend their Christmas money in the sales. It was rather hellish, especially in the shops with the too-loud music! Why do we do this?

So my bright idea for the year ahead... I am going to make an effort every day to find something in my house that I already own that I have not noticed or used or appreciated for a while and make it "new" again so that it gives me a sensation of having bought something without spending any new money. If I can't resist the urge to buy something then I am going to aim to buy secondhand, pre-loved items so that I spend much less and re-use products rather than consume new ones. I aim to spend less money and see whether it will allow me to work as little as possible in my paid profession so I can enjoy life and do some of the things I really want to spend my time doing. (More on that in later posts...) I hope my journey gives you inspiration to try this yourself and see if we can't collectively reduce consumer waste by rediscovering the things we already have and saving some money along the way.

Today I started by sorting through the apps on my phone and in Playstore, deleting ones I never use, then rearranging the layout on my phone and changing my wallpaper to the photo above of the pile of stones I collected the week before Christmas while on a beach walk with my daughter. A sense of order was restored along with a feeling of newness about my phone as it looks different. Simple but effective and it cost me zero dollars. I am looking forward to what I can find tomorrow. I will let you know how I go!