September No-Buy In Review

This month was actually supposed to be called an "anti-consumption month," but I wasn't completely successful with the whole "not consuming" so...oh well! I actually can't believe September is over. At the same time it feels like I turned 18 a year ago (I'm a virgo). I decided to do a no-buy or anti-consumption month to commemorate the occasion. Happy birthday me! And just to get my life together :) It's pretty self explanatory: I didn't buy anything non-essential for an entire month. I live with my parents doing remote classes (that's college these days). They buy the groceries and other essentials for the households. So fortunately, there's virtually nothing I have to buy. I am eternally grateful. Overall, I had a very interesting experience with mixed outcomes and lots of revelations. Let's dig in!

-A Lil' Background-

My minimalist/zero waste journey began around my 17th birthday. I was introduced to the plastic crisis, fast fashion, and I decluttered my space and made sure to buy things mindfully. You might think that after an entire year I have the answers to everything. WRONG. During the summer, I spent a lot -- that's an understatement -- pretty much ALL of my time watching YouTube videos. I had no obligations and decided that watching YouTube videos mindlessly was the definition "living life." 

The irony is that the majority of the videos I watched were, drum roll please... about minimalism. 

I never realized how much these videos were rewiring my brain to want things. I found myself putting a lot of attention on material items. I would browse sustainable jewelry websites and found myself thinking that those jewelry pieces would make my life better. I should have them, I would think. I would watch videos about having a minimalist wardrobe and would look at my closet with dissatisfaction, disappointment, and would think of ways to make my wardrobe match the wardrobe on the screen. 

But there was nothing I should have felt dissatisfied about. Other than the fact that I wasn't doing anything productive or meaningful. I had everything I could possibly need and I knew this was no way to live. But where was I supposed to begin? I had done all the decluttering I possibly could. I recalled watching a few videos that touched on "no-buys." I figured doing some sort of challenge would in turn challenge the deeply entrenched idea that things will make my life better. I pledged not to buy anything in September and avoid consuming digital content as much as possible. I called the month "my anti-consumption month."

I needed to prove to myself that my desires in life weren't that shallow. I wanted more. Right? I had begun journaling about this challenge a few days before and surprised myself when I wrote the question, "what is life beyond consuming?" It seemed like a simple question, but I didn't actually know the answer because all I was doing was consuming YouTube content. I would go for walks maybe once a week if I was lucky and I had stopped working out. What was life beyond consuming? This was the question I would try to answer during the anti-consumption month. 

Now, was that question answered? Yes and no.

-The Goal-

I may have already answered this question and it may seem straight forward, but I'll go a little deeper. The goal of this "anti-consumption month" was, surprise surprise, to decrease my consumption of things, but more specifically, to stop wanting new things. They wouldn't make my life better. Another goal was to reduce internet consumption, particularly YouTube. YouTube was my freakin' weakness. I wanted to experience life through creating, not absorbing (hence this post). I bared the golden question, "what is life beyond consuming?" in mind. 

Another goal was to give others my time, rather than wallow in my problems. There are so many people out there without a bed to sleep on, who are poor by design (because of the color of their skin). My time would be better spent learning about other people who deserve my attention rather than rewatching a YouTube video that won't add value to my life. I decided I would dedicate time to learn about all things Black Lives Matter. 

I'm sure you're dying to know if I was successful in this challenge. Did I buy anything? Did I have binge episodes of YouTube? In short, I was successful in not buying anything and a little less successful at limiting my digital consumption...

-The Successes

One of the biggest successes was adopting the mindset, "Newer isn't better. It's just newer." That's a direct quote from The Minimalists. Don't get me wrong, I had my moments of temptation and every time they came around, I would hear that quote in my head and would go about my day. I chipped away at the idea that buying something new, like a piece of sustainable clothing or jewelry, would improve my life. Very few things in this world can do that. Even sustainable things.

I finally read a book! The first I've read in a long time. I think it's been two years since I've actually read a book from cover to cover. I did some creative work; I created a collage illustrating the life I wanted and the life I would leave behind. I made some other quirky collages and doodled a lot (I have about three pages of doodling!). 

I journaled often to stay engaged with the challenge. Through journaling I figured out what I wanted in life, what brought me joy. That was quite the revelation. It simply allowed me to take a step back and actively reflect on everything in my life. I fulfilled my goal of learning more about various sectors of racial justice. I learned about environmental racism and redlining and realized there is still so much more to go. That was a different kind of revelation.

Finally, I spent more time with my family. I was thinking about my material possessions too much to give the people around me my attention. Admittedly, I still could be spending more time with them, but they're only good in small doses :) I played a lot more games; I've been playing chess with my brother. Oh how I've missed chess! Other recent favorites include Spot It and Set. I've also been talking more to family members on the phone, which has deepened our relationship.

& The Failures-

Oh yes, there were failures. It's all part of the journey right? For starters, I did not cut down on my YouTube consumption as much as I wanted to. On the day after my 18th birthday, I stayed in bed and spent literally the entire day watching YouTube, filling my brain with unnecessary, material desires. From there, I was rolling right along for about two-thirds of the month and in the final stretch, I had another minor relapse. I will say however that I watched less videos about minimalism and more book videos. And when I did watch minimalism videos, I bared those important questions and quotes in mind. I didn't use the default mindset of wishing I had the things other people had. 

I also browsed on a few websites, but significantly less than I used to. I think I browsed all of three times. It's all about the positives!

-My Take-

I'm shocked to say that there were more successes than failures (a testament to my negative thinking). I changed a lot more than I expected and don't want to stop now. If you feel like you're in the same boat as I once was (and still kind of am in) or if you need a surefire way to save money, I recommend trying out a no-buy/anti-consumption challenge. Like I said there were both successes and failures and it might be like that for you, but I guarantee the successes will outweigh the failures. Here are some quick tips I have for doing a successful no-buy:

1. Stay away from advertising as much as possible.

I should have followed this advice when I was doing my no-buy. I recommend unsubscribing from brands that keep emailing you (that way you may also receive less junk mail), use less cable if that's an option (I can't believe I'm practically recommending Netflix), and maybe take a break from social media. Ads are the main reason we feel like we don't have enough. I can attest to that. Of course advertising will inevitably follow us everywhere. Stalker. But it's our choice whether we choose to listen.

2. Journal to hold yourself accountable.

I did this for the majority of the challenge and it really helped. Every few days I would sit down, jazz playing in the background, and reflect on how things were going so far. Through one journaling session, I had multiple realizations about my life. If I hadn't done this, I think I would have opened the door to much more of feeling inadequate.

3. Read anything and everything.

Find books to help you stay engaged. I found a book that directly related to what I was doing called, The Year of Less: How I stopped shopping, gave away my belongings and discovered life is worth more than anything you can buy in a store by Cait Flanders. You can start with this and maybe move to other books about intentional living. Whatever you want!

Bonus tip: Declutter.

Decluttering will allow you to see how much you really have. It allowed me to see that despite feeling like I constantly needed things, the very fact that I was able to discard so many things from my life said otherwise. This is an incredibly satisfying process that will quite literally give you room for other things in your life that matter.

-Future Plans-

So what's the plan? Am I satisfied with my findings? Am I going back to buying stuff? Heck no! During this anti-consumption month I've taken a lot of time to think about what comes next. Here's a brief outline:

Anti-Consumption Year 2021: You heard right. I will be "not buying things" for an entire year.  September was kind of a test run to see how I liked it, how it impacted me. I want to keep pushing that need of not needing, you know? I'll be posting more about the specifics very soon.

Week-Long YouTube Ban: I am currently on a week-long ban of YouTube. It's been tough, but I have books to keep me company. I have a legitimate addiction to YouTube and this seems like the best way to combat it. I plan on doing more of these bans as well as month-long bans frequently. Let's see how it goes.

November No-Buy: In the spirit of Thanksgiving I plan on doing another no-buy in November; just as a way to prepare for the grand year ahead. Every day I might even keep a gratitude journal and write about three things I'm grateful for. (I did this for a class once and it was very helpful). It'll be a cool experiment.

There you have it. I walked out of this anti-consumption month thinking I had barely changed, but clearly I have. This challenge left me incredibly grateful for everyone and everything in my life. In closing I want to share something my mom said to me (I hope she's not reading this). The weekend before my 18th birthday my family and I took a trip to New Hampshire and hiked three spectacular mountains. On one of those mountains, we were sitting at the peak, staring off into the mountains ahead and all we could hear was the wind; no cars, no honking, no nothing. Stillness. 

My mom was sitting next to me and she said, "when you're surrounded by nature, you realize that you really don't need anything else."