“Oh, sure,” he began. “I’m not going to buy anything new this year.”

‘Are you crazy??’ I thought. ‘But we need stuff!’

But do we really? I began thinking about it. And this is what I came up with:

We need food, shelter, and sleep. Maybe a friend or two. And that’s really it.

Last year, I noticed a change in my habits. The economy had something to do with it, but a lot of it came from asking myself why I wanted to buy this thing I didn’t need or this shirt that I’d wear once and forget about. I began to love the hunt of finding stuff at the thrift store. I started buying more things used. I liked the idea that I was making use of things that were already in our consumer cycle.

But mostly, I found that the less stuff I accumulated, the more complete my life felt. I didn’t miss anything that I had thought about buying.

So this year, I’m going balls out. I’m making a plan to not buy anything new. The point is not to challenge myself, but to live more simply. I think. 🙂

Wish me luck!

Courtney