May 26, 2012 | A better way, Cultural chaos, Flashback, No retail shopping
It’s the one year anniversary since I finished the no retail shopping challenge. Why did I do the challenge? Straight from my original blog post: I wanted to live differently, meaning finding creative ways to not buy stuff I really don’t need, to share stuff...
May 31, 2011 | Flashback, No retail shopping, Save $
I decided not to be the ugly neighbor any longer. I didn’t do much to my yard last summer, so this year, it’s looking a little rough. Should I go shopping? This is going to be weird… I chose Home Depot because I had a store credit from a return I...
May 27, 2011 | Cultural chaos, No retail shopping
Wow! It’s been a year already. A year of no retail shopping. It started off as a year of no retail shopping, however it ended up as a year of so much more than that. It would be impossible to sum up the year in one blog post, but I can say this. It’s...
May 25, 2011 | No retail shopping
No, I’m not predicting the end of the world. It’s the last day of the challenge! It’s been a really good year. I thought I might look back at the post from day 1. Wow! A lot has changed since then!! Here’s the first post. Day one of any...
May 24, 2011 | No retail shopping, Read the fine print |
I decided to take the day off yesterday and spend some time playing. I haven’t been to a thrift store in a while but I needed to find some flip flops for my boys and boots for all of us. Yes, I know it’s summer, but I’m tired of ruining shoes on my...
May 23, 2011 | No retail shopping |
Okay, so there’s really nothing to act on. They call this anxiety marketing or pressure marketing. But I’m not marketing anything. I’m just letting you know there’s only 3 days left in the no retail shopping challenge, but I don’t plan...
May 23, 2011 | No retail shopping
Yes, it’s almost the end of the challenge and I’m behind again in blogging. I have the momentum and the desire to keep up the no shopping thing, but I need a break from the journaling thing. I want to sleep in one day instead of getting up at 5am. I...
May 21, 2011 | Ideas, No retail shopping |
I guess if you’re changing something in your life, doing a 180° turn is completely changing to the opposite of whatever you were doing. So, in the case of the no retail shopping challenge, I think I did a 360° turn. Yes, I made a full circle. When I started...
May 20, 2011 | Creative weirdness, No retail shopping, Trying to matter
This is part of an old Apple shirt that I made into a new shirt. I like the tagline ‘think different’. It’s a great slogan and it can be applied to many things. I didn’t think about this when I was coming up with my new domain name, but...
May 20, 2011 | No retail shopping, Save $
I get teased pretty often about my use of paper towels, or should I say lack of use? Over the last year I might have used almost 4 or 5 rolls and 3 of them were in the first part of the year. I don’t have any now. When people come over to eat and I did have...
May 19, 2011 | Downsizing, No retail shopping, Repurposed
One of my neighbors was talking about getting rid of some planters and clay pots that have been sitting on the side of her house for a while. She said her husband was going to throw them out if nobody wanted them. I have no idea if that meant the trash of the thrift...
May 18, 2011 | Flashback, Ideas, No retail shopping
I’ve been reflecting a lot lately over the past year and how my life has been impacted by the no retail shopping challenge. It has taken me in directions I’d never expected and changed my thinking in so many ways. I’m not sure what I was expecting...
May 17, 2011 | No retail shopping, Salvaged
So I did take a day off to pick up the camper and to play a little bit. I have to ‘fess up. I had to make a purchase. There was no possible way around it. I had to buy a tire and some air. Here’s the story. The camper had been sitting for 4 years,...
May 17, 2011 | No retail shopping
I’ve been blogging everyday for almost a year and I’ve never been behind more than a day. I’m two days behind and trying desperately to catch up. I was at a staff retreat for two days and spent one day playing. There’s only 10 days left in...
May 16, 2011 | No retail shopping |
I’m behind on blogging. Saturday, I was in San Angelo picking up a pop up camper. It was an awesome trip… away from the “metro mess” and away from the electronic devices that seem to have too much control in my life. Spending a day enjoying...
May 13, 2011 | No retail shopping
I’m much more organized in the real world than in my virtual life. For some reason it’s easier to throw things under a folder than a rug. I’m going through literally hundreds of CD’s and DVD’s trying to clean up and organize my digital...
May 12, 2011 | No retail shopping
Just in case you ever wondered about the excess in our society, here’s a nice picture of it. No, this was not a shopping trip for personal gain, this was a shopping trip for resale. My friend supported herself and her son for well over a year through an eBay...
May 12, 2011 | Cultural chaos, Flashback, No retail shopping
When I stated the challenge almost a year ago, a few people asked, “Did you buy a bunch of stuff in preparation to not shop for a year?” The answer is no. This was an idea I had when I woke up one morning and I implemented it the moment I thought about...
May 11, 2011 | No retail shopping, Save $, Sharing
I’ve done over 5,000 transactions on eBay. Not recently, and not all purchases either. I had an eBay business from the late 90’s until about 5 years ago. I still shop on eBay and so do my kids. I just had an interesting observation. Many of the items I...
May 9, 2011 | Cultural chaos, No retail shopping |
Okay, so maybe I have taken this paperless thing a bit too far… or have I? Yesterday, Lindsey, my friend and coworker, said the most awesome thing to me. She said, “Happy Mother’s Day!” and followed that up with something like, “I was...
May 9, 2011 | No retail shopping, Salvaged
Happy post Mother’s day! I took off of blogging yesterday to relax after work and take a nap on the trampoline. It’s covered by trees, providing a beautiful shade cover… and lots of sharp branches to hit your head on while jumping. The chainsaw is...
May 7, 2011 | No retail shopping, Save $ |
I was going to wait until the end of the chalenge to do the final financial update, but I thought it was pretty relevant today. Although the financial implications of the no shopping challenge were not a driving factor in starting the challenge, it’s been a...
May 6, 2011 | Cultural chaos, Ideas, No retail shopping
Twenty days left in the challenge. I’m going to answer this question again, as I hear it 3 or 4 times a day now. “When it’s over, are you going to go shopping?” The answer is no. Honestly, the only thing I was going to buy is a 7.5 amp fuse...
May 6, 2011 | Downsizing, No retail shopping |
In efforts to continue the downsizing of my possessions, I had another opportunity yesterday to do something good with them. I gave a bunch of stuff to Jason and Carrie for a yard sale, one that will help fund their mission trip to Uganda, Africa. I really thought...
May 5, 2011 | Cultural chaos, No retail shopping |
I personally don’t understand all the hype with the royal wedding stuff, but then again, I’ve never been one to enjoy large events, movie stars or fame. Listening to the radio about all of the consumerism around the royal wedding didn’t surprise me,...
