No More Stuff Part 2: Unexpected Freedom

 

Earlier I wrote here about my Acquisition Suspension, a decision to buy no non-consumable items this year.  One month in and I am loving it!  I honestly feel like I have just quit a part-time job or finished a big volunteer project.  A load has been lifted that I did not even realize I was carrying.

The dominant feeling I have of is of freedom.

The first glimmer of freedom appeared as I did a few Christmas returns.  I had four places to go and expected that it would take half the day.  I was actually finished in 45 minutes.  In the past I would be not only returning items, but also shopping for replacements items, checking out the after-Christmas sales, and taking a peek at new merchandise.

While there is a sense in which it would have been fun to shop, it would have taken a lot of time, required me to make multiple decisions, and exposed me to the stores’ clever merchandising encouraging me to buy even more.  Instead, I was free to leave without entering into the fray.  I just took the money and walked out. 

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No More Stuff: An Acquisition Suspension

Enough is enough.  My resolution for 2013 is to suspend my acquisition, for one year, of any additional non-consumable tangible goods.  No clothes, no shoes, no earrings, no throw pillows, no magazines, no lamps, no dishes and definitely no banana slicers.  I will still, of course, purchase consumable goods such as food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and office supplies.  I will also still purchase things my husband and children need and gifts for others, but will not buy more things for me that sit around taking up space and demanding attention.

I am not doing this to save money or to practice self-denial.  I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with buying and having nice things, as long as you also give generously and avoid debt. But I am doing this because I think it will make my life better, and I think I will learn from it. And it might help me hone my skill in “thinking like a lawyer.” Scented candles are consumable and therefore allowed, right?