January 1st rolled around and I'm proud to say I promptly got to work on my one resolution to actually do the To-Do list, not just re-write it daily. I even put those freshly knit fingerless gloves to soak.
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| Fingerless Gloves |
By night fall, all of the holiday decorations had been put away. Actually put away! As in, put away in the attic, not just put in their storage containers & left unceremoniously all over the house to be put in the attic at some later date. It's a New Year's miracle!
We ate our New Year's Day Hoppin John and as I was finishing mine up, I realized I'd been successful at another resolution I'd been kicking around. Actually, I wouldn't call it a resolution, it's more of a challenge. And it will be a challenge!
See, I'm still suffering from holiday over indulgence. After eating all the Christmas cookies & cakes, the idea of anything more fattening than a raw, fresh vegetable is repulsive. And then there's the bank account. I did great with the gift budget but the holiday food budget.... What budget? The amount of money I spent on holiday food rivals the gross national debt! Frankly, I'm pretty disgusted with myself for spending so much money on so many fattening & unhealthy foods that, while tasting great, left me feeling like I wish I was anorexic.
And that sense of holiday over indulgence left me thinking..... what if I didn't buy any junk food for a month? What if I didn't even shop at all for a month? Just think of all the calories and dollars I'd save.
Can I do it? It's going to be difficult, I won't lie. I have that new Kindle just waiting to be filled with books and of course Amazon knows I have that new, empty Kindle and they keep sending me advertisements for books I should read. And reading more is on my 2017 goals list.... But get a grip woman! I've got at least 10 books already on there waiting to be read, not to mention the shelf full of unread paper books. I can survive one month without buying a book. I think. I hope.
As for the groceries, well the pantry is over flowing. Granted it's over flowing with some strange stuff but it's full. We may eat some rather creative meals, but we'll eat.
And then there's the matter of my purse. I want a new one. I don't like my current one. Of course, there's nothing wrong with it, at least not functionally. I just don't like it and want a new one. But it can wait. Besides, if I'm not out shopping every day and spending money, I don't need a purse or a wallet anyway, right? Right. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
No yarn shopping will be crazy difficult. But it's not like I don't have a giant stash. Plus, I am signed up for the monthly KNITCRATE delivery. And it's probably going to take me all month to complete the projects I already have on the needles anyway....
So, the challenge has started. Can I survive January without shopping? I'll have to do a little shopping. For things like milk and toothpaste.... But not the fun kind of shopping. No yarn (unless it's for a custom order,) no books, no pens (my go-to item when feeling the need to shop,) no mindless grocery shopping. If we run out of something and actually need it for the next meal, then fine, I can buy it. But no mindless grocery shopping just for the sake of shopping.
How many days in January can I actually go without spending a single dollar? Want to take bets?
Good luck. I hope you can do it. I have resolved to use up as much stuff as possible out of the freezer and cupboard.
ReplyDeleteI desperately need to do that with our pantry. There's some seriously strange stuff in there.
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