Buy Nothing Project February 6, 2021 Personal This year, I started a new personal project; a buy nothing project. I heard about it while reading an article from New York Times called It’s Not That Hard to Buy Nothing. The idea of buying only essential things may sound strange and unfamiliar, but that’s ok. In our consumerism driven culture, it’s hard to imagine not to purchase anything. To you, a reader, this idea may sound easy and hard to follow at the same time when you think about it. Our brains are an expert at making excuses and protruding things as essentials even when something is not essential. Under the essentials category, I only count things I couldn’t live or function generally without. For example, salad and olive oil are essentials, but a cooking book isn’t. Spotify account is essential since it provides me so much value, but buying a new vinyl isn’t. I could live without Spotify, but it would make my life so much worse since I listen to music to relax, workout and work. I decided to try this challenge for myself for a few reasons. I think it’s important to understand why you want to do something. I’ve learned that having a purpose and setting boundaries helps me stick with habits longer. In some cases, I don’t even think about them as habits, but as something I do every day, like brushing my teeth. Firstly, I wanted to minimize things I own. I wouldn’t call myself a minimalist, but I like living an intentional life. Two years ago, I decided to start removing clutter from my life, and it’s been a wild ride. So buying new things doesn’t make sense for me. I don’t need/want more stuff, and I know that it’s not going to make me happy in the long run. Secondly, I think it’s beneficial for my mental health. I feel a lot better not being a full-time participant in a consumeristic culture. Sometimes I even feel sorry for people who buy new things they don’t need almost every day. Since social media and targeted advertising, this is becoming a severe problem that will only worsen. Ads are getting smarter, and we are consuming more and more. More prominent companies are getting bigger, wealthier, and more aggressive with their approach to selling you more products. When was the last time you created something? Lastly, this challenge can be extremely beneficial for your finances. Even though I haven’t started it because of this reason alone, I feel a lot better not spending a lot of money. I don’t hesitate to buy a more expensive gift or invite friends out for lunch (not in corona times, sadly). I wrote this post mostly to tell you that today was the first day since January 1st, 2021, that I wanted to buy something. I didn’t, I make it myself (with the help of my grandpa). I sold my older electric guitar and my only guitar strap with it, so I needed a new one. It took me a few hours to find the right materials and to make it a finished product. I used different belts, and I think it looks good. I already tested it, and it works as intended. There are minor issues that I might want to fix in the future. I will post some photos once I add a custom patch to make it official. You can also borrow things from your friends, family or local library (books). In some cases where you have to buy something that isn’t an essential you can also check second-hand shops. I’ve learned so much. I think I will need to build more things because of this challenge, another plus! Tags: Minimalism HandMade BuyNothingProject