How are we doing?

If you’re just finding this, I’m trying to spend February not spending money on things I don’t need. I’ve defined need rather broadly. This is not about spending no money. It’s about being aware of what you’re buying and why you’re buying it. It’s about stepping off the consumer treadmill, and insisting that we are more than Homo economicus. We are Homo sapiens sapiens—the creature that is aware that it is aware.

No Buy February’s followers have taken the concept to heart. Just Another Day on The Farm, amysflock, and Put the Fork Down hardly seemed to need to be reminded not to spend money.As my friend Sage at The Flowerweaver explains it, this is a phenomenon of rural living--it’s a lot harder to spend money when you have to drive 25 miles to do so. The suburban road less traveled also has it going on—from reading her, I’m not sure that she doesn’t actually have sheep tucked away somewhere on that surburban lot so she can weave her own wool cloth. (remember Good Neighbors?)

Chiot’s Run has added their own challenge, with Make-Your-Own how to’s on Wednesdays. These terrific folks also made our fantastic No-Buy badge. Grab it from my sidebar (haven’t been able to find someone to code it for me, or however you do that, so it’s just a pdf right now).

Chiot’s Run also blogs at Not Dabbling at Normal, along with several other wonderful sustainability and householding bloggers like Jen at Unearthing This Life. Jen helped get the challenge going by posting the No Buy February challenge at NDIN.

The World According to Julie has been tracking progress on a daily basis with wonderful humor. The post that starts “I made it out of [Costco] only buying food” kind of sums up the whole issue. Julie also posts her kids’ adventures in eating and some fantastic recipes at Just Eat It Already. Jenn’s Cooking Garden has been cooking, and growing, and, of all things, preserving lemons.

As for me, I’ve had some moments, some failures, some successes. I’ve started a list of the things that cross my mind that I “need” which I’ll post on the last day of the month. I’m not sure that I would have bought them anyway, even without the challenge to hold me back, but it’s astonishing the money that my animal brain wants me to spend. I was afforded dispensation by the community (such as it is) for what I thought of as my “foodie” grocery shopping (to which I’m going to have to add coconut oil, thanks to Chiot’s Run). I’ve been out to eat twice, just can’t resist my husband’s big brown eyes when he says we should go out to lunch.

And I confess, on the way to a party last week I couldn’t stand the old, unfashionable, slightly too small in the waist pants I was wearing for another second, and impulsively pulled into the mall and bought a pair of black pants that fit me.

It’s hard to resist the call of Homo economicus.