Simplify The Holidays - Buy Nothing Xmas

Now that we have successfully simplified Black Friday with BND, it is time to do the same for the upcoming holiday season. The Centre For A New American Dream has something to offer in this regard.

The following is from their website:

"The holidays, meant to be a time of peace, reflection, and celebration, too often exhaust rather than uplift us. If you sometimes feel trapped by the shopping, spending, and frenzied preparations, you aren’t alone. 

Increasingly, Americans are tired of the commercialization of the season and want more of what matters… not just more stuff. This year, you don’t have to rack up credit card debt or get swept up in the season’s commercialism. Instead, consider creating holidays that instill more meaning into the season and encourage more sharing, laughter, creativity, and personal renewal."

There are many good suggestions for simplifying the holiday season. If you want less stress and more joy at this time of year check out https://www.newdream.org/programs/beyond-consumerism/simplify-holidays/ .

Happy stressless, crapless and joy-filled holidays celebrating all that is good and free. The return of the sun, Winter Solstice, is almost upon us (in the northern hemisphere).

Love and light to all.

Buy Nothing?

In spite of the name of this blog, I have to ask, is it at all possible to buy nothing? Even for 24 hours, as many will be trying to do one week from today during Buy Nothing Day? Talk about a challenge.

Unless you are living in a totally self-sufficient setting (which is difficult, but possible), one pretty much is a slave to our "you-must-pay-for-everything" existence. They will find a way to monitize one of the last hold outs, the very air we breathe, one day.

I imagine in the near future a "Big Air" CEO will be stating publicly that he didn't think that breathing was a basic human right, and therefore the little people should be charged for consuming this valuable privately-owned resource.

In preparation for Buy Nothing Day, Linda and I were discussing if we could make it through that one 24 hour period without buying anything. It was a little frustrating.

In order to buy absolutely nothing on November 25 (shopping-oriented blogs call this day Black Friday) we could not buy any power from the utility. For us, like many people dependent on the grid, that would mean no electricity. That would also mean no heat, because our pellet stove requires electricity to work.

Then we thought about our vehicle, for which we pay insurance and registration. Each and every day of the year we are buying a few dollars of permission and protection for our van so we can drive it two or three times a month.

I would love to have a pure, unblemished by commerce Buy Nothing Life, but as we found out, that is difficult to achieve in the modern world, even for 24 hours. However, I can't think of a better goal to work toward, and that is what Buy Nothing Day reminds me of each year.

One more week and let's celebrate the non-commercial life, unbound and free, in any way we can. And no, I am not changing the name of this blog to "Not Buying Just About Anything That They Want Me To Buy", even though it may be more accurate.

Wishing you a simple weekend. Remember to breathe deep while it is still free.

Hello Good People Of Earth

Hello good people of Earth, still the nicest planet in the known universe. While my longest break from blogging since 2009 was very relaxing, I really missed writing here. I missed the interactions that we have while sharing thoughts and ideas.

Most of all, I missed sharing our deep desire to live differently upon this planet that we love so much.

Therapist William Glasser writes that humans' deepest desires are: 1) to love and be loved, and 2) to do something one believes is worthwhile.

For Linda and I, maintaining the Not Buying Anything blog fulfills both. Here we express our love for Earth, for nature, and for all of you who visit here. When we read comments together, we feel the love from readers. We like it a lot, and think it is a worthwhile effort.

But an occasional break is nice.

Since our summer sabbatical began there have been oil spills, impassioned pleas to check global climate change, the strangest US election I have ever witnessed, and an over-the-top militarized response to peaceful protesters with legitimate concerns.

But still only crickets from the MSM and most of the general public. Where is the outrage?

20 years ago we had a coffee mug that said, "If you aren't outraged you aren't paying attention."  Two decades have passed, during which time things have continued to deteriorate, and still no outrage.

Linda and I talked recently about updating the slogan for today's situation. We came up with:

"If you aren't outraged you may be a brain-dead zombie."

Except instead of stumbling around saying, "brains!", we say, "More shopping!" "More money!" "More stuff!" "More!"

What does it take to get the attention of consumers across the land blithely pretending that nothing is wrong with the state of the world, and that their actions aren't directly contributing to the whole mess?

Obviously this blog must go on. Thank you for all your encouragement.  It is good to be back.

Lower, Lower, Lower

Here is how to get by in our crowded, chaotic world - lower your expectations. It has been shown to be the key to happiness.

Next step? Lower your expectations some more. OK. Now - lower, lower, lower.

Case in point. I am running out of dish rags, so I went to my stash of old rags in the rag bag. These are all bits and pieces I decided long ago were no longer suitable for service as originally intended.

As I looked through the bag I found a few old dish rags. Today, when I am in need of a few, they looked perfectly fine. They didn't even have holes in them! I guess I have lowered my expectations since they made their way to the rag bag, because they look just fine now.

I took the old dish rags out and have started using them at my kitchen sink, amazed that even after years and years of living simply I am still finding ways to simplify even more. And I am buying even less. No amount of shopping could be as satisfying as that.

I have, and continue, to lower my expectations. But only materially.

While my life is materially sparse, it has plenty of opportunity to be mentally, socially, and spiritually rich. And that is what really counts. We should expect more from life than perpetually spending money buying stuff and always expecting more.

Lower your expectations. Be happy.

Reduce Waste In One Easy Step

The results of our cultural addiction to buying more than we need can be found in trucks like these.

What are the easiest ways to reduce waste? I asked my search engine that question to see what kinds of things would be suggested. I can think of one very easy way, perhaps even the best way. But it was missing from most of the information that I checked out.

There were definitely some very good suggestions. The following were some of the ways that were suggested to reduce waste on the sites I looked at:

• Buy items made of recycled content, and use and reuse them as much as you can.
• Buy in bulk.
• Buy things with less packaging.
• Buy rechargeable batteries.
• Buy a hybrid car.
• Buy for durability, not disposability.
• Buy used.

You can see what these all have in common. Buying, buying, buying. What if we dramatically reduced how much we buy?

Altering our buying habits can help, but reducing how much we buy is a more effective strategy. Preventing waste production, rather than reduction through the production and purchasing of slightly different, "greener" things is the way to go.

Taking the prevention route has many advantages.

• Reduces the need for procuring new raw materials. Mining and resource extraction to meet consumer demand is degrading ecosystems everywhere.
• Saves energy, and therefore reduces green house gases.
• Helps save the environment for future generations. Our kids and grandkids are going to have to live somewhere. 
• Reduces the amount of money you have to spend. Maybe you can work less. Or save more.
• Cuts the amount of waste recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators.
• Ensures that the things you do have will be used to their fullest extent.

Waste reduction in one easy step. Stop buying so much stuff. How hard can that be?

Friends of NBA

Wait - come back.

This blog has a side bar item that says "Join Not Buy Anything". It is a google item called Friend Connect (FC), and it enables readers to sign up and receive notification of our new posts in their reader. Lately I have noticed what appeared to be a mass exodus from this service.

It was a mystery. The number of followers was falling rapidly.

I pondered a few possible scenarios. Was it the years long, mind-numbing repetition of my pro-simple living message? Did I use the f word? Had so many people switched to post-consumer lifestyles that NBA was obsolete?

I decided to do some research to see if there was something other than a carefully planned corporate-lead shadow group trying to take NBA down. In doing so, I solved the mystery.

Maybe. This is what I found.

Googlecorp has been doing some tweaking to FC, and now requires readers to have a Googlecorp account. If you signed up through any other provider, you may have noticed that your connection to our blog has disappeared recently without you doing anything.

The removal of these non-google account profiles caused the decrease in our blog followers, and would explain why NBA might not be showing in your reader any more.

I think. It could be a corporate shadow group trying to shut us down. Or maybe 20 some readers all decided at the same time that our gig wasn't for them any more. I guess it is possible. But improbable. It's all about the mathematics.

If you have been unceremoniously dumped from FC against your will, you can sign up again with a google account, or if that is unacceptable, you can sign up for email notifications.

We appreciate your interest and your support, and wanted to share the information about this change just in case it affects you. 

From Our Hearth To Yours

Linda and I would like to wish all NBA readers a happy and contented New Year. May 2016 be your best yet.

“Let our New Year's resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.”

- Goran Persson

Boycott Corporate Malfeasance

Evil doers abound these days. There are so many things to boycott that it is hard to keep track. Linda and I have been growing our list of boycotts for years as we learn more about the way business is run these days. Are we buying from companies pulling a VW and lying to us about their practices?

The responsible consumer must do a lot of research these days to find out who is doing what.

They don't make it easy. It is almost as if corporations are trying to hide something from us, and they are - the list of nefarious activities by corporate entities is well documented.

Whether it is United Fruit overthrowing the government of Guatemala, Union Carbide's Bhopal disaster, or Enron ripping off investors for 25 billion dollars, corporate malfeasance has become business as usual rather than isolated events.

The following is a list of just a few companies that come to mind that are included in our ongoing boycotts. The longer we thought about the list the longer it got. We could add more, as you will be able to as well.

Shell

Exon

MacDonalds

Walmart

Starbucks

Coke

Unilever

Monsanto

Kraft

Nestle

With mergers and name changes it is increasingly difficult to avoid crappy business practices. The simplest thing is to buy as little as you can, thus avoiding supporting businesses that have a net negative overall benefit to humans and other living things. 

No one in charge seems to have the integrity and moral compass to revoke the corporate charters of highly organized and entrenched criminal business organizations. But we can evict immoral companies from our lives.

Indeed, this is what they are most afraid of - us choosing to make them and their crap irrelevant in our new world. If enough people do so, eventually the corporations themselves will truly and gloriously disappear into the pages of a troubled corporate history. 

And the world will rejoice. What companies are you boycotting? 

Crap Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

An electrical short can occur in this treadmills' motor, causing electrocution, shock and fire hazards.

In the period 2003-2012 there were 30 reported deaths in the US associated with treadmills. Reports show how this health product may unexpectedly accelerate, electrocute users and start on fire.

Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the US alone more than $1 trillion annually.

Not only does the consumer culture kill, injure and maim, it is also extremely expensive.

"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction."

Is there a reasonable risk of injury or death? What consumer products have a reasonable or acceptable risk of injury or death?

Most of them? All of them? If not directly, then at least indirectly from the hazards associated with the resource extraction, manufacture, transportation, use and disposal cycle that everything we buy goes through.

But some have been demonstrated to be directly deadly.

"CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years."

The following is a tiny selection of the items recalled in 2014.

- a children's hoody that could strangle the wearer.

- a children's swing that could disconnect.

- a TV that can fall from its cracked base.

- a crossbow that can fire without the trigger being pulled.

- a toilet system that can burst and shatter the toilet tank.

- cocktail glasses that can break unexpectedly.


See here for the complete 32 page list from last year. All are consumer products that have been known to cause death or injury, or cause property damage.

You  can also enter a product name on the site to see if there have been any recalls of things you may be thinking of buying, or already have in your home.

Crap kills. Or injures. Or burns your planet down. Best to stay away from as much of it as possible, whether officially flagged by the CPSC or not.

Comments Encouraged

It has been said that a blog without comments is not a blog. I am not sure what a commentless blog would be then (an archive of writing perhaps), but I admit that comments are definitely nice.

Only a small fraction of readers leave comments, and thank goodness for them - comments do turn a blog into something special. They add new dimensions of sharing, encouraging and enlightening from which we all benefit.

Over the past year Linda and I have given away most of our possessions, uprooted our lives on one coast, and replanted them on another 6,000 km away. One of the most noticeable and reassuring constant in our lives throughout this tumultuous trip has been our blog and the amazing, supportive commenters.

We read every single comment together, and marvel at their contribution to our lives and our blog project. We have felt supported on our journey not only with moving, but with living simply as well, which is our larger and most important adventure.

The only problem I have with comments is the fact that I do not always give them the attention they deserve, and write responses in a timely fashion. I wouldn't want anyone to feel that we do not value what is shared with us (and everyone else that stops by here).

Comments on Not Buying Anything are encouraged and appreciated. They make this a blog, which properly is a two way open communication platform.

As NBA reader/contributor Terri said recently (in a comment) "the commenting community on this blog is truly helping me transform my life".

We feel the same way, and we thank all commenters past, present and in the future.

Baking Bread Might Be Good For You

"Going gluten-free seems somewhat faddish."

I am perplexed by the current anti-bread movement. How did such an ancient dietary staple get so badly burned?

I can understand if we are talking about the mass produced cardboard-like stuff that grocery chains sell. I bought some last week because it was half price. At 97 cents a loaf it still wasn't worth it.

What will we break if we don't break bread? Can we still refer to money as 'dough' or 'bread' as we once did in more leavened days? What will we give for wedding presents if toasters are now obsolete kitchen clutter?

Linda and I have been baking our own bread products for the past 13 years, and baking has become a welcome weekly ritual that nourishes physically, mentally and spiritually. Preparing bread is an intimate interaction with your food that is well worth making time in your life for.

How fortunate that I don't have celiac disease, a gluten intolerance, wheat allergy or other sensitivity to grains. It seems that not many other people do either, and that perhaps this whole anti-bread trend is a tad half-baked.

"There are certainly people who have a problem with gluten that’s not autoimmune or allergic. And yet, the data suggest that almost two-thirds of people who think they are gluten-intolerant really aren’t." 

- Darshak Sanghavi, paediatric cardiologist writing at Slate.com

If you have a wheat intolerance and can't eat bread I am sorry. If you don't, baking your own bread is a worthwhile, money saving, health bolstering activity you may wish to try. 

One Million

One million is a big number. It is enjoyable to say it just like Dr. Evil - ONE MILLION! You can't repeat it without engaging your enthusiasm.

I was pretty enthusiastic when I had a run-in with one million this weekend. But first I had to put this number into perspective for myself. This is what I found out.

Facts About One Million

• number of Canadians being surveilled by a private Montreal firm for alleged illegal downloads
• number of seconds in 12 days
• number of grains of salt in one cup

It would take about a week to count to one million. It is a significant number, even in a time when there are billionaires everywhere.

More Facts About One Million

• number of times I have said "no" to buying more crap (probably more actually)
• number of page views the Not Buying Anything Blog surpassed over the weekend

Yes, one million page views. Dr. Evil would be loving it, even though he can't be described as a simple living individual with that big laser and desire for world domination.

Who said no one was interested in escaping the clutches of the consumer capitalist illusion? Now I have a million reasons to believe that many of us are busting out of the dead end purchasing party.

ONE MILLION!

Thank you to anyone who has ever viewed a page of NBA.

Cheapskate Monday

"It's cheaper and not as dangerous."

An anonymous reader left a comment on my last post and called all the readers that "chime in" here "CHEAP SKATES". There was also a humorous reference to NBA readers giving fruitcakes and free Christmas cards.

I like fruitcake. And free cards. So I wasn't sure if I should be offended or complimented. But it did get me to thinking.

Are NBA readers:

"CHEAP SKATES"? No. Those would be inexpensive footwear for gliding across ice.

"CHEAPSKATES"?  No. It is rude to yell in person or online, and shouting it just makes the word sound so negative.

"Cheapskates", however is lower key and is a distinct possibility.

The word was coined in 1892 and described someone who was "a mean, grasping person usually stingy with money". Used this way it has an old fashioned Dickensian ring to it, as in someone who is "being a Scrooge" with their cash. It refers to someone who has taken cash-related common sense too far.

In modern times, though, the word has been upgraded to the point that it is no longer an insult in most circles. Many people today, including those living frugal, simple, non-consumer lives consider themselves cheapskates.

There are cheapskate books and cheapskate blogs. There are cheapskate websites full of cheapskate tips. There is even a website where you can get cheap skates if you are trying to save a few bucks before hitting the ice.

It seems that everyone is getting into the world of cheapskates. And/or cheap skates.

Take Leo Babauta, the author of the popular "Zen Habits" blog. He publicly confessed that he was a cheapskate in his post "The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living". The way he describes it, I am a cheapskate too.

I may even be a cheaperskate. Perhaps some who visit here are too.

However, I doubt there are any NBA readers that pee in jars so they don't have to pay for water to flush the toilet. But even if there were, why would anyone take offence to something someone else was doing that doesn't affect them at all?

It is interesting to note that not spending money could make you open to potential insult, while earning, borrowing and spending to the point of getting into a financial crisis is lauded and seen as normal.

It is not hard to see what is going on here. They want us to spend, even if we don't have any money. They want us to borrow and spend. They want us to spend until it hurts. Spend even if you don't need anything.

Spend, spend, spend. Don't stop. Ever.

No thanks. Better to be a cheapskate. We're frugal, and we are changing the definition of what it means to have money common sense.

White Friday

It's White Friday out there today.

It's White Friday here on the mountain, and wild horses pulling a sleigh-of-plenty couldn't drag me away from my warm and toasty home. Today Linda and I join the 3% of North Americans (or 91% of NBA readers) that will buck the trend and stay home on this most sacred of consumer holidays.

On this day the NBA commercial-free lifeboat floats tranquilly in a quiet corner of the Sea of Consumerism, proving that 'irresistible' deals are in fact quite resistible. We are not buying anything, which is not unusual, but it feels even better on a day like today.

It's White Friday and I am saving 100%. Plus I am not risking life and limb in a car accident on the way to spend money, or worse, in a frenzied stampede of crazed consumers competing for the latest hot deals.

Today is a perfect day to stay home. To celebrate the richness of home life. The simple life. The contented life.

Here is where you will find us on White Friday - right at home next to our wood stove.

We hope you are having a good White Friday, and proceed right on to a great weekend.

Stay warm. Stay strong.

Save Up To 100%

What Not To Buy Today

Do I really need another cutlery organizer? Does the world?

Hmmm. What not to buy today? The possibilities are endless.

I am always coming up with new things not to buy. I derive as much satisfaction from this as more consumer-oriented individuals do in shopping for the same items.

The difference is that they have to pay money for the things, then have to find somewhere for the things to go, then must care for and maintain the things, keep the things safe from theft, and eventually properly dispose of said things.

I like to skip all of that and see what I can do with the resources I have around me. A small example would be not buying a plastic cutlery organizer after our move to the Maritimes. Since I have always had a plastic cutlery organizer in a drawer in my kitchen, it seemed natural to buy one here.

Free cutlery organizers.

So much of what we buy seems natural since it seems like "everyone" has one. But not everyone in the world finds couches, cars, and coffee tables natural. Many do without... and are still happy.

The thing I am doing without today is a plastic cutlery organizer. Instead I am using two glass jars I salvaged after eating the peanut butter inside.

And as I cook I am finding having utensils at hand on the counter is preferable to having them hidden inside a drawer.

Most often the best alternative is to not buy anything.

New Library Cards

This is how we felt when our new public library cards arrived in the mail.

The first mail we received in our rural mail box 4km down the road was from our local public library. Inside the sea blue envelope were brand new library cards.

All those wonderful resources are now at our fingertips. If we couldn't make it in to the branch, they would mail books to us.

All at no extra cost. Citizenship has its rights and privileges, including barrier free access to information.

Did You Know?

1.1 BILLION people worldwide go to the public library every year. 

Compare that to a paltry 204 million people attending sporting events. 

Not Buying Equals More Time And Freedom

Taking time at an outdoor piano - better than shopping.

"I can't, I don't have enough time" is a phrase often heard among groups of non-hunter/gathering humans. Freedom and time both seem limited when we choose to engage in consumer-based lifestyles. But it is a choice we make.

We can also choose not to participate in the endless work/spend cycle that places unreasonable restrictions on our lives. Currently, the way our system is set up everyone MUST do some sort of work to earn money to survive. But no one is forcing us to spend the money that we sacrifice so much of our freedom and time to amass.

When we cut our consumption we reduce our spending and are less reliant on jobs that don't fire our passions. When we spend less we can choose work that is more fun and less harmful. If you cut most of the shopping out of your life imagine how much more time you would have.

Having more time is like winning a lottery, but a lottery that matters. Having a lot of money is not necessarily freedom - having lots of time is.

In Nothing To Lose But Our Illusions David Edwards  says, "Once you start to see through the myth of status, possessions, and unlimited consumption as a path to happiness, you'll find that you have all kinds of freedom and time. It's like a deal you can make with the universe: I'll give up greed for freedom. Then you can start putting your time to good use."

The wage slave/consumer life just doesn't offer the same payoffs as living a more spontaneous, unencumbered life free of excess, waste and greed.

What would you do with more time? More freedom? For me my non-consumer lifestyle has freed up time for writing, walking, playing guitar and singing, cooking and baking, and caring for Linda, my best friend.

And some day I would like to gather a crowd while singing and playing an outdoor piano. Or a guitar. Or a kazoo.

Wrap Rage

There are all kinds of drawbacks to buying things. Wrap rage is yet another one that could be harmful to your mental and physical health.

Cutting a blood-spurting gash on your hand or other body part as you try to open the armoured packaging of a new and anticipated purchase is no laughing matter. A majority of Canadians polled reported that they had received injuries in the past from attempting to open impenetrable packaging.

What a bummer! The delicious deliriousness of the shopping experience quickly digresses into "heightened levels of anger and frustration". They tell us buying stuff is supposed to be 'fun'.

I have experienced wrap rage and spilled blood before, but as you would expect, on a very limited basis. Things in the second hand shop don't come in blister packaging, or any packaging at all as a matter of fact. You could say it is the only "frustration-free' packaging going - no packaging at all.

One of my favourite of the "R" words is REFUSE. I refuse to become involved in harmful things. Just like road rage can be avoided by refusing to drive and taking the bus instead, you can avoid wrap rage by refusing to buy anything that comes in wrapping that offends you.

However, what if you do need something that comes in a blister pack?

First of all, stay calm. There is not a single thing inside a blister pack worth hurting yourself over. Consider putting on a pair of gardening gloves. Or wave the white flag and return the product to the store.

If I ever again have to buy an impenetrably packaged item, I am going to take it to Customer Service. I will tell them I wish to purchase the item, but don't want to risk injury upon arrival back home. I am almost positive they would offer to open the item, and recycle the packaging too.

Maybe if this happened often enough, retailers would become advocates for sensible packaging that allows us to buy things we need without losing too much blood.

Happy Winter Solstice