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Can You Go a Year Without Buying Anything?
Exploring extreme minimalism
Awhile back, Ann Patchett wrote an article for the New York Times about her experience giving up shopping for shoes, purses, clothing, and jewelry for a year. She wrote that didn’t find it to be particularly challenging.
The concept of a “buy nothing” time period has inspired a Reddit community and local Facebook groups. The rules are personalized for each participant, but people almost always make exceptions for food, toiletries, and medicine. A lot of people vow to buy many items used, and arrange swaps.
I haven’t bought a purse or jewelry in years — my old stuff works just fine — but I don’t think I could go a year without buying clothing or shoes. I am the type of person who carefully stores my winter gear so I can use it next year, and has one dress I wear to weddings, but inevitably, things wear out. And sometimes, I want to get something new to wear to work.
Still, I think the idea of buying less is important. A few years ago, I cleaned my home following Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. One of the easiest ways to stay tidied is not to buy new stuff.
