So, I haven't had any real dilemmas so far. A couple of books, a couple of t-shirts, some iPhone apps. I haven't had any real temptations. Has it just been a slow month, or is it actually remarkably easy to go without new junk? Time will tell.
The test might come next week when I'm in Hawaii. I might have to break the rule for a souvenir - would a fridge magnet make me a consumer whore?
I've had my eye on a Crumpler bag for a while now. (I'd link to their website, but it's the worst site in history.) I'm often out and about with my Macbook air and a rugged, roomy and stylish bag (made in Australia no less) is something I can certainly make a case for. They aren't cheap - a few hundred bucks, but they have a couple of stores in Melbourne.
I'll survive with my little leather bag, a gift from my sister in London.
I'd also like some new music (I wanted to get more Powderfinger from iTunes) and another ChinesePod T-shirt. I'll see if I still want them in a month.
My arm's in a cast which makes typing an ordeal at the moment, so if I can find a one-handed keyboard I'm definitely getting that!
I resisted any urge to buy last-minute things in the lead up to the new year. The first major item I can't get, then, is an Airport Express. I had a plan to put one in my bedroom, and play music from it, controlled by my iPhone. Under the current system, I have to burn an MP3 CD of any playlist I want in the bedroom. The CD player makes a little noise when the CD spins which I have always found annoying. How dreadful!
On the other hand I have been a pretty good non-consumer this Christmas. Apart from an Amazon gift voucher for my sister overseas, and a knockoff Britney Spears T-Shirt for a Kris Kringle, I didn't buy (or receive) any presents at all. Definitely a new record and I enjoyed a stress-free holiday.
There is someone I wish to buy a small gift for as a thank-you present. I'm pretty sure this is allowed, as I won't be accruing any possessions.
Like many of us I've had a sense of doom in the back of my mind for a while. The ever-growing population of the Earth, dwindling fossil fuels on which our entire lifestyle is based, and the looming disaster of climate change. Recently I've done a bit more reading and thinking about all these things, and I'm as pessimistic as ever - I don't think it's in our nature as a society to be able to put the brakes on in time to do anything about it.
This line of thinking can cause one to become a pretty gloomy dinner party guest. Recently I was opining to a friend along the lines that we are wealthy enough as a nation, and that taking a cut in our standard of living would be a small price to pay to avert (or help avert) the coming catastrophes. Perhaps Christmas or stories like the deadly Wal-Mart stampede or Boxing Day sales prompted me to make some remark about our consumer culture. At this point, I was asked if I could myself go for a month without accruing new possessions? This train of thought soon became a challenge - even a dare - and I could hardly refuse after my recent pontification on the subject.
So for the month of January I will not by any new stuff. The rules are simple. I'm allowed to replace something that breaks, and food and entertainment are acceptable; I must simply forbear from accruing new things. I honestly don't know if this will be easy or hard. I'm a single man with a professional's disposable income and no dependents to look after. Therefore I seldom exercise much thought or restraint when a gadget, computer, DVD, clothing or other item takes my fancy. On the other hand, I don't consider myself to be a man of expensive tastes, nor an avid shopper. So it will be interesting to see how well I do living up to my own anti-consumerism rhetoric on my one-month holiday from the dominant lifestyle of our country.
Here I will keep a log of things I have foregone, or should it happen, failures to live up to the bargain. I fear that at the end the list of stuff I have done without will seem embarrassingly self-indulgent and unnecessary. If so, I will have learned another important lesson.
How long do you think you could go?
