Not Buying It: Week 1

Stay with me here, I'm working with a bum finger. Husband and Munchkin and I were roughhousing earlier tonight and while I was trying to block a beach ball flying at my head at breakneck speed, I somehow jammed my finger into my own thigh.

Oh wait. Uhh, that's not what happened. I was fighting off muggers mugging a helpless old lady, and during the melee, I jammed my finger. It didn't hurt. Not a bit. 

(I'm eyeing the Percocet leftover from my c-section two+ years ago. Gotta type through the pain...)

ANYway, I have yet another challenge which I found (this is going to sound complicated) at Dancing in a Field of Tansy, which I found from Two Frog Home, which I found from The Organic Sister. A friend of a friend of a friend, if you will.

This challenge is called Not Buying It. And I challenge myself to not buy things to fill the needs in a category. Simple, no? Here goes:

Clothing: I mended one of Munchkin's shirts (okay, all I did was sew a button on, not THAT complicated), and I also went to great lengths to get rust stains out of another shirt of hers. Boiling did the trick. Bleach, oxygen bleach, dish soap, vinegar, and lemon juice did not. But um, now her off-white shirt is decidedly white and perhaps a tish bit smaller than it was before. But it sure looks clean!

Food: We did spring for Wendy's once this week, but other than that we've made everything from scratch. I hope to start making bread from scratch again when we're in the new house.

Household: Uhh, well, I didn't do too well in this category. Remember the $165 toilet seats and doorknobs episode? Yeah. We aren't going to be doing too well in this category for awhile. I guess I just have to focus on spending less money. And to that end, I did put back the fancy doorknobs and got the cheaper ones while we were shopping for them. Also, I went to The Container Store looking for something to store a fifty pound bag of rice, came out with something woefully inadequate, and returned it the next day. So I unbought it. 

Utilities: Nothing new to report here, other than I feel as though I've been more conscientious about my light usage. (Edit: Although it was a purchase (is that against the rules?) we bought a low-flow shower head this weekend. It was on sale AND we used a coupon!)

Gifts: I didn't buy anything. I'm a Scrooge and love no one, apparently. 

Exercise/Self-Improvement: Um, let's just say I haven't bought anything in this category for a long time. ;) Chasing a toddler is free.

Homestead: Thinking of a summer garden is as far as I've really gotten. (I guess it means I didn't buy anything!)

Education: Got SouleMama's book from the library (The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule). It's been on hold for a while. Horrible timing, as I don't think I'll be able to examine it as much as I'd like with all the chaos going on here. I'll have to put it on hold again.

Weaknesses: Let's see, I mentioned the Wendy's, the doorknobs and toilet seats, what else? I think that covers it, actually. 

Purging: We've saved the best for last. So far I have organized and purged: the storage closet, Munchkin's bedroom closet (in which nothing was actually hers), Munchkin's dresser storage, the storage area in the end table, my sewing and craft stuff, the guinea pig stuff, and part of the bathroom. Areas to be hit this next week: kitchen (big one), the rest of the bathroom, entertainment armoire, bookshelf, clothes, and laundry room. Right now I have some scrapbooking supplies and some grids and connectors (to make DIY cube shelving) to put on craigslist or freecycle.