Buying (almost) Nothing is a Freedom

March 8, 2023 in orange desk

painting by C. David Gammel

In early January, I made a pledge to buy nothing other than food, medical needs for pets and humans, gifts for others, educational experiences, and toiletries when they ran out. No shoes, clothes, accessories, magazines, books, notebooks, cards, stationery, household items, or electronics. Those were the conditions of the pledge.

I reported a few weeks ago that progress toward this end in January was a big success. How did I do during the second month of 2023?

I am still doing great. I must admit, I am surprised at my restraint. It helps A LOT not to have marketing emails fill up my email inbox. And this process is buoyed by organizing every square inch of the house so I really know what I have already and can find everything quickly. No more duplicate purchases for things I have but can’t locate. I’m afraid to tell you how many pairs of tweezers, scissors, and markers I have found.

But I did buy one thing this month. A friend of mine is a beginning painter who was part of a community art exhibit in Maryland in February to support a local arts center. One of his paintings was of a Blackwing pencil, my very favorite writing instrument EVER. To support his work (and the arts center) and to celebrate the ever-present Blackwings in my life, dear reader, I bought the painting. It is a birthday gift to me. Was this outside the scope of my pledge? Officially, yes, even though I could consider it a donation to a nonprofit that supports artists making art. Do I feel bad about supporting the work of artists? I never do. Perhaps that, too, is a slippery slope, but it’s just a much more satisfying one than buying a mass-produced item from Amazon. This was one of a kind, created by a real human and in service to other artists. I shall continue to rationalize it to myself.

I continue to only read books available from the library (thirteen books read in February!), and in the spirit of buying experiences, not things, Feliks and I have signed up for another knitting class with Miss Roberta, our beloved beginning knitting teacher from last year. This month, we will learn to knit socks!

I am continuing my pledge and will report back at the end of March. This is simplifying my life in an important and freeing way, and I am here for the learning.

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.