From not buying to not eating stuff we don't need. Mostly.

No-Buy July was a semi-fail.

I admit it. We still bought plenty of things we didn't need. We did decide NOT to buy a lot of things too. But even during a month we were supposed to be shutting down every lurch towards Chipotle, Target impulse buys, desserts, and Random Big Purchases (see below), we still bought stuff. If I didn't know better, I would say we "accidentally" bought stuff. Mindfulness is a discipline, and we're pretty flabby.

Just imagine what No-Buy July could be like if we were really committed, thoughtful, and fully engaged with our interactions between our wallets and the world! We're going to keep at it. Never going to get there if we only really try once a year.

I'll also confess that on Aug. 1 I went to Target. I went to Target, and I bought the "Best of Shark Week 25th Anniversary Special Edition" DVD, and a latte. And 4 random officey things from the dollar bins. Accountability, people! I need some! Technically the month was over, but obviously my impulse control could use a lot of work.

Speaking of impulse control, something about even TRYING to NOT buy things made us both extra twitchy to buy things. Sort of like the "Don't think about white bears!" psychology experiment from back in the day. Anyway, one night a couple of weeks ago, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Les: "Hey, don't we have some gift cards left over from our wedding?"
Me: "Yes. I've got the keys. Meet you at the car."

So we went to the Big Mall in Durham so we could skulk around the Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. It's not really "buying" stuff if you use gift cards, right?

Les bought a guy-friendly apron from Williams Sonoma that was on clearance, and then we went into Pottery Barn. And after about 45 minutes of deliberation about how best to spend our generous gift card bounty, we came home with this:

Thanks, Monteiros!

A chunky-knit blanket for our bed for the winter. It is way too warm to use any time soon, but we wanted something to add some texture and coziness to our bedroom, so we chose this. Something we would never buy with our own cash. For now it sits on top of the trunk in our bedroom out of reach of AugDog paws.

An unnecessary purchase if I ever saw one.

Well, it's August now, and I'm newly committed to bulking up my mindfulness muscles. If I realized anything really shocking during No-Buy July, it's that it is STILL our food purchases more than anything else that derail our budget and indulge those impulsive craving-quelling purchases. I always want more chocolate bars, more apples, more ice cream, more fancy cheese, and any food I want any time I want to eat it.

So even though I've been eating my selfish way through these first 5 days of August and just went to Trader Joe's last night, the rest of this month will be devoted to Food Mindfulness.

For us, that will mean:

• Getting serious about our food waste. Any wasted food it too much, but this month we're making it a priority to plan meals and to EAT what we buy and use up some stuff in our pantry, fridge and freezer.
• Finding this book at the library ASAP and getting into it with our menus: *
• More-with-Less Cookbook: Suggestions by Mennonites on How to Eat Better and Consume Less of the World's Limited Food Resources
• Giving Thanks to God at every meal and snack.
• Praying for Food Justice. (Maybe while fasting. I'm looking into this.)
• Figuring out a way to help/volunteer towards food security in our community (food bank, etc).
• Some version of the "7" food rules. I haven't quite worked them out yet, but I'll post them when I have. Something along the lines of eating the beans and lentils and stuff we already have + a limited number of fresh foods per week. No processed, packaged, or convenience foods.

Easy enough to lay that all out on the blog, but if No-Buy July is any indication of wobbliness, I think I'm gonna need some compatriots for this. Anyone want to join us? Even if you join us in our mantra of "It's Just One Month"?

* Some inspiration for this month's Mindfulness project, particularly the cookbook recommendation, came from this blog post on the Deeper Story blog.