Beginning 1/20/17 I will no longer be a consumer

[Fresh_Start]

The GOP claims to love the USA.
But the GOP doesn't help care for the citizens of the USA.
It doesn't want them to have health.
It doesn't want them to have education.
The GOP sponsors and supports the destruction of the public lands of the USA.
The GOP welcomes the end of clean air for the USA.
The GOP welcomes the end of clean water in the USA.

So what exactly does the GOP love about the USA?
It loves to rob the middle/lower classes to enrich the wealthy.
It loves to entrap the young of the middle/lower classes in wars which enrich the wealthy.
But most of all, it loves the American wallet:
So my resistance will be to deprive them of my wallet.
And should it come to pass, I will also deprive them of my children in their wars.

I can't do much else.
But I am determined.

[angstlessk]

1. Yes, we used to be citizens...then they turned us into consumers...

lets not consume, but citizenize! (sic)

I like it!

[radical noodle]

2. I can do that to a point

I will still have to pay utility bills, buy my prescription drugs, and buy groceries. Most of those support some sort of GOP big business.

[Fresh_Start]

5. I agree that we all have some necessities...

but for example my once I get passed housing/utilities my spending was more discretionary than necessary. I spent more on 'dining' than groceries.

[radical noodle]

9. Gotcha!

[csziggy]

13. My freezer is filled with food - I'm using that before I buy more

I can probably go six months without buying meat at all. Vegetables can be purchased at the local farmers' markets if I plan ahead since none of them are convenient to my location.

I have to buy some supplies for my needlework projects but most of my needs for those can come out of my stash.

Two of my big purchases happened just in the last few weeks - my microwave died and I bought a new one, and I splurged on a robot vacuum. Nothing more is on my shopping list unless some other appliance breaks down.

[radical noodle]

14. I have to ask...

Does the robot vacuum work well? I have cats and a constant supply of cat fur on the floor.

We can buy produce at the weekend farmers market here, year round too. I need to think about what I can do to cut back on shopping, particularly at the big stores. I've been giving our options some serious thought.

[csziggy]

15. I've had it less than a week

And we had a death in the family so I was away for two days since.

I turned her loose in the living/dining room and she did good, getting the dust bunnies under the table and attempting to get around the chair legs. She ran out of juice before finishing but she had gotten most of the visible dust so I was happy.

Then I moved her into the bedroom since that very dusty/dirty. She froze up because of the amount of hair wrapped around the brush plus the bin was full. I cleaned her (it is a bObi so I'm using the feminine) and turned her loose again. She got caught under a dresser and tried to eat a cord I had missed so I had to extract her. The bedroom is great - the throw rugs are clean and all the dust is cleaned up! She even got fixated on one of the areas of the wood floor - the grain was darker and apparently bObi read that as a dirty area that needed extra cleaning.

The inconvenient part is that we have a lot of stuff, cords all over the place and lots of chairs. We have to pick up cords so she won't try to eat them and I'll have to move the chairs around in the living/dining room so she can get the spots where they were sitting. I'm concerned that with our fairly large house and lots of nooks and crannies she may not be able to find her way back to the charging station and get lost under some piece of furniture if I put her on a schedule.

This one is a bObi classic - they make a pet version that is supposed to be better for pet owners. We have one cat and both my husband and I have long hair and our bObi is handling it OK. Our house has not been thoroughly swept or vacuumed for a couple of years so there was a lot of dust around. While I can use the remote to schedule cleanings and let her go on auto, until I have sent her out to do the initial cleanings while I am monitoring for problems I won't do that.

I bought her through Amazon from Silicon Valley Robotic Services. The price they had was about $270 - but they had a display model (never used) for just over $200 so I lucked out. Shipping was fast and the reviews for both the seller and for the manufacturer are good - customer service is apparently very very good with the manufacturer. Now Amazon has one for $239 and Silicon Valley Robotic still has the deal listed that I got.

Later today I'm turning her loose in the bathroom and closet. The she gets to do the hallway where the cat litter box is.While she's working on those I will pick up hazards in the kitchen/great room - the worst place in the house since it gets the most traffic. The computer room is a whole other hazard zone - that will be the big challenge for me to get ready for her.

After that I will set up a schedule and see how that works. THAT will be the big test for bObi.

[radical noodle]

16. It sounds better than I expected

I get the issues though. To be able to just have the cat hair (one of my cats is Himalayan) and litter from the litter box cleaned up would be great. I find dust bunnies everywhere. Thanks for the tips and the link!

[csziggy]

18. Read the reviews both on Amazon and on other sites

Those will clue you in on the advantages and short comings. So far I'm happy - bObi is doing a better job that I ever would and she can do it now that I can't.

On the other hand, my cat is not at all sure about this new housemate. The first time he was scoping her out she suddenly turned around and came straight at him. He run away but now when he hears her running he's curious - but that could be as much that I am running her in closed rooms that he is used to having access to.

[radical noodle]

19. I've seen videos of cats riding on them

My two are so different I would expect them to react differently. One would be curious, one would hop up on something and go to sleep!

I will read the reviews. Thanks again!

[FarCenter]

3. Good. This will minimize the environmental damage that you are doing

Every purchase can be thought of as incurring some environmental damage due to the production of the good or service. Therefore, only purchasing the absolutely essential is the environmentally responsible way to live.

[Fresh_Start]

7. yes agreed

I also think in times of uncertainty...like when will Trump ignite the next war...
it's prudent to conserve income.

[dembotoz]

4. I have been working to cut expenses where possible

Cannot get off the grid but they will see less of me

There are some groups here on duty with ideas on how to do more with less.
They have been useful

[jmg257]

6. Cool - 'supply and demand' means prices should drop on lots of good stuff. nt

[doc03]

8. I live in a rural area in Ohio where we have a small IGA grocery store.

I have always patronized the store to support local business. The owner made it plain he was a Trump supporter
selling his f---g caps, Drain the Swamp shirts, Trump signs in front of the store and posting NRA bullshit on the bulletin board. I quit going to his store since the election and pledge never to set foot in there again.

[world wide wally]

10. And make sure we all claim a $1 billion loss on our income tax!

[dembotoz]

11. Working poor group here on duty might be a good resource for decreasing expenditures

[Fresh_Start]

12. Great idea. I'll check it out nt

nt

[redwitch]

17. I am a sales rep.

I sell women's handcrafted jewelry and accessories, mostly US made by individual artists or very small companies. I sell to family owned stores, none of them in the mall. Small, local and caring. I hope everyone who has vowed to stop shopping recognizes the little guys like me who will have even harder times if people stop patronizing them. AS it is my husband and I are poised to lose our healthcare if the GOcraP has their way. We get a subsidy so we can currently pay for it. We have already lost our home and retirement savings. I am scared and beginning to feel desperate at this point.

[roamer65]

20. I've got 3 days before I really shutoff the spigot on spending.

No new major purchases until that fucker is removed from office. I am going into a WW2 kind of rationing mode. Austerity budget.

[classof56]

21. I don't buy much, but I have been focusing on products made in the USA for quite awhile now

Plus I do not shop at Wal-Mart and I boycott Koch Brothers products, among others, and I make it a point to patronize local businesses. Have greatly cut back on my driving in an attempt to save gas and reduce pollution. I too believe I can't do much else but I am determined. Thanks for your efforts.

Peace.