Buy Nothing Day

I hope this catches on!!!!

No interest in the extreme consumerism of Black Friday, so I tend to stay at home and relax after the bustle of Thanksgiving. If I go anywhere, it's to the grocery (or liquor store) for a few supplies we need to have with the leftovers.

All of the stores you're not going to shop at has employees who are not rich. And they're the ones who will suffer, ultimately.

those employees will not be hurt one bit 'cause I'll still do my shopping on some other less stressful day. If anything, not shopping today will take a little stress off them.

Most Americans will still consume about the same, regardless. On-line retailers are those folk's greatest enemy by far.

I think the main point here is the need to stop impulse consumerism, the result of which will be a good reduction in waste of natural resources and reduction of the massive volumes of trash we create every day - very little of which is truly recycled.

America's addiction to cheap Asian throw-away goods is slowly destroying our livelihoods, our communities and our environment.

KY...........

Supporting the issues faced by retail workers would be more helpful than simply shopping at a store and increasing the stores bottom line.

Not like "Buy Nothing Day" will make a real dent in our profits. We've been steadily cutting full time jobs for years, slashing bonus money, capping pay, etc. One person helping someone directly does more good than buying a few more trinkets helps us retail workers.

my consumption is very low, and I recycle by selling castoffs and used goods. The Earth needs to rest. I doubt 5% know what that means.

Corporations, the markets, and right-wing politicians do everything in their power to hide the harsh realities of rampant wasteful consumerism from the public, especially regarding the effects on climate and our food and water supplies....and by default on our long-term collective health, and that of plants, insects and animals. It's somewhat surreal that massive loss of insect species could bring the human race to an end in the coming centuries.

It would be virtually impossible to convince a parent buying cheap imported Christmas toys at Walmart or someone buying a package of inexpensive shrimp at Kroger that those purchases are slowly destroying our very existence long-term.

Sounds like we're somewhat alike in that I simply cannot throw hardly anything away that might be of use. I got that from parents that went through the Great Depression in the hardest of ways. But, I think I'm the last of that breed.

The Earth does indeed need a few thousand years of rest from humanity. Even then, the scars we've left would still be here.

KY..............

I keep hardly used Ziploc bags and sheets of aluminum foil so I can use them again.

My family fills up a huge bin for recycling every 2 weeks. Just imagine if we threw it all into a landfill. The landfills are big enough!

Coming back from taking care of Zelda the grandcat, I was thinking of stopping for lunch as I usually do on these days. Then I remembered all the food I had at home and that today was such a day of over-consumption and frenzied buying and decided to drive on.

Today I start on Christmas, it's red Santa day, then tomorrow my husband will put up our tree and I will start decorating that, then on to the rest of the house.

i never really thought of using this day to give back, and intend to start that next year when I'm hopefully a lot stronger. That's a really great idea.

I'll refer you to this post I put up for Thanksgiving that reflects most of my feelings during the holidays - mostly contrary to that of our society.

See: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181287850

I only got two replies but it helped me just to write it out for emotional relief. I have so many simple things of life to be grateful for, and need to get off my butt and help a neighbor.

Enjoy your decorating and be safe out in the hustle-and-bustle of these holidays.......

When the doyen of our house, the sweetest prettiest little Calico, died last Sat. I didn't want to post the news because our daughter is out of the country and I didn't want to ruin her trip with this sad news. So I wrote about our love for little Zoey and how her leaving had changed the dynamics for all the animals in our house. I then deleted it, feeling better because my grief didn't drip over to Amanda and she got to enjoy her holiday unburdened with sadness.

Glad you have things/people in your life that cause you to rejoice, makes life so much easier and more bearable, especially in these dark times.

If you live in a small town, shop at local business. It can make all the difference to your small community.

I need TP today, after my cat decided that the brand new supply I had in the pantry was a scratching post. Or a wolverine that needed annihilating, from how she massacred the stuff. And I have maybe a foot left on the roll on the spoke that survived her wrath.

I am not doing without TP to save the earth. Ain’t happening.

Besides, my husband works at a grocery store. He’s leaving early today, because business is dead. The morning of Black Friday is the perfect time to shop in peace and quiet. You’ll all but have the store to yourself. My kind of grocery shopping day!

Not one damn thing, nada! Anyone with me ?

aint goin nowhars , esp near wal mart.

Looks as if he may still be around but a bit less active.

A good one from the past:


Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Billy_and_the_Church_of_Stop_Shopping

KY.....

But whatever you call it. It is an excellent idea.

However, my snow shovel broke on Wednesday, after 15 years of good service. It's going to snow tonight, Friday. So, I went to Home Depot and spent $20 on a nice new one. Why Home Depot? Because the snow shovels at most other retail outlets are pretty worthless, and I want one that will last another 15 years.

Other than that, I won't be buying anything today, but I did have to buy a snow shovel today.

I'm checking out cordless drills today on-line (for a son-in-law gift)........

but buying in-store on Monday.......

But there's no way in Hell that I'm going to participate in the Black Friday melee.

buy nothing? Kind of simplistic to 'not buy anything day', and perhaps there are better ways to support the meaning and intent of 'not buy anything day'.

* encouraging people to stop impulsive buying,
* encouraging people to stop making impulsive trips to stores and instead keep shopping lists and plan ahead,
* refute the concepts of race-to-the-bottom pricing which encourages importers to abuse human rights in manufacturing, and
* to revisit the original intended principles of the holidays of humility and sharing, lending a helping hand to the needy and being grateful for our basic needs being met and for just being alive.

The concept is aimed toward obsessive/compulsive merchandise purchases.

No one has suggested shutting ourselves off from our basic needs.......

/sarcasm

17 year old flip phone. So I didn't participate.

on Black Friday. I can’t think of anything I’d rather not do.

I’ll spend a few hours one afternoon in December online ordering Hanukkah gifts for the little ones in my extended family (I don’t spend more than $25-$30 per kid,) and one gift for the Yankee swap the adults do. $75 is the amount for that gift decided by those who choose to participate.

My kid gets renewal of AAA every year and I’ll give him a nice check.

Husband and I don’t exchange gifts. We just say something we are doing or somewhere we are going is our gift. This year it’s the laundry room/pantry remodel.

Gifts that are sustainable and last a while are best. I enjoy giving magazine subscriptions for ones I know they will enjoy, although that seems to come with an unspoken expectation of a renewal next year.....

Also like to keep notes throughout the year of things I notice my family needing. That saves me some stress when birthdays and Christmas come around.

And, I'm old enough now to tell my folks to not buy me anything. I have enough clothes and other stuff to last the rest of my life.......

.........well, maybe except for chocolates and cashews.......

No gifts for anybody. Everyone puts some money in one hat (sliding scale, suggested amount is $25) and the name of a nonprofit in a second hat. A name is drawn, the money is bundled and sent off.

What a wonderful family you must have!

I really, really needed a garden hose washer so I rode my bike to the hardware store and got one.

They only sell them in a 10-pack, so I guess I got my stocking stuffers shopping done. WooHoo!

(a garden hose washer). And, they come in TEN packs?

The truth finally struck me after a bit more coffee.....




KY.......... ........

I've got nine of those left over from a decade ago when I had to buy ten to replace one washer. I tried using one of them but they aged poorly and turned to stone.

I went with vinyl this time.

I have one word for you, son, plastics.

three little ears to keep them from falling out......

Yep, I got some old red ones that dry-rotted too. New plastic ones are pretty green!.....

"I don't XXX and neither should you" posts are never appealing.