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You are here: Home / 2015 Consumer Chronicles

2015 Consumer Chronicles

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This year I wanted to make a goal to consume less. In the end though, I decided not to.   I’ve been slowly paring down my possessions and making more intentional purchases for several years now, but I still find myself having a difficult time fighting the urge to add items to my basket when I am in a store or on Amazon.com. In the interest of full transparency and accountability, I spent over $6,000 in 2014 on items ordered from Amazon, almost the exact same amount I spent in 2013. They are making good money off of me.

Anyhow, towards the end of 2014, I started thinking about possible options to get off this spending track, maybe join Project 333, or commit to buying nothing new for a year, or purchasing only thrift shop clothes during 2015. These are all great ideas for less consumption, and have helped a lot of people change their habits, but I just wasn’t feeling the enthusiasm behind them this year. What I finally hit on for myself is AWARENESS. I didn’t want to deprive myself of options in 2015, I wanted to understand as much as possible my urges to buy things, why I want them, and most importantly, when do I give in to them even though I don’t really need or want them, or when do I decide they are a purchase worth making?

To find this AWARENESS, I am carrying out a project or experiment based solely on myself-

Project Details:

Carry around a small notebook during 2015, and every time I think of something I want, or see something I want while shopping, I am going to write it down, and why I think I want or need it.

If I purchase something, I’m going to put the reason out there for all of you to see.

Did I buy it on impulse?

Did I truly need it?

Did I think it through for a while?

Am I using it after all?

Did I return it?

Because we all need items on a regular basis, I am excluding some things like toiletries, basic food and underclothing and I am limiting the items I write down to things that have just popped into my head that are random in nature, or that I see while shopping and wasn’t planning on purchasing beforehand.

My hope in doing this project is that by the end of 2015 I will have cut down the amount of items I have purchased because I think I need them, or even to realize that I can enjoy looking at an item without having to take it home with me and own it. I also hope that by being accountable to you all, that I will stop and think more intentionally before I make purchases, knowing that I will be explaining myself and my decision online.

I hope you enjoy following along on this project, and I welcome any encouragement, feedback and support!

2015 Consumer Chronicles by Week

Consumer Chronicles Week 1

Consumer Chronicles Week 2

Consumer Chronicles Week 3

Consumer Chronicles Week 4

Consumer Chronicles Week 5

Consumer Chronicles Weeks 6 & 7

Consumer Chronicles Weeks 8 & 9

Consumer Chronicles Weeks 10 & 11

Consumer Chronicles Conclusion

Going Home, A Book and Tar Paper

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