TLDR: it’s not going as well as I might like, but I’m not unhappy with my decisions.
Martha wrote most recently about the challenge of reducing consumption and our carbon footprint by going for a year without buying new things (mostly clothing). I mostly thrift and sew my own clothes (and have a huge stash of fabric on-hand to work with), so I thought this would be a breeze.
For the most part, it was. However, there were notable exceptions for what I feel were good reasons. I bought two pairs of shoes for my son’s wedding. The dress and jacket fabric came from my stash, but my friend Tracey of TAV Creations sewed them up. So, an indulgence but one that supported a local business so I think it’s okay?
In terms of sheer volume, bike gear was definitely my big splurge. There was the highly reflective jacket so I could dress like a pylon for safety. Then I added in a new ski jacket to replace the jacket I have been wearing for at least 15 years. It came with ski pants, which turned out to be an awesome bonus on the coldest days.
And then there were the lights and gadgets: flashing multicoloured lights for the wheels on my winter bike, a front and back light for my helmet, a phone holder for the handlebars. I am still eyeing a new Lumos bike helmet with built-in signal lights. Those things have all made my rides feel safer and more fun, especially on dark and snowy days.
Finally, the actual bikes. First up was a mountain bike to use at my cottage property. I got it at an excellent price from a local used bike shop that was going out of business, and it will live in the country and be super handy for riding into town to get ice or visit nearby friends.
Most recently, it was a used e-Brompton. I have wanted an e-cargo bike for a while but couldn’t justify it yet, because the main places I want to get to by e-bike are not terribly safe to ride to in winter. Some day I will have less need to go to either place, and/or my city will get serious about maintaining winter cycling infrastructure. For now, my car or a combination of winter bike and public transit will do the job. The e-Brompton isn’t the e-cargo bike of my dreams, but it definitely fills the itch to own a folding bike that I have had since Sam wrote about her pink Brompton. I can’t wait to try it out once the snow clears.
I just finished a year of “no shopping”, which was really just no shopping for clothes/shoes/accessories (if I’d wanted a new bike, that would have been okay). Now I’m in the re-entry year and trying hard to be “discerning” with my shopping, without being punishing. I’m inspired by your thrifting and know that’s one of the ways I can feel better about the shopping I do.
I hear you! I justify January’s purchases (reflective parka for walking/cycling, two pairs of boots, a hat, two white t-shirts for my Karate gi, some used stuff) as “Gear” rather than clothes. Does that make it ok? LOL. I will attempt a buy-little February
Thanks for the update. It sounds as if your purchases were all reasonably well-considered, which is what I take the main objective of this sort of challenge to be (i.e. to make us think about what we buy before buying it). I just finished a year of not buying clothes, shoes, or accessories (and I sort of extended it to camera equipment, but had two lapses). Overall, the year of not shopping for clothing and accessories was so exhilarating that despite my year being over (it was a 2023 commitment) I still haven’t gotten around to shopping for these things. My WOY for 2023 was THRIFT, but I didn’t do any actual thrifting. And the photography stuff is what got me in the end: I had the one splurge on the lens, which I don’t regret. And I also bought a new camera bag, which I do regret because it turned out not to be the size I expected (still quite large) and it was quite expensive. I actually need to get rid of stuff. Was yours for 2023 too?