Buy Nothing Day

 

It’s Friday night, the bell rings for last orders in my local and I head to the bar for a last glass of red wine... only to realise it’s gone midnight and I’m not allowed.  Bugger... 

I am now observing Buy Nothing Day.  The next 24 hours are going to be a challenge.

Or are they?  How hard can it be to spend a day not spending?  I usually while away a Saturday at home reading the newspaper, perhaps popping out to see me grandma or to my sister’s charity shop for a bit.

As a student, and someone who’s travelled for a year, I’m well used to not spending for days at a time so found the whole experience pretty easy.

The only tough part of my Buy Nothing Day came when I was at my grandmas.  It was a cold, winters evening and she was running out of milk for all important brews during Strictly Come Dancing.  I felt pretty awful for not just popping out to buy her a bottle.  If this day was a day to consider ethical spending I felt like a contradiction.

I’ve vowed that from now on I’ll try to spend one day a week not spending.  The week running up to Buy Nothing Day I think I saved about £6 just by making packed lunches in the mornings, so I’ve already reaped the rewards.  I found that while the day did make me stop and think about how much I consume, it more made me think about how I organise my time.  Something I really should do better in third year!

Some of my friends marvelled that Buy Nothing Day is even slightly out of the ordinary as they regularly go days without spending.  Others said they couldn't imagine a day without a takeaway coffee, a lunch out or a newspaper or magazine. 

I wonder if Buy Nothing Day is preaching to the converted...  I don’t think that I actually consume all that much.  Not just because I usually can’t afford to, but because all those Saturdays spent with my grandma or in the charity shop or reading my lefty newspaper have taught me I don’t need to.   Happily, the day doesn’t feel that much out of the ordinary.