How I Survived Buy Nothing Day

I’ve come across that idea a few years ago and loved it from the beginning! This was the first time I was able to mindfully participate in it. And you can’t imagine what I did to survive it…

The answer is simple.

It was so easy…

I wasn’t even tempted to go out and buy anything! Luckily, even without being organized, I had enough food to get by. Enough to take for lunch at work. Something was missing for my small break in between but hey, I improvised and got by.

Of course, commuting to work costs – I’d need a ticket. But I had already bought that, so I didn’t spend any money on transport either.

But the best part of it was to go through the day with that exact thought – not to buy anything – and keep that thought aside you. It’s not that it would be super hard for me now anyway since learning so much with the Konmari Method, but it was still very good to do this challenge mindfully.

I don’t understand all of these “Black Friday” sales that kept coming up all the time as ads all over the internet today (yes, even here in Europe… We don’t even have that!!!). I mean – it must come from across the Big Pond. And that’s something I find pretty strange – to celebrate Thanksgiving and be grateful for what you have – but then what, run out to the store the following day to buy more crap you don’t even need?!

Slow down, everybody, slow down… and please think twice before you buy something: do you really need that? Ask yourself again…

Do.You.Really.Need.That.Now?

If the answer is still yes, well, then by all means, buy it. But trust me: most of the time, after holding it in your hand for a while and asking yourself that same question a few times – you smile and put it back. And the fact that it sparked joy for the time you held it in your hands is enough to keep you happy and satisfied, and even more proud because you didn’t spend money on something that you, if you’re truly honest with yourself, don’t really need…

Did you ever participate in the Buy Nothing Day Challenge? How was it for you? Or are you a Black Friday Sale lover? Tell me all about it, let’s share opinions  ❤

The Story With The Compost Bin

Moving houses after splitting households always means you need to buy a few things for your new home. I was very eager to go find myself a compost bin (yes, I’m a recycling freak! Read more about it here) and happily collected one a few days ago on a big shopping day.

no room for the green compost bin 😦

The disappointment that crashed upon me when I realized it was actually too big for it to fit in the cupboard next to my trash bin was immense… I thought the Swiss were so well organized that there was a regular standard size in compost bins because in all the stores I went to I only ever saw the one size… I tried to squeeze it in but there was no way it would get to the big enough space behind the narrow hole. Whoever designed the kitchen had clearly no clue about recycling compost bins…^^ I then tried to leave the bright green bin underneath the kitchen table, wanting it to vanish and hide but catching a glimpse of it every time I sat down to eat, which didn’t make me happy either…

It really unnerved me – this was not my vision I had when I started with the Konmari method. My goal and vision was to have empty floors and nothing cluttering them. I don’t mind the paper recycling container as it sparks joy in a very weird way (maybe reminding me that I’m so glad I can be recycling all these papers? *lol*) but there’s only one corner underneath the kitchen table that can hide things, anything else behind it slowly makes its way to your visible space and it’s just not sparking joy. I also thought about leaving the container bin out on my balcony but then I though about me sitting in the balcony and relaxing in the sun… and catching an eye of the rather unfancy green compost bin, in worst case, even smelling it…

No, that’s not how I want to spend my sunny days out it my new balcony. That’s not my vision of a nice uncluttered space. So I needed to get rid of the bin – best to take it back since it was only a few days back that I had bought it and brought home.

I then went back to the store with the receipt and straight onto the information desk. A rather unfriendly and very local woman attended to me and I explained her the issue. She wasn’t really paying attention anymore and started to look at the ticket and proceeding the action of taking back the bin. I was happy. Until she asked me for some sticker that was on the bin when sold…^^ Yes, that sticker who is always the first one to be ripped off and thrown away after you buy something new… I hadn’t been using the bin, but I did not think of the sticker anymore and explained it to her and in a distant tone she told me that she couldn’t take it back because that darn sticker was missing (in other words…). I pointed out that the bin was in a perfect condition and only bought a few days before that, which she could see in the receipt. She kept on ranting about it in a distantly polite way and proceeded to work on something on the computer with my receipt… After a while she had it figured out and handed me my cash back.

What was the fuss all about? – I thought to myself, since she clearly was able to take it back anyhow. I was happy, once more, and thanked her for helping me out when she let out another (polite!) rant about how she now had to discard the bin because they can’t sell it anymore. I was flabbergasted at the whole situation… Surely they could get another sticker from their storage areas or use another one when selling? I mean, how many times have I bought something without a darn sticker / bar code on it and therefore just another same item was scanned in order to proceed the sale? It’s not as it is an impossible issue… I tried to explain that to her but she wouldn’t listen and kept repeating that she can’t do anything about it. I then said she could at least give it to someone for free but she wouldn’t have any of it…

I left the store feeling utterly bad and guilty… Now I  was the cause of some unnecessary waste – me, that always tries to avoid that… Me, that always brings things you can still use to a Brocki / Charity Shop in order for them to be re-used, specially if the items are new and in perfect condition… Would it not have been better to not get the money back and bring it to the Brocki instead? On the other hand, why do I have to feel guilty if a store isn’t able to manage such things in another way?

I felt absolutely torn about this whole issue and wonder – what do you think about it? How would you have reacted?