Update on No Shopping and Buy Nothing Day

Source

Last month I announced that I would be embarking on a three month no-shopping challenge, so I thought I'd share where I am at the half-way point.  Between not being a huge shopper to begin with plus being conditioned through previous no-shopping challenges, this challenge hasn't been difficult at all.  Early in October, when the weather started to get cold, I realized that almost all of my long-sleeve tops had holes or stains to I did purchase two new ones - a sweater and a t-shirt.  I have worn the new sweater several times since, but I have not worn the t-shirt at all.  So what I thought was a need really wasn't.  I'm sure I could go another month and a half without that second new top.  Other than food, toiletries, items for our upcoming family Thanksgiving gathering, and gasoline, I haven't purchased anything else.  

Speaking of Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving has come to be known as "Black Friday," a day when Americans rush to the stores at crazy hours in order to fight to get deals on things they need.  Since I live in a community that calls itself a "city of churches" and loves to talk about how great it is that Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sunday to give employees time for worship and family, I find it very disturbing that our stores are mobbed on what should be a holiday weekend for families.  Often this weekend is a nightmare for retail workers since they don't really get a break.  Often they work in the wee hours of Friday morning to stock shelves and prep for opening.  Some stores open as early as 8:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, meaning employees lose the entire holiday.  Earlier this week I received an email from Change.org about a petition by a Target employee  who will miss out on seeing her family on Thanksgiving because of the store's decision to open Thanksgiving night.  (Her petition can be found here.)

Do we really need things so badly that we ruin the holiday for retail workers?  While I hear individuals protest the commercialization of Christmas, I notice those same people eager to get to the stores.  Instead, I encourage people to participate in Buy Nothing Day, a day where we can unplug from consumer culture and instead focus on family and friends - and be grateful for what we already have, which is what Thanksgiving honors.  I'll leave you with this thought about our needs: