I had really not been having a hard time until last night. My trip to the grocery store earlier this week without buying snacks or sweets was ok. (probably because we sill have some snacks and sweets sitting around in our cabinets!) Last night, though, after Jason came home from work we spent about 40 minutes trying on everything in the closet trying to find something for him to wear for his Dad's wedding this Saturday....to no avail. I had already tried things on and found something I could wear earlier in the day, so I had no excuse. But Jason sort of needed something to wear...so we went to the mall.

The mall is my weak spot. I don't go all that often, cause I really don't have anyone to shop with. (Jason doesn't like shopping at all.) I think we spent about an hour and a half looking in pretty much every different store and trying things on. Jason really isn't a suit kind of guy...he's a graphic designer, so old and stuffy isn't really his style, he likes to look young and hip and with-it. :) Anyway...we finally found an outfit for him that we decided was lovely...BUT in the process I had seen about a million different things that I wanted. Sigh.

I wanted them, but I'm more stubborn than a mule, and so, since I had decided I wasn't buying things, I kept my resolve, BUT I didn't feel good about it. After we got home (at 8:30) (without having caved to wanting to stop somewhere to grab a quick bite) and made supper and sat down to watch last night's "So You Think You Can Dance" just to find that it had not recorded, I was even more depressed, and my mind, for the rest of the evening. dwelled on all the things I want, but don't have....my favorite Summer TV show, new adorable clothes I saw at the GAP, and also a baby. Heh.

So, I think that as long as I stay away from the mall and Target for the rest of the month I'll be ok. Also...on the 15th of the month I'll have to resist the delicious add-ons offered by my scrapbook-kit-club. We'll see.

And now...a rant....

Earlier this week I got a library card and checked out "Not Buing It" by Judith Levine. She and her boyfriend guy decide not to shop for a year...they still buy groceries and such things...just not all the unnecessary stuff...much like we're trying for this one month. In the April chapter she writes, "Either we keep on shopping until the earth collapses under the weight of our trash, or we stop shopping and the economy collapses under its own stagnation."

Speaking of not buying it...I don't buy that. I think that there are great ways to consume without trashing the planet and great ways not to trash the planet without sending the economy into a downward spiral.

1. Recycling-When Jason stayed with my family several summers ago he was more than a little put off by the lack of recycling going on in good old Salina, Kansas. He saved all his empty bottles and flattened cardboard boxes in his bedroom, looked up where a recycling center in Salina was, and we took the loot ourselves to the center and sorted items into various bins. He he he...he would even swipe some of my family's garbage-can bound recyclabes and save them.

Up here, it's even so much easier than that, we keep two ugly old boxes right by our kitchen, one for glass metal and plastic, and one for paper and cardboard, and every Saturday Jason takes out the garbage and recycling, one bag of garbage and two of recycling, throws them in their own dumpsters, and two thirds of our waste can be re-used. Sure it's not beautiful, but I think it's a lot prettier than three garbage bags in a landfill.

2. Buy used for goodness' sake! By now each of you knows about my love for craigslist...not only cause you can get great stuff for cheap, but by buying something used you avoid all the wonderful packaging that will be thrown away while also saving the resources used to produce a new whatever-you-just-bought. I think it's definitely a win-win. (same goes for Goodwill or Salvation Army) (also by shopping at Goodwill and Salvation Army you are supporting good causes)

3. Your trash can be someone else's treasure. Sure, by giving your clutter and trinkets to Goodwill or Salvation Army, or selling them at a garage sale, they're just going to end up cluttering someone else's home, BUT they won't be in a landfill (yet) and hey, it might be JUST what someone else is looking for.

4. Gift-giving....don't give clutter that people only keep around because they're packrats or because they feel bad throwing a gift away....because eventually, all of these WILL be trown away. Instead give something that can be useful or used-up...these might not seem like the most exciting gifts, but neither is your 123rd elephant figurine. (this being said, I'm sorry for all of the useless gifts I've ever given any of you)

...and really, I'm not even a hippie-tree-hugger, I just believe in being good stewards of the planet the Lord has given us.....but...I probably waste water...I leave it running while brushing my teeth, do TONS of laundry, and take long showers, so I've got to do something to help out, right??!