Hello! I’m an adult reference librarian at Guilford Free Library and from Earth Day, April 22nd, through May 22nd, I’m challenging myself to a month of no shopping. Would you like to join me?
I’m inspired by Ann Patchett’s 2017 essay in the New York Times, “A Year of No Shopping,” wherein she describes why and how she gave up shopping for clothing and extras for one year.
The why was her realization that wanting and buying was having a negative impact on her life. It was wasting her time and blunting her focus; it was an anxiety-crutch that ultimately made her feel worse, “the way a late night in a bar smoking Winstons and drinking gin leaves you feeling worse.”
The how was a process of drafting a one-year shopping contract for herself. Having identified her need to have less, she made a set of rules governing her shopping and tried to live by them.
I’ll try the same, beginning on Earth Day, April 22 through May 22, 2023. I’m doing it to reduce the impact of my habits on the planet; I also feel queasy with consumption.
If you’d like to join me, I’d love the company. Allow me to emphasize that, if you join, you will decide upon your own motivation; you will set the terms for your month of no shopping; you will be the only judge of your efforts.
The element of community exists for mutual support, discussion (if you wish) and encouragement. We’re each own our own quest, together.