Day 3 of the "Buy Nothing Challenge"

This has all been interesting...very interesting.

I went into this challenge a little cavalierly, and I really wasn't sure if Mike would come along for the ride. However, Mike, after some initial hesitation because of the need to buy some art supplies, has actually had one of the more interesting things happen. He mentioned to some workmates that I was doing this, and why he was supportive yet reluctant, and someone apparently asked him what exactly he needed. He mentioned that, in preparing to display some of his paintings at a showing in a restaurant downtown, he was framing one, and needed some black spray paint to finish the frame he was making. He had a tiny bit left in a can here, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to complete the job. His workmate suggested that she had some she would be glad to give him, and that if anything else came up he should just send out an all-office e-mail and see what turned up. So, one day into the challenge he was feeling much better about it-in fact, he was almost gloating!

As for me, my thinking had been that it would be somewhat like other fasts I have done, in the sense that it would help me see where my areas of temptation lay, and teach me discipline in resisting those temptations. Always a healthy thing, I think. And I was fine until last night when I was riding my bike home from choir practice and my bike-light batteries gave up the ghost about half-way home. Well, shoot. Now I had to decide: new batteries so I can ride even at night? wait until the month is up, since I don't ride at night very often? I just hate paying such high prices for gas, so I decided to buy the batteries.

That's fine, but that means going into a store, where all the temptations await! Gardening magazines and snack food were the things I had to avert my eyes from as I walked through the aisles. I didn't look, but I sure heard them calling to me! So there you go; now you know some of my main downfalls. But I was a good girl, and got out of there with only what was on my list-a few food items and the batteries.

The other place I notice I'm somewhat tempted is the sale flyers for home-improvement places that come in the newspaper. I started to give them a glance, then realized I needed to just get them out the garage for recycling. Many pats on the back for that, Joyce!! You're so disciplined!!

So, I spent $4.99 on a non-food item, and it's only day three. But it's instructive, very instructive.