the UN-shopper

Ok, at the beginning of the year a made a vow not to buy anything new; no new clothes, no new kitchen gadgets, nothing, just food and I left the option of getting new pair of running shoes in because I thought I’d get some for x-mas but I didn’t so I need to get new one. I didn’t make this vow really as a big statement or to have something to blog about, I did it for me. I was plum exhausted this holiday season, thinking about family and friends and then the new (partner’s) family I met over at Thanksgiving. I just lost enthusiasm and then I put up an art show, well an art exhibit where I actually made a ton of stuff! So maybe I was just feeling like a super crafter. But I like the effects it’s having on me, for example I shop a lot at Goodwill already, I support their ways of helping less fortune people and their emphasis on Community, so I can justify going there to buy my yoga clothes. Also using craigslist for kitchen things and such; my studio is lousy with craigslist finds, everything from my fancy desk to the benches dividing the Yoga floor from the Gallery not to mention the hand me down privacy screens, handmade curtains (old bed sheets if you are curious) and custom made by a friend storage crates (to match the craigslist benches I found that were made by a local unemployed young man trying to make ends meet). I like craigslist because the money goes right to a person, not I big company or someone running a business buying and selling goods rather like eBay. For that reason as well I’ve allowed myself to keep Esty an option since I feel good about supporting hand crafted fares, though you have to be a little careful on Etsy to, there are some businesses lurking under the guise of starving crafters. So without further ado, for the month of January here’s how I’ve done:

2 birthday cards

1 pair of Smart Wool leggings

Here’s how I feel about that. Starting with the cards, I’m not beating myself up about for 2 reasons. First I bought them from our local General Store, where I now the owner her stance as a business and what a vital commodity she provides to our Community so I’m ok with where that money ended up. Second these were January birthdays I was smack in the middle of getting my art show up, I was to put it mildly drained of all creative juices. But it’s always been a little fantasy of mine to make gift cards and postcards using unique photography and paper sewing. So hopefully I can get it in gear for my February birthdays.

Now the leggings which I bought because I was cold, I was cold and I have lost 2 pair of yoga pants which normally serve as my under gear in the winter. Now my (lost) yoga pants are cotton, which any native from winter climates will tell you does nothing to keep you warm below freezing temperature and wind. How true, how true. So in a moment of weakness and really a moment of hope for warm legs I bought some Smart Wool tights. Now people swear by Smart Wool socks so I thought I was making an investment, though I won’t say how much they were trust m eon the investment part, in my winter comfort especially since I have succeeded in only using my feet and bike as winter transportation. Well what it turns out I got are very cute, somewhat itchy undergarments that are not the least bit wind proof. So the lesson it seems is that with me and clothes I should really stick to good will, at least then if it’s a flop I’m only out a few bucks.

So why a shopper’s, or un-shopper’s, guide on my yoga blog, well for me it’s about being mindful and not giving into impulse. Which is exactly a yoga practice, an asana practice or a philosophy. Mindfulness and training ourselves to not be run by our ego and impulses but to recognize