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Saturday 31 December 2011

New Year's Resolutions

Well bing bong diddly dong, it's New Year's Eve! Time to make some ridicolously overambitious resolutions! I have two for 2012, and I intend to keep them. Here they are:


1. I WILL NOT BUY ANY CLOTHES IN 2012

Photo from here, stencil by ConsumeHastaMorir

Explanation:
I live in a society where consumption is not limited to food but also includes all other commodities, luxuries and indulgences known to man. In Norway it is not uncommon to find perfectly functioning flat-screen tvs on the skip, because their owners bought new, bigger ones. Or you might find a one year old sofa at the thrift store, simply because someone grew tired of it and wanted a new one. Or the lost/found objects box at the pub grows fuller and fuller because whoever owns the forgotten scarves and gloves can't be bothered to collect them. Only we don't think too often about the people who make all our things, and what conditions they live in. I won't go into detail about that, you can just go here instead to see how many slaves you have working for you. I have 58.

I am one of those people who buy clothes mainly because they are cheap. It goes something like this:
Me: "I need a new pair of jeans, because the old ones are worn out/don't fit me". Then I go to the shop. "Man, jeans are expensive. I'll have to think about it for a while. Maybe I can use my old ones a little longer." Then I pass by the sales rack. "Ooo, look at this jumper! It's quite nice! And it's 30% off. I'll get it." Then I buy a jumper I don't really need, instead of the pair of jeans I actually need, and if I'd just saved the money from those 5 tops that were cheap, I would have had enough money for those jeans anyway.

So basically I want to jump-start my common shopping-sense, learn to make do with what I have (which is, I should say, a modest amount of clothes, at least in these parts of the world), redesigning old things and saving some money on top of it all.

Exceptions:
*Clothes for my son. This is obvious. He is 9 months, he needs new clothes on a regular basis.
*One pair of spring/summer shoes. I have a single pair of trainers. That's IT. I kid you not. I bought them in New York in 2008.
*One pair of autumn/winter shoes. This is not strictly necessairy, but I only have hiking boots to use in the winter. So I will only buy these if I find a pair I really like.
*Necessairy underwear. I've stocked up but you never know.


2. I WILL NOT BUY SWEETS/CANDY IN 2012

Photo by Blaine Kendall, from here

Explanation:
Well. Do you really need one? I want to get healthier. Sweets/candy includes soda pops, crisps/chips, cakes, biscuits and so on. I'll become a fruit freak. High on life and caffeine.

Exceptions:
*Did you see what I did in the headline up there? I said "buy". Not "eat". There is a good reason for this. I will not buy sweets myself, neither will my husband (at least so he says). But if I go to visit someone and they offer me cake/chocolate/biscuits etc, I want to be able to accept. But I won't throw myself at the bowl and wolf it down, either.
*17th of May (Norway day). Oh, come on! It's the one day of the year where eating as much ice cream as you can without vomiting is practically mandatory.
*Birthdays. CAKE!
*Hallowe'en. Because the neighbourhood kids shouldn't have to dress up for nothing.
*Christmas and Easter. But in moderation.
*Stuff I make myself. Which will eliminate most of my sweet-consumption, which is often spontaneous and due to low blood sugar. Baking takes too long to be spontaneous.



So there you have it! There's only seven hours left of 2011, the greatest year of my life so far, and 2012 will be even better! Happy New Year!

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