Drawing the Line

Day 1

So far, so good;  I personally have no huge desire to go buy anything new.  But in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably mention I did “stock up on a few things.”  I really did try to resist the urge (because doesn’t that really defeat the purpose? Kerry, I mean really), but the impending cloud of not buying anything new for an entire year transformed me into this sort of crazed modern day hunter gatherer.

 “I draw the line at used underwear,” said my husband after I outlined the project.   “Really?  That’s your input?” I thought.  I actually would have shouted this at him, but I was trying to be particularly nice to him at that time since he was leaving for some dangerous country soon where he might routinely get sand in his eyes, or fired upon, or both.

Anyway, I found this particularly interesting given that in the ten years plus years we have been married, I have never known him to actually purchase a new pair of underwear.  They just show up in his drawer as if they are reproducing through fission.  So, I am not sure what prompted his sudden interest in the household’s undergarments. But that was his contribution.

To start this project off on a harmonious and, “properly sanitary”, note, I did go out and buy everyone new underwear.

This included a trip to the home of the anorexic angel to buy a new bra.  It was time, the other ones had stopped doing their job of lifting and were more “just hanging out”.

There I told a diminutive salesclerk my size.  At this point she peered at me over her glasses and started twisting the measuring tape wrapped around her neck in a moderately threatening way.  She gave me a pitying look and said, “Have you ever been professionally fitted?”

So, this is how I came to be standing in the dressing room with a tiny woman of undetermined Asian origin with her fingers down the top of my bra  admonishing me, “gaps, you don’t want gaps.”  That last line was probably racist since while I meant Asian as a descriptor for how weird the situation was but in reality ANY woman regardless of national origin with her hand in my bra would have been odd. On the up side, I am apparently one cup size larger than I thought I was.

It is with some horror that I realize that my very first blog post about a year free from consumerism is about BUYING THINGS.  I’ve got to get better at this…

 

 


7 Responses to Drawing the Line

  1. We wish you all tons of luck! Hopefully you have a few great consignment shops now that you are once again living in the civilized world. Technically, you probably never bought anything new while living in DR as everything gets “pre-used” by the other shoppers. Like the half-eaten apple I picked up the other day or the guy spraying himself from head to toe with bug spray. No doubt just testing it out…..

  2. What about food? OMG what about school supplies? Does recycled paper count as new? Is Trigger really in on this too? Can someone buy you something new?

  3. OK I’ve just read two of your blogs and you’ve got me cracking up. This could be quite entertaining following you.

  4. I am enjoying your blog TOO much. “They just show up in his drawer as if they are reproducing through fission.” LOL’ed at 11 at nite, waking up hubby, dog and causing uncontrollable quiet shaking laughter. Thank you. I so relate. : )

  5. I’ve just stumbled upon your blog and I too, like Heather before me, am cracking up here about the reproducing underwear. 🙂 Definitely adding your blog to my reader and looking forward to reading through your past posts.

  6. Phew, you started out a lot like us. I desperately tried not to stock up on things before we began. Luckily we get bucket loads of toiletries and underwear for Christmas each year, so that’s not reaaaally cheating. Eeeh. This entry made me laugh aloud. I think maybe I’d be nicer to my husband if he was getting deployed. Maybe he should join the army.

  7. Pingback: One Year Today- Reflections on Buying Nothing New for a Year | The Simple Year

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