Starting NOW...

Here I go...As of February 1, 2010 I am embarking (finally!!) on a self-imposed ban on shopping for 90 days. That's right, no more new clothes, shoes, makeup products, nick knacks for the house, books, Cd's, technological devices...basically, no more new STUFF...for 3 months.


Allow me to begin by telling you a tiny bit about myself and a lot about why I am doing this...

I am a 37 year old woman. I live in Vancouver, Canada, a beautiful and thriving cosmopolitan city. I am a professional and earn a good income. This challenge is NOT about 'saving money', though that undoubtedly will be a side bonus. Rather, this is about challenging myself to disengage from the power of the media and advertising, as well as from the ever present pressure to keep up with the Jones'.

Like most women, I enjoy buying new clothes and shoes and cosmetic products. Like most people, I am easily seduced by advertisements for 'new and improved' this or that, whether it be shampoo or a new Apple product. In fact, often, the seductive power of the advertising messages that are so pervasive in our culture get the better of me and thrust me into an intense and obsessive "I need..." mode. You probably know how it feels...you have, say, a perfectly good ipod...the 80 gig Classic, for example. But suddenly you see an elegant ad for the latest and greatest ipod...the 160 gig, or the new nano with its sleek design and bright colours. And suddenly, you NEED to have it. It doesn't really matter that your 80 gig ipod is more than satisfactory and holds a @#%$^-load of pictures and music. That is not enough...damn it, your life is not going to be complete until you have that new ipod. And you will create any excuse to get it into your hot little hands. Like, you tell yourself that perhaps you actually will begin to download and store movies on your ipod, even though you have never really had an interest in doing any of this. You also tell yourself, "Hey, I work, I slave for someone, I DESERVE it!" Does this scenario sound familiar?

Over the past five years I have become increasingly aware of how influenced we as a culture are by the messages of advertisers and the corporations that need to constantly be producing something bigger and better in order to up their profits to satisfy their shareholders. The truth is that in this abundant culture we are drowning in stuff, in options, and in the choices and decisions that we need to make because of all of the stuff in our lives. And believe it or not, this is actually stressful. No, I am not referring only to my own experience, though I fully admit that standing in front of a literal wall of toothpaste brands and types at the drug store leaves me feeling a bit paralyzed. There is actual psychological research that shows that having too much choice is actually bad for you. It creates stress, as my toothpaste example shows. It overwhelms us and we become paralyzed. It is actually bad for business...but that's another story.

Basically, I am sick of it. I am sick of how in control of us the media is. I am sick of how I am never quite satisfied with what I have NOW...all of which is more than sufficient and adequate. I am sick of feeling like a puppet. Perhaps part of this is also a quest for me to get more in touch with what is truly important and sufficient for me. This is not to say that I am looking to begin living like a bum, without a care for how my environment looks or what my clothes say about me. No. I suppose it is simply that I cannot shake the feeling that I am somehow brainwashed...that there are things seemingly beyond my control that drive me to 'consume'. The time to explore this phenomenon has arrived. This blog will be my memoir of this challenge. It will also, hopefully, through those that follow it, serve as my place of accountability.