Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade
JUNE RESULTS
Money Saved: $1,000
The breakdown would show money spent on gas, groceries, toiletries and other necessities as usual, so I won't bore you with the details.
Projects Completed: LOTS!
Most of my projects in June involved ridding my house of the clutter that comes along with "Buying It" and, therefore, accumulating way too much unnecessary stuff.
1) "KILL MY TELEVISION"
I gave up commercial television in 2005. However, I kept my TV and used it to watch movies and shows on DVD, videocassette and, briefly at the end of 2010, streaming Netflix via Roku player.
After fewer than 6 months of my Not Buying It Project (as well as reading an excellent book called
The Age of Missing Information by Bill McKibben), I decided that I didn't need a TV at all...or a VCR...or a DVD player...or a Roku player.
All of my VHS box covers went to
Kate Kehoe of Chicaloo Photography and More to make into awesome upcycled notebooks.
I donated all of my videocassettes to
Alternative Community Training, an organization in Missouri that employs disabled persons to clean and refurbish the tapes for resale. It cost me $25 in postage to ship the box to Missouri, which put my over my spending limit for the month, but it was worth it.
I donated dozens of DVDs to Flint Handmade for our
DVD Sale.
2) BECOME AN EBAY and HALF.COM SELLER
I am now a seller on
eBay and
half.com! I posted dozens of DVDs, CDs and books on half.com and made almost $200 total. I will be posting my Roku player and more items on eBay soon.
I have decided to use eBay/half.com money to purchase a secondhand spinning wheel and chairs for my patio! I was inspired by my beau, who sold his unnecessary TV and used the proceeds to buy a grain mill from
Lehman's, a company that sells non-electrical appliances and supplies.
3) DONATE BOOKS TO THE FLINT PUBLIC LIBRARY
Some of the books I owned did not come up in the half.com system, so I just decided to donate them to the Friends of the
Flint Public Libary. They accept donations on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-noon.
4) VISIT FRATZ CONSIGNMENT and WEARS LIKE NEW
In addition to ridding myself of DVDs, CDs and books I no longer use, I am also letting go of a lot housewares and clothes.
I have consigned 20+ household items with
Fratz Consignment and 40+ articles of clothing at
Wears Like New. Money I earn from these sales will also go into my spinning wheel account.
I have now been "Not Buying It" for over 1/2 year and there are no signs of slowing down! Wish me luck for the rest of July!