The Blind Leading The Blind

As a homeowner one has to come to terms with worrying about such things one never thought one would worry about. I tend to be a worrier by nature - I blame my mom - and, really how many women have you met that aren't worriers? Instead of worrying about what I might wear on that date (what date?) or wondering about such things as that grey hair peeking through on the top of my head and when my next hair appointment is; I worry about blinds. Yes, blinds. Not hunting blinds. Window blinds. Boring. Ass. Window. Blinds.

It's cool. Really. I have come to terms with this type of worry a long time ago. It's actually somewhat comforting to be worried about something so innocuous. There are certainly worse things I could spend time pondering.

So, the blinds. I've needed blinds on my downstairs windows for four years - since I moved into this house. Downstairs is where I keep my 'living room.' I sit down there every morning, put my makeup on in front of the TV and then get dressed. In front of windows without blinds. I have curtains up but no blinds. And every morning for the past four years I think to myself, 'seriously, you need to get some blinds up before Mr. Peeper figures out you're getting dressed down here every morning.'

Therein lies the dilemma. Once I got serious about getting these blinds I was well into my not- buying-anything-new year. Finding used blinds has been a real test of my patience. Many times I almost got into the car and drove to Target to lay down my money on new blinds. I think I visited at least 10 used stores - nothing! Just so you know, most places, I come to find out, will not take donations of used blinds. I finally ended up finding perfect blinds at a Habitat store. When I went to pay for them ($10!) the clerk told me they don't normally carry blinds. Once again, my lucky day! Now, that grey hair...

It Might Not Be New But It Still Costs Something

I find myself at the thrift stores quite a bit lately. It used to be a 'special' trip to head out on a Saturday for a day of thrift shopping. Now, it's quickly becoming a 3-4 times a week thing. What this says to me is that I still have a jones for shopping. And this is disappointing.

My last boyfriend told me numerous times that I was a high-mass consumer and I've been trying to buck this label for years. I think it's where this not-buying-anything-new thing was borne. Really, how many shirts does one woman need? How many pairs of shoes or silly trinkets for the house? I've run out of hangers for the mass amounts of clothes and floor space for the shoes (and I have a large, walk-in closet!) and my house is starting to look like an old woman's who also has a lot of cats.

So, while I haven't been buying anything new, I have been purchasing a ton of shit. Shit I don't need. I am, from today forward, not only not going to buy nothing new, I'm not going to buy crap I don't need.

Take that ex-boyfriend!

What a Deal!

Since starting this little experiment in January my first home appliance took a digger and died. My DVD player kept getting stuck at 15:11 and would go no further, wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t chapter forward or backward and generally just gave up the ghost. In today’s throwaway world it would cost more to fix the player than it cost to buy it 8 years ago so I was left with the DVD player on my laptop. I thought, ‘fine, I can deal with watching movies on my laptop.’

Since I already cancelled my cable months ago, the red envelope has taken on a monumental importance in my casa. The only thing to watch on the 5 channels I do get is “American Idol” and truly, I’m just not that into it. The DVD watching on my laptop lasted about 3 days and then my aunt suggested I visit a pawnshop. My aunt is a genius! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier!

A few days ago I tripped on into my local pawnshop in search of usable, cheap DVD player. I hadn’t been in a pawn shop for about 17 years, back when I pawned my camera three times – I kept going back to get it out of hock. I had my choice of 4 DVD players and a Blu-ray player. I don’t really get the whole Blu-ray thing. Is it like 3D - totally a waste of time? Of the 4 players available, there were two in my price range. Neither had a remote so I picked the $15 model. An Apex. I’ve never heard of Apex but as I mentioned, I don’t get the Blu-ray thing so what’s in a brand name to me anyway?

I took it up to the counter and they plugged it in and showed me that it worked – sold! I was feeling that now familiar smug feeling I get when I feel like I’ve pulled one over on ‘the Man’ by not buying anything new. The nice woman at the counter rang me up and only charged me $10! I reminded her that it was actually $15 and she tells me that she gave me a discount – just because!

I’ve watched 3 movies on my new-to-me/used DVD player and except for wanting to watch the special features or chapter through something, it’s all-good! Now I’m waiting for the used universal remote I just bought on EBay to arrive.

A Tan Would Come in Handy Here

What's a non-spender supposed to do with runs in her nylons (the most horrible invention ever!) and 20 minutes to get to an event? Wish for a tan? Break the rules and deem nylons a health item? Steal a pair from the drug store so that I'm not officially breaking my rule? None of the above, my friends. I've never really had a tan and am starting to embrace my pale hue and while I could say that nylons are a health item since they have a 'panty' attached, it's a stretch. And the last thing I stole was a tube of mascara when I was 12 so that's out too.

I retreated to the good 'ole standby - nail polish. I would venture the "Hint from Heloise" that has gotten the most traction is using nail polish to stop a run in your nylons. Is Heloise still around? If she's online she'd get a lot of hits on this helpful, practical and free (as long as you already own a bottle of nail polish) tip.

I dug around in my manicure basket and came up with an old bottle of clear nail polish that worked splendidly on the multiple runs on my nude nylons. Off to the event I went.

I really do wish I had a tan though. Summer legs would look much cuter!

Cheating Leads to Fender Bender

I became enamored with what I thought sounded like a fantastic new invention, a carpet rake! What's a carpet rake you ask? A nifty cleaning device designed to pick up dog hair from your carpet. Simply brilliant!
My dog sheds like no other. If I could shalack him I would. I've actually had dreams of drowning in a giant hairball. This carpet rake invention sounded like the answer to my (ahem) hairy problem. I rationalized this purchase by telling myself it was a cleaning product so therefore not new.
So I drove myself to the Home Depot all excited to rid my house of unwanted dog hair. After explaining this new fangled invention to the helpful hardware gal I was turned away without a carpet rake. None to be had - online only. Grrr!
It was snowing heavily as I walked back to my car sans rake with plans of ordering it online. As I started to back out of my parking space I collided ever so slightly with a cream-colored luxury car. I say ever so slightly because seriously there was so little damage I had to pinch my eyes together to actually see it.
Unfortunately, the owners of said car were not as nice as their car and I now believe that my insurance company will be paying for a new bumper. C'est la vie.
If I hadn't become so intoxicated by the prospect of a hairless carpet and stuck to my resolution I wouldn't be purchasing a brand new bumper for an ugly, extravagant car.

The Same But With Food! (and written way better)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/233775

Valentine's Day Euphoria

2/14/10

Since I started this endeavor I’ve purchased one new thing, well, actually two; damn it! The first was right after the beginning of the year and was a gift. I had little time and nothing in my ‘gift closet’ that was appropriate. The gift was about $15. I justified this purchase because it was a gift. Can’t get through a day without a good justification.

The second purchase happened today. I blame it on Valentine’s Day euphoria. I got out of the gym at about 3 p.m. and walked right next door to PetCo to buy Cadence, my dog, a new bone for Valentine’s Day. Not that he knows it’s a sweetheart holiday but I do and I felt that I needed to get him a new bone because I was planning on clipping his nails that evening and he hates it. So I walked in and instead of a bone, which counts as food so therefore, not new, I bought a stuffed, red, squeaky toy! I didn’t even think about it until I got out in the parking lot, realizing that I didn’t buy a bone but a NEW toy. Unfortunately, Cadence has to go along with this not buying anything new dogma too. At least he liked it and was happy to have it after the nail-clipping session.

So, two things in a month and a half. Overall, I think the experiment is going well. It's very liberating – really. I walked into Target a few days ago to pick up a prescription and normally I would stop and look at the sale clothes rack. More often than not I would buy a silly little shirt or skirt or something else I don't need. On this trip I walked directly to the pharmacy and walked out. I didn’t feel like I was missing out, I felt a distinct sense of freedom.

Speaking of Valentine's Day - I had decided back in December to send out Valentine's Day cards since I was too lazy to send out Christmas cards. After the first of the year, I realized that with my New Years Resolution I wouldn't be able to buy cards so I ended up making them from stuff I had in the house. I'm not super crafty but it was fun to do and I think my friends liked them better than a store bought card anyway!