Buy nothing new month: the home straight

I've been avoiding thinking about this non-spending business too much in an effort to avoid the seemingly long lists of things I'll be rushing to the shops for in November.

But seriously, this month has been good. I've unsubscribed to a lot of fashion type emails I don't really read and it's nice not to hear about every sale going on for shops I don't really frequent. Of course I've kept connected to my favorite labels that are always top of my list.

So will I be rushing to the shops, credit card in hand at 9am on the 1st of November? Many (including Mr Couture) would say yes. But I'm not so sure. I've been enjoying the down time.

The second anniversary is cotton

The traditional gift for the second wedding anniversary is cotton. It is said that as both durable and versatile, cotton represents these two important qualities in a successful marriage and is seen as a symbol of great prosperity.

Mr Couture and I are not big present givers, preferring instead to spend some time together sipping a fabulous wine, sharing a delicious meal and chatting away enjoying a beautiful scenery.

This anniversary was spent lunching at Southern Highland Winery. There’s something so delightfully decadent about lunching on such a beautiful estate looking over vines, playful calfs and lush green fields; wearing simple, durable cotton.

Credit: iStockphoto

Buy nothing new month: one week down

So immediately after I took the pledge to buy nothing new in October my shopping self went into survival mode: I was mentally making lists of all the things I absolutely needed... couldn’t live a moment longer without. I was cursing all my favourite shops sending me emails that proudly described the fabulous sales they were having – as if to mock me.

New dress this, gorgeous shoes that.... never to be repeated sale this weekend only...

Deep breaths. And the initial panic subsided.

I’m even planning to look in the back of the wardrobe to see if there’s anything I’ve forgotten about and can drag out to wear for the weekend. I’m pretty sure there is...

Buy nothing new month

October is buy nothing new month. What does this mean? It means only buying the essentials such as food, drink, medications, hygiene products (by which I assume they mean food, wine, hair products and make-up) and then begging, borrowing, bartering, swapping or buying secondhand everything else. For the whole month.

As an expert consumer, I’m breaking into a cold sweat just thinking about.

But I’m also intrigued. So here it goes...