Sunday, November 29, 2009

Seriously ...



(can i really go an entire year without macy's? we'll see ...)


I started thinking about it a couple of weeks ago.

Our church had a short Sunday service, and then the pastor sent all of us out to the grocery store with a list of suggested items for the local food pantry. We were going to "be Jesus" to the community by stocking the pantry. Very cool.

Fifteen churches in the area did the same thing. Keep in mind, down here in Dallas if you have 1,000 members you're a small church. A large church could be 20,000 people or more.

As you can imagine, the nearby grocery stores were packed with people. Everybody stocked up on canned goods, toiletries and other essentials. We filled many, many semi trucks with stuff.

The next week, the pastor congratulated all of us on a job well done. The food pantries were stocked. They estimated that all the food would last them....

Three weeks.

That's right. Fifteen churches, umpteen thousand people, tens of thousands of dollars worth of essentials, and it would last 3 weeks.

I was stunned.

The next thing that made me think, was Black Friday. My blog post about it was pretty accurate. People were everywhere, rushing to buy TVs and Blu-Rays and YouNameIt.

And then ... I read a story by plaineolbob on the Bloggers Coffee Shop, who has a heart of gold. He asked the boy next door if he was excited about Thanksgiving, and the boy answered that they barely had enough food to last until the end of the month. Bob headed for the grocery store, and cooked a turkey dinner for the family.

That was it. I was ready to do something. But what?

Then ... I came across an article on Broowaha.com entitled Buy Nothing Day. It was about buying nothing on Black Friday. I decided to take it a step further.

Hubby and I have pledged to buy nothing new in 2010.

We'll buy used. We'll shop on Craigslist and eBay and at local consignment stores. We'll make exceptions for a few things, like underwear and food. And we'll keep track of how much we're saving.

At the end of the year, we will donate the savings to a worthy cause.

I'm going to post about our progress on Fridays. Should be interesting!

Stay tuned ...

~~~

7 comments:

Lillian Robinson said...

That sounds interesting. I look forward to reading about it. I never buy anything on Black Friday! (unless I have to go to the feed store)

It is amazing how much food passes through the pantries on a weekly basis!

* said...

That's a grand idea!

Most of our stuff comes from yard sales & thrift stores. It's possible to live on less and still have a happy, full, plentiful life. Less really is more.

This post puts life into perspective. it's not about getting. it's about giving. Again and again, throughout our lives. Thanks for the reminder.

Rae said...

That is a great. I like your idea of saving it and donating it later. Seems much more practical.

Ellie Kings said...

Wow, Impressive! I know many that save in that way, including myself at times. But for the whole year, now that i have to see! Can't wait for the updates Lesley.

Lesley said...

Lily: I couldn't believe how much food the pantries need. I'm sure this year is particularly bad.

Terresa: I agree, less is more. It's really easy to forget that in our consumer-oriented culture.

Rae: Yes, it'll be fun to see how much we can save!

Ellie: I'm excited about it! If nothing else, it'll give me something to blog about once a week. LOL

Fran Hill said...

Just catching up on your posts. I really like your 'buy nothing new' idea. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. Maybe you should start a dedicated blog for it? It could well catch on.

The Retired One said...

I SO admire your efforts in doing this...and your courage.
Wow!
It really is amazing.
I am just wondering about the toilet paper though......(wink)

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