Via @hyde blog I learned about #YLW - year of living without.
I'm certainly interested
This is the original post the other link back to:
https://zenhabits.net/without/
https://tangiblelife.net/year-of-living-without
https://manuelmoreale.com/thoughts/without
https://lazybea.rs/without/ylw-march-2026/
Today is the first day of a month and there is still a lot I haven't done. Taking inspiration from others,
- I didn't eat anything with added sugars yet, so I could try to live without for April.
- I didn't shower this morning, so I could try to not to shower with hot water in April
- I didn't buy anything, so I could be frugal and forego buying anything but groceries.
- I could limit my smartphone use to between 8 AM and 8 PM
I think the don't buy stuff might be both challenging and useful as I've been buying way too much, now that I'm spending so much time at home.
So I'll try that one and update here. #YLW
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 1 - 24 hrs Wake Up Call
I knew that buying things online had become a pastime. Especially books, but other things too. Things related to hobbies, like fermentation and distilling, whiskies and whisky glasses, audio equipment and music, and clothing with political slogans. I ditched Instagram because of it. The targeted commercials were too well targeted.
What I might have underestimated is how much that had become habitual behaviour. Hearing about a niche whisky glass - Sewer is off to the webshop.
Wanting to filter mead - Sewer is searching for second hand demijohns. Etc. Etc.
It would have been interesting to count, but I didn't so it is a guess, but I think the #YLW resolution stopped me while browsing at least four times. That is once every 3 waking hours that I would have considered buying something online. That is ridiculous. I probably would have bought only once. But still.
A friend of mine is actually helping me to get my house less cluttered and I would have bought new stuff. When I told her about this resolution she was actually surprised. 'but... you have everything' to my answer 'twice' she correctly added 'at least'.
So. Here we are. Consumerist Sewer makes another Pirouette.
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 2 - 5 days in
When folks knocked on my door Thursday and asked for a contribution for this year's Village Festivities in June, they made me think. Did I mean to exclude donations as well? Is that buying something? I decided it wasn't. Not buying isn't not spending. Decided thus, I donated to the fest and to an artist of whom I would have bought stuff if not for this challenge.
Friday and Saturday were spent in the best company, at home and in the anarchist library didn't create any temptations nor did I need distraction -I was having a good time!
Sunday the good times didn't stop: I saw Sunken and Panopticon play in Utrecht. Panopticon, in particular, is a band I'm quite a fan of and man, their concert was absolutely amazing. When the show ended half the audience stared into nothing with a silly love-struck grin. That good.
But... Buying merchandise is not the same as giving a donation. Or is it? It is an important part of the money the band generate and they will never get rich playing their left wing folksy atmospheric black metal.
Temptation at the top of a slippery slope...
I went to the merch table twice but decided not to buy anything when I didn't feel just handing over some cash was something I really considered.
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 3 - day 6
Maybe I should call my habit of buying stuff I don’t need an addiction. The reason I think that might be more honest, is because I noticed that my mind is responding to this challenge by looking for loopholes.
This weekend I ran out of coffeebeans. I was resolved to source my coffee from vrijemarkt.org but I forgot, so the choice was: no freshly grinded coffee or buy in a supermarket. I choose the latter, though I now think I should have chosen the first.
But now I found me browsing the site to buy coffee. But I don’t need coffee, nor do I need the olive oil I put in my online basket. It was my addictive behavior, not need, that brought me to the site. Leveraging my bad feeling about my coffee decision to try to get me to buy stuff.
The mind is a curious thing
Decided to fail the challenge once: Bought a ticket to the Night of Philosophy this Saturday to hear Clarice Gagard, Mathijs van de Sande and others
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 4 - day 7 to 11
Kicking the habit? I've the impression that the challenge is becoming easier. I certainly spent less time abandoning electronic shopping carts.
But it's way too soon to be confident I really made progress. This weeks realisation is that this challenge is not so much about spending and more about that immediate response of getting stuff in reaction to new information.
Saw someone suggesting 7 mathrock bands in response to the Angine de Poitrine hype, downloaded 14 records of 6 bands. Going to the GY!BE show later tonight, downloaded 12 concerts -all with the same 2 hour setlist. And the SMWS podcast still did make me check their whisky webshop, though I have about 50 unopened (and 10 opened) bottles already.
However, it could have been worse and it has been. Actually buying a bottle didn't cross my mind and at least I didn't download entire discographies like I've done often enough.
Writing this update and reflecting on my behavior made me think of a less consumerist response. Why not look for mathrock in my existing music collection instead of getting new stuff. Etc.
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 5 day 12 - 16
This challenge is slowly leading to a new challenge: how to stop buying at supermarkets. That will be a lot harder I think, but very worthwhile. Started to source all my vegetables from a local eco farmer this week.
Buying stuff as a pass time was less difficult, as I had to pay quite some medical bills this week.
But a comrade published a book, so I bought it. And the mead I made for my youngest son is ready for bottling, so I bought empty bottles as well.
Not very strict of me, but still happy with how this challenge is seriously raising the bar on buying stuff.
#YLW a month of not buying anything except groceries
update 6 day 17 - 24
Things went pretty well these past few days.
Except... When I went to visit my youngest son, he took me to an antiquarian bookstore.... I just couldn’t resist a book on the history of Islam and a facsimile of the first edition of Bordewijk’s 'Blokken'. That was Wednesday.
However, I didn’t buy the book on all Churches from the Middle Ages still existing in the Northern parts of the Netherlands and Germany. That unbought book itches!!
And as my resoluteness was being worn down by the itch, I saw yesterday a book by Amadou Hampāté Bā on Tierno Bokar’s life and thought for just € 8,13 …
So 3 books added to my library in a week and still that unbought book about those churches nags.
It is silly, I bought 4 new bookcases already this year *and* I have about 20 boxes with books stored in my two attics. And still I’ld like to own that book on Middle Ages churches.
😒 This is addict behavior.
And the urge to buy stuff is stronger now that my paycheck has arrived…
The added challenge of not visiting supermarkets led me to find another farmers’ store in the neighbourhood. Very happy with that, so it is not all bad.
Sewer Pirouette Ⓐ