One goal I have for the new year, and my life in general, is to be less of a consumer, and more of a creator. I am kicking off this intention this month, with a no-spend January!

Thankfully, I was able to convince my husband to join me! We’re joining forces for a month of no eating out, no entertainment costs, no shopping, and no buying anything other than groceries and transportation. We will continue to spend on monthly bills, subscriptions,  and things that we are contractually obligated. We can give away as much money and goods as we like, in fact I have already gone through my closet and given away two big bags of clothes. We can pay extra on loans, too, so we might actually end up spending more than usual on certain things (including groceries!) My motivation isn’t to save money (though this might be a nice byproduct of our efforts) rather it is to become mindful of my spending, conscientious of my personal consumerism (and our household consumption) and empowered with the creativity to meet our needs with things we have, or things we can make (with things we have.)

Anything that we want to buy this month, we are adding to our “Want to buy” list and we’ll re-evaluate  the list at the end of the month to decide on purchases. We did a big grocery shopping trip last weekend to re-stock our refrigerator after the holidays and have already been doing some good cooking this week: Rice + Beans + Greens + Cabbage Soup + Fresh salads + Kale/Pineapple/Ginger juice + Strawberry/Banana/Ginger smoothie + more! Tonight we’re making homemade pizza!

On day 6, I already feel more grounded, more connected to my life (especially the food I’m putting in my body) and super excited for this challenge. I hope to fill this month with free goodness: quality with Carlos,  lots of adventure in nature, and intentional living with lots of self-care, good reads, and good eats!

Stay tuned! The adventure is just beginning!

P.S. Please ignore my somewhat sad attempt to draw a face exfoliating tool :0 haha!