I Quit Washing My Hair

That should get some attention. Well, I didn't totally quit and hopefully my hairdresser isn't reading this, but I am going to quit using shampoo. In fact I already did...three days ago. I haven't completely lost my mind or crossed over into full fledged hippie, but there are a lot of good reasons not to use shampoo and most people who do it find that their hair has never looked or felt better.

I have always had difficult hair. My hairdresser is a miracle worker and always manages to make it look and feel amazing for a day or two, but then I mess it all up and it feels heavy and gross again. She always asks me if I wash it in gasoline. I promise I don't, but I do think all of the shampoo is building up in between visits. So I quit.

There are lots of different methods and advice out there about going "poo free". Doing a quick Google search I came upon this blog (which I plan to read more of) and her instructions are simple and easy to follow. She also has a little bit about why people are choosing to do this.

I have a feeling that my hairdresser is going to think I've lost my mind when I tell her not to use shampoo on my hair, but I have my fingers crossed that this will heal my hair. I'm pretty freaked out about the possibility of a long transition period, but I hope I'm one of the lucky ones that gets through that quickly. If not, I apologize to those around me.

Spending Updates

I haven't updated the spending for a few days so I'll just run down the past few days quickly. I got behind on writing it all down, so I can't remember the exact breakdown of everything.

Thursday I spent $15.04 on gas because once again I hadn't made it to the place I wanted to get gas.

Friday was a bigger spending day. I spent $26.93 at Target. My purchases here were not typical, but they will become typical. I bought some Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, Borax, bar soap, baking soda...oh and bananas. The bananas were not connected. I plan to use these things to make my own liquid dish soap and detergent. I will keep you updated on those projects. I also spent $50.73 at Martins for some groceries.

Today I spent $30 on gas and $6.52 at a little bulk foods store. Only one of the three things I purchased there was necessary. I needed flax meal, but I didn't need the candy or spicy snacks! I also spent $10 at the farmer's market on bread and mint.

So it has been a pricey few days. Monday is payday so a whole lot more will be spent on bills :(

Homemade Dish Detergent and Yesterday's Spending

Yesterday's spending was about as exciting as the day before. My oldest son had is first round of allergy shots and a little mommy anxiety caused a few stops on the way home.

Dairy Queen milkshakes for all - $8.29

Thrift Store - $5.04 - The purchases here never make me feel bad though because the money goes to a good cause. My oldest got a book, I got some buttons for a craft project, and my youngest got a storage box. Now, the best part about the storage box is that he was begging me for one just like it at Michaels the other day and I told him we'd find something for him to use. The one there cost $5 and we found one that was just like it here for only $1!

Food Lion - $14.46 I can't remember the total breakdown here

So total for the day $27.79

Now, on to dish detergent. As I start to use up the household products I normally use, I want to replace them with a natural homemade alternative if possible. I do not have a dishwasher so I wash everything by hand and I'm getting close to running out of dish detergent. So, since I'm on my way to work and don't have time to Google, I hope my readers can share some ideas!

Living in a Commune

I love to pick on my mother about my name. I tell people that she named me after a cult leader's wife and it makes her nuts. But she sort of did. I was named after Emmy Arnold who was the wife of Eberhard Arnold who founded The Society of Brothers. They still exist under a different name today and still live communally.

I remember once as a child my parents considered the idea of us going to live there. At the time I was pretty glad they didn't do it, but now the idea doesn't sound totally nuts. I mean I wouldn't want to live in a religious commune because that really would feel like a cult to me, but I like the idea of a "village". One of my "internet friends" had a really horrible experience today and she could have really used a village to help her through it. I also have lots of other friends (married and single) that could use the support of others around them. I know it sounds odd in today's society, but I like the idea of living close to a lot of people I care about and us all working together to help each other survive and thrive.

So who's up for creating a commune?

Yesterday's Spending and Caffeine Withdraw

I was so worn out when I got home from work last night that I didn't post an update on the day's spending.

$50 - Field trip for oldest child
$5 - Field trip for youngest child
$10 - Gas

So I'm sure you're wondering where my oldest child is going that costs $50. It is to the National Zoo in DC and that cost is for both of us to go. We are packing our own lunch for the trip even though it is a pain carrying it around the entire time, but I'm sure he will want a souvenir and I remember how much I enjoyed that as a child so I'd rather spend the money on that.

The $5 field trip could have been a $3 trip but he wanted to eat lunch at the camp and I can't feed him for $2 so I figured that was a pretty good deal.

I needed more than $10 in gas but I didn't realize that I was so close to empty and I didn't want to fill up at the station that was closest to me because of the price there. So that was day one on my new radical no spending plan. I highly doubt every day will be that easy.

One of the big things I waste money on daily is diet soda. I am totally addicted! Like I wouldn't drink anything else if given the choice. I also tell myself I'll only have one if that's all I buy, but then I end up spending about $1.69 per drink multiple times throughout the day. That can seriously add up! So, as part of this project I am giving them up. I've tried this before and failed, so I'm hoping the money part of it motivates me.

The big problem is, I'm not someone who can wean myself off of them. If I have one I want more. So I have to go cold turkey and that leads to some nasty caffeine withdraw. So, today has been one giant headache! Hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

Something Radical

Well this will be something radical for me at least. I'm reading the book Your Money or Your Life and one of the steps in the book is to write down everything you spend for a month to evaluate how much of your energy is spent paying for those things. I tried it for a few days and was quickly shocked. But I got kind of lazy so now I'm going to blog about it so I can't be lazy anymore.

But there is a larger goal here for me. I want to stop spending. Now I'm not insane, I know I have to buy food and pay bills. I'm not going to become a hermit or totally do without things that are enjoyable. But, I spend a lot of money I don't have to and I want to see if I can cut that down. As I started writing this post my son came up to me with a permission slip that required five dollars. Obviously, he's going on that field trip, but it was just a good reminder that little bits go out all the time. I also hope for this experiment to help me. My oldest son has been diagnosed with severe allergies and the treatment is certainly not going to be free. Just gas getting him back and forth with be more than my current budget can handle, so I hope the cutting back will help offset this.

I'm putting some conditions on this project. First, we are not just going to totally stop all entertainment or eating out, but we will look for low cost options and cut back. I will not cheat anyone out of what they are worth. That means I will pay a fair price for goods and services and not skimp. I'm still going to my hairdresser and I'm still going to tip her. She provides a valuable service to me. Trust me, no one wants me to cut my own hair. As I run out of current products I'll ask for advice on their replacements, so I hope my readers will help me. I'm probably still going to buy too many books. It's a disease I tell you!

So, I'm excited about this. I'll try to chronicle my spending daily.

High Maintenance Consumer

I have decided that I need to become much more serious about this blog. Partially because I'm an attention whore, but mostly because if I post here on a regular basis it will keep me on track and give me some way to watch my progress. This means that I need your help. I know that a few people read here when I do post something, but I need more (see attention whore comment above). I need more feedback, I need you to share me with your friends. I need people to keep me on track. I need strangers and friends. It's the only way I'm going to commit myself to this. My personality require accountability which is why WW went so well for me (I need help there too, but that's a whole new post). So please, help me people!

Now, on to the meat (hehe) of this post. For years I have had a problem that I didn't want to own up to. I'm a bargain addict. I'm a shopping addict too. I just love going out and finding a deal on just about anything. Heck, I have another blog that I neglect that is devoted to bargains (going to do better about that blog too). Nothing would please me more than coming home with a pile of stuff that I'd acquired for next to nothing thanks to sales and coupons. I had the makings of a great little stockpile and always had the newest products. Don't get me wrong, I didn't buy things I couldn't use but who needs twenty five bottles of shampoo just because they were really cheap? As you have seen if you've followed my purging process the last time, I had so much stuff that I didn't even know what I had so I was buying more because I didn't know what I had a backup of.

Now I still don't believe in paying full price for anything if I can keep from it. I do love a bargain. But all of that purchasing led me into a heap of debt. Yes, even the nearly free items add to a greater total and the bill still has to be paid. But more than that, I spent a little here and there on bargains that I should have been saving for emergencies which is where the bulk of the debt came from. And what did I have to show for it? Nothing special that's for sure.

But that's all in the past. I can't take back how I spent then, I just have to change it now. I want out of a job that I hate, I want to not have to work every waking moment of my life, and I want the freedom to pursue things that make me happy. I also want to do things that are better for my family, the community and the environment. Changing how I live and how I consume is going to be a big thing for me. I'm a consumer, I'm high maintenance, and I need to change that. Hold me accountable people!