It’s February 28th, and if you have been online in the last couple of weeks, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the economic blackout. Today is the day. Today is the day to resist shopping at the big retailers. Skip Amazon. If you shop, buy locally using cash.
It feels simultaneously like a major and minor event.
As an aspiring minimalist, it is not all that difficult to go a day without shopping. We have a hybrid, and I tend to walk most places, so even getting gas is something we can put off. We have food. We don’t need to go out and spend today.
Can one day make a difference?
What about tomorrow? I don’t literally mean that we can’t go two days without shopping. I mean, how should I take this economic blackout to the next logical step in leading a more sustainable, intentional life?
Economic Blackout Plans Beyond February 28th
Unsubscribe to all the ads that come to my email
I started on this a couple of days ago, and I will keep going. It’s amazing how automated systems will send you a message telling you that it can take up to 10 days to be removed from a mailing list you were instantly added to days/months/years ago.
Move away from social media
I deleted Facebook. It feels strange because that was one of the ways I kept in touch with high school and college friends. But those relationships should either become more intentional or move to platforms that aren’t so soul-sucking.
I spent the equivalent of about 20 minutes on Tik Tok. It was easy to delete — so much garbage and so many people believing the garbage. I understand many influencers profit from it, but I’m not interested in being influenced. I’m running as far away as possible.
I can’t seem to get rid of Threads—as in, literally because it is attached to Instagram, I can’t seem to delete it.
Instagram is the hardest to quit. It was an excellent resource for organizing volunteer efforts during the fires. But it’s also insidious. I get more ads through it now than ever, and I’ve seen enough of the reports about mental health to know that some people are being genuinely harmed by social media.
I’m almost on Bluesky. I mean, this is me on the app: https://bsky.app/profile/somedaygoals.bsky.social
Will I stay on it? Oy. I don’t know. I like the transparency of building a community through Substack or Patreon more, but we’ll see.
Limiting the ads
As I seriously contemplate moving from having a blog to a Substack or Patreon situation, I’ve become increasingly annoyed at the ads on this blog. I delete Temu ads from the feed every day. I should not have to do that. The system is supposed to learn your preferences and adjust to the brand. Honestly, it just makes me want to delete the whole thing. For now, I’ll keep blocking the things I see that promote overconsumption.
Oh, Amazon
It’s starting to feel like getting rid of Amazon is impossible as a consumer. I get it. I sell my books through Amazon. Could I stop? Sure. But new writers are having a harder and harder time finding ways to cut through the online noise to sell their books. It feels like your work goes into a black hole if someone can’t search for your work on Amazon.
Also, you could cancel your Prime membership tomorrow, but you won’t actually get a refund – it will just keep going until the next renewal date, which could be a year from now.
Keep focusing on experiences rather than stuff
I finally went to see my first live theater since the start of Covid. Andy and I have been going to the movies. I want to get healthy enough to try new restaurants or take longer walks. This economic blackout will end at midnight. But tomorrow is all about how we go forward.
Are you making decisions to spend your money differently? If you do shop, are you shopping locally? Going small? Have you been inspired to make a change?