I'm feeling really great, y'all. In the past three nights alone Blake and I have run 5.25 miles! WOOHOO!!! I think we're going to up it from running 1.5 miles to 1.75 or maybe even TWO!

Being able to notice the changes all over my body is quite a wonderful and inspiring occurence. I've never felt this before. I've just always been one of those "fat skinny girls" and finally I realized that I am NOT okay with that. Not only is this great for my body (inside and out), but it's trickling down into everything else in my life. It's had an impact positively on my self esteem, stress, and depression. I've suffered from those things and more for a long time and it's amazing to feel like the clouds are being lifted. I still have a ways to go, but for once I feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Love, Elaine

MissElaine

I think I'm going to extend the no-buy into as many other areas of my life as possible.

That means not buying the new limited edition lime Lamy Safari F nib pen I've been drooling over recently. I got one of last year's limited edition pens and I'm using it constantly so I've deleted the link I have for the lime one. Also, no new inks until I empty a bottle. That could take years. Same for journals. I'm not buying a new journal until I've filled the empty ones I've already got.

I've sold my sewing machine and overlocker, I just wasn't using them. I'm taking them to their new owner on monday. I'm also going to sort through my fabric stash. Some for ebay and some up on the local classified site. All the money I get for that will be going into savings.

I don't need any more clothes, just the occassional top or pair of trousers for work. My job tends to be hard on clothes. It doesn't matter if I spend £15 on a pair of trousers or £50. They'll get destroyed in the same amount of time anyway. I'm not really a big shoe shopper so that's not something I'm too bothered about. I have safety shoes for work which I don't pay for so shoes for work isn't an issue at all.

I'm cancelling my magazines. I only ever read them once anyway and stick them in for recycling. I've got a few books to read which will keep me busy. I'll let myself buy a new book, one at a time, when I've read the few I haven't got through yet.

I've not done a complete no-buy before so I have no idea how I'm going to find it. That's one of the reasons why I'm not setting an actual date to finish.

Sirvinya

I've had to have a long think about the amount of money I spend on makeup so it's time I stopped buying stuff for a while. The usual rules apply:

-Mascara can be replaced every 3 months
-Skincare can be replaced when it's used up

The no-buy is for as much beauty stuff as possible. I have loads of shower stuff, body lotions and shampoos, etc. I need to get all that used up as well.

I do have one exception. I've just sent off a pigment sample to be copied. I haven't paid for that yet but it was arranged last week, before this was all decided.

I haven't set an end date yet, I'm just going to see how long I can manage this for! Hopefully I'll hit the 3 month mark, and then the 6 month mark which would be absolutely fantastic!

Of course, stuff I get for free due to my Youtube videos doesn't count since I'm not actually paying for any of that.

Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it!

Sirvinya