Opting out the Marketplace
tldr: I got a coffee cart from my buy nothing group and want to get all other baking supplies this way
I wanna go back and qualify a point I made a few weeks ago about how liberation cannot only come from boycotts or buying from Black-Owned businesses. I still think this: our country is no longer set up so that we know and see where our food, clothes, and items come from, as it was during the Civil Rights Movement. Our boycott might put a dent in the massive profits that shareholders and the Walmart family receive. Meanwhile, if Walmarts have to close down in otherwise food deserts, that becomes a larger problem for families in areas where no alternatives exist. However, I will amend my statement slightly.
What if instead of boycotts and shifting our shopping habits, we opt out of the marketplace?
The idea or revision of a previous idea came as I read a Guardian article about how Democrats have shifted their spending habits since January. The article didn’t say anything new. (Frankly, lots of articles about “consumer habits” these days don’t feel like they’re reporting anything “new” but pathologizing.) But, what I held onto was language that more people were “opting out” of the marketplace. The article found that around 1/3 of Americans are looking to cut back spending and get out of dealing with a company’s shifting politics, policies, and price gouging. I’m inspired by people moving away from constant spending and consuming; this statistic signals a change in lifestyle and ethics.
I have felt this shift, too, since moving out of my mom’s and into a new apartment. I am trying to opt out of buying as the first impulse and find other alternatives. My roommate and I try wherever possible to get furniture from friends, FB marketplace, and Buy Nothing groups. Admittedly, he’s much better at scoring finds this way than I am. He found the cart that I turned into a coffee and bar station. Recently, I felt proud when I was able to score Nordic Ware half-sheet pans, the preferred brand for home cooking.
I cycle through books and give them to friends or neighbors when finished, recognizing that I don’t have the space for the number of books I acquire in a year. In the past, I’ve gathered friends to do book swaps so we don’t have to keep buying new things our bestie already owns and would be willing to let us use.
I hope to either thrift or find baking supplies and home decor this way, too. I want to start baking sourdough and other breads. I also want to be able to do the recipes this delightful baker shares each week on his TikTok.
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So here’s a short list of the items I’m trying to find but not buy:
Picture and poster frames
Cupcake and bread pans (I swear I have these somewhere and just need to find them)
Wide-mouth mason jar and cloth cover for my sourdough starter
Ceramic baking dish for casseroles
Cake rings to punch out layers