Every year I look at the things I bought, most of them were just to make myself happy. Sometimes they were to replace things that I couldn’t live without, a lot of them were to fix or create other things. Since I buy very few actually NEW things, and almost always from Amazon or Ebay, it is easy to see what I bought. Everything else I acquire is from thrift shops or rarely Craigslist. Surprisingly this year, a lot of things I purchased were ones I really didn’t need but thought I did at the time. I also bought a lot of ‘just in case’ things which I apparently don’t need either. Yeah this was a bad year in comparison to other years, I mostly blame the very bad job that I had, I was spending the extra pay wastefully, probably just to keep from killing people at work. I also took up backpacking\hiking and bought a ‘new’ car which led me down a path to acquire appropriate accessories.
I kept trying used hiking clothing made of all the new and improved fabrics for hiking clothing and finally threw in the towel and redonated the entire lot. I just can’t wear anything made of polyester next to my skin. I bit the bullet and bought a merino t-shirt (although I found a $50 shirt for $20!) I can’t wear it in summer as they claim, but it’s fine for the rest of the year. I will usually only buy clothes on ebay after I have failed to find something I really want in thrift shops. At $50 this Aran Merino hoodie was probably the most expensive item of clothing I bought this year, I also picked up some merino lounge pants and a lightweight merino hoodie at $20 each, both needing light repairs – I write all the woolen purchases off as ‘heating’ expenses. I didn’t buy as MUCH yarn this year as other years, though I did stop knitting in the summer when the weather got sticky. I am going to TRY to use up the yarn cache under the bed, including sweaters I bought specifically to unravel for their yarn. I wasted at least $60 buying ‘hiking’ socks which I loathe, so I finally mastered knitting my own socks. I may have to add to my needle collection next year, and move onto other things.
This year I replaced the Microwave, the Tea kettle, my watch and finally the Bluray player which had died over a year ago, it was either replace it or sell the last of the bluray discs. On the bright side I have sold off so much of my media collection I am down to just the stuff I really love. I did end up rebuying a few discs I had already sold off. But I rarely buy them new unless they are as cheap as used.
After going 5 days without power I FINALLY ordered the Mr Heater, which had been sitting on my wishlist for like 3 years. It would have been $20 cheaper if I had picked it up in summer, but I was playing chicken with the climate. Hopefully I won’t actually NEED to unbox it . . . ever. I also picked up a butane stove which I am using regularly instead of the hotplate. It takes way less energy and fits nicely in the cupboard. 
From Craigslist I picked up a dehydrator for less than half price, I was getting a little sick of throwing squash into the compost pile because I wasn’t eating it fast enough. It is also one of those things that if I don’t use it next year I can resell it. I also aquired a couple of roof storage boxes for $25 each for my car, (I miss my truck) I know I only need ONE, but I am hoping to sell one in the spring and cover the cost of both. I also got a kiddie bike trailer for $20 with the intention of taking the dog for a long bike ride… when I am in physical condition for a long bike ride. And I bought a bike rack for the back of the car which I bought new because it was as cheap as used. I STILL need to get a roof rack if I ever want to use the $$$ canoe which is still hanging from the ceiling, although I have seen people simply padding the roof with pool noodles.
The Subaru Forester was probably the biggest expense of the year, though selling the truck covered the actual cost. It does free us up to go traveling, we managed to hike a lot of different places this year. I have intentions of doing a bit of camping or at least CAR camping so I can see the rest of the state. Her K9-SportSak was probably the most used purchase this year..and one of the most expensive at $79, well worth every penny. I did drop a significant amount on a Ultra lightweight backpack that I had my heart set on, though I did some horse trading to get it paid for; it should last me a good long while.
I was a little aghast at the volume of small bits of crap I bought off ebay this year, I really need to stop doing that. I only bought a handful of physical books to add to the book case (we won’t discuss my audiobook addiction today) I try to keep even those purchases within reason. I did treat myself to a $100 set of Signed James Morrow books, which I see as more of an investment . . . albeit one that brings me joy.
It’s that time of year when an old woman’s fancy turns to garden planning. Whenever the snow melts down far enough, I start visualizing where I want raised beds, and which shrubs i need to kill, and where I need to undo the things the previous owner had done, which at the time I paid for the house I had found charming, and now I find an inconvenience. At the last House I had given up gardening about 15 years ago, I was sick of defending my little patch of green from the lawnmower men and my brother. Obviously HERE I can do what I want, where I want. If i want to rip out all the shrubs that annoy me I can. if I want to replace every blade of grass with something i don’t have to mow every weekend, I can do that too.
The first thing i ordered once I the internet came back wa
The 1st thing I have to buy are a half dozen of these 
