Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Why is Black Friday the blackest of them all?

So with Black Friday quickly approaching, I thought it might be helpful to run through some tips together to prepare for such a wallet welting day:

1. If you are starting to panic because you haven't spent anything and it's still Thanksgiving day, you need to read the next few really carefully.

2. The US is the most wasteful place on the planet and Orange County is the most wasteful place. We were perfectly fine a week ago. Why are we letting the advertisements mess with our heads. The world will still go on if we don't buy one more thing.

3. Black Friday is a symbol to companies that we give in to their marketing schemes. Let's not send that message.

4. If I could travel across South America for two months living off of one backpack while traveling through every climate imaginable, I'm quite sure its possible to make it a few more years on the things we already have. We hardly get mileage out of the stuff we have because we are so busy working to make enough money to have those things. (At least I am)

5. Black Friday is a plague. It spreads. If we resist buying something and tell others that we aren't going to,we can help heal this sickness.

6. IRONY: Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for everything we already have. We just undo our thanks by going to buy "more stuff". Its like saying to a friend "Hey, thank you so very much for the ten sweaters you gave me. I am so thankful for them... but, I think I'm going to buy one more cause ten wasn't enough."

7. I like buying new things. We all do. It's exciting. But buying something used is also new to us. If you must buy something on Black Friday, go to a thrift store. Buy it used. The impact on the earth is softened.

8. Who got ready for Black Friday so that we could splurge? Was it some kid or elderly in a sweatshop? Probably.

9. Hey, if you must buy something, then do it. Nobody can judge you and I certainly won't. These are just things to think about so we can collectively move away from this habit.

Okay so what to do instead on Friday... Make it green.

1. Donate stuff you already have that you don't need anymore

2. Go hang out with some random homeless person. There is a small homeless colony in Santa Ana by the civic center. They love the company. You will leave feeling grateful, I promise.

3. Find things you don't want and make something new out of them and give them as gifts for the holidays.

4. Go hiking.

5. Go swimming.

6. Swimming might be too cold. Don't.

7. Only go swimming if you are wearing a wetsuit. Maybe 2.

8. Write letters to people you love.. Do you remember how awesome it felt to get handwritten letters in the mail?

9. Go commit a random act of kindness. ( I was in my favorite coffeehouse last week and went I tried paying for my drink, the lady informed me that somebody before me already payed as a random act of kindness and that I was to pass it on.. I have been brainstorming creative ways to do that. Perhaps it will be a later blog topic)

10. Plant native seeds in your yard. Contrary to popular belief that Spring time is the time to plant, November and December in California is actually the right time to plant, especially if you are planting Natives.. You will hardly have to water them since the rainy season is approaching.

11. Make some kind of food from scratch.. The more we make things with our own hands, the more we value them.