Get Started – The Enough Festival

1. sign-up

Register for the Festival. You’ll receive The Enough Festival newsletter with all the details you’ll need to have a great festival and we can also track our collective impact.

Gather your household to discuss your participation plan. Just you? Great, you get to call the shots! If you have kids, include them too—this festival is for everyone!
Create your own guidelines: We suggest keeping the essentials – bills, rent/mortgage, groceries, healthcare, and saying ENOUGH to everything else! But every household is different—perhaps that Sunday brunch is a must, you want to pause just one category of spending, or maybe you get really creative and go all in.
Plan for events: List any important dates in August—birthdays, weddings, holidays, events and potential obstacles. Decide how you’ll handle these occasions. Need a gift? Consider making, upcycling, or thrifted options first, or does it need to be new? Knowing upfront what to make exceptions for will help you stay on track.
Plan for Extra Cash: By September, you might have some extra cash! Think ahead to avoid spending it all on September 1st. Consider using this money to reduce debt, save for items that reduce your carbon footprint, or donate to a charity aligned with your values.

Create a cozy festive vibe. Think Christmas, but without the spending!
Decorate your home using what’s in your garden (or that tiny pot-plant on the windowsill), or use what you have around the house.
Use what you have a get creative. It can be as simple as a vase of greenery, or you can go all out. The goal is to create an atmosphere that feels cozy, festive, reflects the natural season of winter, and serves as a reminder of our commitment to pause to find enough in what we already own.

Engage with community by joining the discussion. Share your experiences, ask questions, and connect with others to enrich your journey. You can do this locally with friends and family, or join our online festival community!

Spend the day with the members of your household cooking up a storm without heading to the shops. Use what you already have and get creative with that weird looking sauce at the back of the pantry (which seemed like such a great idea at the time!). At the end of the session, freeze your excess. Now you are all set with meals you can grab and reheat when you’re too tired to cook. Takeaway temptation avoided!

If you find yourself in need of something—be it a cup of sugar, a pair of pants, a plank of wood, a gift, support, or ideas—reach out to your community. Ask the festival community, friends, family, neighbours, your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, local community centre, or social media groups to find what you need.

Celebrate the festival’s end and the coming of Spring through shared food and gift giving- Enough Festival style!
Host a meal and invite guests to bring a dish made entirely from food they already have. Stuck for an ingredient? Substitutre or ask dinner guests if they can bring it along with them!
Share stories of the month that’s been with those you are gathering with.
Exchange gifts that come from the garden, are homemade from items you already have, something you already own, or something sourced from community. Children can join in too, by bringing a toy they no longer play with and gifting it to another child. It’s a great opportunity to normalise gifting second-hand!

At the end of the month, reflect on your journey. What were the benefits? Did you save some cash, reduce your carbon footprint, create less waste, find you spent more time in nature, create some beautiful rituals that didn’t cost a cent?
Share your experiences with the festival community and help us to tally the cumulative benefits from the Festival.
You did it!!