Many people are boycotting corporations owned by billionaires and avoiding chain businesses in response to policies that favor the ultra-rich over everyday people. This isn’t just a short-term protest—it’s an opportunity to permanently shift how we engage with money, media, and community.

In addition to simply “not buying” or logging off social media, let’s actively reclaim our power. Below are over 125 specific ways to make the most of this time off corporate platforms and shopping, reduce reliance on big business, and create a sustainable local and personal economy.

• Bank with a local credit union instead of a major bank.
• Cancel Amazon Prime.
• Cancel unnecessary subscriptions and memberships.
• Set up a cash envelope system to avoid reliance on big banks.
• Choose a non-corporate gym or fitness instructor.
• Cancel automatic online shopping subscriptions.
• Delete your Amazon wishlist. Consider the items on it and if they would truly add value to your life. For the ones that truly would, find those items or alternatives at local small business retailers and take note of prices, the address, etc. Keep this new wish list as a document or in a notebook, for sharing as occasions come up.
• Learn useful skills that can cut down on costs, such as home maintenance, auto repairs, sewing, gardening, first aid/emergency preparedness, and carpentry.
• Schedule a monthly no-spend week.
• Batch errands to minimize fuel and unnecessary store visits, reducing impulse buys.

• Track purchases, research ethical alternatives, and make the move.
• Invest in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) share.
• Invest in quality long-lasting items instead of cheap mass-produced goods.
• Practice minimalist living by not purchasing unnecessary items, decluttering and donating excess.
• Find a local butcher or farmers’ market for fresh goods instead of chain supermarkets.
• Buy second-hand from thrift stores, estate sales, and garage sales.
• Purchase books from independent bookstores instead of Amazon.
• Buy holiday and birthday gifts exclusively from small businesses.
• Use cash instead of credit cards at small businesses so they don’t incur fees for your transactions.
• Set a cap for eating out per month.
• Unsubscribe from retail emails.
• Find out which companies donate to political causes you oppose and shift your spending accordingly.

• Use reusable containers and avoid single-use plastics.
• Start composting to reduce food waste, avoid purchasing from big box stores, and conserve natural resources.
• Mend clothes instead of buying new ones.
• Repair broken electronics instead of replacing them.
• Make DIY cleaning products from natural ingredients.
• Swap or borrow books.
• Start growing food.
• Take up food preservation techniques (canning, fermenting, etc.).
• Plan meals for a few days at a time to more efficiently utilize food items before they go bad.

• Find locally made hygiene and beauty products instead of corporate brands.
• Avoid gas stations owned by major corporations and find independent alternatives.
• Change over to using local independent pharmacies instead of chain drugstores.
• Switch to a refill store for household and personal care products.
• Research local zero-waste shops.
• Start buying in bulk from local suppliers to reduce reliance on chains.
• Buy pet food and supplies from an independent feed store.
• Get craft and hobby supplies from small businesses or swap groups.
• Trade or barter goods/services with people in your community.
• Buy handmade items from local artisans instead of corporate gifts.
• Shop at a co-op for groceries instead of big-box stores.
• Grow herbs or vegetables at home instead of buying.
• Shop for gifts from local artisans, make handmade gifts, or make agreements with loved ones about guidelines for gift-giving that avoid consumerism and waste.
• Filter your water and take it with you in reusable bottles instead of buying water when you’re away from home.

• Use a local tailor or cobbler instead of buying new clothes or shoes.
• Cook meals at home or eat at local eateries instead of eating out at chain restaurants.
• Rent tools from a local tool library or borrow from neighbors instead of buying from big-box stores.
• Support local repair shops instead of replacing broken items.
• Find a local tailor instead of relying on fast fashion.
• Use a local printing shop instead of big-chain print services.
• Subscribe to local indie magazines or publications.
• Support a local herbalist instead of chain health stores.
• Get handmade jewelry or accessories from small artisans or learn to make and repair your own.
• Buy bread from a local bakery instead of supermarkets.
• Hire a local artist for design needs instead of corporate options.
• Support local food trucks, diners, cafes, and other eateries instead of fast food chains.
• Look for local co-working spaces or public library spaces instead of relying on chain coffee shops to do your work in.
• Advocate for policies that support small businesses.
• Create a local business directory for your area.
• Leave a positive review for a local business you love, including specifically what you found there, to help them gain visibility and customers.

• Volunteer at a local food pantry or soup kitchen.
• Offer to babysit for a working parent in your community.
• Organize a neighborhood or park cleanup or beautification project.
• Teach a free skill-sharing class to share practical skills with others (cooking, sewing, budgeting, etc.).
• Attend an educational class through your local library, community education program, or nature center.
• Visit a local nursing home and spend time with residents.
• Check out bulletin boards at community centers for local events.
• Attend or start a local book club focused on non-mainstream literature.
• Help a local farm or community garden with seasonal tasks.
• Donate blood at a local blood bank.
• Support a local mutual aid network with time or resources.
• Contribute to micro-loans around the country and world through Kiva.org.
• Take a tour at a local cultural or historical attraction, such as an art center or museum to learn.
• Clear out clothing you no longer wear. Donate the gently-used items to a women’s shelter or non-profit thrift store. Find a clothing recycling drop-box for the rest of the items.
• Go through your cupboards and pull out extra items you won’t use before their expiration/best by date. Drop them off at a local community food pantry. (Do not donate items past their date.)
• Clear your clutter. Drop off items at a non-profit thrift store or offer them to friends or neighbors.
• Donate money, supplies, and your time to your local public schools.
• Participate in or organize meal trains for folks you know who could use it.
• Help a neighbor with a task for free.

• Create a neighborhood phone tree for emergencies and updates.
• Subscribe to a local or independent newspaper or magazine instead of relying on corporate media.
• Use offline forums, bulletin boards, and community meetings.
• Listen to independent, non-corporate podcasts for news and insights.
• Support small, independent journalists through Patreon or direct subscriptions.
• Print and distribute local zines with community resources and news.
• Encourage local radio stations instead of streaming corporate-owned media.
• Join your local Neighborhood Association and attend meetings.
• Attend town hall meetings to engage with real-life discussions.
• Set up a local email newsletter to share non-corporate news.
• Learn how to use ham radio as a backup communication method.
• Consider the topics you tend to read or look at online. Find offline resources for that instead (books, magazines, print newsletters, local businesses, etc.)
• Use alternative search engines instead of Google.

• Write handwritten letters and send them to friends or family.
• Start a physical scrapbook or journal instead of posting online.
• Have a game night with board games and card games.
• Host a catch-up night where everyone gets to share what they’ve been up to or what’s going on in their lives.
• Go to a nature preserve or park with friends or family.
• Create an in-person movie club and watch movies you already own or that are borrowed from the library.
• Start an art night with painting, drawing, or crafting.
• Plan a music-sharing gathering where people play instruments.
• Visit your local library and borrow books or DVDs.
• Go on a photo walk using a real camera, not a phone.
• Learn a new skill from someone in your community.
• Bake something and share it with a neighbor.
• Learn and practice meditation or breathwork.
• Host a clothing swap party instead of shopping.
• Pull out supplies and get back into an old hobby.
• Learn a new hobby.
• Start journaling and documenting your experiences, thoughts, and feelings.
• Plan potlucks with home-cooked meals instead of restaurant outings.
• Organize live storytelling events or spoken word nights.
• Host skill-sharing meetups in your neighborhood.
• Plan local outdoor movie screenings with a projector.
• Join or start a community theater group.
• Host a regular dinner club with rotating home chefs.
• Organize neighborhood fitness classes (yoga, running groups, etc.).
• Establish or join a seed-swapping network for home gardeners.
• Plan a local hiking challenge with community members.
• Go to a local concert, play, or art gallery instead of streaming entertainment.

• Start a social media detox routine.
• Use a physical planner instead of a phone calendar.
• Keep a physical address book with important contacts.
• Set up in-person meetings instead of video calls.
• Print important documents instead of storing everything digitally.
• Use a real map instead of GPS apps when traveling locally.
• Put on CDs, records, or the radio instead of streaming music. Check out CDs from your local library.
• Take photos with a film camera for a physical album.
• Use a physical dictionary or thesaurus instead of online searches.
• Learn a foreign language from community education classes, books, and real-life conversations.
• Delete games and other non-essential apps from your phone.

• Commit to a monthly “corporate-free” week.
• Partner with neighbors for group buying to save money locally.
• Join or form a local advocacy group for economic independence.
• Teach others how to live independently from corporate systems.

This movement isn’t just about taking a short break from corporations and social media—it’s about changing how we live, work, and engage with the world. Every small choice we make adds up to a larger shift in power, independence, and sustainability.

By integrating these changes into our daily lives, we not only regain control of our money and time but also create a world where community, creativity, and connection thrive over corporate greed.