I recently read an interesting article about a movement called The Compact in which people vow to not buy anything new for a year. Not included are necessities like hygiene products, underwear, medicines, and the like. After reading about it, I am hooked.
As a stay at home mother of two young girls, I am constantly trying to stretch our single-income budget to make the most of what we can do with what we have. We don’t want for any of life’s necessities…but while we’re far from the poverty line, we’re by no means rich monetarily.
Most of the things in our home are second-hand items, obtained either through family & friends, thrift stores, freecycle, and craigslist. The few things we’ve purchased new have come from discount stores like The Burlington Coat Factory, Ross, TJ Maxx, and when it was in business, Value City.
We do a lot of free activities like playing outside, going for walks, utilizing the library, and star gazing. We do tons of family oriented activities because my husband and I both agree that raising our children in a supportive, pro-family situation is the best way to help them grow into confident, loving, and happy adults with families and/or careers of their own.
The Compact grabbed my attention mainly because although we do all of the things listed above, I feel like we could do more to reduce our consumption and help our daughters learn the difference between “want” and “need” as they grow up in one of the most greedy, consumer-driven societies in the world. It’s more than an environmental movement, in my mind – it’s an incredible learning opportunity and a way to simplify life.
So starting today, June 4, 2010 we as a family are taking a vow to not buy new for a whole year. Our exceptions are as follows:
-Food (although we will make more effort to buy local and organics more and buy only what will be used)
-Health and hygiene items
-Anything that would be unsafe to buy used (crib mattresses, car seats, etc.)
-Cell phones (this is only because we have new ones ordered already)
-One small gift per gift giving holiday (under $20, and honestly, I don’t see the need for this but it’s there in case, I guess. You can almost always find like-new or new items at Goodwill that people have donated…)
And the journey begins!
[...] Posted on June 15, 2010 by withduckandgoose I am just 11 days into The Compact and already it’s making a huge difference in our household. I never realized how much [...]
[...] I joined The Compact, and yes, I’m supposed to not buy new things, but in my defense, I searched high and low in [...]
[...] Blog more productively. When I first started this blog, I wrote daily posts. As my kids have gotten somewhat older though and I’ve become busier, [...]
[...] When I first started this blog, I did it because I wanted a place to keep memories and share ideas. I did it for me because I needed an outlet of my own to help me release some of the stress that comes with, well, living. Somewhere along the way though, I got it in my head that I needed to be the next Kelle Hampton or Kristen of The Frugal Girl. That I needed to be on everyone’s “Must Read Blogs” list or have a billion and five readers. [...]