Selfsufficientish.com

OK I am willing to give this a go for 2009. I thought it deserved a new thread for a new year.

Now I guess their needs to be some rules of what is allowed, I would say

Food and drink
Toothpaste, soap and shampoo
Toilet paper
Medicine
Cycle parts

They grey area is things like downloads, does a downloaded film or album count as something new??

Is anyone else defientely in and if so shall we all blog about it? We could possibly set up a blog in the ish blog section just for this and could allow multiple users to access it - or the easy way is just to post here.

If you pay for the download - it has to count I think - even though it is environmentally more friendly. Depends upon whether the aim is saving money or simply being more frugal for the environment,
I'm in!

well this lot only buy ".... food, health and safety items and underwear. "

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... H7DH71.DTL

pay for downloads ? how strange

but downloading is greener

guess it depends on your motivation.. if you are not buying as a lesson in needing less, spending less being frugal, then no downloads. if you are just trying to have less material 'things' then... hmmm there is still energy etc involved.. but not as bad.

Oh , and just to add - I trust that its ok to buy consumables used for business - I use paints etc - but I will use existing brushes/ rags and look at re using dud canvases. I guess that's stating the obvious really!

I have been trying to do this for years, mainly from a financial point of view. I am the original second hand Rose! I have to include vet's bills and occasional packet of seeds or bag of manure for the plot. Plus I always get a book token for Christmas from my sister, which usually takes me three months to decide what to buy. New shoes are a must, but only in the sales! pbf

No, sorry ... I am just the opposite.
I normally don't buy new things, that's become a way of life for me over the years, but I plan to have a good old splurge in the new year.
With the Euro now nearly equal to one pound Sterling, up from being only worth about 78p, and all the massive reductions/closing down sales there are bound to be after Christmas, plus the reduction in VAT, it looks like becoming the buyers market of the century.
I will resume my austere existence in 2010 when all the shops have gone bust anyway.

This is one of my New Year's Resolutions, so I'll give it a whirl.

I know exactly where I am likely to fall down though - I will become a Granny for the first time in January...

Maybe we could help each other out with swaps or donations - paints, canvases, wool, clothes etc? A kind of Ish chapter of Freecycle?

I wont be taking part. We still have far too much to buy for this place etc. but would be interested in following a group blog and offering support

Count us in...unless we win the lottery, (hubby's in a syndicate at work), in which case we'll buy a smallholding...but that will be second hand so would still probably fit the rules

MW

Can I make a little comment here.

Hmm but you are still consuming even if you don't buy anything new aren't you? It's a sort of half way house to jumping off the consumerist way of life. Or you can cheat and do all your shopping for items where you can't buy new before you start in 2009. Then you have no need to shop at all.

I tried and failed spectacularly in 2008. I can't see me being much better in 2009. But I will give it a try. Again.

I have to agree with Odsox though in that it's a buyer's market at the moment and an excellent time to buy all those thing that you can use as well as replace those items which are falling to bits. The standard of the second hand market is low and the prices high in comparison with new.

I might give this a go this year if I can get partner on board. I doubt I'd have time to be consistent in blogging about it though. Books could be our downfall though, especially for me because I do need two more books for my course.

hi all, have to admit i agree there. I NEVER buy new clothes (except underwear) but found i needed some jeans, old ones got ripped beyond repair climbing into chicken coop, trawled all the local second hand shops on Saturday without success, (eg not my size, too expensive etc) Called into As*a on way home with daughter and found a perfect fit pair of jeans for £2.88 !!!! It was their "value" range of clothing, They are on sale permanently for £3 a pair but with the VAT slash were further discounted when i got to the till. They are not the best quality item i have ever bought but for mucking out chickens etc are exactly what i needed. I absolutely hate the cheapo high street stores and would never buy anything from them due to their ethics in production etc but this time i have to say i was satisfied with my bargain, especially when i have NO money whatsoever to spare for clothing for myself, I will go back to my second hand shops without a shadow of a doubt when i do need to replace something else but while the prices for new goods are falling so drastically at the minute i can see a lot of people will do the same.

I'm certainly with janemiss on the prices in charity shops. There has been a steep hike in prices recently as well as continuous requests for clothing stock locally. I'm usually quite good at picking up items second hand but the point has come where it is as cost effective to buy new at the moment - and sometimes needs must because the sizes aren't there to be bought second hand.

Flo wrote:I'm certainly with janemiss on the prices in charity shops. There has been a steep hike in prices recently as well as continuous requests for clothing stock locally. I'm usually quite good at picking up items second hand but the point has come where it is as cost effective to buy new at the moment - and sometimes needs must because the sizes aren't there to be bought second hand.

The thing is for me is that charity shops were set up as a way of helping people who were unable to buy new clothes all the time and aloso to raise the awareness of the "charity" it was supporting. Now it's a case of getting very greedy and pricing out many people who need help.

Also ask in many charity shops for info on the charity and you are given a phone number to ring or a website to read. Many charity shops are no longer run by volunteers for the charity but as a comercial enterprise.

I won't be partaking of this challenge simply because I make things last as long as possible. For many years I had two pairs of trousers, 1 jeans and 1 dress trousers and a pair of minger tracky bottoms for when the others were in the wash.

Primarily the idea behind this was that we were in VERY,VERY serious debt but since sorting that out I carry on the principle as now it's greener as less consumerism has to be a good thing....Oh I now have 3 pairs of trousers,lol...