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My birthday is looming and I have been dropping hints like mad lol
We have a £20 limit on birthday presents, just like Christmas ones....hope they all take the hints!
I did BUY a NEW set of headphones cos my old ones for my journeys into Edinburgh packed in last week. Felt a little bit better by buying them off fleabay for £5 though First NEW purchase in 4 months....
I mentally joined this idea last Sunday as it seemed to be a good day - the start of a week. I set down the rules for buying as being food, cleaning items, shoes because I have very wide and deep feet with the proviso that I can only replace two pairs this year at the most (come on I do work on the allotment folks), printer ink if I make too many cards for birthdays and Xmas, replace hearing aid and specs if I break them, seeds for allotment and knickers.
I give the grandchildren money for presents and have done for years. I know the seeds come into new but I don't have space on allotment to let a lot of things run to seed and also hope to prevent disease buying new. My question is - newspapers? Strictly these are new. Now if I go on a local bus I pick up the free one if there are any Monday-Friday but I do like the local paper to see what they are reporting wrong (!).
So far this week I own up to buying a new newspaper. Considering that I have been into the Metro Centre and not been tempted that is good.
I bought a plant on Saturday but as it's a herb for spicing up food, I count it as not new but something to eat.
Is that ok?
I plan to buy something on Tuesday - a wotsit for the daughter to hang her necklaces on but it is in the charity shop window so it isn't new and she has wanted one for a bit. As her necklaces are often tangled this is definitely useful (breakages a waste of money).
I've been given some books via freecycle (find your own local group at http://uk.freecycle.org/) and am hoping for some jigsaw puzzles as well - oh it's hard to walk past jigsaw puzzles.
Oooooooops - ran out of compost on allotment for planting out and pot filling - had used all the ready made on site stuff So I had to get a delivery.
Pot filling? Well not all the allotment soil is fit to use at moment (think stony clay) so am growing stuff in tubs on planks and the spent compost will be used on these rough, reclaimed areas to help bring up to standard. I think the area in question used to have a pigeon loft on it. At least all the tubs are recycled - picked up a crowd more via freecycle so not as bad as it might be.
Oh the upside I found an Ikea shoe rack type item in the charity shop on the way down to allotment yesterday which is now installed as shelves in the shed. It has joined the plastic kitchen bin holding the netting after the lid broke and the washing up bowl which is no longer fit for washing up but which is a grand carrier of small tools round plot.
I realised this week that even though I am not buying new most of the time I still have an underlying addiction to spending money - so I am still visiting my usual four charity shops every week looking out for stuff. Some of it is useful, some of it is needed, some of it is just bought for the sake of it.
Yesterday is a case in point, I just wanted to buy something, anything because I just "wanted to". I guess most people are like this or a large number anyway, so I am going to try and address this in the future.
I update my "Living without Buying" challenge on Tuesdays on my blog if anyone is interested in reading about it. :)
I've failed already. That's after two weeks. Humf. Five new plants of which four are edible all told, two fleeces for winter (buy one get one free with the buy one reduced too) and a good brand jumper reduced by £20 to under a tenner, two large tubs for growing tatties in on the allotment because I couldn't get any big enough ones free or second hand and a beech compartment tea bag holder (reduced and less than cost even with the delivery). And I can't produce enough compost on the allotment for all the requirements. I don't think that I am trying hard enough there.
So I'm going to have to start again from today. Ho hum - watch this space folks.
Flo, if it's any consolation, I've conveniently categorised everything to do with the garden as an essential purchase (food security in a changing world!) and bought an awful lot of compost.
They're not weeds - that's a habitat for wildlife, don't you know?
hamster wrote:Flo, if it's any consolation, I've conveniently categorised everything to do with the garden as an essential purchase (food security in a changing world!) and bought an awful lot of compost.
That cheers me up no end but it still leaves me adrift with two fleeces, one jumper and a smart teabag box.
At least the tubs and plants will last and all compost improves the clay (think bricks so even spent compost has its uses). It certainly does cut down on the food bills producing as much as possible of your own.
So if the allotment needs are part of the food bill, I'm still going to have to watch the clothes. Mind you - there's a danger of backside falling out of the present set of gardening trousers - might have to remember how to patch here.
Sorry if I'm telling you all something you already know - I'm new-ish... - but have you looked at The Compact sites? There are two Yahoo groups - the original US one and a European one, the latter of which has much less going on - and a blog at sfcompact.blogspot.com. It's exactly what you're talking about (hence my assumption that the reason no-one has mentioned it is because you all know about it so it's too blindingly obvious to mention), they made an agreement not to buy anything new for a year, with a list of exceptions. If you'll excuse me pasting a big chunk of their blog here:
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# First principle - don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)
# Second principle - borrow or buy used.
# A few exceptions - using the "fair and reasonable person" standard -- i.e., you'll know in your heart when you're rationalizing a violation:
* food, drink, and necessary medicine
* necessary cleaning products, but not equipment
* socks and underwear
* pajamas for the children
# Utilitarian services -- Support local and encourage used parts
# Recreational services (massage, etc.) & local artisanal items - Good sources for gifts, but should not be over-indulged in for personal gratification
# Charitable contributions - an even better source for gifts
# Plants and cut flowers - Whenever possible, cultivate from free cuttings or seeds. Ok in extreme moderation when purchased from local businesses
# Art supplies
# Magazines, newspapers, Netflix - renewals only, no new subscriptions.
# V ideo rentals and downloadable music files (non-material)
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Ironically, I read about this in Junior magazine (I was given a subscription as a gift) - a really interesting article about reducing consumption that went way beyond the usual "why not try using energy saving lightbulbs and not leaving your brand new plasma screen TV on standby?" - swiftly followed by the usual "kids' fashion" pages with "news from the catwalk about what's hot this season". Um, am I allowed to buy new polyfiller to repair the dent where I hurled the magazine at the wall?
emmalouise wrote: Um, am I allowed to buy new polyfiller to repair the dent where I hurled the magazine at the wall?
I think you are!
I didn't know about that - thanks for posting it!
In my case, it's really only been books, and a few presents that I've bought new. And that's just about the same most of the time; I think I will need a new pair of jeans for work, though - there's only so many times you can patch up. Oh, I've had new wellies, too; essential work equipment.
Ina
I'm a size 10, really; I wear a 20 for comfort. (Gina Yashere)
emmalouise wrote:Sorry if I'm telling you all something you already know - I'm new-ish... - but have you looked at The Compact sites?
Like Ina, I had not hear about this either, but will certainly be investigating. The principles stated are pretty much those that I have been following (or inflicting upon myself ).
I did BUY a NEW set of headphones cos my old ones for my journeys into Edinburgh packed in last week. Felt a little bit better by buying them off fleabay for £5 though 
Oh, I've had new wellies, too; essential work equipment.
).
