We are officially done with our "Year of Buying Nothing New"
So how'd we do..........
1. It wasn't as hard as we thought.
We found out that most of the things we wanted we could find used. We were worried about Christmas...but Mark asked the boys to make their lists early ( in September) and he enjoyed the challenge of finding books and even video games used ( the big score was Skyrum for Ben)
2. We messed up a couple of times..but not as many times as we thought we would.
-At the beginning of the year, we got carried away and bought Ian's T-shirts.
-I bought some flowers for the garden( the boys felt that qualified as new)
-Mark bought a little rug to go by the cat's litter box ( he couldn't stand the mess)
-Mark bought Nate 3 soccer jerseys that were overstock from last year ( so not really used) Other than that we can't think of any big mistakes.
We did buy the boys shoes and underwear ( so we did make use of the exceptions)
3. Did we save time/money?
In general yes to both. We saved time because there was no point in even going into most stores...which is the same reason we saved money.
However..when we did need to purchase something it took longer...either because we had to research to see if we could find it used...or we had to stop in at a resale shop a couple of times to see if we could find what we wanted.
What did we learn-
-It is easier to buy used than we thought. Even new books and video games ( of concern to the boys) become available very quickly.
- If you let people know you need something..they go out of their way to help. People have things laying around their house that they don't need (that's how I got a new used iron)
-There were multiple times we thought we needed something...and we got over it. Time passed and realized we were doing fine with out it.
So what's next...we are struggling with what our goal(s) should be for 2012...let us know if you have an idea!
Showing posts with label no buy challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label no buy challenge. Show all posts
Monday, January 2, 2012
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Reverse Shopping
We left with the van full and came back with it empty.
First stop: Home Concept. My friend Susan told me they recycle Styrofoam.
Fortunately they still do.
Unfortunately the store is closing.
Fortunately...we aren't buying anything new for the next six months..so we shouldn't have any more Styrofoam to deal with.
Stop two: Remember the computer that died within two weeks of starting the Buy Nothing New Challenge...time to get rid of it.
Fortunately Madison recycles desk tops ( at Badger Rd site)
Unfortunately you need a $10 ticket that they do not sell there
Fortunately there was a library close by and it was open.
Bonus: we found another place to recycle shoes!
Last stop: St Vinny's on Odana for everything else.
The basement is not empty by any means...but at least the floor is clear!
First stop: Home Concept. My friend Susan told me they recycle Styrofoam.
Fortunately they still do.
Unfortunately the store is closing.
Fortunately...we aren't buying anything new for the next six months..so we shouldn't have any more Styrofoam to deal with.
Fortunately Madison recycles desk tops ( at Badger Rd site)
Unfortunately you need a $10 ticket that they do not sell there
Fortunately there was a library close by and it was open.
Last stop: St Vinny's on Odana for everything else.
The basement is not empty by any means...but at least the floor is clear!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Buy Nothing New Meets Birthdays
Mark was quite pleased with his hunting and gathering prowess...he managed to get both gifts on Ben's wish list second hand. One was the Ranger's Apprentice Book 10...it just came out recently so we were a little concerned...but obviously some people buy them, read them and sell them back. Amazon.com used books.
The second gift was a play station move controller ( think Wii). Mark had already gotten one controller ( used) so had been watching for a second one.
What about the kids attending? We went "gift free" a number of years ago. The boys were getting gifts they didn't use and a few other families had already started the trend...so we followed along and there was no turning back. This has worked out fine...our focus is on good food, an awesome cake and something special for entertainment. This year was laser tag ( past years have been canoe trip on the Wisconsin River, a rendezvous,and a treasure hunt at Devil's Lake)
Nate's birthday is in July... We'll see how that goes :D
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Irons and Friends
Our iron died about a month ago. At first, I thought no big deal...we hardly ever use the iron. But after going to work in wrinkled clothes a few days I realized I used it more that I thought.
A quick trip to St Vinnys'...no luck.
I borrowed an iron from a friend who "hardly ever uses it" but this was not a long term solution.
Luckily for me, I have awesome co-workers!
Sarah, who thought to ask " Did you find an iron yet?" and
Kyle, who said " I didn't know you need an iron, I have two and don't use either one. You can have one of mine."
So I hadn't even posted to Facebook or Freecycle and already have a new ( used) iron! (Kyle said he got if from St Vinny's!)
Kyle and his #2 iron...before they parted ways.
A quick trip to St Vinnys'...no luck.
I borrowed an iron from a friend who "hardly ever uses it" but this was not a long term solution.
Luckily for me, I have awesome co-workers!
Sarah, who thought to ask " Did you find an iron yet?" and
Kyle, who said " I didn't know you need an iron, I have two and don't use either one. You can have one of mine."
So I hadn't even posted to Facebook or Freecycle and already have a new ( used) iron! (Kyle said he got if from St Vinny's!)
Kyle and his #2 iron...before they parted ways.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Ever heard of soap nuts?
I had not...we found out about them at the Isthmus Green Day.
What are they?
Dried fruit from the Soapberry tree that contain saponin ( a natural cleaner).
What's so great about them?
-petroleum free
-no toxic chemicals ( in fact no added anything)
-light weight ( use less energy to ship)
How do you use them?
Put 2-4 nuts in a small reuseable linen bag and throw the whole bag in the washer. The nuts can be re-used up to 5 times. We have a front load washer so we will just but the nuts right in the soap drawer ( no bag needed)
Where do you get them?
We got ours from Reuseable Future
Do they work?
We'll let you know
PS: People are asking how we are doing on the Buy No New Challenge.
We did purchase 1 new thing. Shin guards for Nate for soccer. We feel strongly that we don't want to take changes with our kids' safety...so felt OK about this purchase.
Dried fruit from the Soapberry tree that contain saponin ( a natural cleaner).
What's so great about them?
-petroleum free
-no toxic chemicals ( in fact no added anything)
-light weight ( use less energy to ship)
How do you use them?
Put 2-4 nuts in a small reuseable linen bag and throw the whole bag in the washer. The nuts can be re-used up to 5 times. We have a front load washer so we will just but the nuts right in the soap drawer ( no bag needed)
Where do you get them?
We got ours from Reuseable Future
Do they work?
We'll let you know
PS: People are asking how we are doing on the Buy No New Challenge.
We did purchase 1 new thing. Shin guards for Nate for soccer. We feel strongly that we don't want to take changes with our kids' safety...so felt OK about this purchase.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Green Teen
Julie's son speaking ,
Everyone has heard how it is to be an adult undertaking the challenge, (buy no new for one year), but now for the first time, I shall comment on how it is to be a teen and not buy for one year.
So far I have held up pretty well to the challenge, (I haven't violated once), the one problem that we faced was that our computer broke just a little way in, but we got a refurbished computer, so it is all good now. The new computer is actually a great computer, if you are looking to buy a computer but don't want to go new then go to Dell Outlet, the prices are good and the shipping is free.
Nate ( also known as Axel)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Buy Nothing New Challenge
We are 2.5 months into the challenge and to the best of my knowledge we have slipped up twice...both times related to the civil rights protests in Wisconsin.
First "mistake"...after a protest rally we stopped into Ian's pizza to see what democracy tastes like ...and found out they had T-shirts...we really wanted to support all they done ( people have been buying pizzas from all over the world in support of the protests in Madison)....there were two T-shirts left...we bought them, put them on and then turned to each other and gasped..."We just bought something new!"
Other than that....we have bought nothing new. The boys have complained that our snow shovels are broken...so we are hoping the weather helps us out until we can find some used snow shovels. :)
If you weren't in Madison yesterday...and want to see what democracy looks like...
Rockstar Senators
Can you hear us now?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
How are we doing so far?
We are almost through our first month of Buy Nothing New...how are we doing?
No exceptions and two lessons learned
At the doctor's office: I like to look at what I call mindless magazines..I can page through and get inspired or get new ideas with minimal effort on my part. It is something to look forward to while waiting to find out if ( in fact) I have been a negligent mother by not bringing my child to the doctor sooner.
While waiting to find out if Ben did ( in deed) have pnuemonia I was paging through a magazine but this time I was really aware of when a new product was being suggested as the solution to a problem.
Since I did not want to be tempted to buy anything new.. I skipped these "articles." There was nothing left to read..…a new product was always be suggested as the solution…even when it was an “article”
So Ben and I spent the time talking about my new discovery.
The Lesson of the Pipe Cleaners
It is rare that Nate (14) is excited about church. So I was thrilled to have him get in the car talking about his class in an animated voice. They had been creating something and there were cool pipe cleaners ( turns out they have funky stripes)
Nate “ we have GOT to get some of these pipe cleaners”
Me ( in my head where I seem to spend quite a bit of my time) I really want to support creativity ( esp off line innovation)..pipe cleaners are not expensive and don’t seem to pose a huge environmental threat. What have we committed to...am I going to ruin all chance of creativity because we can't even buy pipe cleaners ( I now call this Challenge remorse)
Ben “ We have pipe cleaners down stairs”
Nate “They’re not the cool kind”
Ben” No but they work the same…shouldn’t we use those up first?”
Note to Mom:..some times the best thing to do is nothing
No exceptions and two lessons learned
At the doctor's office: I like to look at what I call mindless magazines..I can page through and get inspired or get new ideas with minimal effort on my part. It is something to look forward to while waiting to find out if ( in fact) I have been a negligent mother by not bringing my child to the doctor sooner.
While waiting to find out if Ben did ( in deed) have pnuemonia I was paging through a magazine but this time I was really aware of when a new product was being suggested as the solution to a problem.
Since I did not want to be tempted to buy anything new.. I skipped these "articles." There was nothing left to read..…a new product was always be suggested as the solution…even when it was an “article”
So Ben and I spent the time talking about my new discovery.
The Lesson of the Pipe Cleaners
It is rare that Nate (14) is excited about church. So I was thrilled to have him get in the car talking about his class in an animated voice. They had been creating something and there were cool pipe cleaners ( turns out they have funky stripes)
Nate “ we have GOT to get some of these pipe cleaners”
Me ( in my head where I seem to spend quite a bit of my time) I really want to support creativity ( esp off line innovation)..pipe cleaners are not expensive and don’t seem to pose a huge environmental threat. What have we committed to...am I going to ruin all chance of creativity because we can't even buy pipe cleaners ( I now call this Challenge remorse)
Ben “ We have pipe cleaners down stairs”
Nate “They’re not the cool kind”
Ben” No but they work the same…shouldn’t we use those up first?”
Note to Mom:..some times the best thing to do is nothing
Monday, January 3, 2011
Thoughtful comments
Well our New Year's Resolution is generating some thoughtful comments and conversations....I'm not sure if people check back to see the comments so ( even though this may be bad blogging etiquette) I've copied my friend Trudy's comment and posted it below.
Julie - your Mom asks good questions. My first reaction to your resolution was "all things in moderation", but I think your exceptions to the rule are good and trust that you and Mark will know when to 'break' resolutions for the good of the family and individual. Secondly, and this ties into your Mom's worries about the economy, I think we need to augment the concept of sustainability with resilience. We know that there are good times and bad, happy and sad, extravagance and penny-pinching. The businesses, organizations and governments of our society need to be constructed with threads that make them resilient, not just efficient. As a society we aren't talking about this, or any new models, and I find that troubling. Our government seems to want us to return to the lavish over-spending many indulged in to jumpstart the economy, and our economic structures count our lack of new housing starts, failure to return to living beyond our means, and new penchant for saving as evidence of continued recession. Yes, we are still in a situation I describe as "failure to thrive", but we need new behaviors and processes, new economic measures, and new structures (and jobs) within our society. We need to transform ourselves into a healthy society before we will thrive. A society that relies on the selling of bling and trinkets or the flipping of houses is not one that is healthy. one. Lets look at the core needs of humans -- can we meet those? Then, lets meet the core needs of Earth, without which humans cannot survive. We need to be creative, innovate new products, services and processes that create new jobs and economic successes for our economy while fostering life on Earth. If we can foster quality life, then I think we will be better able to weather some of the crises that are sure to come. The old ways don't work now, and won't in the future. And we aren't making good use of the time we have to change.
Julie - your Mom asks good questions. My first reaction to your resolution was "all things in moderation", but I think your exceptions to the rule are good and trust that you and Mark will know when to 'break' resolutions for the good of the family and individual. Secondly, and this ties into your Mom's worries about the economy, I think we need to augment the concept of sustainability with resilience. We know that there are good times and bad, happy and sad, extravagance and penny-pinching. The businesses, organizations and governments of our society need to be constructed with threads that make them resilient, not just efficient. As a society we aren't talking about this, or any new models, and I find that troubling. Our government seems to want us to return to the lavish over-spending many indulged in to jumpstart the economy, and our economic structures count our lack of new housing starts, failure to return to living beyond our means, and new penchant for saving as evidence of continued recession. Yes, we are still in a situation I describe as "failure to thrive", but we need new behaviors and processes, new economic measures, and new structures (and jobs) within our society. We need to transform ourselves into a healthy society before we will thrive. A society that relies on the selling of bling and trinkets or the flipping of houses is not one that is healthy. one. Lets look at the core needs of humans -- can we meet those? Then, lets meet the core needs of Earth, without which humans cannot survive. We need to be creative, innovate new products, services and processes that create new jobs and economic successes for our economy while fostering life on Earth. If we can foster quality life, then I think we will be better able to weather some of the crises that are sure to come. The old ways don't work now, and won't in the future. And we aren't making good use of the time we have to change.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Will the Economy Collapse?
My Mom ( one of my most dedicated blog readers..thank you Mom) asks some good questions after reading our New Year's resolution.
1, What would happen if we all didn't buy anything new...wouldn't our economy collapse?
2. What will the impact of our resolution be on our boys? ( will they be embarrassed to go to school?)
What would happen if no one bought new?
Here is what I hope would happen...companies would ask why and more importantly ...what will you buy?
My answer: I will buy products and services that
-enrich my life and my community and that
-are produced sustainably ( don't pollute the environment and are 100% recyclable)
from companies that pay a fair wage and provide benefits ( like health insurance)
Would our economy collapse? I don't think our economy is doing super well under the current conditions and I don't believe we have created an economy that is sustainable in the long term.
2. What about our boys and the impact on them? We talked long and hard about this. Our boys do sometimes feel that our family is a little "out there" ( as do many kids ) When we talked about trying this..their main concern was being able to buy books ( hard for parents to discourage that) but most of their book purchases are from Half Price books...which sells used books.
What about clothes? Will the boys be embarrassed at school?
We did talk about this..and that is why we put in an exception for things like shoes and even jeans. So far we have been able to find most other clothes pretty easily at second hand stores. We do live in a city so we have quite a few second hand options.
The main goal of this challenge is to make us more aware of how we spend our money and to be intentional about our purchases ( not to make us miserable :))
Quite honestly..we are not big shoppers...so it will be interesting to see what the impact of this is on our lives...it is certainly leading to some good discussions already.
Thanks Mom!
1, What would happen if we all didn't buy anything new...wouldn't our economy collapse?
2. What will the impact of our resolution be on our boys? ( will they be embarrassed to go to school?)
What would happen if no one bought new?
Here is what I hope would happen...companies would ask why and more importantly ...what will you buy?
My answer: I will buy products and services that
-enrich my life and my community and that
-are produced sustainably ( don't pollute the environment and are 100% recyclable)
from companies that pay a fair wage and provide benefits ( like health insurance)
Would our economy collapse? I don't think our economy is doing super well under the current conditions and I don't believe we have created an economy that is sustainable in the long term.
2. What about our boys and the impact on them? We talked long and hard about this. Our boys do sometimes feel that our family is a little "out there" ( as do many kids ) When we talked about trying this..their main concern was being able to buy books ( hard for parents to discourage that) but most of their book purchases are from Half Price books...which sells used books.
What about clothes? Will the boys be embarrassed at school?
We did talk about this..and that is why we put in an exception for things like shoes and even jeans. So far we have been able to find most other clothes pretty easily at second hand stores. We do live in a city so we have quite a few second hand options.
The main goal of this challenge is to make us more aware of how we spend our money and to be intentional about our purchases ( not to make us miserable :))
Quite honestly..we are not big shoppers...so it will be interesting to see what the impact of this is on our lives...it is certainly leading to some good discussions already.
Thanks Mom!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
