Happy No New Stuff Year - The support thread for those flying in the face of consumerism!

[WewishyouaBUMPERLICIOUS]

My husband and I have set ourselves a challenge of not buying any new stuff for 6 months. Obvious exceptions are food, cleaning products and toiletries. Also outside of the rules are items that it would be detrimental to buy second hand for my 6mo baby, i.e. cot mattress, dummies etc.

I posted about this a couple of months ago, and have also noticed some posts on the style and beauty threads proposing the same thing. So this is the thread for those who want to join this challenge in some way, whether it be just buying no new clothes, buying nothing new at all, buying nothing at all, buying only second hand etc. Our motivation are different, for some it will be saving money (me), for others it may be flying in the face of rampant consumerism (me) and for others is may be trying to mitigate their impact upon the environment and in protest against the poorly treated workers producing the dirt cheap goods we come to expect today (also me!).

This thread could be invaluable support, with links to various recycling websites, tips on altering your clothes to liven up your wardrobe, advice to stop yourself frittering money on non-fat lattes and a pain au chocolate each day on the way to work and support to tell you "no you don't need a new lipstick - here's how to make your own!"

So come one come all: I dare you to set yourself this challenge and not buy anything new for as long as possible!

Its 9.45 am and I.ve allready spent £1.70 on swimming. I'm add that to the two, not one, unecessary[sp] bags from the charity shop on wednesday, and I'm not doing so well.
I 'll try harder for the rest of the day. I love swimming though and it keeps me sane.

Minum, I have started using soda crystals as an allround cleaner,its about 60p a bag. I dont know how natural it is, and I've never washed up with it.

You can add soda crystals to your laundry too. They stop it smelling plus you don't have to use so much detergent (I am very stingy on detergent! We only have in on the manufacturers authority that you need to use so much , and don't get me started on the pointlessness of fabric softer...!)

MJ, am loving the homemade playdo idea for kids party bags, good way to use up all those little plastic food pots with lids too which i cannot bear to throw away.

We have friends coming for lunch tomorrow, one of whom has a birthday on Sunday. I am SO tempted just to slip some leftover Xmas chocs and a bottle from our overflowing wine rack into a gift bag. Is that too mean of me?

Not at all, I do that the whole time.

As lon as the chocs are ok, i.e. not ferrero rocher!

Reminds me .. I once re-gifted a box of Belgian-style chocs to a rather precious, design conscious friend. Only to see same chocs advertised on TV a couple of nights later in an ad for Lidl ... and on special offer for 79p! Hope the friend never found out...

bumperlicious, how much of the soda crystals do you add, and is it ok for colours as well?

I am kind of joining you, though I don't seem to buy much anyway. DH does htough.

I have been avoiding large supermarkets for a while. I haven't been to Tesco for almost 2 years. I od end up going to asda soemtimes. Last week I went to Lydl.
Usually I og ot a local supermarket whcih uses local meat and veg produc ewhen possible.

And yes, we recycle lots of present! Especially dds.

Sasquatch - I think there are some soda crystals in the back of cupboard, will dig them out and read the packet, thanks for suggestion.

I think its well within the spirit of this thread to go swimming - it certainly doesn't waste resources, or add to landfill - and its not "new stuff".

I put a handful straight into the drum. used the the clean my fridge this morning, and put an egg cup full into the fridge door to absorb smells.

Message withdrawn

Swimming doesn't count - what else are you going to do in January - dive in a river or the sea?

We should all spend more on experiences and less on stuff. We would be happier.

Re the wool - you will knit something with it and use it. Therefore I think that is also within the spirit of the thread. Maybe if more people could knit instead of buying things from china the wool shop would not be closing.

well said 20p

All that effort gone to waste- this afternoon I got stressed out and ran down to the shops and bought a note pad I didnt need and [whispers] a bar of chocolate.
Glad swimmming is ok though.

I put soda in the wash as well.

Hey, a note pad and a bar of chocolate aren't very big purchases, and they are ultimately consumables (though I suspect the chocolate will taste nicer )

Ah pruni, the others are right, knitting is an experience, and if it stops you from shopping then all's the better. Same goes for swimming.

See now you are all even thinking that something like a notebook or some wool are naughty things, I'm not saying they are, but isn't it great that we are all questioning even small purchases. I'm not saying you should feel guilty over buying a notebook but isn't it much better than starting a thread saying "I'm so naughty I've bought a jumper from boden for £65" or "I just had to get these Office boots, they were £250 reduced to £125"?

You see the difference? We've come a long way baby! Conspicuous consumerism is on it's way out.

I didn't tell you about the hairshirt yet

I use bicarbonate of soda to clean my fridge and freezer, never used soda crystals, Am interested in using them in washing.

Lemon juice is good for a lot (stainless steel pans I believe) as is white vinegar.

Today I was going to buy new nailbrushes (to store my soap bars on - my current nailbrush is pig-shaped) and I couldn't get one. Haven't had time to go into town, only supermarket, but it's REALLY crap when they don't sell what you need.

Which essential oil do you think would be best to use with my soap nuts? (when they arrive, I'm SO excited!)

At the end of the day a notepad will be useful at ome point

I want some chocolate!

Ds was hanging out of the front of his sandals but I told the assistant at the locally owned shop I only wanted to look at NZ made ones. $90 (gulp) but at least I know my child's shoes weren't made by children and that everyone involved was paid at least the minimum wage.

I'm doing a cycle road race and therefore needed some new slick tyres (I think trying to do 40km on mountain bike tyres is being stupid not ethical), but again went to local shop on bike and walked home and will go back on foot to pick up the bike later.

So I've spent a lot today but I have really thought about how I spent it. After all if we never shop at any shops at all then all the little ones will go bust and we will get even more rampant consumerism.

BTW I got over $100 for the contents of my makeup drawer.

today was the last day of the local charity shop £1 sale. Got quite a few bits for the DCs. I did hold off buying the next size up for DS1 just because it was there though. It's for the local hospice - does that make it better?

excellent comments re knitting, I think

(I accidentally spent £40 in GetKnitted. Knitters-it was all I could do to resist the KnitPicks Harmony needles. But I did, I just contented myself with about 3 tenpacks of Rowan 4 ply and various other things at £10 each )

But I do want to start more with the reducing of my yarn miles.

Ok bad spending day here. We went for a pub lunch which we rarely ever do because we can never afford it. But in my defense DH and I were on the brink of falling out so we just needed to do something nice, and it was yummy! Plus I bought two books on insomnia (sleep problems contributing to the falling out with DH so a necessity perhaps?) but got them both secondhand on amazon. I could have got them from actual amazon, spend a little more and got free delivery rather than waste £5, but not only would that be 'spaving' and feeding into the consumerist mentality fostered by such an offer, it would break my no new stuff rule, I have recycled instead.

God I sound so smug, and I have no right to be FFS, I spent £23 on lunch we didn't need So much for fricking meal planning. Sorry, having a bit of a bad day, combined with consumer guilt.

I will say, I have been away for a week and bought nothing, and I am feeling out of the loop as far as spending is concerned. I just have no interest in it atm.

But I am feeling a bit of a shift here...my solution to things isn't really to buy stuff, if that makes sense.

We have also decided to try to eat as much as possible from the store cupboard in the next few weeks . Fresh veg and milk and cheese excepted, but we are going to try to use our limitless reserves of spaghetti (dp doesn't like it-HOW can you not like a TYPE of pasta-they all taste the same, surely!), couscous and the rest...Oh and empty the Graveyard of Forgotten Food aka the freezer...

OTOH I have given it a lot of thought and have decided to buy some bath bomb moulds (is that the right spelling? it looks worrying...) from ebay. BUT this really really is a home schooling expense-the kids like to make them pretty much every day if allowed, and it teaches them about....um...lots of things..... And also means they want baths so I can sit and knit while I watch them . Oooh and thusly relax without going to Starbucks, yay, a not buying it thing!

You ate at a local pub, which presumably employs people to serve you and make your meals. The food is now inside you and you will excrete it soon. it's not the same as buying another vase.