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!

Have only just seen this thread and have only read the OP but it's something very much close to my heart. I am totally against buying ANYTHING unless it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I think it's a waste of our (well DH's as I don't go out to work) hard earned cash and the earth's precious resources to buy stuff that we just don't need. Good on you wewishyou for starting this thread!

amazonianwoman my mil got me a book about eco-cleaning for Christmas (not quite sure whether to be pleased or not - would have preferred my bodyweight in chocolate really) and the following comes from there.

Lavender anti-bacterial spray:
20 drops of pure essential oil of lavender in i cup of water, decant into spray bottle.

HTH - if anyone else wants any recipes I'm happy to have a look, there are loads in there.

Also, BookMooch is fab isn't it! So good to know that people will be getting books they actually want, rather than giving them randomly to charity shops where they will probably never be seen by people who want them.

oh yes, we never seem to get d+v bugs-except at in laws who think triclosan is the work of god . We just use hot water/washing up liquid. And bicarb and/ or lemon juice for some tough things. My mum has very bad asthma so we've never used fancy stuff.

I do wonder though if its partly because, as we don't use antibac stuff, we aren't complacent-I've noticed that friends who use dettol and so on will often just do it once a day (or week) whereas we religiously wipe down a surface with hot soapy water before say making biscuits, we always wash hands before cooking/eating, etc.

Ok have spent today nothing aside from overpriced shitey meal at softplay (we are members of the softplay place so didn't technically pay entrance), and postage for 2 books sold through amazon. Actually didn't spend anything yesterday either. Or the day before, aside from bag I accidentally bought, and my riverford order. So am not doing quite as badly as I thought

have just got back from the beach (live in NZ so not mad on beach mid winter), what a great thread. we spent $30 about 10 pounds over 7 days on treats for the boys ice lollies and a newspaper (we don't have a telly there) so feeling very virtuous. am off to the sales today but only for things I really do need - undies that fit, a pair of boots (pair I have are 10 years old ) and some clothes because I really can't remember when I last bought any.

We started alot of these suggestions this time last year and managed to pay a huge lump sum off our mortgage by only buying what we really need. We take drinks and food everywhere, meal plan etc. I also pay for everything by credit card, pay it off fully when due as here the loyalty points are redeemable in vouchers for various shops as well as good. I bought most of the christmas presents using the vouchers and still have a few hundred dollars in the 'bank'. I also have a pay as you go mobile which makes me think everytime I use it/buy a top up. As I say we saved heaps.

Just realised I only parted with 20p today - a donation for a cup of tea at a baby group

Have just filled a squirty bottle with lavender oil & water and cleaned kitchen surfaces I am over zealous at cleaning kitchen surfaces & washing hands (cue red raw hands) but must rid myself of the anti-bac obsession

yes, thats the spirit, clean regularily (need to take own advice ) but not using anti-bac!

Today I bought-

• my weekly ticket for the train

• a pack of Emmental cheese and some spread, which together with the pack of Ryvita will do my lunch at work for several days. Oh and a washing up brush to keep at work.

• a Mars bar (on train for 60p - a rare indulgence after a hard first day back)

So not too bad, I don't think.

SO far I have spent

New YEars day - meal out with dh and kids, unplanned as had no food in when DH suiprised me coming home on NYE

Yesterday - Nothing

Today - McDonalds for kids, I went to pick them up from grannys at 7.00pm assuming they would have has supper and she hadn't fed them!! Poor things and really knackered after their 1st day back to school. So to save time (eg drive and feed) dod McD's for them (not for me). £20 of pertol for the car.

I also went through my bathroom cabinet and found 8 bottles(!) of conditioner!!! 5 Bottles of shampoo, 3 bottles of showergel, plus 2 nearly empty ones of DH's, 3 moisturisers, toothpaste, razors and a pack of Nair hair removal I had otally forgotton existed. THAT little lot will last a while

If anyone's interested, the documentary series I linked to earlier on the thread, The Century of the Self: I just watched a couple of them and they are really relevant to the thread - I do like a bit of politics, bit of history, bit of psychology, so I concede they will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am enjoying them.

Also, if you read the Judith Levine book, Not Buying It.....she is way more hardcore than most of us! They decide (she and her husband, they are childless and both professionals in their ?early 50s, so very different set-up to all of us) that they will buy nothing except basic foods, fuel etc. If they can make something from scratch, they do. They accept invitations to dinner but return the favour by cooking at home for their friends. They make all presents. No books or clothes at all, charity shop or otherwise. Coffee at Starbucks is a definite NO (but I personally am with you all the way CALM about the small reserves of adultness left).

All their choices are discussed - quite interesting - and they do fall off the wagon - also discussed. And bear in mind she is a features journalist (I think) and he maybe writes or consults, so they have time and work from home a lot, taking some of the pressure off (if you are on the train and hungry then you have to eat, imo - food when you are busy and working both at home and out of the home is totally non-negotiable).

What is their motivation Prism? Is it money or planet-saving? Because the problem with making things from scratch is it's often much more expensive.

I strongly suspect her motivation was a book deal!
No, seriously, she says she was just grossed out by the consumerism in America (she lives in NY) and her husband wasn't much of a consumer anyway so it was easy to persuade him. Clearly, having a book deal will have pushed her into sticking to it...I have found it really hard.
I think food is just cheaper over in the States, so I wonder if that made a difference?
Also, they had thousands of dollars of credit card debt that they repaid in that year, so money will have been part of it.
It's quite a good read, reasonably thought-provoking - I just found it hard to equate her position with my own, in terms of time and no children.

Amazonian and JackieNo - many thanks for your kind offers. My mum has been persuaded that the best way to welcome our LO into the world will be with an Ambinest sling , so we going to see how that works out before trying proper cot. ta v much. Amazonian, a car seat is right up their on our list of to gets and noone ever replies to me when they come up on freecycle. can i CAT you? (fraid i dont know how that works? but assume you need to be registered for it?)

cheers

Prism I sometimes think I share your joylessness. I too need to loose weight and get jazzed up a bit!

DH has made me an MP3 track to play while I go running that swaps between walk and running songs for interval training. Old me would have bought myself an MP3 player as a treat to encourage me to get fit, but last night I fiddled with my phone, and managed to get the track on it, then hunted through the cupboards, found the headphones, and I'm off today, with just what I need, and no purchase

Tyaca - no problem. I've heard good stuff about the Ambinest on here, so hope it works for you too.

This is all sounding really great. I know we all have lots of different motivations (mine is mostly financial unfortunately) but I posted this in ethical living as it will hopefully start to mitigate our impact on the environment.

We are doing well so far. I went to the supermarket yesterday as we needed some food (DD is just being weaned so have to be more organised!) but took some cash out and that is going to have to last us for food until next Friday. I'm tempted to start internet shopping. Does anyone have any recommendations as to which is the best supermarket for it? (can't afford Ocado unfortunately!)

Stopped myself buying a paper though (they are so expensive now!) I can just read on line, but I am worried about going back to work in March and being completely stupid. I feel like I am in a little bubble while on maternity leave. I may subscribe to The Week or something, which saves money/newspapers everyday (that I never get round to reading) but I can still keep up with the world. Any recommendations for an interesting current affairs publication?

When I get back to work I can read the papers and economist and stuff for free (it'll be the only chance I get!).

I like the New Statesman and read FIL's when I can!
But I am a leftie
It's been infected by the columnists (I mean, much as I love Julian Clary, what place does he have in a serious political journal??!) but still some good thought-provoking articles and loads of international stuff.

Bumper - do you read any political blogs ? If not, why not start with Iain Dale www.iaindale.blogspot.com/ - has given me lots of food for thought (not left-leaning at all, although links to good leftie blogs)

That woman Judith Levine, I'm sure I read a few articles about her book a couple of years ago and (I may be wrong) but I remember not being convinced that she learned much from it at the end, (did she go on some kind off shopping spree or something?). Does that come across in the book?

I think I would be much more motivated if I was being paid to do this!

Bumper - iirc she and her husband found that they had more or less lost the urge to shop (I have found that too).
I did think when I was reading the book that bits of it were really thought-provoking and other bits deeply navel-gazing and unnecessary.
It's basically: middle-class good earner with debt and a ton of stuff, two houses, two cars and plenty of time on her hands decided not to spend money and ruminate on that for a year.
However, that said, I found it made me think about my life, my attitudes, quite a bit.
I do find it joyless not to have money and spend it on stuff I don't need...why is that? What is it about us as a society? What is it about me?? etc.

I love a bit of naval gazing - this is like some of the ideas behind Lent - giving things up to have a richer spiritual/intellectual/emotional life

I have been keeping an eye on this thread and would love to join. But I am such a consumer. We too have credit card debt and I wish I could see what we have spent it on. So some of this is enforced.

I am going the baby step route. If I try to be too puritanical, I will fail and quickly.

First step - no clothes for a month. I do not need anymore. Also, cut down on amnt spent on food. If I can do that much, I'll be doing well.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread tho, and I like the sound of your documentary Pruni.

does anyone have the book 'Not buying it' that i can borrow if i pay postage? dont like the idea of buying a book to think about not buying things

I ordered it from the library, sorry don't have a copy!