June 2, 2009 at 5:05 pm (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, handmade, not new year, recycled, second hand shops
We are doing it all over again! Summer Solstice 2009 to Winter solstice 2009 we will be on the wagon again, coming off the consumer wheel and hopefully saving my bank balance!
There are a few more rules this time!
1. We can buy recyled things and handmade. This isn’t going to include all “ethical” products, otherwise, with the help of the many, many good websites out there, I will continue to consume at an unsustainable rate.
2. The e-Bay habit must be addressed. Yes, its all second hand, but it gets out of control. The new rule is I can only buy if I have earnt money by selling. Essentially I want to make spending a closed loop system.
So why? Spending money is starting to again become a comfort thing – feel bad? Buy something nice! Oh dear. Add to that the fact that I am losing my job at the end of July. Money is going back to being tight, not a great place to be at.
I also feel that there are more lessons to be learn’t and more experiences to be had. Six months is not long enough. Although this time there will be less of a steep learning curve as I know where to buy things from and how to swap for what I need.
Wish me/us luck!
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July 19, 2008 at 9:49 am (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, eco-driving, meat reducing, plastic, veggie box, Water Saving
Well we told you what we were doing before we started the project: About Us Sean reminded me that maybe I should write about what we have done so far on the project, from the small to the slightly less small!
- Eco-Driving
Sounds strange, but it is re-learning the way you drive to be more efficient and save fuel/CO2. Can be summed up as smoothly changing gear way early, anticipating the need to brake, so slowing down on the gears and keeping the revs below 2 (for a diesel, 2.5 for petrol). Our car seems to have an amazing ability to glide around in 5th gear without any acceleration. Read the rest of this entry »
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July 16, 2008 at 10:24 am (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New
I have been researching on the inter-splat, and have been finding all types of fabulous people who are doing very inspiring things. I have added a handful of them to the links on the sidebar. One of the sites: http://unstuff.blogspot.com/ has this wonderful quote, which summarises what I was trying to say in the Round and Round post:
It is not enough simply to abstain from theft…We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers. It is our duty, therefore, to borrow no more from the world than we absolutely need, and to make full and proper use of it. Taking more than we need, and wasting it, is a form of stealing from the rest of humankind.
~ Commentary on Sutra 30 The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali
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July 13, 2008 at 9:55 pm (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, Farming, kent county show, Land Rover, Solar
I was working Friday and Saturday at this weekend’s Kent Show. Got a few new members for CPRE and generally had a good time. Our stand was in the ‘eco-village‘ so we were surrounded by purveyors of rainwater butts and solar heating systems.
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One day I will build a house of straw
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Combined Solar & Wood Stove system on a Kent Peg tile – I want it!!!
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July 13, 2008 at 9:46 pm (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, eBay, wyecycle
On Saturday I went to Wyecycle’s monthly swap day. Kind of like a physical Freecycle. So I bought a bag of things we no longer needed (three rolls of bin bags that dont fit our bin, free samples of stuff, cuttery draw and many other totally fascinating things) put them on the floor and then had a look at all the other things people had also put on the floor.
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July 9, 2008 at 7:48 pm (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New
I was in the Post Office this morning to get some cash (yes, Brabourne Lees still has a post office) and I was drawn to the news section. I was strangely drawn to this month’s Scientific American by the lure of insights into agriculture and DNA evidence for pre-historic human migration. Racey top shelf stuff.
But then I thought, hang on, I’m not supposed to buying this and really, when would I read it? I don’t have time to read the pile of stuff I’m supposed to be reading. Why hand over hard-earned cash to add to the pile of things that continue to not be read. I’d be supporting my local post office, I suppose….
- Sean
Tags: magazines, post office
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July 9, 2008 at 4:15 pm (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, charity, second hand shops
Well in the interest of research, I investigated our local charity shops to see what I would be living off in the next six months to a year (will we last to midwinter, or be brave enough to continue for longer?).
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July 6, 2008 at 10:41 am (Buy Nothing New)
Tags: Buy Nothing New, de-cluttering, hoarding, stuff
Defining the project:
Yes folks, I can still buy shampoo and shower gel ……BUT…… first I want to use up every little end-of-bottle and sample bottle I can find – girls you know what I mean. At the age of 32, I have been “making house” for almost ten years, and the stuff that has been collected is frightening. It reminds be of a tide-line of plastic tut that use to wash up on Cornish beaches.
So only until there is no shampoo in the house, may I buy more …… BUT …… one bottle of what I need. No ‘oooh, this looks good’ or ‘that looked good on TV’ or ‘my girlfriend swears by this stuff’. This applies to shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. I will also need hand cream, as my knuckles swell and crack since my pregnancy. But that is it. No trips to ‘Lush’ or any other shop, no matter how ethical their products.
I went into the roof to hunt for something that I thought I could use. My Gods! What a lot of stuff! Surely it is time to re-assess it. Not buying, for us, is about challenging materialism and consumerism, not about hoarding. It is about re-addressing our relationship to stuff. I guess those good folks at Freecycle are about to be gifted with many a treat from the attic and shed!
- Tammy
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