I have done incredibly well not buying new since beginning “The Compact” in January 2007. However, there are a few things I am allowing myself to buy new.
- Underwear. Yup, buying used panties skeeves even me out.
- Bras.
- Socks, although I’ve had no need to replenish my already hearty supply.
- Perishables – Duh!
- That’s about it, I may add to this list in the future.
I have bought a few thing new here and there, most notably gifts for the Japanese host families that my husband and 12 year old stayed with in the Summer of 2007. If I had it to do over again, I would have planned ahead a bit more.
I am the only person in my family officially doing “The Compact.” So my husband Dale does buy new, although his purchases have decreased super-dramatically since this experiment began. The kids are also not doing “The Compact.” Our 13 year old pretty much buys nothing, but our 10 year old seems to have the urge to splurge. He buys a lot of art supplies at our neighborhood locally owned art store. I’m okay with that. I am not here to force my ideas and ideals on unwilling recipients, even my own kids.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
23 Comments
May 28, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Hey Katy,
I love your blog – the concept and execution! Well done!
Our family has also been conscious of your motto: “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”. It started out of necessity when I quit teaching to stay home with our son, but has now become more of an earth-friendly mission and creative challenge.
So glad I found you on the blogosphere! I’m going to subscribe! ( I have to figure out how to set up email subscriptions for my blog. So far, I just have RSS, and most of my readers don’t really get it.)
Cheers!
Alexis
May 28, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Yah, I’d add HANKIES to the list of things to buy new, unless they’re just decorative, and not intended to blow your nose in.
May 12, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I make hankies out of old sheets that have got too thin to use anymore – they are so, so soft and wash up great. No need to buy them at all!
June 27, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Hello Katy,
Very impressive! I love your blogs. I can really learn a lot from these. Thanks again!
Rosalie
July 3, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Katy, I will probably be doing the compact alone myself, but dh thinks it’s a cool idea, and I’m thinking that my kids will come around when they see all the cool stuff I can compact. :)
BTW, I am Kristi on the Compact eGroup. Nice to meet you. :)
October 24, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m new here – wish I’d found your blog earlier. Yeah, undies and socks…but I have a strong dislike of most “store-bought” hosiery, so am about to launch out into learning to knit our own. (I have bags of fleece yet from the sheep we used to keep.) My husband is definitely frugal, as am I. There is a ton of used good quality stuff out there – clothes, housewares, etc – so why buy new? I even sew from old clothes and other people’s remnants.
November 19, 2008 at 9:07 pm
hi,
i’m also the only official compacter in my family. but since i started in january, my husband has done what your husband did. he’s buying a lot less and that makes me so happy. it’s very cool!
November 22, 2008 at 5:51 am
Glad I followed your link today from Simple Living. We buy the same items new too. Our best buy was a secondhand TV set 3 years ago for £30 – still going strong but cos of the current economic climate – hubby just saw the digital tv that we wanted for ages at a bargain price so bought it! we are gradually switching over to digital in UK. Going to freecycle the old set tho cos it will do someone a favour!
Just watching the weather here = line full of washing out – don’t want to use tumble drier.
November 24, 2008 at 9:25 am
I collect vintage patterns and came across a cute underwear pattern. I have made several pair already using old t-shirts that I didn’t want anymore but was holding onto for sentimental reasons!
December 2, 2008 at 7:52 am
OK, so I’m new to the compact and trying to reform my ways. I’ve made great progress, but here’s my current dilemma: my bed pillows are old and flat, and they’re wrecking my sleep. I’d put old pillows in the same category w/used panties. Any suggestions on how to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without? Thanks!
December 2, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Hmmm…any chance you can kind of stitch two of them together and then make a new case for the super-pillow you make?
I am fine with old pillows, myself. I love ancient feather pillows–just put them in the dryer on high setting for long enough to give me peace of mind…
December 2, 2008 at 3:18 pm
What I have done with old flat pillows is to put two together into a single pillowcase. Then they function as a “bolster pillow,” (big and firm) that are great for reading in bed, etc. Each of my kids has one of these on their beds.
Low tech, but works great.
I would consider pillows to be an exception to The Compact myself. As a labor and delivery nurse, I’ve seen that many women stick pillows between their legs to be able to lie comfortably on their sides.
Yeah . . . I think I just added another exception to the things I won’t be buying used.
-Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate
December 12, 2008 at 10:16 am
Regarding the post about bed pillows: I just learned that old bed pillows can contain many ounces of dead dust mites and their fecal matter. Yuck! When I was researching dust mites (we have an allergy problem and dust mites & their poop are a big cause), I read that some old pillows will actually weigh more than when they were new because of all that stuff. So pillows are probably a good thing to exempt from the not-buying-new rule. One other tid bit – dust mites (which eat sloughed off skin cells) in bedding and clothing are not killed in cold water washing. Hot water is a must ,even thoug it is not earth-friendly.
May 12, 2009 at 1:18 pm
ya, but what if you hang them in the sun for several days? That might sterilize them somewhat. I’ve also heard of laying things out on the snow on sunny days – the cold and sun combine to kill things.
December 14, 2008 at 7:12 pm
You can wash down pillows! Take them to the laundromat and stick your pillows into the HUGE washers designed for bulk loads. Wash with a mild detergent in cold water. I usually wash them a second time in just water to rinse everything out thoroughly. Throw them into the dryer with some clean tennis shoes to aid in the de-clumping, or just pull them out periodically and fluff by hand during the drying process.
January 4, 2009 at 8:19 am
I haven’t actually made a Compact, but have been living this frugal way for years now. It is so wonderful to find other people doing the same thing. It is especially important now that DH is retired (forcibly) and I have only been able to obtain part-time work so far. The land taxes have grown from $400 per year 6 years ago to $4800 in 2009, so that is our hugest expense. Thank goodness no mortgage but learning to live frugally is standing us in good stead in this economic time.
January 20, 2009 at 7:19 am
I just started the Compact, i slipped without realizing it i hope that doesnt mean i have to start over lol cause im not :P
for now my exceptions are things i see as a medical need for my kids like we just bought allergy covers for their mattresses, im not sure how good that would be to get used.
also my son is about to potty train and i got him a potty seat cover brandy new, sorry i dont mind reusing the first one from DS#1 on the other toilet, but from a stranger, no i cant get past it no matter how much bleach lol
January 20, 2009 at 7:21 am
opps im sorry i posted on the wrong post, meant to post this on the gets intimate at target post sorry
March 28, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I am new to this compacting. The first thing I ran out of was toilet paper. I have read articles about other ways to get clean after using the bathroom, but that is one item I think I can’t do without.
April 12, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Hi all,
Just wanted to respond to Mary’s note about TP. I recommend making your own cloth wipes. Old t-shirts make nice soft, thin ones, and old towels make great tougher wipes for when you need them. Ahem.
We haven’t done this yet, but will make the transition after our daughter finishes potty training (I do enough laundry for now!). We’ve been using cloth wipes on her since she was born 2 1/2 years ago. I gradually realized I was jealous! A soft piece of cloth beats scratchy recycled tp any day. We use a tub of water with a bit of tea tree oil and aloe vera added. I recommend a diaper pail or other container that will close all of the way. You can make your own pail liner out of old linen, and throw it in the wash with the wipes.
I switched to non-disposable menstrual supplies from GladRags too. They have wonderful pads and a spiffy plastic cup called the keeper too. I’d definitely buy that last one new. However, it will last for many years.
Bonne chance!
May 12, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Old cloth diaper liners make great menstrual clothes as well!
November 13, 2009 at 6:39 pm
[...] What Will Katy Buy New? What Non-Consumer Activities Have You Been Up To? Shh . . . It’s The Secretly Frugal [...]
November 15, 2009 at 1:36 am
[...] woman decided to buy nothing new, which is an interesting solution, but probably not for most people. But while you might not want [...]