We didn't quite get the email address right first off - the savvy amongst you will have already figured that it should be compactoz@hotmail.com - without an au. Oh well, must have been the excitement...
First weekend almost over - and nothing bought. Except - the newspapers. Yikes. That was something I hadn't considered. Gave up buying them during the week ages ago, after I belatedly realised they got stock piled and then chucked. But the weekend ones - well, that is another matter. But - we only got the Saturday ones, and not the Sunday ones. A 50% reduction. Not sure how best to deal with this - the online versions just don't cut in on the weekend.
Making me realise how much purchasing is done by habit and without thought.
Next step - either bringing my lunch to work - not a particularly attractive prospect - or resolving that any food I will buy will NOT come in those crappy plastic food containers. Paper only. Will see where that leads to on the culinary front.
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4 comments:
with this site in mind, i did a grocery shop today and stocked up stuff for the next week - i'm gonna be cooking up a storm, no buying lunches for me this week.
i'm a takeaway freak so this will be a challenge but i'm looking forward to checking in on you guys for inspiration : )
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know of a little group of us, similarly inspired by The Compact, gathering in Sydney this week. We all live very close to each other and will be able to help each other not buy by sharing books, clothes, plants, food etc because of our proximity.
We're all planning different committments. Most of us aren't thinking in terms of a time frame, more sustainable permanent lifestyle change. Not sure if we'll tag ourselves with a name... but Enough Already! strikes me as a good one...
Kids clothes and shoes are areas that I will be giving myself some leeway on. Secondhand options are available but often not at the right time or in the right size. My friends have their own exclusions.
After one week I am mostly astounded by how much I have wasted up until now. Power, water, stationary, plastics, junk...
I'm also amazed at how I look at my things now... that old toweling bathrobe is now treated with a little more respect because I know I will not be getting another for a very long time...
It's amazing how excited people are by the idea. Are we all secretly in need of an escape, and feel released by having label for quietly taking ourselves of the consumer grid? I am glad I found a way to further reduce my ecological footprint. I always sensed that just recycling wasn't enough.
Good Luck all. x A
I sooo need to do this. I have moved beyond acquiring stuff to acquiring all sorts of silly storage solutions to hold the stuff. I need suggestions - I am going to a wedding that needs some tartan piece of clothing / accessory - how do I do this without going to my usual expensive fabric shop and dressmaker?
Hi, just came across your blog as i'm writing a small piece on the san francisco compact.
got to say, i'm a bit stunned that the media has treated it as such a big deal. I've been living like this for the whole of my life, so reusing stuff is second nature. It seems to me that we are going full cycle back to the 'Frugals' or the pre-baby boomers - with this new look at reusing, except for them it was money only, and for us, its predominantly environmental. My dad is a 'frugal' (which contrasted with my baby boomer mum), and i remember the excitement of council cleanup days where we would run around checking the rubbish for good stuff. kids in the neighbourhood were constantly picking up old TVs and radios for dad to repair. Even now half my furniture is from the side of the road, lovingly restored. and i have a stockpile of 'sushi fish' (those little plastic soy sauce containers - ironically started buying sushi rolls because there is less waste) ready to be made into a fabulous beaded curtain when i have enough. Its good to see this attitude is making such a comeback.
cheers, rae doble
by the way - does anyone know if there a centralised website for all these groups? like rebel ebay or 'freebay', where people can search and swap stuff in australia? that would be very cool. and useful :)
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