I'm not buying it ...

So since February I have been on a mission to not buy anything new. Kind of like 'the compact' well probably exactly like the compact in fact!

Some of you who have been reading my blog for a while might remember the 'Buy Nothing Challenge' of April 2008, which for me became mostly about not buying things made in China. Generally I have stuck to that, although during my horrid pregnancy I didn't.

This year I have really hopped back into the Buy Nothing Spirit - with the plan of doing it for the whole year. In fact, hopefully really I will do it for my whole life.

What it means is:

- where it is reasonable I will avoid buying anything. I will make do, borrow, or go without.
- what I need I will seek to buy second hand, unless for hygiene or practical reasons this is not possible.
- where I need to buy new I will buy either made in New Zealand or organic or fair trade certififed items.
- I will give presents that are consumable and organic or locally produced (preferably local to my suburb!)
- Overriding all of this is that while I can be as miserly for myself, I will try to balance this by being open and considerate of the views and wishes of my husband and children in what IS buy for them.

3 1/2 months into it and its been going really well. I have found some fantastic clothes in a designer recycle shop, have finally become an op shopper, and have even found a great local supplier of duvet inners, pillows and mattresses. So local that the guy who works in the factory lives around the corner and his wife dropped off my order!

Its been great fun researching and coming up with solutions that don't involve cluttering up my home and the homes of my friends and families.