Compact Update: Can You Live Without New?
I started a modified Compact a couple weeks ago, trying to lessen my environmental impact by limiting my purchase of new products. Overall, not a biggie, although I was sad to get a 15% off birthday coupon (with a wacky birthday candle necklace) from Anthropologie and realized I'd be breaking my Compact to have a girly birthday bender. Oh, how I love Anthropologie.
My hope was that a by-product of the Compact would be saving some money, although it wasn't my primary goal.
Today. Oy, today. I had a 7:15 am flight to get to a lunch meeting in DC. I was getting into the city early enough to meet one of our publishing partners for a casual meeting before the lunch meeting, so had a couple pieces of business during my in-and-out trip. I got to the gate at 6:30 a.m. just in time for the announcement that the flight was delayed two hours due to mechanical issues, so cancelled my first meeting. Four delays later, I was not going to make even my lunch meeting and threw in the towel. I decided to work the remaining day from home.
On the drive home from the airport, I happened upon two yard sales. The first was an annual event some neighbors throw to benefit charity. The second was a family fundraiser to fund an upcoming trip to celebrate the mom being five years cancer free.
Total, I spent $20 at the two sales, and here's what I bought:
Not too shabby. And not too much suffering, despite eschewing new products. I might keep up this Compact thing after the summer.
My hope was that a by-product of the Compact would be saving some money, although it wasn't my primary goal.
Today. Oy, today. I had a 7:15 am flight to get to a lunch meeting in DC. I was getting into the city early enough to meet one of our publishing partners for a casual meeting before the lunch meeting, so had a couple pieces of business during my in-and-out trip. I got to the gate at 6:30 a.m. just in time for the announcement that the flight was delayed two hours due to mechanical issues, so cancelled my first meeting. Four delays later, I was not going to make even my lunch meeting and threw in the towel. I decided to work the remaining day from home.
On the drive home from the airport, I happened upon two yard sales. The first was an annual event some neighbors throw to benefit charity. The second was a family fundraiser to fund an upcoming trip to celebrate the mom being five years cancer free.
Total, I spent $20 at the two sales, and here's what I bought:
- Small stoneware brownie pan
- Pizza stone (we broke ours two days ago)
- Vera Bradley glasses case
- 2 glass piggy banks -- the kind you have to break to get the money; Sylvie has one, so these were for the boys
- Vintage fabric cut into three-inch squares that I'm going to use to make a quilt for Sylvie
- Vintage sewing notions, like rickrack with its original 10-cent price sticker
- Glow-in-the-dark Perler bead kit for the boys
- Leather Coach backpack
- A yet-to-be-revealed Father's Day gift
- Jeans for Sylvia
- Spiderman action car for Tommy's Spiderman action figures
- New package of sewing machine needles
- Three-piece food mill for making applesauce
- 2 DVDs for the boys (Mythbusters and Superman Returns)
Not too shabby. And not too much suffering, despite eschewing new products. I might keep up this Compact thing after the summer.
Labels: Compact, just blogging, no-spend
posted by Cindy at 11:39 AM
2 Comments:
I wish I could shop like you. I can never find deals like that!! Glad you made the most of your failed trip to D.C. :)
Suzy, I think the difference is I don't have four toddlers in tow. I was thinking how pleasant it was to spend three minutes scoping out everything in a yard sale without someone almost breaking glassware or lots of begging. I usually have some combination of kids with me, and it's almost impossible to be efficient or find the good stuff.
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