How Long Could You Go Without Buying Something New?

April 25th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
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I can’t buy my free range chicken hot dogs used, but what about everything else?

Would it be that hard? Wouldn’t one of the the golden rules of a sustainable planet be to make less garbage-? I have nightmares of floating around in the ocean surrounded by big white trash bags.
I found this on Bankrate:

Once an item is no longer new, there are several ways to make money or save money
Reuse it- for its original purpose or a new purpose.
Give it away- to someone who can use it.
Sell it- recoup original cost while reusing.
Buy it used- reuse it and save money.

To that end, there’s a freecycle website I’ve been exploring.
freecycle.org - 47 million members in 4300 communities in the US alone. Thousands of similar organizations have sprouted up around the world. All non-profit.

Let’s explore some of the other local opportunities that support the reusing mentality.

Clothing- In addition to Good Will and the Salvation Army, where if you can find what you want will most likely never pay more than $5 dollars for it, used clothing is eco-chic right now. There’s two store’s where I buy my t-shirts at right in my own small town. For the creative, there’s also the more elite trashion fashion. Go wild.

Furniture- My hairdresser asked my what my decor was in my house, and my answer was Nouveau Yard Sale. Antiques are nice, but who can afford that? I am passed the stage in my life where the couch on the side of the road with the “free” sign on it looks enticing. And no more milk crates, thank you. But there’s lots of shops in my area with recycled furniture at a good price. Not all need elbow grease. Beat’s the bookcase from Target.

Plastic bags- when did I become a plastic-bag-aholic? I’ve used these for everything- groceries, lunch bags, garbage, for bringing my cookies to work. Time to start the Twelve Step Program. “I know I’m powerless over plastic…” This has been a change of habit thing for me. I bring the cloth grocery bags, and wash and reuse all the “baggie”bags. Garbage bags are a tough one to get around.

There’s an aspect of my life that’s nothing more than a series of habits. It’s all the non-thinking things I do in the background, while I’m actually focusing my attention on something that is, of course, very important. These habits are comfortable, so changing them is not a piece of cake. I’ve been trying to think of some habit changing motivators for reusing.


Re-using Motivators

Never put my trash out for the dump. Make myself live with it.

RecycleBank- Free coupons for recycling in your community. This one is real. I’m e-mailing it to the mayor today. I’ll let you know what happens.

Any one else have thoughts on this?


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