'No New Stuff'

After reading and coming across a lot of good articles arguing the issue of mass consumption in America, we have decided to make a pledge. As of March 12th (the day I got my Pink Slip), we will NOT purchase anything new for one year. Yeap. One whole year. This includes gifts to each other and to others. What it excludes is the following:
FOOD
PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS
MEDICINE
ITEMS OF COMPELLING IMPORTANCE (i.e. new tires for car b/c one popped or something like that.)
REPLACEMENT OF BROKEN ESSENTIALS (for example, a few days after we made this decision, our Sonicare toothbrush died. while we could just use the regular manual toothbrush, we both have MAJOR issues with our teeth and gums, and the sonicare has helped us a lot. Therefore making this an essential. Something like the TV breaking would suck, but could be purchased used, and is NOT essential.).
And that's it.
Clothes, books, furniture, toys, shoes and other random stuff cannot be purchased new. If we *really* need it we will hunt in thrift stores, craigslist or freecycle.
We've already scored big with an awesome find via craigslist: a large 8 seater wood, Ethan Allan dinning table that we are going to use in our patio, for $200!

Some are thinking: "why bother? This is who we are as Americans...you buy stuff...you use stuff...you throw/donate stuff you no longer want/need...why try to change anything?"
Well...because I want to teach my kids the value of caring for our Earth. I want to stop CONSUMING for the sake of consuming...because it seemed like a cool THING, or I THOUGHT I could use it, or it was on SALE, only to find this THING taking up space in my garage until the next time Hope Services comes around to collect all my unwanted/unused STUFF.

I have been inspired to make major changes in how I live, as a person, mother and consumer, by the video The Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/
I discovered this video in 2008, when a friend on Facebook entered the link in their status saying "you should spare 20 mins of your time and watch this video." and I did. And it seriously changed the way I looked at the world...

Recently, I discovered another video series that has changed the way I look at plastics and garbage in general: http://www.vbs.tv/watch/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3
(there are 3 episodes...)
Another pledge came to mind after this: no more plastic lunch baggies!!!! We have already been moving towards this tendency in our house, but are going to be making a stronger effort to not use plastic in our house (other than reusable items). Before we took the pledge of no New Stuff, I purchased a set of reusable snack baggies from reusablebags.com (http://www.reusablebags.com/store/reuseitcom%E2%84%A2-snack-p-1834.html). We have a bunch of other items from this website already, and have had great experiences with them. Both boys have the Laptop Lunch box, we have a TON of the hemp mesh grocery bags....
So, in a way, we are taking two pledges: the first being no new STUFF, and the second being eliminating as much plastic from our daily lives as possible...

And in this blog I will try to keep current on the state of these two pledges, and the undoubted challenges we will have in keeping to them...

I also hope to inspire others to do the same... ;-)