Author Topic: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st  (Read 21785 times)

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #50 on: July 20, 2013, 04:41:56 PM »
I bought some used clothing today. I think I scored pretty well.

First, I had a 30% off coupon for the donation of goods I made.

Second, I was hoping to find a brownish top. Doing Project333 has allowed me to see where I have holes. I have about one million black shirts, one white shirt, and nothing brown to go with skirts/pants that have brown in them. I know. First world problem.

Today, I scored about three items for me and one for the kiddo and got 30% off. Total: $17.77.

My original plan was to buy no new clothes at all until Dec 31, and I decided to modify. I went about three months with absolutely 0 clothing purchases.

It's fun to make do and to make outfits out of my 33-36 items in the current wardrobe.






Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #51 on: July 20, 2013, 06:14:49 PM »
Well done, oldtoyota!  I'm inspired by project 333-trying to pare down my wardrobe a ton.
My update: have bought 4 new things: athletic socks + dress socks for DH (on a mystery shop, so i was reimbursed for purchase) and a jar lifter + lid lifter for canning.  Made pickled beets and escabeche, dilly beans are up next! Gotta buy more canning lids tho...

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #52 on: July 22, 2013, 12:45:37 PM »
So today, I broke down & bought a new umbrella (we only have 1 good one and it was at home during today's downpour when my crappy collapsible crapped out completely)-not a cheapie either, as I'm freaking sick of the cheap ones dying after 1 or 2 rainstorms. $16.99 including tax.  Has a 'lifetime guarantee' and you can bet I am keeping that receipt!
Also bought more canning lids & rings and a giant canning pot that can fit quart jars (my biggest pot only fits pints).  Those came to $42.  If anyone needs canning supplies, Ace hardware has a sale thru today & they do free ship-to-store. Prices are lower than others I have found online.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #53 on: July 22, 2013, 06:53:49 PM »
So today, I broke down & bought a new umbrella (we only have 1 good one and it was at home during today's downpour when my crappy collapsible crapped out completely)-not a cheapie either, as I'm freaking sick of the cheap ones dying after 1 or 2 rainstorms. $16.99 including tax.  Has a 'lifetime guarantee' and you can bet I am keeping that receipt!
Also bought more canning lids & rings and a giant canning pot that can fit quart jars (my biggest pot only fits pints).  Those came to $42.  If anyone needs canning supplies, Ace hardware has a sale thru today & they do free ship-to-store. Prices are lower than others I have found online.

I'm so glad you mentioned the canning equipment. I've wanted some. When I saw some at Target, I just assumed that would not be the best price I could get. So, I passed them by. Too bad I did not know about the sale as I was just at Ace today. Oh, well! I'll look another time.

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #54 on: July 22, 2013, 10:56:03 PM »
oldtoyota- depending on where you live, you may be able to find used canning supplies quite cheaply.  I found 3 dozen mason jars on craigslist while on a road trip in michigan :).   unfortunately, most manhattanites don't have room for canning pots and don't have time to can, so it's hard to find used supplies in the city.  the cheapest used canning pot i found online in my city was $75! my new graniteware one from Ace was 29.95+tax. 
the 'fancy' grocery in our neighborhood has a housewares department and their jar lifters & lid lifters were cheaper than i found online or at ace.
rings rust so you sometimes need to buy new ones, and you always need new lids (not safe to re-seal old lids), but everything else can be safely bought used-if you can find it!
i'm sad because there was a beautiful vintage jar with a rubber gasket at one of my favorite thrift stores (must have been a gallon jar) last week and I didn't buy it because i didn't think i could get it home without breaking it (i was riding a bike home).  I went back today and it was gone.  Would have been perfect for making sauerkraut in!   moral of the story: next time I see awesome food preserving stuff that i will actually use in a thrift store, i'm buying it!

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #55 on: July 23, 2013, 01:51:52 PM »
oldtoyota- depending on where you live, you may be able to find used canning supplies quite cheaply.  I found 3 dozen mason jars on craigslist while on a road trip in michigan :).   

Thank you for the tip! I live in DC and am heading to MI later this week. I'll keep an eye out for pieces. Year ago, I planned to can and did not do it. I gave my supplies to my MIL in my decluttering frenzy. I sorta regret that now. However, MIL has provided the most marvelous pickles so I can't complain too much.

anastrophe

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #56 on: July 24, 2013, 08:02:02 AM »
Okay, it took awhile, but I think I'm in. January 1st, 2014, here I come. My money from now until then is already committed, there's nothing I should need to get except some essential clothes and consumables.

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #57 on: July 31, 2013, 12:19:35 AM »
Update: ordered more canning jars, bands, and lids online today-going to make some fruit preserves as X-mas gifts, so wanted more of the quilted crystal jars.

Also bought a new-to-me handbag at a used clothing shop today; my everyday handbag is on its last legs after 2 years of daily use, so it was time.

mariarose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #58 on: July 31, 2013, 12:22:03 PM »
Still have bought nothing new, other than food, feed (livestock), and gas.  I did buy some work pants on ebay, but they were all used.  Could find nothing at Goodwill last week that would work for me, so went to ebay.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #59 on: August 01, 2013, 07:40:39 PM »
Update: ordered more canning jars, bands, and lids online today-going to make some fruit preserves as X-mas gifts, so wanted more of the quilted crystal jars.

Also bought a new-to-me handbag at a used clothing shop today; my everyday handbag is on its last legs after 2 years of daily use, so it was time.

Guess what? MIL gave me several jars of jam and several of pickles. I now have 12 canning jars. Okay, they are full today. One day, they will be empty and I'll have 12 jars. Huzzah!

I still need to order some more for right now.

Katnina--Did you order yours online? From ACE? Somewhere else?

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #60 on: August 01, 2013, 11:43:56 PM »
hooray for canning jars!  ACE's sale ended so i ended up ordering from Amazon because shipping from everywhere else made Amazon's prices with free super saver shipping the cheapest option.   I've been scouring the thrift stores but haven't had much luck.  the craigslist find in Michigan was the best, but haven't been able to find anything similar price-wise in NYC, alas!
I've made 2 batches of pickled beets, 2 of dilly beans, and one of escabeche.  Once the new canning jars come, it will be peach jam time, hooray!!!!!

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #61 on: August 02, 2013, 10:02:59 AM »
Thanks for the tip!

anastrophe

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #62 on: August 05, 2013, 02:17:24 PM »
I bought a new messenger bag on ebay to replace the one I've been using for 5 years. The lining had started to rip and the other day I lost something because the velcro doesn't stay closed anymore. I think this might fall under "necessities," I could have just carried everything in a grocery bag but eh.

mariarose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #63 on: August 15, 2013, 08:43:18 AM »
I bought 2 spiral notebooks, and a pack of 2 pens, notebooks were on sale buy one get one free.  This was needed for work, but it was still new.  Back on the used wagon!

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #64 on: August 15, 2013, 11:14:47 PM »
My flip flops died so I bought myself a new pair at Marshall's for $15.  They are fancier flip flops so I can get away with wearing them as dress shoes.  Also bought 2 new bras at Marshall's, and threw out 2 old raggedy ones (I am not on board with buying used bras, so that was unavoidable). The shoes were a splurge, but since we still have 2 months of summery weather, and they are high enough quality to last through all of next summer, i thought it was worth it.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #65 on: August 16, 2013, 07:20:02 AM »
Update: Target no longer has the canning jars, and they are extremely expensive at Amazon due to shipping costs. As far as I can tell, I am out of luck until next year. I'll have to use up the goodies in the 12 jars I have first!

orcas50

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #66 on: August 16, 2013, 05:54:30 PM »
I've been lurking on MMM for over a year now, and have decided to give the Compact my efforts.

I am no stranger to buying used, my Grandmother took me to thrift stores throughout my childhood and my mom volunteers in one in her hometown. I tend to buy used at consignment/thrift shops/Craigslist, but also new at shmancy places like REI, and the new stuff really adds up over time. I am the shopper in our household for myself, my husband (who hates to shop and is truly Mustachian) and my 2 kids, ages 10 and 7. We really are overflowing with abundance and I'm trying to trim our budget in every way possible so my DH can fully retire in 5 years (I "retired" from teaching 7 years ago when my second child was born and have no plans to go back to work full time, although I was tutoring for a while and may start substitute teaching this school year).

We also have chickens, a garden and fruit trees, but unfortunately no extra for canning this summer. We've been out of town a lot and my garden has suffered due to under watering.

Sorry for the long-winded intro, but I really want to do this (and become less of a consumer in general) and look forward to the support of this awesome community.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #67 on: August 19, 2013, 08:51:46 AM »
Welcome!

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #68 on: August 24, 2013, 07:21:34 AM »
Like Katnina, my shoes died! I was in the city and had to walk barefoot quite a way, but the road was clean. So, no problem. They were extremely comfortable shoes, so I'm a bit sad. On the other hand, it means I have one fewer pair of shoes in my house!

Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #69 on: August 28, 2013, 11:04:09 AM »
Have decided to knit slippers for my friends for Christmas (see Homemade Christmas 2013 thread) and don't have enough yarn in my stash to make enough pairs for all my friends, so I bought some from people who are de-stashing on e-bay.  Not technically used, but pre-owned ;).
Also bought a cotton sweater on ebay for 99c plus free shipping, going to attempt to recycle the yarn from it to make booties for my friends' new babies!

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #70 on: September 02, 2013, 11:11:14 AM »
Have decided to knit slippers for my friends for Christmas (see Homemade Christmas 2013 thread) and don't have enough yarn in my stash to make enough pairs for all my friends, so I bought some from people who are de-stashing on e-bay.  Not technically used, but pre-owned ;).
Also bought a cotton sweater on ebay for 99c plus free shipping, going to attempt to recycle the yarn from it to make booties for my friends' new babies!

I'll have to peruse ebay for de-stashing folks! Thank you for the tip.

Along the same lines, I was thinking about getting a multi-colored wool sweater to felt. After I felted, I would then cut the sweater into squares or circles to make coasters. Would this even work? I made up parts of this plan, so it's completely untested. I wonder if the felted pieces would unravel or not?

A related idea is to knit coaster shapes using up odds and ends of yarn and make abstract designs by mixing up the colors. Then, I'd felt and the colors would blend together. I could wrap these with twine and add a cute tag. Voila.




Katnina

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #71 on: September 05, 2013, 12:53:46 AM »
^^ yes, will work as long as the sweaters are 100% wool & therefore feltable.  any cotton or synthetic fibers mixed in & they won't felt.
Good luck!!! would love to see how they turn out.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #72 on: September 07, 2013, 04:33:26 PM »
^^ yes, will work as long as the sweaters are 100% wool & therefore feltable.  any cotton or synthetic fibers mixed in & they won't felt.
Good luck!!! would love to see how they turn out.

I went to the thrift store. Although I did not buy anything, I am thinking a good strategy is to purchase XL woolen sweaters. They offer more fabric without being that much more expensive than the smaller sizes. I wanted multi-colored and found too many solids so I did not get anything. I'll look around some more, but I might end up using up some old wool yarn instead.

happy

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #73 on: September 17, 2013, 06:42:23 AM »
Just an update... I'm still sticking to the plan....haven't bought any new clothes etc this year ( apart from the 2 bras). I've lost a few kilos so a few more outfits are available. Nothing is too big to wear anymore yet (dang!), but the trousers of one of my suits are pretty baggy ( might think about either a belt or seeing if I can take them in somehow). I had a brand new pair of trousers - unworn just needed taking up and finally got around to doing that.  I've cleared out some stuff I don't like and will never wear again.  Its all quite simple really. I've got into the groove and I like  knowing the extent of my clothing options.  I tend to wear the same things over and over  in any case.  Some of my work clothes are looking a bit worn, but I'm improvising/persisting. At my slow rate of weight loss I've probably got enough reasonable clothes in diminishing sizes to keep me going for another 6 months or so at least.  Once I hit a certain weight though I will have very little...but its a way off yet.

This really is a weirdly exhilarating experiment!

jfer_rose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #74 on: September 17, 2013, 06:54:40 AM »
It is a good time to update. Aside from the sunglasses, I am still on track too. I have had some temptation with regard to clothes particularly since a good bit of my clothes aren't fitting very well. But I have held strong and have not made any purchases!

My kitchen is currently under construction (my one exception to this project), so my overall spending is not down. But I can only imagine my spending if I had not been doing this!! I know I have been tempted to buy kitchen-related items not essential to the remodel and having made this pledge has helped me successfully resist the temptation.

happy

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #75 on: September 17, 2013, 07:00:43 AM »
Hey good work! A few times I have found myself about to buy  nonessential household items in compensation for not buying clothes...I resisted too.

anastrophe

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #76 on: December 06, 2013, 02:20:15 PM »
Oh my gods I failed so hard at this one. Are we resurrecting for 2014?

jat9449

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #77 on: December 06, 2013, 02:27:30 PM »
This reminds me...I've been shopping for Christmas gifts. I opted for Shutterfly books for the Grandparents ... which is technically something new. So I sort of failed there. But for other family I've been looking at some string art projects on pinterest. I have plenty of old weathered wood and nails, and I bought a bunch of string at the second hand store. If anyone is struggling for homemade gift ideas ... check it out! So cool. I'm also going to make one for my little peanut's nursery (estimated arrival: February 21). 

jfer_rose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #78 on: December 08, 2013, 07:13:50 AM »
For Christmas gifts, I'm making two kinds of homemade hot cocoa mix (one salted caramel, the other malted milk hot cocoa) and I think I'm also going to make some flavored butter too. I bought a couple amazon gift cards for my nephews since I'll be with them on Christmas morning.

Oh my gods I failed so hard at this one. Are we resurrecting for 2014?

Re: 2014-- I'm trying to decide whether to join the 2014 no clothes challenge someone else started here. I'm not sure if I want to continue the compact with regard to non-clothing purchases too. I have some purchases I would like to make new in 2014-- for example, my lone set of sheets is getting holes in them and is now discolored due to a recent incident with a red tee shirt that I received at a recent volunteer gig.

What are others thinking about whether to continue this?
« Last Edit: December 08, 2013, 07:16:08 AM by jfer_rose »

mariarose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #79 on: December 30, 2013, 11:21:07 AM »
I would continue it if you all want.  Except, I really REALLY need some new socks and underthings.  Been putting it off until January 1st because of this gauntlet. And the original exceptions I had, food, fuel, project completion items.

oldtoyota

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #80 on: December 30, 2013, 12:36:35 PM »
You are allowed to modify it. It's your life!

I did a no clothes challenge for 8 months. Since I want to do all of 2014 without buying clothes, I bought a few at the end of December (knew I would need new shoes, some sweaters, and a winter coat that isn't falling apart). So, I did it for 8 months, stopped, and am starting up again.

As far as clothes go, I'll be starting 2014 in good shape. I am buying socks and underwear on an as needed basis in 2014. I don't really want to buy them ahead just to say I did not buy them in 2014. =-)


mariarose

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Re: The Compact-- Starting today until December 31st
« Reply #81 on: January 01, 2014, 11:08:03 AM »
I'm in then.  This forum is so awesome, and these gauntlets are so helpful!