Compacting...7 Months In

As of now we have completed seven whole months of Compacting.  First off let me just get this off my chest...we have slipped here and there :/.  Don't quit reading, PLEASE.  I am trying to not have guilt over the purchases we have made, knowing that there would have been many more if we were not on the COMPACT.  Dang it.  I guess I am just too much of a perfectionist.  I only want to do things if I can do them to the highest of standards, and if I don't I think I have failed, I treat myself as though I have failed.  And in this situation slipping up a few times does not deem me or my family failures in the Compacting department.

We have grown so much due to Compacting, more than I ever could have dreamed and the year isn't nearly over.  We spend more time together, less time shopping and just all in all a lot more mindful of our consumption.  We have been recycling everything we can, buying food and household goods in bulk and have cut our "garbage" down by about half.  We started a garden and have seen the fruits of our labor through the likes of carrots, beans, tomatoes, strawberries, plums and we are still waiting on a bell pepper.  I went from a clothing shop-o-holic to actually not knowing what is "in style".  My kids are wearing hand me down or used clothing store bathing suits this year and they all look cute at the river, can you believe it.  I have been spending a lot less time online, even though Nick thinks I am still addicted.  I have been blogging less and selling less tie dye.  My kids have been enjoying the outdoors and I have been enjoying it with them.

A few months ago I spoke at to my MOPS group about our journey into Compacting, beginning at my insane desire to declutter.  I had such an awesome response, ladies wanted to know more about it and more about natural and simple living in general.

We have begun to pray about and talk about how we are going to handle Christmas.  Honestly, I want to pack my little family of six and go somewhere, escape it all and just focus on Jesus.  However, I think that would be considered running away.  I knew Christmas would one of the hardest parts about Compacting.  I also knew I had all year to figure out how we were going to handle it.  I mean, I am totally comfortable in yelling from the mountaintops that we are Compacting, but when it comes to Christmas (gifts) it affects so many more people than just our little family.  If you know me at all, I hate confrontation.  I hate to tell people things that might not be what they are expecting to hear.  (Thank God for email, hehe)  SO pray for me, for us as we embark on the next stage of Compacting.

Amazing Finds

Today Yesterday I made a quick stop at St. Vinny's for a few things. I was looking for some small bowls for the kids, we use to have a bunch, I think they eat them :), a travel coffee mug for Nick, he loses them frequently and a hair dryer, mine is on the outs!

So I didn't find any bowls or a hair dryer, but I did find a travel coffee mug for Nick, a brand new Starbucks Travel Mug for 89cents! And then the Lord truly blessed me. I found a milk crate full of cigarette-lighter adapters, like for to charge your cell phone in your car or plug in your Travel DVD player. We have been without a plug-in for awhile now, even our last trip to Santa Rosa (4 hours away) we went with no DVD player, because we are Compacting and we couldn't buy one new.  So I ran out to the car got my DVD player, brought it into the Thrift Store and started trying different ones, after about 12 tries I found one that fit for $1.99.  (And yes it works, DVD's now play in the car again.)  Then I was walking to the register because I had overdone my "just 5 minutes" by like 15 (Nick was in the car with the 4) and I saw a handheld shower head.  I needed it.  It was 99cents and made me so excited.  See our shower is not really a shower it is a bath with a handheld shower head taking water from the bath faucet and bringing it up to shower height.  Ours was broken, not so broken that we couldn't shower, but broken enough that water sprayed EVERYWHERE!

So for $4.15 Nick has a brand new travel coffee mug, the kids can watch DVD's on long drives (I will be sane-ish-er on our next out of town trip) and we have a amazing new shower head.  Thank you all you Eureka-ians for your donations to the thrift store.

It is March....

and we are still on THE COMPACT. I haven't been to Target in over a month and the last time I went it literally made me feel sick, all that stuff, it was just too overwhelming. We have made some amazing purchases at Lots for Tots PLUS The Clothing Closet, here in Eureka. Cool thing is you take clothing and toys and stuff there, they go through it, tell you what they want or don't want, then you get credit to their store, wooohooo! Also, for Dillon's Birthday, he got a $20 Gift Certificate to Lots For Tots, thank you friends who are support out Compacting. :)

We are what 13 ish weeks in (out of 52) and already our mindset is changing. Something so cool happened just the other day; Aidan and I were having a conversation about him not wearing diapers to bed anymore (yes, he is 5 1/2, we have wetting the bed issues in this family, I was a bedwetter, Nick was a bedwetter, our children are DOOMED!), I asked him what he thought he would deserve if he didn't pee in his bed one night, two nights, forever, he replied "how about a toy at the $ store (for one night), no wait I want a toy from that place I found the Knight toy." That place he found the Knight toy is the St. Vincents Thrift Store. So with two nights of not wetting the bed we are off to St. Vinny's today for Aidan to rummage through the 25cent donated toys, YES! The things that make a Compacting mom's heart melt.

I am so darn excited (an nervous, yes definitely nervous), the MOPS group of Eureka, has asked me to speak about The Compact, about my journey and about how others can benefit and join in.  So I have been researching how The Compact has affected others that have participated and I found an awesome article by Environment Reporter, Catherine Porter, about compacting and consumption, a great read, Catherine also has a blog, The Green Life.  She writes about a one week Compacting Challenge in this blog, check it out.

The Compact - January is behind us!

One month has come and gone and we are still Compacting strong. I have to say I am proud of me, proud of us (my husband and me) and proud of all of the support we have gotten. There are still lots (LOTS) of people in our daily life that do not *know* we are on The Compact and that is ok.

We haven't had any slip ups! I only went to Target once and it was to help my mom pick out Téadora's birthday gift. I bought some used clothing and a pair of shoes for myself and a used video for the kids. I bought some used Tupperware containers for Aidan to use instead of baggies in his reusable lunch bag. I have baked bread 4 times since the beginning of January and I have decluttered about 265 items from our house (mostly toys that my kids weren't playing with (more on that in another post). We had to buy Nick a new pair of work of work boots and those were bought brand new, but that was an exception in our Compacting "rules".

It has been freeing to not NEED to go to Target or the Mall. I have un-subscribed to many company emails; Gap, The Children's Place, Gymboree, Pimperlime, Old Navy, Sears. Some of which I am not even sure how I got on their email list in the first place. I have spent more time with my family, with the Lord, planning adventures that do not cost money and organizing mine and my family's life around things that do not involve excess and consumption.

X-Posted Mamas on the Compact

Eliminating Debt

This year we are really tackling our debt.  Honestly we don't have that much, especially in comparison to the national average, which is about $9900 in credit card debt, plus car payments and mortgages.  We have no where near $9900 in credit card debt, but if you add in our car loan we are just $10,000.  We have made a debt pay-off plan with the help of Dave Ramsey, and we will be completely debt free in April of 2009.  The target date of April 2009 is very easily attained and we hope to be debt free by the end of the year, we are praying for Gods will in this.

We are doing a few things to help pay-off our debt:  using the cash/envelope system for most purchases, using the Dave Ramsey debt-snowball,  COMPACTING, budgeting our money before we spend it and using some of our tax return to help pay down the debt.

So far so good.  We are paying off a few little debts this month, and old dentist bill, a garbage company bill that I got tired of fighting, along with our closing cable bill from our last house (we just received it, WEIRD) .

As you noticed, I said nothing about a mortgage, well that is because we do not own our home.  We live in the home that my mother-in-law grew up in.  Our hopes and dreams are to add on and remodel.  I am not sure it is possible, but I dream of being able to pay cash for the remodel/add-on.  Right now any big changes to the house are on the back burner, it will definitely have to be in Gods timing.

Happy Birthday Téadora!

Téadora you have forever changed our life.  You came into this world a tiny little girl, a few weeks earlier than we expected.  And each day since then we have thanked the Lord for bringing you to us.  We love you!

Two years ago, with 11 minutes to spare we arrived at the hospital. There was exactly 11 minutes from the time we pulled into the parking spot to the time I lifted her onto my chest.  Those 11 minutes were jam packed with adventure.  I was thrown a gown and told to put it on.  I said no and took off my pants.  She was 3 1/2 weeks early so I had yet to "pre-register" meaning I was hand a kagillion pieces of paper to read and sign.  I set them on the side table.  I was having my 2nd VBAC, so there was a nurse trying oh-so-hard to get an IV put in me, she had no luck.  However the worst was that one nurse did not believe me that the baby was actually coming, so she decided to check and see how far dilated I was.  I wanted to laugh, I wanted to scream, but I nicely said, you don't need to "check" she is coming out.  She proceeded to check me, she prepared, started in and yelled, GET THE DOCTOR, we have a head.  HAHA, I thought, I was right.  Crazy a woman right about her own body.  But the best was yet to come.  Dr. Anderson (the same Dr.Anderson that delivered my husband) came waltzing into the room.  "Good thing you called on your way here, I was in the parking lot going home to take a shower."  Like I care, I am having a baby, I thought.  He put on his gloves and went to take his position, honestly I never wanted a man in sitting there staring at me, but I had no choice he was the only one there.  (But according to him I should be ecstatic that the nurses caught him in the parking lot.)  I was then told that she was coming out with her face up (posterior), which explained my back labor.  Next thing I know I see a HUGE needle.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", I yelled.  He calmly answered, "you are going to need an episiotomy, so I am numbing you." " Do-not-cut-me, I don't care if I tear."  Next thing I know I am pulling my little girl up onto my chest.  She was wonderful and tiny, a whopping 6lbs 1oz and 19 1/2 inches long.  (For what it is worth, the doctor did end up telling me that I made a good call about not wanting an episiotomy.)

Well onto what you all have been waiting for the finished kitchen!

The sink was cut out.  We use a stainless steel bowl for the sink.

 

We cut a dowel rod that we had in the garage to make the faucet.  We used the rest of the dowel rod for the to hang the curtain (see below).

 The curtain went with her crib bedding set, I had to hem it (in 1/2).

Here is an up close of the curtain and the shelf inside.

 

And here is the finished product with her pots/pans and utensils set out.  The pots/pans set was purchased prior to Christmas.

So how did we do?  Do you like it?  We found everything in our home/garage with the exception of the pot/pans and the knobs for the sink and burners.

I don't want to.

Part of my COMPACT agreement (to myself) was that I could still participate in my gymbucks redemption.  See in November and December I earned myself $75 in gymbucks at Gymboree.  I told myself that I would limit myself to using $25 or $50 worth and giveaway or sell the remaining gymbuck(s).  Well I had my cart all ready tonight, I had already talked myself down to only using $25 worth of gymbucks, which basically meant I was getting $51.95 worth of stuff for $26.95, plus shipping and tax.  I closed the browser.  I don't want to.  I don't want to buy those clothes.  Are they a good deal, YES!  When I add up the regular prices of the items it comes to $120.50 and I would be getting them for $26.95.  As Kristy would say, they are basically paying me to take them, right!!  But it is the principal of the matter.  Do I want the clothes, yes, do I need the clothes NO.  Who cares what a great deal it is.  I am not buying the kids new clothes this year and I am sticking to that.  YAY ME!

What shall I do?

January 4, 2008

So far compacting hasn't been as hard as I anticipated. However I look ahead to birthdays, baby showers (everyone I know is pregnant, hehe), anniversaries, trips out of town, Christmas and I am forced to make some decisions on how to handle these situations. I figure if I think about it now, when the time comes it won't be as hard to stick to an already made plan, instead of heading out to the mall.

Birthdays: gifts=homemade or buy used, party supplies=as much as possible use stuff we already have, none/limited paper products, make decorations, use internet to get ideas/print decorations, cards=homemade

Trips out of town: limit eating out, buying trinkets, really think about purchases. Ok I am not going to even attempt

Christmas. But I have one idea...instead of giving gifts to extended family, we adopt a child or buy an animal or something along those lines, possibly we adopt a local family and give them "Christmas".
Taken from "THE RED NOTEBOOK"

New Year but NO NEW!

We are doing it. Crazy huh!?! We are diving into our version of "The Compact". Some might be exclaiming, "not you guys", YES US, others might be cheering us on, THANK YOU, and yet most of you are probably saying "what the heck is a compact?" Well over the next months I will probably be in each one of your shoes. I am going to blog some of our journeys in compacting here, however most of the documenting is going to be done in a spiral bound red notebook. I am going old-school, I am going to hand write journal entries, can you believe it.

To get me to where I am it has been a long road.

I am a struggling Target, WalMart, $Store addict, I like nice clothes and things, I always am wanting more, I waste money on eating out and drinking "glamorous" coffee, I like the readily accessibility of new, I am a sucker for sales, clearance and anything that seems like a GREAT deal, even if I don't need it and sometimes I don't even want it.

We are a family of 6 living in a 1 1/2 bedroom, less than 1000 square foot house, with two cats and soon a puppy. We have been decluttering for over a year and simplifying and organizing throughout that time. We are earthy (some say). We cloth diaper, use cloth wipes, eat mainly vegetarian, we are about 50% organic at this point, we use natural cleaning products, recycle, we don't vaccinate, by kids breastfeed for a long time, I love tie dye and by goly I rarely shave my legs :)

Well anyway, I wanted to give you a little background on us. Moving on...

December 29, 2007

I am on a journey of less spending, less consuming, more happiness, no debt, figuring out what *I* really need, what we (our family) really needs.

I have some thoughts about what "COMPACTING" would look like to me.

*One time per month trip to Target and only for necessities

*No brand new clothes for kids until 2009

*Limit brand new clothing for Nick and I

*REALLY THINK ABOUT PURCHASES

*Do not use credit

*Buy local as much as possible

*Bake bread once a week

*Declutter 2008 things in 2008

EXCEPTIONS

*Aidan's uniform clothes (I will try to first buy used)

*Underwear, socks, undershirts, shoes

*New car seats for Aidan and Coda

*Things that will help us to become more self-sufficient (not sure if that is the right word), such as cloth diapers, seeds, potting soil, etc for planting vegetables.

*Items needed to run our business

January 1, 2007

So far today I wanted to buy a new magazine "Mothering" (maybe Kristy could send me her copy when she is done with it), I wanted to buy a new book, I am going to check out the used bookstores.

Téadora's birthday is in 16 days. We really wanted to make her a play kitchen for her birthday. So today/tonight I am going to search in the house and garage for items that could be used. I wish myself luck.
Taken from "The Red Notebook"

Questioning Consumption.

We've moved, we've downsized, I've donated, sold, traded.  I am happy with what we have.  But I constantly want MORE...NEW...BETTER.  Why?  If I showed you pictures of my children's closet and dressers you might faint, but yet I still find new that I have to have for them.  I see things and I want them.  Not because I need them, but purely desiring to have them.  Anything from a new Gymboree outfit for Téa, to new cloth diapers, to a new shirt/shoes/pants for me, or what about a new candle or frame or gadget.

The concept of living on THE COMPACT came to my attention for the first time about 6 or so months ago.   According to http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/, THE COMPACT, is to 1) to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc; 2) to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er); 3) to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact).

I was intrigued, intrigued enough to go out to the garage where my husband was playing music and tell him of my new plan.  He laughed.  Maybe I didn't explain it good enough, maybe he knew how much I liked going shopping, maybe he didn't want to give up buying new things for himself, maybe he just thought I was NUTS.  Well I didn't go on THE COMPACT that day, nor the next, but I did stop shopping at WalMart for a month or so.

But while I was walking through Target the other day, my baby attached to me in the Ergo, I found myself, saying OOOHH, AAAHHH, I need, I want, that would be great for... Then remembering I had just downsized my family of six and our belongings to fit into our 1000sq ft house.  (Not a simple task, but doable!)  I think how much simpler life would be if I didn't even give myself the option to buy new.  Then I think about Christmas, what would we give, would our family and friends be angry that they didn't receive the item or items they desired because we weren't buying NEW?  Should I care?

Really this BLOG is my mind talking, racing actually.  Thanks for listening.