From one of my favorite bloggers!

Of course, she offers a lot of stuff for sale but most of it is digital and on this one she hits the nail on the head!

Head on over to Ros’ article.

I saw this man speak at the annual TED Conference a few weeks ago and just found this site that displays some of the works he spoke about. His talk was a very power illustration of just how much ’stuff’ is used by human beings and it gave everyone a tangible grasp on some of these huge numbers.

Check out his work and see how clearly the message is communicated - without words.

4 million plastic cups used on flights in the US every day… what does 4 million plastic cups (that are not recycled, by the way) look like?

Here is Chris’ idea of an artistic use of one million cups - the same number used by U.S. Airlines every 6 hours.

I’ve been on a few flights since seeing his talk and I can’t lie, I thought about the one I was holding and where it might be in this picture.

I’ve been away from the blog for a month but living strong with the commitment and it’s getting more and more wonderful each day.  Secretly, I’m thinking this going to extend way beyond 2008 (but don’t tell anyone).

We have been using eBay for some stuff for Zed and he’s really into the spirit.  Doesn’t even ask for stuff when we are in a store now days.  As if that alone isn’t its own reward (I haven’t had to say, “No” for a few months now), he’s starting to speak up about being a compacter to friends and family.  He’ll ask me if we can find something used or at a thrift store and he’s realizing it’s because there is just too much ’stuff’ in the world.  I love it.

I just came across this cool article that I wanted to share.   I think the author, Catherine Porter, does a nice job of capturing the spirit of the challenge.  You can find her blog here and its got a lot of pieces that are earth-friendly.

Back to not buying new.  If you are trying it, comment here and let us know.

I received an email from someone that made me think about how stuff is made in our world these days. Factories of people we never think about cranking out whatever Mr. Man tells them to crank out. Earning slave wages to make stuff they couldn’t care less about, could never afford to buy, and have absolutely no connection to. It seems like they make it, we buy it, we throw it away and buy again.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

So when I read this story about these sandals made in China and sold at WalMart, I started thinking more about the cycle of stuff. How good it feels to stop supporting the insanity that makes this machine chug along. I hope someday you’ll join us (thanks, John).

See for yourself and be careful - when something seems like too good a deal, it might just be. $2.44 for a pair of sandals is a great example.

And I know… the President wants us all to get out there and shop. He said it in the days following 9/11 and he is saying it again. Get out there and shop.

The unemployment rate has remained low, at 4.5 percent. A recent report on retail sales shows a strong beginning to the holiday shopping season across the country — and I encourage you all to go shopping more. - G.W. Bush

What a genius. Go shopping. Numb the pain of having a guy like him for President. Go shopping.

It’s time to go shopping for a new President and I hope we come home with a better product this time.

Last week I watched a documentary called Maxed Out about America’s obsession with credit and the nightmares it has caused. Pretty eye-opening stuff. Highly recommended!

The economy is in trouble, friends. We are spending more than we’re earning. And the President is telling us to get out and shop.

I’m going to sleep. -Barry

It’s going well… really well. A lot of consciousness around stuff and buying and it hasn’t been a problem at all. This is certainly the longest I’ve ever gone without buying something new and it has been a non-issue.

How many other things that you do everyday could you just up and quit? Eating? Brushing your teeth? Using a phone? All of those activities, and dozens more, would make you crazy in one way or another. But not buying new stuff - why did I do it so often if it wasn’t necessary? It seems to boil down to one thing: ease.

We Americans love convenience.   It’s what we are known for around the world.  We like things fast, easy, cheap, and NOW!

Here on day 21 I’m feeling like the ‘American Way’ grew on my slowly, like peat moss on a tree.  I’m also feeling like I want to shed that blanket and feel what it’s like to wait, plan, look, and then get something that isn’t new.  It’s been really good for 3 weeks…

I read in TIME magazine that today, the 3rd Monday of the new, year is the most depressing day of the year.   Some formula that calculates the weather, the bills from overspending during the holidays, and the realization that your new year’s resolutions were nothing but a pipe dream.

Personally, I was just a bit bummed that I spent the entire day flying across the country.  But the worst day of the year?  I like rain.  I spent $200 total on holiday gifts.  I made no new year’s resolutions.  Hey - problem solved!

I hope today was a good one for you and that this report was talking about other people.

-Barry

Ah, the convenience of popping onto Hannah Anderson’s website and getting Zed a new jacket. Or browsing the local bookstore and getting a new book, just because I like the cover. Or, heading down the hill forty-five minutes to the box stores to get myself a new wardrobe - at 75% off. Shopping is a way of life. Our culture’s way of life. Buying new things - it’s associated with wealth, and leisure, and darnit, it’s our right. It’s a high, a thrill, a bang, a boost, a charge, a buzz. Hey, I believe in retail therapy, credit carding the blues away and bringing home a (fill in the blank with a shiny new object.) But, really, am I that obtuse, is my life so empty, that I need that new store smell to make me feel better? Sometimes, yes!

So this is my work, my practice. To change my thinking, to be more conscious of my choices. It’s been easy to recycle, to change our light bulbs, to carpool. But this is different. And I am awed by how my choice to buy nothing new is challenged daily. Moving to a small town with more limited store choices has already helped. But this decision - well, it’s big for me.

Zed needed new shoes. I strode forth to find Zed a pair at one of our local thrift stores. We do have thrift stores, but a smaller population means slimmer pickings. I hadn’t given much thought to future shoe needs, and Zed needed them now. Five-year olds are hard on shoes. If you can even find a used pair, they are often worn flat, red-dirted beyond recognition, or tattered on the inside. So, here was one place where I decided Zed’s growing feet needed new (or barely used) shoes. I wanted to amend our list just a bit - new items could be food, health, personal items, and occasionally, shoes for my son.

We found a really good pair at a local kids retail store - they are high quality and there might even be enough goodie left when he is done to pass them on to someone else. In the meantime, I will be looking ahead for that next size shoe, maybe even stumbling upon a used pair with lots of wear left in them. Or I can post on my local community’s yahoo group and ask. As a culture, we can change the thinking that getting items used means you must not be able to afford it new. Let’s make it cool to re-use someone else’s stuff!!!

That’s how the thinking changes. Look ahead. What will we need in a few weeks, or a few months, or even next year, that we can find used? There are some great sites for helping with that. One is called The Freecycle Network - to promote waste reduction and help save landscape from being taken over by landfills.

www.freecycle.org

Connect with your own community and get what you need, get rid of what you don’t need, without buying new. It’s simple.

And, if this is a step forward, I even resisted sniffing the new shoe smell on the inside of the box.

“What you’re doing is un-American”.

Yes friends, someone made it clear to me that going a year without buying anything new was un-American.

I looked for the glint in his eye that told me he was joking, but this yodel was serious.

Un-American. There I am.

I wasn’t of mind to address his comment right then and there, but it’s been sitting with me all day and I’ll answer now. Maybe he’ll make his way over to this edge of the cyberspace at some point or (take a big breath and exhale), maybe there are more people that agree with him and want to hear my response.

What the heck are you talking about?  Do you actually think that one family stepping off the consumerism treadmill for a year is going to do anything but help that family? Take one look around the O’Hare airport at anytime of the day or night and you’ll see that over-eating, over-buying, and laziness are alive and well.

Not only is this little pact with one’s own self not going to catch on, but I promise you that the good lessons and personal growth that come from this 52-week adventure will create a better human being. More in control of their wallet, their impulsiveness, and they will forever be more conscious and empowered about the choices they make.

I travel a lot. I am in airports a few times each month and I see people walking around like robots from shop to shop - eating, buying, watching, listening, consuming through their mouths, eyes, and ears and I ask myself, “Why?”. What is so painful that Americans absolutely must bring new stimuli into their beings every waking moment?

It’s obscene.

I’m on the plane yesterday and the preflight announcement says that if there is an emergency and we have to exit the plane, make sure we jump onto the evacuation slide, feet first, and slide safely to the ground.

I look at the guy sitting in the window seat and he’s sweating - just trying to bring the frozen yogurt cone up to his face has him all worked up. He’s got 2 shopping bags at his feet, a stack of glossy magazines on his lap, and a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket.

Jump? Feet first? This guy quit wanting to live long ago.

Are you telling me this guy is going hurt America if he quits buying new stuff for a year? Are you really thinking he’s going to be worse off if he takes a look inside and asks himself if he can do better?

Darn, I wish I would have had these thoughts ready to go today when this guy tried to set me straight.

I meet with this group of men once a week. It’s a very sacred 2 hours with a protocol and everyone gets out of it what they put into it - even if it is just listening really closely and hearing what another man is sharing.

I brought up our Nothing New challenge to the group and got a variety of reactions - yes, the mirror was turned back on me and I got a good look at what I was saying.

I came out of it with a few new words that seem to offer more personal understanding of what we are doing here: consciousness, and impulsiveness.

I feel very unconscious and impulsive at times. What seems good about Nothing New is that it will tame those two qualities and help align me more with their opposites.

Look, there’s no doubt that I’m a long-term work in progress… Not buying new stuff is a daily marker that forces me to stop and think about impulsiveness and to be conscious about my actions. I’m a big fan of daily reminders in life and business.  They work, period.

It was my first time really sharing what we are doing with people I know.  It was hard - shinning a light onto something that has lived comfortably behind our front door for others to comment upon and judge.

And I did feel somewhat judged.  Not so much for the challenge of not buying anything new, but the guys really wanted me to look at why I was doing it (and involving my wife and son, who, by the way, are equally committed to doing it), and that’s what a support group does.  I said that I wanted to understand, from a more internal place, what this was about, and they helped me to see it.

I’m still figuring it out, but the part about having a daily check in on impulsiveness and consciousness seems to fit pretty well right now.

I was out trying to move some of the millions of leaves that cover our driveway when it happened.

SNAP!

My trusty plastic rake with a 24″ wide footprint gave way to wet, soggy leaves. No problem - it’s 5 years old and I probably need a new one.

Annie was out in the world so I told her to pick one up while she was near the hardware store.

The phone fell silent.

“We can’t get a new rake, Barry”, she says.

Oh yeah, that.

We made it over a week before the impulsive habit of simply replacing the broken-old with the brand-new reared it’s head.

I mean, it was instant.

If a guy with a truck full of rakes would have pulled up I wouldn’t have thought twice about dishing out the cash and going on with the clean up.

But no, today I get to reflect and think about our new plan. Again.

One less rake that was MADE IN CHINA will be sold in the U.S. today. Hardly going to change the world, but it’s what we can do. It’s the only solace I can find at this particular moment, but I’m sure (and hoping) there’s something deeper.

The late, great comedian Sam Kinison had a joke about finding happiness when none seemed instantly apparent: “Sometimes when I see an absolutely beautiful, drop-dead, gorgeous woman the only thing that keeps me sane is knowing that somewhere in the world there is a guy who is tired of *$^#&@ her.”

As I wrote earlier, the “Nothing New” idea came to Annie and me around 10:00 PM on New Year’s Eve. We have talked about it a lot and are slowly realizing what it means, exactly, on a number of different levels.

• There is the ’stuff’ level. Just that we have so much in our lives and in our world and we are showing ourselves what it is like to limit the amount of new stuff we get.
• There is the ‘emotional’ level. What does it mean to us as people to make these choices.
• There is the ‘environmental’ level. Can we affect the world by choosing where to put our money?
• And there is the ‘parenting’ level. Our son is 5 and he takes everything in - quickly. What does it mean to him to go a year without buying anything brand new? How will it play into his future? I’d bet the world it isn’t going to hurt him - I’m just real curious about how it will help him.

The really interesting list to keep throughout the year would be all the things we don’t buy that we would have. What the heck would that look like after 365 days?

Now I have to find a rake.

That alone should take me to a place much more interesting than the hardware store.

I was sitting here writing an article when Zed came up and told us what he wanted for his birthday - a brand new Lego set with the latest-and-greatest-whiz-bam attachment that he can’t do without.

It seemed like the perfect time to share the new plan.  All he wanted to know was if we could still get Lego from time-to-time.  The guy builds entire lands, ships, and villages from the little squares and ‘guys’ so I can’t see cutting that off.  Once in a while we’ll hit the thrift stores or eBay for a new supply of Lego.

What does ‘new’ mean to a 5-year old, anyway?  It means he didn’t have it yesterday and he has it today.  All the other baggage of ‘new’ comes from our beliefs that we form throughout our lives.

I told him I wish my parents had done this when I was five.

He said, “I know, daddy”.