My adorable niece turned eight last week, and one of the gifts we sent her was BRAND NEW CLOTHES! Definitely not Compact-approved, so I’m coming clean here. Do I regret it? No way. She’s wearing one of the tops in this photo, she liked it and wanted to wear it on her birthday while she […]
Annie Leonard: hero or communist sympathizer?
Annie Leonard’s video “The Story of Stuff,” was the single strongest influence on me during my first year on The Compact (I’m almost halfway through my second already). So I was happy to see her on The Colbert Report and learn that she’d written a book of the same name. The idea that we should […]
Why are you frugal, or semi-frugal, or resourceful?
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. After I wrote yesterday’s post “What do you splurge on?” it occurred to me that maybe I should have started with the question “Why are you frugal?” Because there’s no point in being frugal for the sake of being frugal. There needs to be a […]
The "Ah-Ha" Moment
I’ve officially been a member of The Compact for a little over a year now, since January 1st 2009. Without a doubt, my two biggest influences during that time were reading The Non-Consumer Advocate daily, and viewing The Story of Stuff. Katy Wolk-Stanley writes the daily blog The Non-Consumer Advocate, which was a lifesaver for […]
Reflections on My Compact Year
I wanted this post to be dated January 1st, but we turned out to have a more social New Year’s than usual, filled with friends both old and new and even relatives I haven’t seen for years, so there was no time for my usual reflections on the past year and goals for the year […]
Is there anything I’m dying to buy new in January?
Yesterday I explained that I would continue with the Compact and blogging about it into 2010, with some caveats. Today I’ll answer this question from a reader: “Is there anything you plan on purchasing new in January? Something you’ve realized that you can’t find used, or just really have been wanting to splurge on?”Much to […]