The Compact and My Compact

I have been a shopping maven all my life -- I can find the best prices on just about anything and do some great bargain shopping and stockpiling. Trouble is, I can also end up with years' worth of items. When I realized that I had, indeed, amassed a small department store, I knew it was time to get tough. I have also had issues with spending through emotion rather than by real need or by budget. As a result, I have ended up giving away countless items simply because I thought I might use them and didn't, or there was simply too much to be consumed or used in a reasonable amount of time.

So, a couple of years ago, I decided to join the Compact. That is a group that agrees not to buy anything new for a year, except food and other essentials such as gifts for others, socks and underwear that really need to be bought new. The experience was amazing. I had so much in reserve, the restriction didn't even begin to make a dent for almost a year. Since one of my weak spot is buying mostly out-of-print books, I hardly even noticed the restriction. I also joined Bookins.com at about that time, and began to circulate extra copies of my books to others on a more personal basis than just giving them to a charity.

Then I decided to up the ante -- I decided not to buy anything new to me, and see how that felt. That was, as they say, a horse of a different color. What a puzzling and yet invigorating experience. Even knowing that you will fail, the process puts your values into a new dimension. The learning experience can be startling and yet empowering. And, at the same time, you may find yourself comfortable with the same amount of change you had at the beginning of the week in your purse at the end of the week. You may find yourself making odd combinations of food at a meal just because they happen to all be in the refrigerator and need to be eaten. This level of austerity can be of value even for short periods of time. And, ironically, it does wonders for appreciating all that one has; not to mention the great bounty of goods that are available to us in this country.