Articles > Home-Garden

 

The idea came from a group in San Francisco who, in 2006, formed “The Compact”, an expression that originally came from the Pilgrim Fathers who sailed in the Mayflower. However, these 21st Century pioneers decided to sail into the uncharted territory of an anti-consumerist lifestyle – quite a feat for most people, especially Americans. For 364 days of the year they did not buy anything new, except for food, drink, medicines/shampoos etc and underwear. Everything else had to be bartered, borrowed, bought second-hand or acquired free from friends or through Freecycle. There was an outcry when their behaviour was reported as it was felt that not spending was very un-American. This was pre-recession however and I suspect that many more may have followed this lifestyle in the last 2 years, though possibly not from choice.

 

In comparison with 364 days (on December 31st members of The Compact have 24 hours to buy all the things they have been unable to get before starting again on January 1st), 40 days is not so bad, though it does have its challenges – e.g. how am I going to get a replacement for the fridge light which has just blown?

The main way to resist temptation is just to avoid shops and instead I spend time having a good clear out at home and in the garden. This always unearths things that I thought I’d lost or forgotten I even had, which has the double advantage of stopping me from making duplicate purchases and also making me feel that I have gained lots of new things.

 

The potting shed spring clean revealed some unopened seed packets still in date, a functioning thermometer I thought was broken and some small tools which I thought had been lost. Other people also benefited from my clear-out as I passed on over a hundred surplus plant pots to a charity – your local garden centre may have a collection point for them. Unwanted garden tools can also be donated to Tools with a Mission, a charity that will mend or renovate them and send them all over the world to enable individuals to earn a living. Workshop tools, typewriters and computers are also welcome – I’m giving away my old sewing machine.

 

I am still allowed to buy second-hand items and have just bought an antique revolving bookstand on eBay, which will be my next furniture restoration project. If I still feel the urge to buy, then I can always splash out on food and drink. A clear out of my recipe folders and the kitchen means that the quality of our dinners always rises during Lent, as I try out new recipes and use up unusual ingredients lurking in the store cupboards.

 

Lastly there’s old-fashioned bartering, which has become popular in some communities in Britain, as a cashless way of exchanging goods and services - even the Archers’ Ambridge has a scheme. I only have an informal, ad hoc arrangement with friends to exchange things of which we have a surplus, but it does feel very rewarding. For example, my friend Alison has just brought round half a dozen of her chickens’ eggs and in return I have given her 50 of our daffodils!

 

www.uk freecycle.org allows you to get rid of unwanted things and also to collect items for free.

 

www.twam.co.uk Tools With A Mission

 

Read about the social and environmental American group “The Compact” at BBC h2g2 or on Wikipedia.