The Compact

I recently read about "The Compact" (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/the_compact_buy.php) a group from San Fran trying not to buy anything new for a year (food, undies, toilet paper, etc excepted). Used stuff is OK. And I proposed this to my family as a way to save money, until things get better.

This weekend, I had to get a new filter for the water dispenser in my fridge from Sears, and it was a strange, new experience. I was at the mall, and everything for sale there was off limits to me. I wasn't at all depressed or deprived. I could look, and enjoy the displays, but take nothing home. It was like a museum!

I thought about shopping, consumerism, temptation and eating. Bringing less into the house, bringing less into my body. And I could look at foods like a museum display...donuts in the lunch room at work, food commercials on TV, gooey desserts in ads, or whatever temptations that cross my path as an exhibit. Look, don't touch. It belongs to someone else. It's not for me. Not depressed or deprived, just looking, just passing through, no thanks.