Nothing New: moving forward

My Nothing New Project has come to a standstill over the summer. I came across a few situations where I didn’t have a choice but to buy something new for myself and my son. Things like that always happen when you think you can relax, don’t they? For example, when you simply forget to pack that essential jacket you need because the place where you’re staying in the mountains drops to 6°C or when your child’s feet grow almost overnight and you realise that he will not make many steps in the old ones any more. I’m forgiving myself these small departures from the nothing new project as they really are justifiable but there is something else too… my little weakness that I indulged in while in Poland. I love Polish children’s’ songs and stories (written and spoken). I tried to say no to them, but I do see them as an essential part of my son’s childhood. And not just my son’s. They will also be used by a number of children because I am starting a group for Polish kids in my town which will focus on popularising Polish rhymes and stories among the expat children. So it turns out that those books have become a bit of an investment into community building and I’m happy I am making use of this investment.

So all in all, what’s the status of my nothing new project? I’ve slipped but I am carrying on, being mindful of what and where I buy or what I don’t buy. It’s almost the end of September and pre-Christmas shopping madness is about to start – I am sticking to the nothing new project just for the sole purpose of staying true to the message of the Christmas period – that new is born and not bought… that a true and long-lasting regeneration and renovation comes from effort, time and nourishment. So for these next few months I’ll carry on learning how to be patient, more hard-working and nurturing. I hope you’ll stay with me to see to it. ;)

Nothing New: Both Sides of The Coin

Six months without buying anything new seems like a long period of time, but it is not. It is just six months, not six years, not sixteen and not sixty. It is just six odd months of reusing, borrowing, repairing and buying second-hand. Nothing new hasn’t defined my lifetime. But it has and will be defining the lifetime of others.

I must admit I had a moment of panic when I started the nothing new project. It wasn’t about not being able to buy things but it was about losing friends, losing opportunities to socialise and hang around together. I felt trapped. You see… one of the things that I decided to give up was coffee and you know how the world looks like these days – you meet at a coffee shop, you chat and giggle over a steamy black or frothy white drink. It’s isolating not to be able to have a cup of coffee with a friend, isn’t it?

I think this fear was triggered by the memories of my first year in the UK, when as a student I wasn’t really able to afford cups of coffee or dinners. It was serious. I was studying as well as working many hours per week as a waitress in pubs or restaurants. I wasn’t earning much, had no student loan, paid my rent and food from what I earned as a waitress so I really couldn’t afford many indulgences. If I had spent my money on those things I wouldn’t have been able to pay for my electricity bill in winter, the flight back home for Christmas or books for studying. I remember I used to do overtime just to be able to go for a coffee with a friend to discuss essays and literature. Tough time. Glad that it’s over. More than over. Now I have a choice. I have a choice to buy or not to buy and I am making the choice not to buy almost nonchalantly. Just because I can.

It doesn’t make me proud. Very often it makes me feel uncomfortable. “To buy or not to buy?” is not a question that offers two options to everyone. For many, “to buy” is just a matter of upgrading, changing or improving. For others, “to buy” means choosing between two or more necessities, two or more human rights: the right to study, the right to sleep, the right to have warm food, the right to socialise, and even the right to go to work. It feels comfortable and snug to be in the first group. It feels alienating and vulnerable to be in the second one. ‘Nothing new’ is not their choice. It’s not a lifestyle. It’s survival.

On the road to environmental living: ideas for reducing packaging in our daily lives

I often think about the values that I would like to instil in my son. There is quite a list and caring for the environment is among them. I am not an expert in eco-friendly living but I am learning about it and the more I read and the more I investigate the topic the more I understand how serious and pressing the environmental issues are.

When I came to the UK, the front pages were full of discussion on the topics related to the environment. I must admit I didn’t read many of them but the messages trickled and filled my conscience.

I am trying to find ways and means of reducing unnecessary waste. We pay a strong attention to sorting our rubbish for recycling but I think I still would like to reduce the weight that the rubbish lorry takes away every week. I thought that first of all I’ll try to reduce the packaging that comes into our house. Here are some ideas that I am or will be implementing which you might also like to look into.

Plastic containers for milk – Solution: check if there’s a milkman in your area, order milk in reusable glass bottles from them. If you are based in the UK, you can check who delivers milk in your local area by using this website: http://www.findmeamilkman.net

Washing up liquid – There are some eco-friendly brands that offer washing-up liquid refills. All that you need to do is to take your old and empty washing-up liquid bottle and ask for a refill. Local independent eco shops may do it for other home-care products too.

Soap containers – Consider the following options: try to use the refill systems for liquid soaps or buy soap in blocks or chunks without packaging

Yoghurt and ice-cream pots – There’s a plethora of recipes online for how to make your own yoghurt and ice-cream. Making it on your own is much healthier as you can avoid glycerine, excessive sugar and other additives. It’s so much fun to do it too! And so yummy!

Other food packaging – Is there a shop that specialises in eggs near you? They are always very appreciative if you come with your own egg box. On average we buy one or two boxes of eggs per week, that’s maybe up to around 100 egg boxes per year. This can be easily reduced to say 10 (assuming a box will last 10 trips).

Plastic dispensers from cleaning products – for the cooker: use bicarbonate of soda with lemon; for windows: my mum gave me a special cleaning cloth that does not require a detergent to be used, in the past I also used water and old newspapers – worked pretty well; as a shower cleaner: use bicarbonate of soda with lemon and vinegar.

There are still some items that I haven’t found good solutions for, for instance, how to avoid plastic shampoo bottles or summer fruit containers (I wish there was a returnable container system somewhere near me)? Any ideas?

Nothing New: Lesson Learned

When at the beginning of this year Sash at Inked in Colour started her Nothing New project, I was in the process of managing and sorting our household possessions and so I thought to myself, I’ll join her. Our drawers and wardrobes were full, our cupboards were full and despite my decluttering efforts, with all the new stuff that comes with having a growing up baby, I still felt really bogged down. I felt that the Nothing New project is a perfect solution for our family and I really didn’t think that having new items would in any way add to the quality of our existence.

To firm up my resolution I decided to save the money that I would otherwise spend on my clothes and other small temptations and give them to charity towards the end of this year. Marathon runners do it. They train, they run, they sweat and they raise funds. I thought I would exercise my strong will and I’ll do the same. In the village where I grew up generosity has always been seen as a core value. I would not feel at ease with myself if I did otherwise. After all, this project is not only about buying nothing new but also about sharing. These were my purposes: decluttering and sharing – but actually there are other things at stake here… things that I have just recently learnt to fully appreciate…

There is something disconcerting about human nature and this is our capacity and tendency to neglect the old when the prospect of the new emerges… I’ve seen it many times… you must have too. Stopping the inflow of new items into your house makes you really aware of it, makes it all overt.

Perhaps the most wonderful side effect of the Nothing New project is that it makes you more caring. You care about what’s at your hand, about what’s present and about what’s around you. You care and you take pride in it because you are making a visible difference to what’s just next to you, to your surroundings and you train yourself to make the best and long-lasting use of it. You learn to truly and wholeheartedly love…

…the environment.

You don’t want to consume mindlessly or you just don’t want to consume like you used to…

…it’s no longer a comfortable norm to follow.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

Nothing New: Too big to be eaten alone

My neighbour is one of the most generous people I’ve met in the UK. She’s always got something to give, share or offer starting from time and tea, through to garden flowers, toys or even pieces of old furniture. What her body language and attitude communicates is…

…that there’s always something that we can give, that there is always something we can share…

Isn’t this true for all of us? I haven’t bought anything new for myself or my son this year and we still have enough… enough books to spread around, enough items of clothing to give to charity shops, enough toys to donate to poorer children, enough jackets to give to those in need… we have enough…

…because last year I was buying new things and a year before too, and two and three and four years ago as well…

…because we’ve been receiving presents this year, last year and two and three years ago too…

…because we and our family members have been sentimental about our childhood and adolescence and we’ve got those things too, things that are much older than our son, things that come from our past, things that are as old as we are… we’ve got them too.

And so we are full, our house is full, our life is full.

Some of you may say that this is a perfect state of being, that this is self-sufficiency, that you don’t need to borrow and that you don’t need to be too ingenious about dealing with your daily life, because for so many of us, a lot equals security, a lot means being safe…. and it’s so easy to believe it… so easy to think that… and to store, and to hoard, and to collect and to gather, and to keep and to hold on to… and to store, and to hoard, and to collect and to gather, and to keep and to hold on to… and it goes on again.

Our grandparents used to do that because they didn’t have enough… because they had plans for those items… because they knew what will happen with them. Often every one of them.

We do that because we think that we don’t have enough and because we must have it… because we feel insecure without having it all. The thing is as individuals we should not be really striving to have it all because as a society we have enough, we can swap and share the goods that we have, we can borrow from each other, from the libraries, from hire centers. There is no crime in doing this as long as we respect the goods that are available and treat them as if it was our pocket that paid for them, as if it was our hard work that purchased them.

Just yesterday our close friends came to our house to borrow some garden chairs for their party. We had a tea together, we had a chat together and we shared our news and ideas. Sharing created an additional opportunity for socialising, a spontaneous occasion to get-together…. Don’t we long for them?

This cake of goods that we store in our rooms, garages, garden sheds and attics is too big to be eaten alone… It’s time to invite others to the table.

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