Well every household/person can have a list of exclusions (meaning things they can buy new).
Mine are:
Hygiene items
Safety items (Car seats, child safety items)
Vehicle maintenance items (however we do shop at the junk yard for certain items)
Mattresses/pillows
Undies/bras/socks
This weekend we did a lot of rearranging. Recently my awesome handyman husband added on a bedroom to our tiny little house. Our youngest has been stuck in a very small living space as his bedroom since birth. This past weekend we finally moved him in. He got his sissy's crib and mattress, and we moved his changing table/dresser and rocker in there. It's a LOVELY room with 2 nice big windows, a great paint color and nice soft used carpet (we got free on Craigslist).
Most of the items were bought new to build the room from scratch. Honestly, I'm pretty crunchy, but until now I was unaware of how much I was wrapped up in consumerism.
Since we moved the crib out of A's room, she needed a bed. My mom kept my beautiful twin solid wood frame for us to use for our kids. That day had come, but we had to buy a new mattress. We went to Mattress Land and were honestly looking to spend no more than $120 out the door. We got talking to the salesman who was very nice and he showed us their brand ($149) and the clearance one ($99). We felt the clearance one and it was just springs covered in a plasticky-type fabric. No padding, nothing. The hubbs and I looked at each other and I said "I wouldn't want to sleep on this." So, we got the more expensive one. It will last longer, the hubbs or I can lay on it with her w/o feeling like we're breaking it, etc etc. It's an all-around wonderful mattress that will last her several years. My mom also saved my twin sheets, so that's what A is sleeping on.
This week's new purchases:
A twin mattress for our daughter's "Big girl bed" $149
A waterproof mattress cover $39
A bedrail for her bed $27
2 curtain rods for baby boy's new room $6
Total: $221 *cringe*
This week's used purchases:
3 long sleeve shirts for baby boy $4
4 pairs of socks $1
2 shirts for moi $3
Total: $8 *yay*
We still need to purchase some shelving for baby boy's room, and I've been searching CL for it, but I'm coming up short. I'll keep looking tho.
I'm feeling guilty for buying so many new things already...
I'm also Compacting and expecting a new baby this year- my primary challenges were finding maternity clothes and newborn-size cloth diapers (I still have bigger diapers left from my son). Already I've received hand-me-down maternity clothes from two friends; so awesome. Thank goodness I already have a crib sized waterproof pad; I also needed bedrails and a curtain rod recently, but found the rails at a kids' consignment store and the perfect curtain rod at an estate sale. Estate sales are also great for stuff you don't always find at thrift stores, like sewing notions (I even found new-in-box sewing machine needles at one), unused candles and things like that. Best wishes on your Compacting year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kira and best wishes on your new bean! We shopped around for both curtain rods and the bedrails at 2 thrift stores but came up empty handed. Sadly, I hadn't prepared to need these items so quickly, so I had to buy new b/c they were needed that day. Lesson learned :)
ReplyDeleteKeep me posted on how your Compacting year is going