I was reading an article this week in a magazine, there is an online group which sounds similar to freecycle called the Compact, which basically asks people not to buy new for 6 months apart from food, drink and health related products.
You can buy second hand. Its basically encouraging people to think of the reasons behind why they buy and encourages people to reuse, repair, recycle and buy second hand.
Im going to give it a go.
RE: the 6 month challenge
That's a good idea, I'm the kind of person that never buys anything new until the old one is broken. My parents are completely different they buy new things all the time, even if they don't need it. We are so different!!!
RE: the 6 month challenge
OOOO, that does sound quite a challenge. I like retail therapy, though I do recycle/ freecycle my leftovers. Might have to have a go though.
RE: the 6 month challenge
I just received a post on another forum this week alerting me to the No Impact Man blog. Essentially this guy in New York City has decided to really Walk the Eco-Talk. He writes about this eco-journey in his blog which issuper interesting. Here's what the intro at the top of the blog says:
" A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, composts his poop and, while living in New York City, generally turns into a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons-loving wife along for the ride."
His blog is awesome reading if you want to check it out at: [link= http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/ ]http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/[/link]
Be prepared to chuckle!
RE: the 6 month challenge
That blog is delightful, had a brief read and bookmarked it for later. Loved the bit about how do they entertain their toddler without video games!