The Ultimate Field Trip

I'm getting more and more nervous as I'm trying to get us all ready for our trip to...Mexico!! My Mother-in-law has invited all of the family on my husband's side to go down with her to Cancun. Who are we to refuse such an offer? I might be buying new things down there--we'll see. As it is, in getting ready for the trip, I got a sheer, flowey blouse--great with a skirt or shorts--a kicky colorful printed skirt, a simple cotton brown wrap dress all from Goodwill. I felt very lucky to find things that will work, and they will work! I had to get a pair of sandals as my leather strappy sandals that I did have finally broke and I think that with the cost of the repair, it would make more sense to buy a new pair. So, I did.

I had those sandals for at least 20 years. I bought them from J. Crew back when I bought things from J. Crew and they were very well made and lasted me for all of those years. They were a classic hippy design that didn't go out of style in that it was so not trendy it could be classic. My look.

The area we're going to is not far from Mayan ruins--the kids are getting very excited. We're going to go there, we're going to explore the jungle, we're going to hang out on the beach for days. It will be extraordinarily decadent and exactly the kind of place that I find appalling. We'll be staying at a resort area full of demanding Americans who can't speak a lick of Spanish, lo siento. And where we will be, there is no "there" there. We will be surrounded by other resorts and no towns or locals or museums or interesting street life. We will be segregated from reality.

It will be a wonderful time with our relatives and we will all have fun in the sun and climbing the ruins and exploring the jungle. I love my mother-in-law for being so generous in this. So, that's what I'm going to think about and enjoy while we're there. I won't think about the incredible waste and arrogance of going to another country and then setting yourself up in a compound separated from the very people who inhabit the country you've gone to visit; especially a country where there is so much poverty and corruption.

Lolling on the beach for days is good. Playing with my kids in the pools is good. Visiting with relatives is good. Decadent ugly American behavior is bad, and embarrassing.

When I get back from our trip, I'll see how my kefir grains are gowing and I'll start sending them out to people who've requested them. Tamsen, I got your info--thanks.

I've got a new-to-me/hand-me-down camera for Christmas and I'll take lots of pictures while I'm there. I've already taken a few pictures here around the house, but I need a new cord to get them onto the computer. When I get a used cord from somewhere, I'll get more photos on here.

If a Soccer Ball Falls in a Forest...

My son has discovered Monty Python...not the nude bits, of course, just the clean skits on youtube. He likes this Philosophical Soccer. As he says, "What is soccer? Why does the ball exist? Why do we think of the ball as round? Why does the ball appeal to us? Why is this sphere so common?" Really. Why? Good questions, Son.

What questions does this skit conjure up for you? It's important to ask the big questions , isn't it? An unexamined life is not worth living...

Ok...You Can Stay up to do Math, if You Want! Or read...

We have Miquon Math books around here. They are often ignored because the kids are too busy pretending various things. This is ultimately all to the good, I think, so I'm not too worried that they are behind their school peers in math. They will get it when they get it. How do I know? How do I know that this "unschooling" *doing air quotes thing with my hands again* approach will work? How do I know that my kids are learning anything, if I don't test them, or insist that they do workbooks, or make them sit down at the kitchen table at a certain time each day for desk work?

I'll tell you how.

My son is now snuggled in his sleeping bag on his bedroom floor, because that's fun, and is reading the second book in A Series of Unfortuante Events. This voracious reading from a kid who really learned to read when he was about 8 1/2 years old. He wasn't ready until he was ready, and once he was ready he couldn't be stopped.

On her way to bed, my daughter announced that she'd like to work in her Miquon book in her bedroom. OK. "If you really want to." I told her nonchanantly. "I suppose..."

Yes!! *grins from ear to ear*

Not that these are the only valuable things to learn or ways to learn. But, it's good to know that my kids' curiosity is leading them to learn even when it's bedtime, and even if it's math. They don't have any idea that information or ideas or thinking about stuff is in any way a drag or a bore or painful. Ha!

Beats homework...

Yes, you kids may read and do math. Tomorrow, if you insist, you can do science experiments in the kitchen...I guess, if you're not too busy pretending...

Welcome New Compactors!

It occurs to me that some of you may be newly starting out on a journey of not buying--as my family did a year ago. You've decided to simplify your life. Or, your fed up with your values and want to live more seriously. Maybe you're sick of the mounds and streams of garbage our society spews out so, you've decided to join The Compact. You can do it. Here are some handy dandy not buying new tips.

• Firstly, remember that it is not a punishment to not buy new things. Don't feel regret over things. You will feel lighter soon, really.
• Even though you may be able to buy a huge amount of less expensive things at thrift shops, still only buy what you need and what will serve you. Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean you should get it. Go ahead and pass it up--keep walking.
• Only get things that you would get if you were paying a much higher price for them. Would you really get the giant Elmo ceramic candy dish if you were at Macy's, or is it speaking to you because it's .75?
• Do anticipate future needs. Is there a wedding coming up in half a year? Start looking for clothing now. Might your son have need for a suit at some point? Go ahead and get the $6.00 suit right now.
  
• Look carefully at the clothing. Sometimes you can get nicely made things but check for pulled threads, bare spots, broken zippers etc. If there's a changing room, go ahead and try it on. You can usually return things, but sometimes not, and you don't have to be stuck with something that's not going to work for you just because it's cheap.
• Get yourself off of catalog mailing lists. In the meantime, just put them directly into the recycling bin--do not look at them. It might be torture, and why do that to yourself?
• On a related note, while watching TV, skip the commercials. Ignore them. Don't let them into your life.
• Start thinking about the things you like that you don't have to buy--walks in the woods, playing a game with your kids, a manicure or pedicure that you can give yourself, reading books, cooking up a wicked pot of chili. There are lots of things already in your life that give it huge meaning, value and enjoyment. Remember them and do them more.
• Many people shop as sport so you may have to replace that kind of excitement with other things. Go somewhere that's free--a museum, or art gallery, a library, community center or a downtown where you can walk and people watch. Get out there and spend time soaking it all up rather than spending it all.
• Don't buy magazines that tell you you must have certain things or look a certain way. That can easily eliminate a whole grouping of magazines. Stay away from any photoshopped images. Again, you have to buy to try and emulate those looks--discover your own look and feel comfortable with yourself.
• Put aside the money saved and buy a class, a night at the theater, an expensive dinner out, a sizable donation to an organization that could use your help. When you stop buying new things, as a rule, you will have more money and you can use that for quality purchases that are Compact compatible.
  
• Join yahoo groups or other kinds of groups where the people get what you're doing. It's not freakish to decide to not buy new things, but it is different and many people feel threatened when you try to do something that departs from the norm. Surround yourself with like minded people.
• Get on a freecycle group or a freecycle like group and see if there's anything you'd like--you can get good things for free that would otherwise go to a landfill. You can give things away to people who really want them and will use them. You don't have to buy new to get good stuff that you need.
• Take an inventory of all that you already have and start getting rid of the things that don't serve you any more. You can freecycle it or give it to Goodwill or sell it on CraigsList or e-bay. Let go of the things that clutter up your life.
• If you goof up, you go out and buy that purse you just really can't live without, forgive yourself and get back to The Compact. It was just a slip up. You're not a bad person. You can get back to your stated goal: Not Buying New Things. It's OK.
  

Once you start this as a lifestyle, it's easy to continue. Once you no longer define yourself by your things, the things hold so much less sway over your life. They are objects that may be useful in your life, but don't necessarily add value to your life. The value is in your connections with others and the discoveries you can make about the world and yourself. That is so rich. That is abundant. That is a full life.

If you are deciding to not buy new, share your story here. What are you discovering? What is difficult? What is easier than you thought it would be? How do you feel now? What are your questions?

Welcome to the world of: less things, rescued things, only necessary things and everything other than things.