14 things
Things I would never have done but for the Compact:
1. Knit a sock (YAY, I finished my practice sock last night and am now ready to try socks for me. YAHOO!)
2. Stopped buying bananas and other produce from outside of my state or the US
3. Gone Dumpster diving, aka urban foraging, aka safari: that’s where I have found tons of furnishings, plants, garden supplies, etc.
4. Gone more than a day without shampooing my hair, plus using multiple products
5. Made cat food
6. Given used items as gifts, unless it was a genuine “antique.”
7. *Not* purchased school pictures, graduation announcements, gift wrap, or any of a number of “must haves” that the schools send home with the kids
8. Asked on Freecycle for a replacement cell phone vs just buying a new one
9. Gotten the kids to recycle and compost
10. Taken the bus or ridden my bike to work
11. Made 10,000 new friends.
12. Stopped using credit cards and started actually saving
13. Created an emergency fund $1000 cash
14. Really considered what “away” in “throw away” really means, e.g. The Story of Stuff.