My Compact: The No-Buy Half Year

Doing things like a "no-buy year" always seem kind of gimicky to me. Yet, looking at our finances and everything we have going on, it may be a good time for such a challenge. I want to treat it more like the Compact (a la the Nonconsumer Advocate) rather than a gimmicky buy everything I need the day before starting and then save up all other purchases for the day after the challenge ends.

So why a half-year, then? It seems like a gimmick, true, but I have some reasoning in there. I like, nay crave, logical beginnings and ends, and July through December is exactly 6 months. Further, beginning in January, our life of the last 10 years will begin the drastic transformation of listing and selling the house. I will need to make adjustments to our Compact, but I want the experience of living it for six months first so it can help guide me through what is sure to be a challenging time. Finally, I believe we can do anything for a short time, and psychologically it can be easier to create a habit in small increments. In this case, the habit is not buying it.

The Compact differs from the No Buy challenge in that the Compact is not specifically a no buy, but a not buying new lifestyle. What both have are exception lists. Here is my current exception list, combined to meet the differing aims of these two challenges:

1. Bills, of course. Although, I will assess monthly to look for ways to save costs.
2. Items that bring down fixed costs permanently. For example, we will be buying new phones to save money in the long run. As much as possible, though, these will be second hand purchases (in the above example, we're planning on refurb phones).
3. Necessary clothing -- used with the exception of underwear/socks. No random clothing buying though, purchasing only occurs after a closet purge proves the item is actually needed.
4. Pet care, medical needs, toiletries -- obviously!
5. School supplies and books -- second hand or digital as much as possible.
6. Limited entertainment -- generally, the Compact doesn't limit experiences. Yet, to me some experiences are a true consumerist activity as well as a financial drain. So my stance for my challenge is to limit experiences that cost money. This means coffee out becomes a rare treat instead of the norm. I'll buy passes to hike or camp in fee areas, but we won't drive into town for a restaurant meal. Nights out for a movie or a drink will be rare treats and done as inexpensively as possible. Beyond my $5 student Hulu/Spotify subscription, we won't pay for movies/TV/music at home.

I don't want to set strict budgets -- strict budgets don't necessarily make new habits, as I've learned in the past. Instead, the goal is to be mindful of where we spend money and why. This doesn't mean I won't be monitoring expenses -- we are technically living well below the poverty line, after all.

Thoughts on stuff

I'm in that pre-dawn time of life, that period when things are still stable and predictable, but I have the knowledge that in less than a year everything will be in flux. Rarely in my life have I been afforded such a long period to prepare for the flux, so I feel I should take advantage of it.

Minimizing everything I own seems like a solid first step.

Once upon a time all of my possessions fit into an old Geo Metro (A Toyota Corolla knock-off). Everything that really mattered to me, except my cat, could be whittled down even further to fit into my trusty Kelty external frame backpack (Ah, the 90s)! Flux periods didn't matter because it took less than an hour for me to change my living situation or to even couch surf for awhile.

I truly, truly miss that freedom. I'm a spouse and a mother now, so I can't force my spartan predilections on my family. I can however, enforce them in the realms where I am in charge. To this end, I wish to make a list...

Items I need to Function and/or Be Content

Office:

1. My laptop

2. My dissection microscope and associated equipment

3. Field guides and floras

4. Plant press

5. Lab journal, planner, and field notebook 

6. Basic office equip.: Zebra pen and pencils, ruler, hole punch, paper cutter, calculator, binder clips.

7. Assorted chargers and a power pack

Outdoor gear:

1. Day pack

2. Water bladder

3. hydroflask

4. Hori hori, pruners & hand lens

5. Pocket knife

6. Camping pack

7. Tarp tent

8. Pad

9. Camp stove and pot

10. Sleeping bag

11. Favorite hat

12. Sundry items: First aid kit, cordage, tick key, etc.

Kitchen

1. Saute pans: 1 lg, 1 sm

2. Pots: 1 sm, 1 lg

3. Metal spatula, whisk, soup spoon, wooden spoon, tongs

4. Table setting for 4

5. French press

6. 2 baking sheets + non-stick baking mat

7. Stick blender

8. 10 piece Pyrex storage bowl set (doubles as mixing bowls)

9. Rolling pin

10. Pastry blender

11. Chef's knife and bread knife

12. Veggie peeler

13. 2 flour sack towels, dish scrubbie, 2 dish cloths, 2 hand towels

Bathroom

 1. 2 towels and a pouf

2. makeup bag: Powder, tinted moisturizer, mascara, chapstick

3. Moisturizer, shampoo, bar soap, conditioner, deodorant stone

4. Hair scissors

5. Comb and brush, hair ties

6. Contact lens stuff/glasses

Clothing

1. Week's worth of underwear

2. Hiking pants/shorts 

3. 7 t-shirts

4. 3 capris/shorts

5. 2 jeans/cargos

6. 5 Sweaters/long sleeve tees (incl. 1 cardigan)

7. 10 pair socks

8. Rain/snow boots

9. River sandals

10. Hiking shoes

11. Winter coat

12. Light coat

13. Rain coat

14. Fleece pants

15. PJs: 1 summer, 1 winter

16. Workout clothes: 1-2 leggings and 1-2 quick dry shirts

17. Slippers 

Bedroom

1. Reading pillow

2. Reading light

3. 1 set of sheets, 2 winter blankets, 1 comforter, 1 pillow.

I won't even consider the furniture in detail, because so much here depends on the type of space. I would at least need a work station of some sort, preferably a narrow, long table. Oh, and an adjustable office chair. Also a bed of some sort, whether mattress, futon, air mattress, or hammock.

If it was just me walking into the future, I'd probably build a $500 DIY yurt, trick out a shed into a home, or opt for #vanlife (I don't think it's legal to say "van life" without a hashtag...).  In that case, I'd need to add some sort of cooking and bathing "furniture" to the mix. I'd probably cobble together a nice solar shower and cook off a camp stove and be perfectly fine. Most of my cooking needs revolve around using a saute pan or boiling water for coffee, after all! If in a permanent location, a composting loo would also be a need if there wasn't full service facilities available. Trust me, I'd rather give up a flush toilet than give up wifi access. Priorities, people!

Food

I've even given thought to food. I'm relatively content with a simple diet at home, much to my family's chagrin. I eat the same breakfast everyday -- a chickpea "pancake" stuffed with vegetables. Same lunch, too -- a fully loaded salad tossed with sweet onion mustard. Snacks are fruit, raw veg, or hummus or avocado spread on wasa crackers or Dave's bread. Both of these meals and the snacks can be made without the need for refrigeration. 

I tend to eat bowl meals for dinner -- salad greens tossed with a tahini maple mustard dressing, some cold cooked quinoa, roasted or sauteed vegetables of choice, and some marinated tofu. Sometimes I change it up with a veggie burger or a veggie sausage instead of the tofu, or I play around with dressing ingredients to better match the flavor profiles of the vegetables.  

Tofu would need refrigeration, as would any veggie "meats." My almond milk I use in coffee also needs refrigerated. I seriously wouldn't need much more than the smallest of the dorm fridges, though. 

Others

This all seems like a dream, and for the most part it kind of is. I lived a very similar life almost two decades ago. I was almost content, but very lonely. When I met the person that was to be MY person, I sort of walked away from everything else that I was happy with to ensure they were happy. While Mo will never be the shunner of stuff and permanent addresses that I am, she is much less high maintenance than when we first met. As long as Mo has her fancy computer setup, her fancy desk that houses said setup, and her collection of crap, she is happy. Fortunately, her collection of crap (a tongue in cheek name we use for her stuff) currently fits well into her 12x10 foot studio space. She even has a love seat and most of her clothes in there!

The other "other" is Boy2, as Boy1 will be launched next year and off on his own. Boy2 has a few needs, but not a lot. Internet, laptop, a comfy chair, and the ability to go off and tinker, build, and pursue whatever grabs his fancy is sufficient. Right now all he needs to be content is a chisel, hammer, and a permit for fossil hunting. At home he only needs a small space to call his own, as he rarely utilizes more than a 5 foot square section of the living room.

So where to from here?

I wish I knew. Bellingham is expensive compared to where we are. Rents on a comparable sized home are nearly twice as much as our current mortgage payment. We will definitely be going smaller. 

My goal is to be prepared for any alternative. Parking an RV on land, staying in a mobile home, tiny apartment dwelling -- we can't rule anything out at the moment. This means we have to be ready for anything. So my goal is to get ready for this upcoming flux period with some major purging.

I know what I need and I have a list to guide me as I pare down my belongings. Mo is prepared to do the same. Boy2 is hesitant, but willing to try. By having little, we open up our options because it makes us more flexible. I think this is the key.