Well, things have been chugging along quite nicely. I am happy to report that our good buddy Stuart gave us his old computer monitor so now we don’t have to stare at our “constantly in motion” screen. Thank you friend.

Our vacuum broke a while back and we brought it to this lovely place called the Vacuum Experts to get it fixed. It took a while to get fixed (mostly b/c I kept on complicating things by giving him the wrong phone number…) but it is working better than it ever did! We got the vacuum for free a couple of years ago- so really it doesn’t owe us anything, but it is nice that it is working again and we didn’t have to buy a new(ly refurbished) one.

For the first time in my life, I am feeling more comfortable sharing my needs with others. For my whole life, I have thought that I need to totally provide for myself and NEVER ask for help. I realize this is not healthy, but that is what I believed. Now I am realizing that there is so much excess in the world (and in our houses) that if we would just share with each other what we need, the chances are that someone has an extra something that we can use. I am not talking about depending on others completely to meet our needs and shirking all responsibility. I am saying that we ought to be more responsible with what we have and share our wealth with others. We don’t need to be ashamed when we need something.

I feel like sometimes when people hear what we are doing, they think it’s great, but then want to buy us things so we don’t go without. While the thought is very sweet, this year, the point is to do without. And if we don’t have something we need, our goal is to creatively find an alternative, or find it second hand.

I am loving doing this (shockingly). I am finding time to do things that I could never find time to do. My sewing area is SO organized! Organizing is a bit of a sickness for me…. I love doing it.

I finished a new project today. I found use for my thrifty fabric!

We watched a documentary online called Affluenza last week and I have been meaning to comment on it since. I heard about the PBS documentary from a book I found in the Cochrane Library with the same title. The book is based on the documentary and I don’t have time to read another book right now so we watched the documentary instead.Although the style and film making are dated, the content is very relevant to our current situation today. It talks about how we are “sick” and addicted to our credit cards and buying more stuff. It shares stories of people who suffer from Affluenza and practical ways to cure Affluenza in our affluent society. It also shares a balanced Christian view of money and possessions (although they interviewed Ted Haggard who was recently caught up in scandal).

We had been wondering why we were doing this compact thing and if it really makes any difference. This documentary reestablished the purpose of why we are doing the Compact. We are addicted to our stuff and if there is anything that we can do to change that, we will try. Please take 53 minutes out of your day to watch: Affluenza

NEED: a lack of something requisite, desirable, or useful b: a physiological or psychological requirement for the well-being of an organism
a condition requiring supply or relief:
lack of the means of subsistence : poverty

WANT: to have a strong desire for: to have an inclination to
:to wish or demand the presence of
:to hunt or seek in order to apprehend

I have been thinking a lot about the word “need.”Before not buying, I found myself saying or thinking that word a lot. I need a new shirt, I need something from Ikea, I need some chocolate (well, I still say that). I thought I needed lots of random things that I saw. I often justified buying by thinking how I could use the item. But just because I can use something, does that mean I really NEED it? I know that I have wanted a lot of things, but I can’t think of many things that I have actually needed in life. I need food to eat, but I even go overboard with that. I need clothes to wear, but do I really need ten pairs of pants? I need a roof over my head, but do we really need satellite TV with HD and three different kinds of video game systems? How much of something does it take to meet a need? I don’t know the answer.