Happy nothing new year

Posted by Andy Hamilton - 01/01/09 at 12:01:34 pm

Last year, that is way back in 2008, I did my best not buy anything new unless it was really necessary. This year I intend to do one better and buy nothing new at all, seems I am not alone and many of the people on the selfsufficientish forum are doing the same.

I seriously do think that we have manufactured enough not to warrant making anything more for quite a while longer, think of how much damage is done by making a load of old tat that we don’t need, vast swathes of China no longer see daylight due to our apparent need for dancing fish or the third new mobile phone in a year.

It might sound like I want to do without stuff and perhaps whip myself with birch twigs but that misses the point. I think it will actually make me happier not to be bothered with a load of stuff I don’t need at all, besides I prefer second hand stuff.

As I said last year I started this, it was a bit of a half arsed effort to honest and I still bought (new) loads of books, hard drive, memory card, bike trailer, jeans, shirt, power lead, demi johns, potato peeler and well I think that was it. Not loads as I am certainly not much of a shopper, but all stuff that I thought I needed at the time. Did I really?? I did want a digital camera so I bought a second hand one, I wanted a new desk that came second hand but that was about it.

So I am perhaps way more prepared than someone like Paris Hilton, Posh Spice or Gary Coleman would be. Still I can already think of things that I want like a cider press, more demijohns and what about presents for other people?

There are going to have to be exceptions as I won’t be able to do without food. Yes I do produce a lot of my own food and for that matter I will still need to buy seeds, of course I will still have to buy some food. Especially at the moment as I had a poor harvest last year.  So this starts the exceptions..

• Seeds
• Food and drink
• Cycle parts (although I will do my best to get second hand stuff)
• My own book (but no others)
• Medicine and dentistry (If I need a new tooth I am not doing without
• Anything the landlord decides needs doing on the house (Will try and source second hand stuff whenever I can and give him it)

It might sound like I am cheating as I am not going the whole hog and giving up money like Mark Boyle. I wish him all the luck in the world with this one, don’t get me wrong; in fact Mark is a good friend of mine. It’s just this one is not for me, I live in an urban house with my girlfriend and I think it would put too much of a strain on our relationship if I was to give up money and moreover, I like being able to nip down the pub now and then or to tuck into some really nice food.   You can see Marks progress on his blog if you do want to read about a no money idea.

I am sure that now the recession has us well and truly within it’s grasp there will be many people not buying much new for 2009, alas not for the same reasons. Whatever happens I wish you all a very happy nothing new year and I hope that you all get what you really need this year.

9 Comments

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1. Hello Andy,
   Happy new year! Great resolution. I’m surprised that you’re not eager to get second-hand teeth if you need dentistry, though

   Jandra

   Comment by Jandra — January 1, 2009 #

2. Hello Jandra

   Why do you have some second hand teeth, perhaps should give it a go

   Happy new.

   Comment by andyhamilton — January 1, 2009 #

3. Good luck Andy – hope you do well. I tried it for November and it was most definitely a cathartic experience. In fact enjoyed it so much I can see me having another go….don’t think I could manage a whole year though. LOL. Happy New Year.

   Comment by The Rubbish Diet — January 1, 2009 #

4. Better late than never – Happy New Year Andy!

   Comment by Shirley — January 8, 2009 #

5. Happy New Year.
   Do you buy many copies of your own book???
   I’m giving this a go and I’ve already come up against a hurdle. I need a pair of trainers (joining gym – it’s their rules. Apparently DM’s are not suitable for cardiovascular exercise!!)by half three on Monday and my local freecycle group isn’t showing any hope.
   I am loathed to buy new trainers especially for something like this…..what to do what to do……..
   Good luck with yours anyhoo and here’s wishing you a healthy, happy and safe 2009.

   Comment by Jeni Treehugger — January 10, 2009 #

6. Well rubbish diet I bet you could we humans are great at adapting. Mind you what you are doing already is pretty amazing.

   Jeni – I do buy copies of my book as presents and also the publisher does not supply copies at some of our promotions so we have to buy our own and try flogging them ourselves.

   As for trainers well, I just did a quick search for you and found this site.- http://www.buykingdom.co.uk/search/keyword/trainers%20used/subid/6-2207086601 and also on ebay you can search for used things.

   And to all of you happy nothing new year thanks for the well wishes!

   Comment by Andy Hamilton — January 11, 2009 #

7. Yeah but I need them by 3.30 today!!!
   Thanks or the links anyhoo….guess I’ll have to tweak my conditions a bit.

   Comment by Jeni Treehugger — January 12, 2009 #

8. As we’re continuing to find, the problem with not buying new is that most consumer goods are not made to be durable and anything more than two to three years old is likely to fail fairly soon. To compound the problem, spare parts cost a ridiculous amount in proportion to the cost of the entire item—or aren’t available at all.

   When we bought our croft, it had a two-year-old oven. Just before its third year, one of the elements failed so we were able to have it repaired under warranty—even though the repairman advised us to bin it and buy a new one. The element would have cost £41.50 if it hadn’t been for the warranty. (I couldn’t replace the element myself as it required special tools, another irritation.)

   Six months later, the second element failed and the bearings went on the fan. A new element and fan would have cost £98, plus I’d have had to track down the tools to do the job. The oven only cost £180, so the cost of parts after three years would have been £139.50.

   We decided to try Freecycle, but a friend came to our aid first and gave us a replacement, used oven. It lasted 18 months and the control unit failed last week, running the cleaning cycle (550C) permanently and setting a loaf of bread alight. The control unit would have cost more than £100, while the fan also needs replacing. That would have come to £150 on an oven that cost about £250 new.

   This time, another friend offered us a three-year-old oven. I fitted it today, but the bottom element failed and when I looked up the prices I found it would cost £45.70. It would be wise to replace the top element at the same time, so that would be £37.60.

   This time, it’s a very cheap oven that only cost £140 but the parts to repair it would cost £83.30. If two relatively small parts cost that much, how can the entire oven cost just £140?

   The I discovered Comet auctions its seconds and display items online, so there’s a good chance I could get a new oven for £50-80 anyway for low-spec model and £150-200 for top-spec model that costs in excess of £500 “new”.

   Of course, the problem is that we’re going to be hard pressed to find the money to either fix one of the three ovens we now have or buy a new one, but something will work out. It’s just a shame they’re not three identical or similar models as I could then build one working one out of them!

   I just find it daft that an oven, which is a substantial bit of kit and consumes a lot of resources its manufacture, is now only expected to last three years and then be binned. It’s also daft that the price of an oven is so artificially low that it’s more economical to buy another one than fix the broken one.

   Grrrr!

   Comment by Stonehead — January 12, 2009 #

9. Yep and it is not just ovens. Digital equipment is the same. I have a mini stereo unit thing that only now works as an amp and it is not even a year old. Ironically I have to plug in my digibox which was made in 1998 to listen to the radio and CD’s have to be played through the DVD player, less than ideal as I am using twice as much electricity as I need to.

   The seller on Ebay refused to take it back as it took three months of too-ing and fro-ing to get it “working” just for it to break again in the fourth month. So of course not I’m covered. As with your oven, Stoney if I got it fixed it would cost more than if I bought it new.

   Of course in this county it is because everything has to be bought back to money. I assume that there are a number of people being employed to make one item – the delivery driver, each part made in a different warehouse, the shop staff etc and just one or two to get something fixed – the bloke (or woman) fixing it and perhaps someone else if he has to order in a part. This is why (I think) it is cheaper to buy new than to have it fixed.

   Comment by Andy Hamilton — January 14, 2009 #

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