My hubby is the BEST – not only has he cooked dinner twice this week but he loves me unconditionally and he LOVES a sale.  Never have I seen a guy who loves to shop like he does – especially if there’s a chance for a bargain.  He’s a real hunter – Bambi has been safe from his bullets and arrows since I’ve known him but not the clearance aisle of Wal-Mart.

Today’s newspaper announced the closing of Deerfield General Store.  This retail establishment is <5 miles from us but not a bargain place so while we like the fact that it’s a mini-Wally World with groceries, hardware, tools, etc. we just never seem to go there.  Naturally Burl had to check it out and called me late in the morning to announce he had spent a few hours there since everything was 40% off – he even got a new power saw and I’m sure we needed one because we probably had less than a dozen.

Nothing would do but I had to see for myself – so after dinner we headed for the shopping mecca.  I had been warned that I would have to snag a cart from someone coming out of the store but as luck would have it, I spotted my friend Rick who owns Maxon’s who had just checked out.  Sure enough – there were bargains galore and I stocked up on lots of grocery staples, most of which I hope to use before they expire.  If not, all our kids can play the game of “let’s see what we can throw away” when they come to visit – our adult kids are obviously easily amused. 

I mentioned to Burl that I had just read a story about 10 friends in San Francisco who made a pact at the end of 2005 that they would not shop in 2006 except for groceries and necessary toiletries – no clothes, shoes, cars, laptops, iPods, books – I was fascinated with the concept and have listed the article below.  Not that I think I have the fortitude or even the desire to pursue something this magnanimous but it does give reason to think about all the STUFF I have and why I have some of it.  What are your thoughts?  Methinks that’s a topic for another evening – now I hear a good book calling my name.  Cheers – it’s Friday!

Out with the new for one year: Group takes shopping sabbatical

By Lisa Leff

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — It began, as grand ideas often do, over a dinner. What would it be like, 10 environmentally conscious friends wondered as they discussed the state of the planet, to go a year without buying anything new?

Twelve months later, the results from their experiment in anti-consumption for 2006 are in: Staying 100 percent true to the goal proved harder and easier than those who signed on had expected.

And while broken vacuum cleaners and malfunctioning cellphones posed challenges, some of the group’s original members say the self-imposed shopping sabbatical was so liberating that they have resolved to do it for another year.

“It started in a lighthearted way, but it is very serious,” said John Perry, 42, a father of two who works for a Silicon Valley technology company. “It is about being aware of the excesses of consumer culture and the fact we are drawing down our resources and making people miserable around the world.”

The pledge they half-jokingly named The Compact, after the Mayflower pilgrims, spread to other cities through the Internet and an appearance on the “Today” show.

As it turned out, The Compact was modest as far as economic boycotts go. Several cities in the United States and Europe have communities of “freegans,” people whose contempt for consumerism is so complete that they eat food foraged from trash bins whenever possible, train hop and sleep in abandoned buildings on principle.

The San Francisco group, by contrast, exempted food, essential toiletries such as toothpaste and shampoo, underwear and other purchases that fell under the categories of health and safety from their pledge.

But perhaps because its members included middle-class professionals who could afford to shop recreationally, their cause caught on. Nearly 3,000 people have joined a user group Perry set up on Yahoo! so participants could swap goods and tips.

Besides thrift stores and garage sales, participants found a wealth of free or previously owned merchandise in online classifieds and sites where people post stuff they want to get rid of, such as www.freecycle.org. After going through an initial period of retail withdrawal, discovering how easy it was to score pretty much anything with a little time and effort was an eye-opener, according to participants.

Rachel Kesel, 26, who works as a dog walker, said she was astonished by how often the items she needed simply materialized: the friend who offered a bicycle seat when hers was stolen, the Apple store employees who fixed her laptop for free.

Similarly fortuitous timing happened often enough that group members came up with a name for it: “Compact Karma.”

After postponing purchases such as a new windbreaker and a different stud for her pierced tongue — she couldn’t bring herself to buy a used one — Kesel broke down only twice.

Once was when she was planning a trip to Israel and couldn’t find a used guidebook that reflected current political realities. The other was after her commuter coffee cup suffered a fatal crack.

“I really found a lot of times there were things I thought I needed that I don’t need that much,” she said.

The pledge provided unexpected dividends, such as the joy of getting reacquainted with the local library and paying down credit cards. Gone, too, was the hangover of buyer’s remorse.

Perry got satisfaction out of finding he had a knack for fixing things and how often manufacturers were willing to send replacement parts and manuals for products that had long since outlived their warranties.

“One of the byproducts of The Compact has been I have a completely different relationship with the things in my life. I appreciate the stuff I have more,” he said.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company