According to the Compact; consumerism is destroying the world, and I do agree to a certain degree and I already recycle diligently, re-using my plastic shopping bags and those bags for life, although I have to admit sometimes I use my Tesco one in Asda and my Netto one in Sainsburys, but who's looking...
So in my bid to try and turn my back on the greedy consumer led lifestyle I seem to live and die by, and to help to ease my financial situation I have stopped shopping, (sharp intake of breath) And not just clothes shopping, all shopping apart from the necessities. I'm attempting to break the habit of spending on my lunchbreak, browsing the shelves of Home and Bargain and Asda, looking longingly in River Island with an over-priced Costa coffee clutched in my clammy palm as I dare to splash the cash (credit card).
But I don't want to evangelise too much, proving it is possible for women to resist the girlie urge to bling-buy that society has installed in me. I've even noticed that it is actually other women who seem to be driving the never-ending consumer boom, and we're also the ones who are targeted by advertising, marketing and other more insidious pressures (although I've not stopped my daily ASOS emails just yet as they are reasonably priced to be fair).
Insecurities and body image and the constant pressure that you must have the newest, best, colour and shape can be tremendously stressful especially when you haven't got the disposable income to do so.
Although I wasn't a huge shopper of fashion I did buy into this philosophy before I tried Penny Pinching. You have got to be quite secure in yourself to resist the competitiveness of consumerism. I have the No7 miracle face cream in by bathroom cabinet, so what does that tell you?
My main motivation for giving the Compact life a go was that I was spending a substantial amount of time, many weekends and lunchbreaks shopping. Buying clothes and products was not even the time wasting part; it was the looking at stuff. Even if I couldn't afford or didn't want the latest fashion accessory, I still wanted to look at it just to keep up with the product line. According to the Compact I needed to cut out over-used products.
Like many other 30 something women, I have two wardrobes full of clothes, one of which don't even fit me anymore and are a mix of designer, highstreet and far too good items to just throw away, I'm ashamed to admit that I have even found shoes I've never worn. My old self disgusts me. Apparently like most women I fall into the trap of wearing only 20% of my clothes 80% of the time.
Being a Compactor is all about responsible consumerism, of thinking before you buy and using things to the end of their natural life span instead of replacing them too early. Although I'll never be anti-retail or anti-commercial the lifestyle change I've encountered by attempting to embrace the Compact life have been hard as I've always been a bit of a bling queen and always had clutter, think Carrie Bradshaws walk-in wardrobe and coordinated shoe boxes in SATC, well that's me- just not walk-in or coordinated but live-in and messy. Still at least I'm giving it a go!

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