In our quest to pay off debt faster, we are thinking about joining "The Compact" beginning in October. Here is an article about the original group. And their blog. I have another friend who is doing it too...she actually is the one who got me thinking about it again. Everytime I've heard about this movement/group, it has appealed to me. I love a good challenge. Especially when it comes to consumerism/reducing/reusing/recycling. Even if we don't do it 100%...it will still create the mindfulness about spending/consuming that we so desire.

Lately, I've found myself getting so laid back about spending...and once I start that, it's really hard to stop. However, because I am such an all or nothing person, I swing easily the other way. Once we decide to do something, I will go to GREAT lengths to maintain whatever it is that we are doing. So, at this point, we are just considering it, but it sounds like a great addition to our debt reduction plan. Anyone care to be my "Compact Buddy"?

I came across this website in 2003 when I was living in Lincoln, NE. Kate, the artist, was a grad student and UNL...and I loved this site so much that I actually went to her office on campus to talk with her, but she wasn't there, so I left a note on her door. (Kristin...did you go with me?). Years later, I had tried to find her site again, but couldn't.

Yesterday, I happened across a post on Happy Mundane, and there is was! I was happy. Here is a summary of what "Obsessive Consumption" is:

Obsessive Consumption was created by Kate Bingaman to showcase her love/hate relationship with money, shopping, branding, credit cards, celebrity, advertising and marketing. The work is inspired by the ever ubiquitous, generic, delicate, sometimes stomachache inducing credit card statement, craft as activism, and general consumerism. She created Obsessive Consumption in 2002 when she decided that she was going to not only document all of her purchases, but to also create a brand out of the process to package and promote. obsessiveconsumption.com was launched in early 2003 to bring her documentation to a larger audience. She documented all of her purchases for 28 months. The documentation started on January 22nd, 2002 and ended on April 22nd, 2004. She is currently hand drawing all of her credit card statements until they are paid off and also spends her time consuming, documenting and making. Kate is a 28 year old Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Mississippi State University.

I completely relate to her love/hate relationship with consumerism. I hate it, and yet I am strangely drawn to those things I hate. Specifically, The Gap, The Mall, Starbucks, etc. When we are on a cash budget, it's much easier to resist...and tracking every single purchase, no matter how small is a huge eye opener. I have noticed a predictable connection between my TV watching and mindless consumption. Luckily, when we move, the cable goes bye bye. Bittersweet. I love me some HGTV and TLC. Anyway...check out her site, it's slightly addictive. The thrift store photo installation is fun. I just have to love her...she's a graphic design professor and that was my major in college. Her quirky design sense is fabulous.