Buying Nothing New in 2016

I’m not going to buy anything new this year. Except food. And soap. And toilet paper. Recycled toilet paper. Okay, let me start over. I’m not going to buy any new, non-consumable things. Except I already have. Yesterday. So, what’s all this about?
After spending the last eight years of my life avoiding new plastic (plastic products and plastic packaging), I suddenly found myself in 2015 obsessed with not only avoiding new plastic but also replacing the minute amount of existing plastic in my house with brand new, mostly expensive, plastic-free products, which is exactly what I had decided NOT to do when I started this project. Off the top of my head, these are some things I replaced this year:
Plastic drain board replaced with this heavy, Amish-made stainless steel drain board. Garlic press with plastic-coated grips replaced with an all stainless Rosle garlic press. Vegetable peeler with plastic… Read the rest