My friends have come to expect this kind of request from me. My pledge to "buy nothing new" means that sometimes I need a little help from my friends. It also creates a sense of community that I increasingly rely upon and cherish.

For example, our blender broke in August and when I complained about not being able to find a used one, my friend enthusiastically offered an amazing 1970s-style blender that had been gathering dust in her cupboards. While my ailing camera was being fixed, this same friend offered her old but still functional camera. When I didn't have a styley bag for my daughter's school things, another friend offered me an extra one of hers.

Even my husband, skeptical of the pledge, has been the beneficiary of used gifts as his colleagues hand over their extra/old/too small clothes for him to try on.

The freecycle community (freecycle.org) is one that I'm very excited to have found. At any point, members of this virtual listserv community are asking for particular items they need or offering things they no longer need. I've given away just a few things so far but I feel the tug of a freecycle obsession!

The most exciting and truly unexpected way that this pledge has made me more aware of my community is the reaction I've received from readers of this column. Whether through e-mail comments or conversations I've had, people seem to really respond to the idea that we don't need to buy everything new. They often comment that buying less just seems to make sense.

As a recent guest on WUNC's "The State of Things," I was encouraged by the folks who called in with their own ideas for avoiding the trappings of new stuff. While I am certainly not breaking new ground with my own pledge, I love the fact that so many people out there are on the same page.

I have had a few challenges, though, over the first half of my yearlong pledge and I do have some confessions to make. Here is the list of all the new things I bought since the beginning of my pledge: four tires for the Prius, two lead-free lunch boxes for the kids, two locally made ceramic milk cups for the kids, and a swimsuit.

A swimsuit? I justified that one because I couldn't find one in any thrift store in the middle of December.

So, clearly, I am not perfect, but I'm committed to staying on the buy-nothing-new wagon for the rest of the year. It is not always easy to deny myself new stuff, especially when I could really use something like a new watch for an upcoming job interview. Yet, I am supported by those of you who are thinking about the issues of over-consumption and the environment too. By relying on my friends, neighbors, and even strangers for items that I need, I am realizing the importance of community.

Now, do any of you have a watch I could borrow?