This past week, my 3-year-old daughter Lili asked me, "Momma, why are we buying nothing new?" Apparently, she had heard us talk enough about our year-long project to wonder what this pledge was all about.

I answered her with the usual reasons -- we already have enough stuff, we are trying not to clutter our house with new stuff we don't need, it's not good for nature to keep buying new plastic stuff.

But I could tell I wasn't really convincing her.

For me, this project has become an opportunity to reflect on why I buy what I buy. Earlier today, in fact, I bought something new because I was feeling kind of sad. I impulsively purchased a new flower pot glazed in a cheerful turquoise hue. Of course, I know I need to return it because ... well, we're not supposed to be buying anything new.

But also, it didn't miraculously improve my mood.

I know that I am not alone in thinking that a little shopping is a good cure for the blues. Even George W. Bush thinks he can cheer us up and cure our depressed economy by encouraging us to spend those summer tax rebate checks.

My mood was lifted later today as I organized my younger daughter's closet. I always get a little wistful when packing away tiny outfits that no longer fit her. It seems that each item represents some memory that I want to hold on to.

Looking at the pile of outgrown clothes, I am struck by how few of them were bought new. Sure, there are the beautiful girly outfits that Nana Sheila just can't resist buying. But the large majority of these clothes were given to us by our neighbor. She delivers bags upon bags of them each season as her own daughter outgrows them.

My neighbor also passes along clothes she received as hand-me-downs from other families. My daughters then end up with many more outfits than they can possibly wear out in a season.

And all of those clothes are infused with memories of the kids who wore them before my own daughters.

So, even though it saddens me to pack up the outgrown outfits, I am uplifted by being part of a chain of pass-me-downs. By getting more use out of well-made clothes. By avoiding the malls and chain stores that stock clothes that every other kid seems to be wearing.

By realizing what probably seems obvious to most people: buying new things is not going to miraculously improve my day.

Because it isn't.

And if it takes me a year of buying nothing to realize this simple truth, then at least I'll have a good answer next time my daughter asks me about it.