Archive for the 'Possessions' Category

I came across a wonderful website today. The Miniature Earth explores what the earth would “look” like if it was reduced to 100 people, but the proportions remained the same. It’s so easy to forget that we, as Americans, are not the only people on this earth. It’s easy to forget that we are wealthy beyond measure when compared to others across the world.

Along the same lines, Peter Menzel has created 3 books that have been life-changing for me. Material World, Hungry Planet, and Women of the Material World. He compares famililes from around the globe and give us a glimpse into their everyday lives. Here are a few of the families that are featured. These books were pivotal in my journey towards a more simple and sustainable lifestyle…I just could not go on doing the same wasteful things, knowing that the rest of the world has so much less.

I’ve been thinking about trash.

Moving to a small apartment with a small garbage can has made me very aware of what I throw away. Having to walk the garbage bag down 3 flights of stairs, then down another to the basement, out the back door…and a short walk to the ally makes me not want to make much trash! We usually fill up one small garbage bag a week…but even that seems like so much! I’m still trying to figure out where I could take my food scraps to reduce that even further. One of my goals during The Compact is to buy groceries/food with little to no packaging. This drastically reduces the amount of trash one produces. I’m amazed by how much trash we can throw away just by ordering take-out one night! Wow.

A movie that is closely related to this topic is “The Gleaners and I” (thanks Ali!). I just finished watching this quirky little French film about modern day gleaners and urban scavengers. It was incredibly interesting to me…I’ve always been curious about the lives of experienced dumpster divers and people who live completely off of the trash that others create. The movie goes far beyond that and delves into the world of found object art and into the lives of those making a difference in their neighborhoods. I can’t say enough about this movie…I think everyone should see it.

The Compact has me on the lookout for items that I can re-use or use in a different way. In my research about these things, I came across some fun Flickr groups dealing with this topic:
ReUSE Project
Tips for Recycling and Reusing
Junkin’
Trashion Nation

There are also some great sites dealing specifically with re-fashioning items of clothing:
Wardrobe Refashion
Wardrobe Refashion (Flickr)
Little Brown Dress ::: Recycling Project

And more sites discussing found object (trash) art:
Metroactive
Art from Trash

Books to check out:
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things

Today, when you throw something away…ask yourself if it could be recycled, re-used, or given to someone who needs it (Freecycle!). In a disposable culture…it may feel weird at first, but it does the earth GOOD!

Photo credit: D’Arcy Norman

I love thrift stores. I try not to frequent them if I’m not looking for something specific because I can get sucked into the mindset of “I don’t need it…but it’s so cheap…how can I NOT buy this!?” But today I went in search of a few things…and found some goodies. I was delightfully surprised to find that everything was 40% off because they are moving their store around the corner. Yay!

I’m starting a Flickr set to document my thrift store finds. There are descriptions on each photo with prices, etc. I will only document going forward…even though it would be fun to take photos of everything in my house that is thrifted. It could take days!

What has been your BEST thrift store find?

Last year I discovered a delightful, but disturbing, little book…called Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things (by John Ryan and Alan Thein Durning).

The book goes “behind the scenes” of your “stuff”. Where did it come from? Who made it? What type of working conditions did they have? What components went into making that item? What kind of environmental impact did it have? It’s an eye-opener to see how complicated and wasteful making “stuff” really is. The different items it examines: coffee, newspaper, t-shirt, shoes, bike, car, computer, hamburger, french fries, and cola.

Here are some excerpts from the intro:

“Made in Taiwan”. I’d seen thousands of such stickers in my life without ever giving them a second thought. Taiwan. Taiwan. Not just a word on a sticker. It’s an island. A country. A real place with real people across an ocean from me. Suddenly, the overloaded shelves around me looked different. I was stripped of the illusion that stuff comes from stores and is carted away by garbage trucks: everything on those shelves came from a real place on Earth and will go to some other place when I’m done with it. Everything had a history — a trail of causes and effects–and a future. Everything had a life, of sorts. If you tried very hard, you could put a “Made in __________” sticker on each car wax bottle, speaker component, or old magazine on those shelves.

I started wondering where the things in my life come from. As coffee beans, newspapers, and soda cans make their way toward me, what wakes do they leave behind, rippling outward across the world? And what had to happen for millions of people like me to go about our ordinary business…using lots of stuff?

What happens around the world to support a day in the life of a North American is surprising, dramatic, and even disturbing. Multiplied by the billion members of the world’s consumer societies, it adds up to stresses greater than the world can withstand. The first step toward solving any problem is recognizing it. I’ve started by looking at the things in my life in a new way and learning what I can about their secret lives.

One of the reasons why the Compact is so appealing to me, is that it forces me to find new avenues of acquiring things. I am becoming more creative and more patient as I search for an item that I need. When you buy something used or someone gives you a used item…you are helping to stop the need for NEW resources to be tapped to replace that item you bought from the store.

A great example of this from the book is the chapter on the life of a T-shirt. If I went to the mall to buy a new t-shirt (instead of the thrift store), the following resources would be used (paraphrased from p. 20-25):

• Oil: the polyester in the shirt started as a few tablespoons of petroleum (they go on to talk about all the effects of oil drilling, environmental concerns, etc.)
• Cotton: to get the 2 oz. of cotton needed for the t-shirt, 14 square feet of cropland in Mississippi were harvested. The soil was first fumigated with aldicarb, one of the most toxic pesticides applied in the U.S. The cotton seeds were also dipped in fungicide.
  
• Dyes: Regulated by the EPA as hazardous substances.
• Sewing: the fabric was shipped to Honduras. Honduran women cut and sewed it into a T-shirt and earned 30 cents an hour. After it was completed, the box of t-shirts went to Baltimore, by train to San Francisco, and by truck to Seattle. It was unpacked on a department store shelf under a 150-watt floodlamp. That’s where I found it. I bought it because I liked the earth-tone color. And I brought it home by car in a bag of low-density polyethylene from Louisiana.
• Laundry: I spilled coffee on myself and had to change…and I threw the other one into the laundry chute. Later I washed it in water heated to 140 degrees by natural gas flames. Boxed powder detergent and chlorine bleach from a high-density polyethylene bottle removed the coffee from the fabric. The coffee, detergent, and bleach washed into Seattle’s sewer system. An electric dryer evaporated the water from my shirt. The greatest environmental impacts associated with my T-shirt arose in my own laundry room: washing and drying the shirt just ONCE demanded 1/10 the energy as manufacturing it in the first place.
  

What can one person do to make a change in this process? Well, let me tell you. Little things make a big difference. In the case of the t-shirt, you can…

1. Buy USED or vintage clothing.
2. Wash only full loads of laundry.
3. Use warm instead of hot water when you can.
4. Wear your clothes more than once before washing.
5. Look for organic cotton apparel.
6. Encourage others to do the same.

If anything, I hope this has encouraged you to THINK about the secret life of your stuff.

The empty shopping cart. Symbolic of my first day of The Compact. I wrote about it last week, but never got around to starting it. So this is it…I’m really doing it this time. I’m actually really excited to explore and conquer my tendencies to want, want, want things all the time.

My first “compact moment” came today as I was heading home. We had a birthday party to go to tonight for one of Bella’s friends who was turning 2. I decided to stop and get a balloon for her. I also wanted to buy a couple plants to go in some cute little pots I have at the apt. And then I remembered…

“I started the Compact today…what am I thinking?!”

So instead of going into the store and spending money on a balloon, 2 plants, and inevitably more (because I was hungry and would have bought snacks and who knows what else too)…we continued on home. When we got there, Bella and I made an adorable homemade card together to bring to her friend, and I am going to see if I can find some plants on my local Freecycle. Whew! I passed my first test.

With that one little decision, Bella and I were able to spend time creating something together. She learned that it’s ok (and BETTER!) to make a homemade gift for someone. And I saved myself at least $25.00. Wow!

Now for the rules. I tend to get very strict with myself whenever I commit to something like this…to the point of making myself crazy. So I will try not to be so hardcore that it causes me unnecessary trauma…but committed enough to make a difference. So, here is what I will do:

1. I will not buy any NEW items for one year.
2. I will only buy items that I NEED.
3. I will not buy any convenience foods when grocery shopping with the exception of bread and chips. I will strive to eat in season, buying as local as possible. I will bring cloth grocery bags to the store, and I will create a weekly menu/grocery list EVERY week.
4. I will not go out to eat at a restaurant if I have the option of eating at home.

EXCEPTION: I will allow printing of photos. Photography is one of the things I love, and to take that away would greatly decrease my quality of life…which is not what the Compact is about.

My Goals:

1. To gain perspective and learn contentment.
2. To be a mindful consumer and live lighter on the earth.
3. To become more patient and learn to plan ahead as I borrow, barter, buy used, re-use, and recycle.
4. To payoff the remainder of our student loan debt.

Thanks to Chelee for getting me started on my rule list!

Here is the “Compact Pledge”:

In light of the destructive effects of personal greed, we pledge to curb our purchases, cease frivolous buying, and choose to simplify our lives. Excepting only those things needed for work and the health and safety of our families, we pledge not to buy new. Further more, we will actively seek to pass on possessions we no longer want to those who are in need. In doing so, we hope to educate both friends and family about the corrosive effects of being in a constant state of want, nurture in ourselves the uplifting state of giving, thus reducing the load on the environment and creating a more sensible path for our lives. For these reasons, we join the Compact.

- SF site (paraphrased)

Here’s to the journey! Who is with me?

Photo: Eva Marieville | Flickr

This was the last one. We’ve had 3 garage sales this year and I don’t ever want to accumulate enough STUFF to necessitate a garage sale ever again. It’s not that we didn’t make any money. We did…probably over $1000 for all 3 sales. I just don’t really enjoy the preparation process… pricing things makes me crazy, the sitting and waiting for people, the packing it all up. I can think of 100 better things to do with my time. My plan is to donate, eBay, gift, or Craigslist in small amounts so I don’t have to have a “big one” again.

I am not saying I won’t GO to garage sales. I love going to them. It’s amazing what you can find. My friend Natalie and her sisters are professional garage sale extrordinaires. Amazing. I love the hunt…especially if I have something to hunt for. The thrill of finding that long awaited item is beyond compare. Of course, if you go with a friend who has the same taste as you…you better be ready to race to the driveway!

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”?

Many of you know this already, but we are getting ready to move to a smaller apartment (we’ve sold our house)…so that we can fully focus on paying off student loans and living more simply.

Living more simply…those words mean different things for everyone. It doesn’t have to mean giving up all the things you enjoy. Or only eating beans and rice. Or never going on vacation again. Or getting rid of all your possessions. It’s just about deciding what is important in your life, and aligning your priorities to match. As you examine your life, you will probably realize that many things you thought you “needed”…you really didn’t need.

For us, downsizing our living space allows us to spend more time doing what we love to do. Instead of spending hours cleaning, we can spend hours at the park having a picnic. Instead of spending money on a large mortgage payment, we can live in a smaller space and use the extra money to achieve the financial freedom we desperately long for. Making sacrifices now helps us achieve our dreams for later.

This journey started over a year ago, when we discovered Dave Ramsey. We listened to Dave on the radio, read his books, etc. We were able to pay off all of our credit cards, our car, and other random debts. The only debt we still have is student loans. Some people think that student loans are “supposed” to be around forever, but I totally disagree. There is a tremendous emotional drain that comes with that kind of debt. That’s why we are choosing to knock it out over the course of the coming year.

We are getting rid of most of our possessions…and all of our debt. I can feel the lightness already! And now, one last note for those of you who are saying…”I could never do that!”. Look at your current living arrangements, your possessions and your spending. Do you ever use your extra bedroom? Do you really need 4 bathrooms in your house? Do you need 6 pairs of jeans? Do you need that latte everyday? Do you really have to work 80 hours a week just so you can have everything your heart desires? It does take some soul searching to make changes, but it’s so worth it in the end. Go simple!

Even though I desire to lead a simple life with few possessions and tread lightly on the earth…I am still hear a the evil voices whenever I go near a mall (which I like to refer to as the “Giant Shrine of Manufactered Wants). It whispers to me…

“You need me..”
“Your life would be so different if you would just buy me…”
“You would look so cute if you wore me…”

The first step is realizing that the mall DOES truly try to suck you in like the sirens…the second step is resisting, the third step is going to Starbucks and buying an inanely overpriced cup of muddy water and sugar flavoring to “reward” yourself for not getting sucked into the mall.

Here is the post that got me thinking about this today…Stuff Lust.

Photo by Charlie Brewer/Flickr

Ok. I’m back. I haven’t been blogging for quite awhile, but I really missed being able to spit all my thoughts out and having people sass me. So, here we go again.

I have been obsessed with simplicity, downsizing, and such for about a year now. We have made great strides in getting rid of our “extra” possessions. It’s so freeing and wonderful to get rid of the STUFF.

I have a few books that are a constant reminder to pursue the simple life. First, my Bible. John the Baptist had this to say in Luke 3:11:

“John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”

This verse has helped me when I thought I needed to have more of this or more of that, and has also reminded me that others have nothing when I have 2, 3, 4 of something. We really need so little to be content. Get rid of your duplicates!

Also, the books Material World and Women of the Material World have inspired me beyond measure. They are on my coffee table so I can reference them often.

“The Irresistable Revolution” by Shane Claiborne is a must read. Go get it today.

I am a constant work in progress, but I believe God has called me to lead a quiet, simple life. I just keep working at it little by little…with so many joys along the way.