Stop the Stuff!

My last blog was about Donald Trump and, although it contained quite  measured comments(I thought) and wasn’t hysterical at all, it was not read by many. In fact that blog engendered one of the smallest readership counts of my blogs ever.
What restrained people from reading it? Was it the picture of Mr Trump  adorning the heading? Or was it because people are heartily sick of reading about him – or even perhaps the more knowledge gained about ‘The Donald’ the scarier it becomes…whatever… readers stayed away in droves. My blog on ‘Trump’s Big Con’ managed a three digit figure of readership on one day only.
As a consequence, this newest blog will deal with a much more manageable problem.
The problem of consumerism -  and STUFF.
 
 
There’s a movement in USA called ‘The Story of Stuff’ www.storyofstuff.com  which states:
‘We have a problem with Stuff. We use too much, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be. Together, we can build a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division.’
There are other movements, internet sites and books which urge us to de-clutter and live a more minimalist life – for the sake of Planet Earth and our own sanity.
One quote that really resonated with me was:
‘Fill your life with stories to tell, not stuff to show'.
Excellent attitude!
We are being swallowed by stuff –  unnecessary possessions -  clothing, home décor, electronic devices, whatever.
Here’s a great idea, from ‘Becoming Minimalist’ (Joshua Becker):
 
(Suggestion No 3, from 15):
‘Remove 10 articles of clothing from your closet today. Go ahead. If you are typical, it’ll take you roughly 5 minutes to grab 10 articles of clothing that you no longer wear and throw them in a box. Your remaining clothes will fit better in your closet. Your closet will be able to breathe again. And if you write “Goodwill” [that means Op shop] on the box when you are done, you’ll feel better about yourself as soon as you drop it off. Most likely, you’ll find yourself inspired to do it again.’
Try it – it works! Although it did take me more than 5 minutes to do it.
 
There are other such simple acts such as:
Don’t buy a six-pack of undies.
Buy one pair of excellent quality.
AND…buy natural fibres … plastic/synthetic fibres are infiltrating the intestines and tissue of fish in our oceans!
All those synthetic fabrics are causing chaos from which the world (nature) may never recover.
 
Using such man-made products can be deadly serious as well as plain stupid of us humans.
From The Guardian earlier this year: ‘New studies indicate that the fibres in our clothes could be poisoning our waterways and food chain on a massive scale. Microfibers – tiny threads shed from fabric – have been found in abundance on shorelines where waste water is released.’
You can read lots more about this scary problem at Beachapedia.org
‘The problem of plastics accumulating in the ocean has been widely documented and there are indications that the problem may be getting worse. In fact, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.’  
 
And, of course, stop using PLASTIC BAGS…it isn’t hard to do!
Many countries have wisely banned the use of plastic bags (there is a list of them & their progress on-line)
About seven years ago, when I visited Ireland, I found the wonderful ‘no plastic bag’ rule. (If you really, really needed a bag, you were charged for it).I only had to be caught out once without my own carry bag to remember to take one the next time.
[The Republic of Ireland introduced a €0.15 tax in March 2002. Levied on consumers at the point of sale, this led to 90% of consumers using long-life bags within a year. The tax was increased to €0.22 in 2007. The revenue is put into an Environment Fund.]
It was a shock to return to Australia and watch supermarket shoppers pushing trolleys with about twenty or so items packed ever-so-loosely in about eight plastic bags!
Still happening!
And when buying only one small item in many shops, a check-out person usually wants to place it in an unnecessary plastic bag.
“No thanks!” is all you need to say, as you pull out your cotton carry bag.
 
And now as Christmas approaches, we are being inundated with catalogues of things we must buy to make Christmas perfect.
Wrong!
Resist the urge to buy any of that superfluous glittery junk that is as costly to the health of the planet as it is for the health our credit card.
There is no real need for most of the STUFF advertised.
Resist, resist, resist -  and see how much better you feel  – especially when the hole in your finances is not as big as last year’s shock!
 
So, you see, if you stop the junk buying and stop accumulating stuff, you and our planet both win.