A few weeks ago I wrote about my realization that I have too much Stuff. For two decades, I had been a willing participant in our consumerist culture, buying books and magazines and video games and compact discs and George Foreman grills. After twenty years of this, all I had to show for it was a mountain of debt and a home filled with Stuff.
Recently, Kris and I have been working to purge our Stuff. While we’ve discarded some of it as trash, we’ve also managed to sell some of it. We’ve donated some of our Stuff to charity. We’ve given other Stuff to friends.
At first this was painful. Then it became appalling. It was shocking to think that I’d paid tens of thousands of dollars to buy this Stuff, and then paid even more in interest fees. Now I’m casting much of it aside, shipping it off to a landfill.
This has made me realize that Stuff has more than just a personal financial cost. Every time I buy something, it has an impact on the world around me. When I buy a new kitchen appliance, for example, there’s an environmental cost for the manufacturing process, for the packaging, for the transportation, and for the marketing. By reducing my role as a consumer, couldn’t I help myself and help the environment? Here are five strategies that I’ve developed to help me accomplish both goals at once:
- Reduce your consumption — buy less stuff. Such a simple notion, yet so powerful. The less you buy, the less money you spend. When you buy less, you’re also reducing your environmental impact. Buying fewer things means a little more money in your pocket, and a little less pollution in the world.
- Reuse the things you have. Last week, Amanda encouraged us to get value from the things we own. Before you buy a new computer game, ask yourself if you’re finished playing the last one you bought. Before you buy a new bicycle, consider taking your old bike in for a tune-up instead. If you currently buy disposable diapers, disposable razors, or paper towels, consider switching to re-usable alternatives.
- Recycle the Stuff you no longer want or need. If you replace your 1996-era 19″ Sony television with a new widescreen model, don’t set the old TV out in the trash. Find another home for it. Put it on Craigslist. Set it outside with a “free” sign on it. If you really want to save money, place yourself on the other side of the equation: look for Stuff that people are getting rid of. You can find nearly everything you need for much less than you’d pay new. You just need to know where to look!
- Embrace imperfection. We like the things we buy to be perfect. But that perfection comes at a price, both financially and environmentally. Learn to look beyond the surface:
- Hand-crafted goods may contain minor imperfections.
- Organic fruits and vegetables often have visible blemishes that do not affect the quality of the food.
- The things you find at garage sales and thrift stores will often require mending.
All of these flaws can be disconcerting at first, but in time you may find yourself wondering why they once bothered you.
- Pursue quality. I used to buy a pair of $3 gardening gloves every spring because I didn’t see the sense in spending more. They’d work fine for a couple months, but by the end of the summer, they’d be worn to pieces. Then one year I bought a $15 pair of gloves. I haven’t bought another pair since. We often assume the least expensive option is the best way to save money. That’s not always the case. Quality items usually have a higher initial cost, but the total cost of ownership can be much less than a cheaply-made equivalent.
These rules can be difficult to follow — I’ve been working on some of them for years. Most of the time, I still think like a consumer. But because it’s important to the environment, and because it’s important to my bottom line, I’m willing to keep trying.
Contest reminder: Each person who leaves a substantive comment on today’s entries will be entered into a drawing to receive a nature print from photographer Andrea Gingerich. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 19th. (Details.)
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Some of the posters have taken a swipe at the 800 pound gorilla.
The success of our economy is measured by how much stuff we all buy and consume. If we buy less, we chance harming the economy, whose success is measured by GDP and consumer behavior.
As people concerned with financial health, we don’t want the economy to stumble (or crash) as a result of thousands (maybe millions) of citizens deciding that they have had enough with stuff. But, the reality is that the economy WILL stumble (or crash) if these changes in consumptive behavior occur.
The 800 pound gorilla is the reality that, in order to save the environment, we MUST cut back on our consumption. There is no choice. And the sooner the better. I’m afraid that there is not enough time for businesses to shift to “greener” products and services. This has been very gradual and will not transition soon enough. Besides, consumers continue to chase the lowest cost, which slows the possibility of renewable businesses gaining dominance in our markets.
The good news is that ownership and wealth are not the things that most people report making them the happiest. It is possible for the reduction in consumption, and the resultant contraction of the economy, to be a positive thing for many many people. Sure, those unprepared with low paying jobs will suffer. However, those who are frugle, responsible, and recognize that material items do not ultimately bring joy, will adapt. I am optimistic that we will all be better in the end. Let’s pull the bandaid off!
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Great point. Buy less stuff!!
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Honestly, the time I think most people find the best to realize how much stuff they have is when you move. People who never move end up collecting more and more stuff. When we do move we either just accept moving everything or go through a purging before the move occurs so we have less stuff we take with us. However, we do tend to still continue to take a lot of just “stuff” with us.
This is also part of the reason for the drive of larger and larger homes. Making fewer and fewer actual real starter homes for those of us that are just starting down the road of home ownership. What is good for us in the 1000 square foot range is by no means sufficient for anyone that has been in a home type of situation for more then a few years. They have by this time..directly or indirectly acquired enough stuff that they feel the need to get into a larger place. Its a vicious circle fed by the consumer nature we are fed by “statue” “media” “friends” and other such venues that affect us.
Do you really need that dishwasher…no not really but it makes your life easier as an example.
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Great ideas. I love purging and I am not so into accumulating new things. I am finding myself dreading holiday shopping this year- spending money to buy people “stuff” that will take up space. I don’t want to be Scroogey but I think it’s so stupide to guess what someone might like when I could write them a check for the amount. I guess not everyone on my list is as hyper aware of savings and conservation as I am!!
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This is a subject dear to my heart. You are essentially defining sustainability.
Don’t forget about http://www.freecycle.org There is undoubtedly a group near most anyone, now. (I have moderated a local Philly group for over 4 years.)
Think of freecycle not just for parting with items you’re no longer using, but also for obtaining items you’re seeking. It’s remarkable how frequently people in your freecycle group can cough the item up for free!
This means we are all conserving resources. Conservation is the magic bullet in fighting for our planet’s health.
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The “Pursue Quality” point ring especially true in the building (and equipping) of a house. Specifically I am referring to energy savings. Great for the wallet, great for the environment. Most examples cost more up front, but save you in the long run:
-A more efficient air conditioner.
-CFL’s versus incandescent bulbs
-re-routing pipes to use grey water in the toilets. (The storage of grey water could also come in handy after a natural disaster when water service would not be available. You would have more than that “one flush.”)
-Using output heat of the AC and refrigerator to preheat water for a hot water heater.
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I wanted to comment about the idea of pursuing quality. As you and most commenters note, it is often cheaper in the long run to invest in a better quality product that will last, instead of getting a cheaper product and having to replace it more often. In general I agree with that sentiment, but there are some obvious exceptions. If your need is only for a short time, then sometimes the cheaper product will work just fine. Example: When I lived in Germany, I got to see many of the military families that would go over to East Berlin to buy clothing for their children. Frankly, most of the products available in East Germany were shoddy junk. Clothing would fall apart in 3-6 months, for example. However, anyone with small children can tell you that kids go through clothes at an alarming rate – either tearing them up while playing or outgrowing them. It’s often a race to see which happens first. Considering that clothing could be purchased in the East for about 1/10th of the price in the West, it became a good deal for those parents. I still have (and use) a small tack hammer that cost me about $0.25 – far less than it would have cost in the West. This is an extreme example, but the point is that for something with a short life, cheap might be the best way to go. If you are planning to get longer usage from the item, then certainly, go for quality.
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Great post! One thing that’s good if you are going to put stuff out with the trash that you are no longer using (like your old tv) is to put a note on it. Something that explains why it’s there – or that just says it works. Sometimes people assume that stuff in the trash is there because it’s broken, especially if it’s a bit thrashed, so they may not pick it up. Leaving a note increases the odds that the object will end up recycled rather than in the landfill.
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I like your idea of buy less. I am trying to get my children into the idea of buying less (not buying at all would be better– so I remind them about saving for vacations) and just exchanging toys with their friends/relatives.
My main thing is when I go shopping is to not use the bags given out at the store. I never know what to do with those plastic bags. SO I keep a bunch in my car for those times I do go out.
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These tips are of course useful, but aren’t they obvious?
To me, reading tips about frugal or ecological living doesn’t give much. I’m just surprised that everybody doesn’t know these things. And even though I recycle, consume little and try to live ecologically I think there’s still a long way to go. It’s weird to notice that some people are way off the route.
I wish that people wouldn’t settle for tiny changes in their lifestyles (like giving an old toy to a cousin’s kid), but would see things in a more vast perspective. It seems that one little ecological choice frees some people of the natural guilt, and prevents them from making bigger changes!
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“If you currently buy disposable diapers, disposable razors, or paper towels, consider switching to re-usable alternatives.”
Make sure you actually check if this is helping or not! We recently had a baby and thought that the cloth diapers would be the way to go. Not only was it WAY, WAY more expensive (in water and electricy – not in service!) it is also a lot worse for the enviornment through energy waste (TONS of loads), water waste (you have to rinse each load at least twice), and the amount of chemicals going out (about 10 times as much soap and bleach as would normally go down the drain!)
Yes, diapers in the dump are bad – but they have made them a lot more degradable and it does less harm than all those loads of laundry!
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I have found it particularly hard to declutter with my kids. I do get rid of toys while they are sleeping and rotate the fun ones every month or so, but they seem to constantly be accumulating more. Whether its hand-me-down toys and clothes from friends and family or just papers from preschool, there is a lot of “stuff” that comes with kids that makes my life more cluttery.
One rule of thumb I have whenever I “need” something from a thrift shop: I have to take in a bag with me for donation. I make myself pick out some clothes we should get rid of or grab knick knacks or books gathering dust, anything to make an even “trade” of stuff coming into my home. This has worked well for us, we seem to be doing a little better on the clutter front.
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I find that I shop emotionally – I am happy when I’m buying, but later I find I have mounds of things I don’t really need, or want. But, for a few hours, I feel the thrill of the shopper.
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[...] JD thinks that if you want to save the planet but less stuff! [...]
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I’m a big believer in buying less as well. I do have a few points to ponder. Our buying stuff also indirectly requires more storage (larger homes, garages) and more handling. In some ways, discarding that old TV (or other items) may be best due to higher energy consumption, and again, increased handing (delivering to a friend by car…etc.). Also, organic foods maybe healthier but worse for the environment due to the increased transportation from far away places. So the best decision is to buy locally grown produce, organic or not.
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I just finished a cross country bicycle trip and lived out of a large BOB duffle bag for over teo months and it made me learn what you really don’t need!
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Just a note…the Union of Concerned Scientists determined that the choice between disposable/cloth diapers was pretty much a wash (no pun intended). All things considered neither has an advantage if you consider water waste, etc.
I’m not sure i’d agree with Rachel above that they are any more degradeable than before. Maybe the super-expensive type you find in Whole Foods but certainly not something like the big brands like Huggies, etc. There is too much plastic in those and they’re not going to degrade much sitting in a landfill.
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Jason Kratz -
I’m sure you are probably right about this – I was trying to remeber from an article I had read a year or two ago.
Although I can think of one big advantage of not using washable diapers….
Not having a big pail of poo laundry in your house! Haha
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[...] dress-up game (we found the fur selection a bit lacking), videos and, of course, you can buy trinkets! Because, you know, junk never killed anything– let alone any animals with soft, cuddly [...]
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For one year my husband, baby son and I lived in the carribean – we took what we could fit into a suitcase and bought only the barest of kitchen essentials (we had one pot, 3 knives, 3 forks, 3 plates, bowls etc) Did we miss all the extras that make life ‘easier’ NO. Life was easier by not having them!
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[...] consumption Think of all the things you consume in a given day — or a given week. What can you use less of? I’m not talking about self-denial. As J.D. mentioned in a prior post, it may not really be [...]
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