Rekindled

Remember the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?  I think we’re starting to get the hang of recycling, but what about reducing?  Reduce the amount of stuff you buy and you will reduce the amount of waste and pollution that is created.  If you want to know more then take a look at The Story of Stuff.  Think about all the things you have bought over your entire lifetime.  That’s a lot of stuff.  And did you really need all of it?  Has it made your life better?  Can you even remember most of it?  Where is it all now?  I’d be willing to bet that you don’t even have most of it any more.

So if you want to make a difference with your shopping habits, buy nothing and make do with what you already have.  This requires a lot of creative thinking and resourcefulness.  Think about alternative uses for things before throwing them away.  For example, I once had a TV stand that, during its long life, also served as a coffee table and bedside table simply by putting a throw (which I also already had) over the top.  

Borrowing (or renting) is also a great tactic to help you buy less stuff.  Instead of buying books and DVDs, borrow them from the library.  I usually read most books once and then they sit on the shelf gathering dust and cluttering up my house.  Now I search my local library catalogue online to find books I want, and I can even reserve them online.  Last week, I suggested a book that they didn’t have in stock, and they only went and ordered it for me!   Friends are also another great source of stuff you can borrow.  Last year, we cut down a tree/bush thing in our garden (to make room to grow veggies) and our friends lent us their shredder.  We could have bought our own, but we would never have used it again.  We lent the same friends a food processor when they were having a dinner party.

Freecycle is another great resource to help you buy less.  It’s a little bit like ebay as people advertise second hand goods, but everything is FREE!  You just have to go and collect it!  Freecycle is also fab for decluttering and getting rid of old junk – your trash becomes someone else’s treasure.  I have scored a compost bin and some jewellery making kit from Freecycle, and given away a whole host of clutter.  It’s a great way of saving things that are on their way to landfill, whilst saving yourself money in the process.

If you really want to go the whole hog, you can even join The Compact, a group of people who pledge to buy nothing new for a whole year.  I joined the pledge and managed about 6 months without buying anything at all.  I don’t stick to it any more, but I definitely buy a lot less than I used to, and I never go shopping just for fun any more – I only go if I actually need something.  So if nothing else, it will change the way you think about shopping.

It really doesn’t take much effort to buy less, and it certainly won’t cost you anything.  But I believe that changing our pattern of massive overconsumption is the single biggest thing that we can do in order to reduce our impact on the planet and make our way of life more sustainable for the future.  And if I haven’t convinced you then can I remind you again about The Story of Stuff?  Seriously, it’s well worth a look.