Discuss: In Lieu of More Stuff

If you like this article I will recommend the book “Deep Economy” by Bill McKibben.  More is not better, at least not for those who have their needs met.  What about community?  We need to question our basic economic goals of growth, and change our minds.

I was adopted and reared by an extremely frugal mother, herself a young bride, and Rosie the Riveter during WWII. She learned   to do without much for most of her adult life. And during the frenetic house building and baby boom post-war expansion of the 50’s she taught me to salvage, reuse and recycle; long after everyone else was ‘consuming’ on the lay-a-way plan.

So now,  when I see yet another $$Dollar$$ store open, filled with brightly colored ‘theme’ geegaws, piled row upon row, all perfect, all cheap, all made in China, by the struggling Rosie of modern times. I always wonder what those factory workers must think while they glue speckled faux plastic eggs in a circle for an Easter egg “wreath” (huh?)  or wire miniature fuzzy foam bunnies and bears to pencil tops (at least the pencil is useful).  I am betting they cannot even imagine what we do with this junk that pays their wages.  And every few weeks the colors change, the shapes in plastic change, and they are gluing hearts or pumpkins or ugly santas onto something else.  What a waste of their lives, and native talents to sit indoors all day, making this crap to be shipped to us, briefly toyed with by children, or hung on a wall, then casually broken,  or just tossed into the garbage bin for Wednesday pickup. It only cost a dollar.. get a new one, a prettier one,  next year.

I try to follow the old adage that less is more.  The more “things” we purchase, the more upkeep and headache to maintain.  Coming from the real estate profession, storage is a major concern for most home buyers, Why?  To store their “things” which will never see the light of day again.

Could you please explain me the meaning of ‘ALL’

ALL:  Every living thing on this planet.

Great stuff.. This ending spree has to stop somewhere. More often that not, this is what curtails a much brighter financial future.!

Great article. It is crucial to avoid falling into the debt trap due to excessive fruitless spending..!

Amen to the hoped-for end to conspicuous consumption!

I’ve been continually stunned ovder the years by what is “expected” by society.

Examples:
- we are fortunate to have a modest-sized house in a land of McMansions. Over and over, we’re asked “when are you going to expand?”

- we own a well-kept, well-running car that suits our lifestyle perfectly, 2002 model. Question: “When are you trading it in?”

Let’s try to have what we need, share what we don’t and give when we can.

Best,
.//A.

http://greeninharlem.com