This month, perhaps after watching the video above, I’ve gone and done something essentially un-American: I’ve declared March to be a no shopping, no buying month for me. Food and other essentials like toothpaste that allow me to function as a normal member of society are excepted. I’m not a shopaholic to begin with, and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘anti-consumerism’
19 Sep
The 8 Reasons We Don’t Go Green
Being in Target sucks up all of my optimism about our species’ environmental progress. Kevin and I needed Seventh Generation washing up liquid, so we ducked in and promptly found ourselves amidst endless rows of shiny plastic things, clothing probably made in sweatshops, processed foods, and conspicuous overconsumption. And we realized: this is how mainstream [...]
5 Sep
On Getting Rid of Books
There is a deep restlessness gnawing at my bones. I want a change — to learn something new, dive into something that I feel truly passionate about, grow a garden, be crazy and impetuous for once in my life. Most of all, I want to move. Away from my neighbors who fry fish at 7am. [...]
8 Aug
How much is enough?
Having enough — not too much, not too little — is kind of a foreign concept in this country. In the three hundred odd years that we’ve been around, we seem to swing between the extremes of not having enough (as colonists, pioneers, Depression survivors) and having far too much (roaring twenties, materialistic 50s, and [...]
20 Jan
Lessons from the cat about being green
Lynn from Upcycled Love recently posted an entry on what her cat Smokey has taught her about personal connections, and it made me think: non-human animals teach us a lot we’ve forgotten on the long road to opposable thumbs and so-called higher intelligence. And when it comes to low impact living, even your average spoiled [...]
14 Jan
Ending my romance with dollar stores
I have a confession to make: I used to like dollar stores. For this, as for many other things, I blame my parents. They immigrated to the US with virtually nothing and climbed their way into solid middle class respectability — without ever losing their immigrant mentality regarding money. This meant a number of things: [...]
7 Nov
13 Reasons You Can’t Afford to Shop
Shopping is an expenditure of time, energy, and money. It’s easy to forget that all of these are limited resources, and choosing to shop is choosing not to do something else, often something more enjoyable and fulfilling. Although shopping may not be the worst thing we can do to the planet, it’s probably the eco-sin we commit most often, with the least amount of consciousness. (Greenwashers, you’re [...]
5 Nov
Fixing Our Material-Driven Economy
(Just file this post under the category ‘We’re doomed.’ Seriously. I just created it and moved all posts that included either the phrase ‘We’re screwed’ or ‘We’re doomed’ into it.) Last week, my local radio station’s morning show was about superpowers. If you could choose one, what would it be? I started fantasizing about being able to [...]
10 Oct
Diagnosing My Crowded Closet
Last week, one of my fellow condo dwellers put out a box of clothing by the trash bins. I had a quick rummage through (wouldn’t you?) and discovered that the donor 1) was only a size or two bigger than I; 2) liked the same colors; 3) shopped at Target and was getting rid of [...]
3 Aug
My cat is greener than your baby.
I try to be a fairly respectful and tolerant individual, but sometimes I lose it when I hear women with a lot of kids bragging about how green they, their families, and their babies are. This post is my ‘Fawk You Friday’ (yup, it’s Tuesday; I suggest you deal with it) to all those smugly self-satisfied ‘green mommies’ [...]
