A Domino Effect

Two interesting, and rage-inducing articles surfacing recently, one today on waste, another last week on consumption.  I’m particularly taken by the concept of the ‘Primark effect’, worrying as the underlying explanation is.

I’ve posted about throwing things away several times, and it makes me physically angry to think that rather than take their unwanted wares to a charity shop, or pass them on to friends and family, people are bundling them into black bags and dumping them, thereby creating unnecessary landfill.  Last week, someone had done just that in the lane near my flat: a black bag had been ripped open, and whole books, clothes, shoes and other potentially useful, and most definitely recyclable goods were lying there, ruined for anyone else’s enjoyment.  The sight made me sad, and then angry, and then just sad again.  The sheer thoughtlessness of some people really is bewildering.

Anyway, enough ranting for now, I’ll let the articles speak for themselves.

Image courtesy of Flickr: Adja Gregorcic

It’s a while away yet, but I’ve been thinking recently about what I should give up for Lent this year.  I’m not religious, but I always piggyback on Lent, mainly because I think the idea of sacrificing something you like, or something you are dependent on for a few weeks is a great one.  On a personal level, Lent reminds me to be grateful for the things I have, and to be a more appreciative person in general.  Also, I just like a bloody good challenge from time to time.

I read a book a few months ago called ‘Not Buying It’, where writer Judith Levine gave up shopping, except for absolute essentials for an entire year.  I loved the idea (and the book), and have been intrigued ever since as to how I would fare were I to undergo a similar project.  I would hate to think of myself as in any way dependent on ‘luxuries’, but I’ve never really put that to the test.  I’m also intrigued to find out where I really stand in relation to all the reading I’ve been doing of late on consumerism and downshifting.  It’s one thing to read the literature and be inspired by the ideas, but quite another to put those ideas into some form of practice.

With this in mind, for Lent this year I’ve decided to give up (‘Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be’)…surplus consumerism.

Put more bluntly, buying stuff I don’t need.

To make matters easier both for me and for others who might be intrigued by the process, I’ve drawn up a list of almost everything I imagine I might buy in February or March, and classified each item under ‘banned’ or ‘allowed’ (more creative category names escape me at this early stage, my bad).  The ‘allowed’ list comprises essentials such as food, basic toiletries, cleaning products, stamps and pressing repairs.  On the ‘banned’ list, we have pretty much everything else.  This includes clothes, shoes, meals out, cinema, take-away coffee, books, magazines, toiletries which can’t be considered essential, fabric, sewing accessories and bits and bobs for the flat.

Lent begins on 17th February, and I plan to keep a diary of the challenge here on the blog, so if you are interested you can follow along.

In the meantime, here’s the list…

ALLOWED

Food (the only restrictions are on eating out)
Rent
Household bills
Shampoo/conditioner
Deodourant
Moisturiser
Facewash
Shower gel
Toothpaste/toothbrush
Foundation/Mascara

BANNED

Clothes/shoes/accessories
Books
Cinema/gigs/entry tickets
Electrical equipment
Meals out/fast food
Coffees/teas out
Newspapers/magazines
All makeup except foundation and mascara (my essentials)
Perfume
Hairspray/miscellaneous hair products
Fabric/sewing accessories
Stationery (excepting essentials – postage stamps etc)
Ornaments/decorations/things for the flat

As you can see, I could have been more strict about what I consider to be ‘essential’ – I do realise that mascara, for example is by no means instrumental to basic human survival, but that’s not really the point of the challenge.  It’s not about staying alive and living off the land eating bugs and whatnot, it’s simply about abstaining from buying things that I don’t need or won’t use on a daily basis.  Also, I will have to go to work every day for the duration of the challenge, and while the dress code isn’t hugely strict, I don’t think that turning up looking like the bogey monster is really acceptable.

If anyone has any suggestions for additions to the list, or if anyone has comment to make about some of the things I’ve put on it, I really would be very interested to hear about it!

More to come as of 17th Feb!

Stop Sign image courtesy of Flickr: ladybeames.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I always seem to be spoiled rotten at Christmas.  Clothes, books, chocolates, bits of this and that – I never seem to know what to do with a lot of it.  And all that receiving makes me feel a little bit crap.  When so many people have very little or nothing, why should I be vexing myself over where to stuff yet another pair of unnecessary pyjamas (yes you can have too many.  When the drawer no longer closes, I think it’s safe to assume that you have too many.)?

If making room for Christmas gifts incites similar sentiments within you, it might pay to have a new year clear-out in order to make room for things and to keep clutter (and guilt levels) under control.  Clothes and accessories, picture frames, ornaments and crockery, in fact almost anything will be gratefully welcomed by charity shops, or perhaps even by friends or relatives.  I donate on a regular basis these days, mainly because I can no longer justify hoarding for the sake of hoarding – it makes me feel bad.  If someone else can get more enjoyment from something of mine than I ever will then it just doesn’t make sense for me to cling on to it with gritty determination just because it’s mine.

The idea of holding on to possessions for the sake of it really grates on me the more I think about it.  Especially when so much of what we have we don’t really place any value on.  We don’t want things, but we don’t want anyone else to have them either.  But it just doesn’t add up.  If I’ve never worn a cheap top I bought three years ago will I really miss it when it goes?  Almost certainly not.  If a book I once read and didn’t particularly enjoy is no longer looking sad on my shelf will I even care?  I don’t think so.  I have been so guilty in the past of hanging on to things which I neither need nor even like, just for the sake of having them.  Almost as though my possessions could be worn as a badge of honour testifying that I was who I said I was: ‘look here, this bunch of stuff will prove it’.

I was quite young at the time so I’m not going to be too hard on myself, but I am glad to say that I’m much more content these days with having fewer possessions, but greatly valuing and taking pride in that which I do have.  If, for example, the very favourite dress that I’ve worn constantly for three years were to disappear I can honestly say I’d be upset.  Ditto with the china tea set I was given for my birthday last year.  Life as I know it wouldn’t come to an end of course, and these objects in no way form part of my identity as a person, but all the same I would be sad to let them go.  The same can not and will not be said about a lot of other things I own.  And therein lies the challenge…

I absolutely love the idea of every possession being a prized one – everything from a family heirloom wedding ring to an exceptionally good Ikea potato peeler.  I want to surround myself with things I care about and that I want to look after because they mean something to me.  In a country where there’s so much stuff being thrown at us that we often don’t know where to look it seems clear that we need to take a step back to this way of thinking.  How many people, for example, remember what it’s like to save for something?  When I was a child I was given pocket money every week and if there was something I wanted then I had to save for it.  And if I was going to save for something I had to make bloody well sure that I wanted it in the first place.  I remember the Tiny Tears doll I had for that very reason: I saved for weeks upon months to get her.  I probably treasured her more than anything I was ever given for free, and I remain incredibly grateful to my parents for instilling these values in me when I was young.  Values which, regrettably, are a bit thin on the ground these days, judging by some of the spoiled, over-indulged brats I see all over the place.  I’m only 23 but sometimes I do feel justified in saying ‘it wasn’t like that in my day’.

So to get back to the point, and at the risk of sounding overly samaritan-like, here’s my new year’s resolution (better late than never): to make 2010 a year where I can continue to focus on wanting, valuing and treasuring that which I already have, and thinking seriously about the things I buy, and also where I buy them.  In other words, to be a more considerate consumer. Oh, and to donate, gift and recycle my unwanted wares throughout the year.  There.  Said it.  Now must stick to it.

On with the Christmas clear-out…

Recycling image above courtesy of Flickr: Jeff Youngstrom

Well I hope everyone had a very Happy Christmas of eating, drinking, being merry and binging on Christmas TV!  I certainly did – I even watched Eastenders last night which is definitely something I haven’t done since my student days.

A very generous Santa bestowed a breadmaker upon me this year (a breadmaker!!).  As I type this I’m waiting expectantly for my first loaf – it’s sort of like how I imagine waiting for your first child to be born feels.  Excitement mixed with fear and a dread that it won’t work out (sorry, a better analogy escapes me).  Hopefully I’ll master the art, or the science, as it appears to be better termed, relatively quickly and thereby forever be exonerated from buying crappy supermarket breads at inflated prices.  I bet it will taste delicious too.

Alongside my carb-producing mean machine I received a book entitled ‘Less is More’ by Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska (New Society Publishers, 2009).  The tagline reads ‘embracing simplicity for a healthy planet, a caring economy and lasting happiness’, and it contains a collection of essays by people who write regularly about simple living.  It appears to come from a similar background to ‘All Consuming’ by Neal Lawson, which I read and couldn’t put down so it remains to be seen if this latest offering has the same effect.  I also received a hand-knitted scarf from my Mum which is a triumph and will match the hat she did for me last year – she really is a demon with those knitting needles!

But the prize for greatest gift of the year has to go to Laurence who, bearing in mind our many, many discussions about the evils of consumerism and pointless ‘thing’ buying presented me with what he termed an ‘experience-based’ gift – a home-made food hamper, bursting at the seams with cheeses, pates, oatcakes, chocolates, wine and tangerines.  I’m almost physically chomping at the bit to get back to Edinburgh to dive into it!  He found an old wicker basket in a charity shop and dressed it up with a smattering of Christmas tree decorations – it really is an eye-pleaser!  So don’t expect a post on Wednesday/Thursday of next week avid readers, for I will be partaking in the most shameless display of gastronomic over-indulgence of my 23 years to date, from which I’m certain I will need some time to recover! :0)

***live update: my bread is taking shape!!!***

On a more thrifty note, I saved the better bits of wrapping paper from mine, and other peoples’, presents yesterday, and I also kept as many gift bags as I thought I could get away with.  I’m going back to uni next September, so the more savings I can make on these tiny little things now, the better off I will be on my return to skintsville (which I have to say, I’m actually looking forward to)!  Every little does help, after all.

Flickr: wetwebwork - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wetwebwork/

Charity shops are great places to find Christmas presents!  I had a brilliant spree on Saturday just passed, although I should probably admit that I was there for reasons much more selfish than present-buying.*

Contrary to what used to be popular belief, charity shops are not stuffy, ill-lit hovels full of other peoples’ tat that simply isn’t worth buying.

All sorts of people donate all sorts of things to charity these days, which means that there are all sorts of things to find.  Don’t be put off by misinformed preconceptions – the best way to find out what’s on offer is to go and have a gander yourself.

But back to Christmas presents…

Second-hand books look lovely wrapped up in a big ribbon, and some copies are in such pristine condition that it’s difficult to believe they aren’t brand new.  What’s more the books are priced at a fraction of the price you would pay new.  Some charities have stores dedicated solely to books – Oxfam is one that springs to mind.  These bookshops are excellent places, beautifully organised with the books arranged by topic – almost like a condensed version of Waterstones or Blackwells.

It’s also worth raking around on the bric-a-brac shelves.  China tea cups, cake stands and other crockery are usually always lurking somewhere, and they also make wonderful presents.  For my birthday this year I was given a complete china tea set (now one of my most prized possessions), which I believe was found in a charity shop, and it is beautiful: the kind of thing that just can’t be bought for new anymore which to my mind makes it all the more special.  You can also pick up cheap plant pots and dainty little containers or cups for planting herbs and flowers in this section.  Some compost and a few packets of seeds won’t set you back much, and they really do make charming gifts.

For lovers of vintage clothes, jewellery and handbags, the charity shops are teeming with bounty.  Battered leather handbags, antique-style costume jewellery, fabulous dresses and shoes…the list is endless, and I could prattle on about it all day.  You sometimes might need to carry out a little restoration work on the things you find but generally speaking the shops don’t tend to sell items that are in poor condition, so polishing up a pair of shoes or sewing on a missing button is probably about the most you’ll ever have to do.  Get creative with the wrapping, and you’ll soon find yourself the bearer of a totally unique and personal gift.  Jewellery can be put into little hessian gift bags and shoes can be wrapped in tissue paper and presented in brightly-coloured gift boxes.

There are piles of other things to be found in charity shops.  Here’s a list of what I consider to be the best of the rest:

• Board games, jigsaw puzzles and toys – finding the perfect present for a child isn’t out of the question
• Pictures and tapestries – even if you dislike the design of a picture but fall in love with the frame, buy anyway and replace the print later on, or substitute for a photograph of your own
• Knitting and sewing patterns – these are sold cheaply, so you can buy several and gift alongside some wool or fabric
• Christmas cards and paper (if you choose to buy these at all – see earlier post).  The stuff is alaways reasonably priced, and often gorgeous

The last thing I have to say about charity shops is that they are just that: charity shops.  A fair whack of the money we spend in them really goes towards making a difference somewhere, somehow.  I feel passionately about them primarily because of this, and also given the fact that I am strongly averse to the idea of lining the pockets of the billionaire shareholders of our highstreet stores.

Shopping regularly in the charity shops is a great way to continue to make a difference – not just at Christmas – and for this reason alone it shouldn’t be shunned.  With the festive season in mind, however, there are still two weekends left before the 25th – plenty of time to get burrowing and see what treasure you uncover!

My favourite Edinburgh charity shops:

• Shelter, Morningside – always full of nice clothes and well-stocked on books
• Shelter, Newington – tiny, but rammed full of brilliant buys
• Barnardo’s Vintage, Grassmarket – vintage everything, say no more
• Oxfam, Morningside – general charity shop (with vintage section) and bookstore right next door

*I came home with a black mohair cardigan, two jumpers, three tops, a skirt, a belt and an amazing pair of earrings all for the princely sum of £30.  Photos to follow!