Capitalism demands that we have a consumer society, buy, buy and buy. Any old crap, the latest fashion, an update as they convince you that what you have is out of date, obsolete. A big and better car, move to bigger house and then fill it with more crap. Consumerism is the life blood of the capitalist parasite class. We eventually find we have loads of stuff, and a lot of it we never use. As long as we buy, we are feeding the capitalist system that enslaves us, helping it to survive and grow. Let's pull the plug on consumerism and see to everybody's needs through mutual aid. On this subject as usual a few words of wisdom from my friend and comrade at Not Buying Anything.
Imagine a life with fewer possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for clutter or excess
In a simple living plan
Imagine all the people
Enjoying just what they need.
- my little ditty, with apologies to John Lennon
Imagining what we should do with our possessions is a question we all need to come to terms with, preferably before death so we don't leave finding the answers to others.
Stuff, I have found, is annoyingly persistent. Once acquired, it is difficult to get rid of.
In recent years even second hand stores have become very selective about what kind of stuff they are willing to take. That's right - you may find you have trouble giving away your unwanted stuff.
And what is stuff that no one wants? Generally we call that "garbage", and you may have to pay a fee to landfill it. We pay to acquire stuff, pay again to maintain and store it, and finally pay one final time when we want to part with it.
I have concluded that the thing to do with stuff, unless it is doing important work in your life, is get rid of it as soon as possible, and eliminate the draw on precious life energy. That is why one of my summer projects was filling my big black backpack and biking unwanted possessions out of the house to wherever will take them.
Returnable beverage containers went to the eco-centre. There I learned that the 125 flattened 1 litre juice tetra boxes in my pack would get shipped all the way to Asia for processing. That seems dumb.
This led Linda and I to question whether we need fruit juice in tetra packs, or if we need juice in our diet at all. Now we have eliminated it from our pantry, to be replaced by actual fruit.
Unwanted clothes were also stuffed into The Big Black Pack of Liberation to be whisked away right our of our closet and our lives. Those I biked down to a drop box in the grocery store parking lot. The clothes collected there are resold to benefit a local charity.
Next I cycled 3 coats to a neighbour that volunteered to make sure they were distributed to people that could use them. I also cleaned out our home and garage and came up with 5 bags of recyclables. Those went to the curb and were picked up on the appropriate day.
A lot of people can't get stuff into their houses fast enough. They even move to bigger houses to have more room for more stuff. I can't get rid of it fast enough, and it always feels awesome to be rid of it.
It is a work in progress, and we continue to unload the dead weight that holds us back. There always seems to be more, as if it spontaneously appears and hides until you notice it. This is living better with less in action, and it feels like the right thing to do. The quantity of our possessions are only beneficial to a point, beyond which they are only annoying anchors that hold us back.
I am always imagining fewer possessions. It is easy if you try.
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