Comments on: Consume Less http://greenguysglobal.com/blog/consume-less Men from all over the world sharing their views, ideas and experiences on living a more sustainable life Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:52:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Anna-Lisa http://greenguysglobal.com/blog/consume-less/comment-page-1#comment-58 Anna-Lisa Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:34:35 +0000 http://greenguysglobal.com/blog/consume-less#comment-58 Charles, thanks for sharing the story of stuff - the short film with Annie Leonard is fantastic. I agree we should encourage lots of people to watch this film as it makes some fantastic points, in fact I have already sent the website link to my friends and family and have encouraged them to forward it to people too. With regards to my own experience and views on stuff, I have made some pints below: 1.0 My personal consumption of stuff: My fiancé and I for a long time have been thinking about what’s the point of buying 'stuff'. With the exception of food (as it’s a basic human need), we always ask ourselves "do we really need this item? Will it help with our basic needs? Will it serve multiple purposes? How long will it last? Can we fix it if it breaks?" So as you can imagine we really buy anything these days, as there are very few things that we actually need. However I must admit that my weakness has always been buying books (fiction and non fiction), but now before buying a book I borrow it from the library first and then if I think that I need to have my own copy (to refer to regularly) then I find a second hand version. 2.0 Stuff and Christmas: Christmas is a time of year that far too much 'stuff' is purchased and a lot of unwanted items end up being thrown away. Thus this year I am making items for my family that will be useful and even fulfil basic human needs (knitting hats and scarves to keep them all warm). I have told people not to buy me presents (in general not just for Christmas) as I don’t really need anything. However I did want extra loft insulation (to get my house even more energy efficient) so my mum paid for that as my Christmas present. 3.0 Time the best gift of all I truthfully think that time is the best present of all – for me no ‘stuff’ can ever replace the feeling of euphoria that I get from spending quality time with my fiancé, family, friends or even the feeling that I get from being in nature and being creative (whether cooking / knitting / painting / writing etc) I think that we should encourage people to stop fulfilling their emotional needs though the purchase of ‘stuff’ and instead get them to fulfill their needs though connecting to people and nature. This way we will have a much happier and greener planet! Charles, thanks for sharing the story of stuff – the short film with Annie Leonard is fantastic.

I agree we should encourage lots of people to watch this film as it makes some fantastic points, in fact I have already sent the website link to my friends and family and have encouraged them to forward it to people too.

With regards to my own experience and views on stuff, I have made some pints below:

1.0 My personal consumption of stuff:

My fiancé and I for a long time have been thinking about what’s the point of buying ‘stuff’. With the exception of food (as it’s a basic human need), we always ask ourselves “do we really need this item? Will it help with our basic needs? Will it serve multiple purposes? How long will it last? Can we fix it if it breaks?”

So as you can imagine we really buy anything these days, as there are very few things that we actually need. However I must admit that my weakness has always been buying books (fiction and non fiction), but now before buying a book I borrow it from the library first and then if I think that I need to have my own copy (to refer to regularly) then I find a second hand version.

2.0 Stuff and Christmas:

Christmas is a time of year that far too much ‘stuff’ is purchased and a lot of unwanted items end up being thrown away. Thus this year I am making items for my family that will be useful and even fulfil basic human needs (knitting hats and scarves to keep them all warm).

I have told people not to buy me presents (in general not just for Christmas) as I don’t really need anything. However I did want extra loft insulation (to get my house even more energy efficient) so my mum paid for that as my Christmas present.

3.0 Time the best gift of all

I truthfully think that time is the best present of all – for me no ‘stuff’ can ever replace the feeling of euphoria that I get from spending quality time with my fiancé, family, friends or even the feeling that I get from being in nature and being creative (whether cooking / knitting / painting / writing etc)

I think that we should encourage people to stop fulfilling their emotional needs though the purchase of ‘stuff’ and instead get them to fulfill their needs though connecting to people and nature. This way we will have a much happier and greener planet!

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