Thank you for sharing this- such a good reminder, on so many levels. We all need to examine & reconsider our consumption; what it does to clutter or homes, our consciousness & our planet… not to mention the toxic pollution it creates in manufacturing, transport & waste disposal. Ugh. It’s far too easy in modern life to distract ourselves from the unease & outright hardships facing our world, by looking at the shiny new things available to buy. You’ve given me the pause I needed for self reflection & reconsideration the next time I’m tempted to buy when not actually needed. Appreciate your candor & hope others will too.
I agree that it’s so easy to distract ourselves, though knowing what at I know now, that’s not necessarily our fault to a degree. Corporations make it so easy to buy and when we’re overworked and tired it makes sense we want to soothe our stress. I certainly have done that myself. I’m glad to hear this post has given you time to pause, and I hope that you give yourself the grace you need as well if you find you do need to make some changes.
I love that strategy! I think where I can also get stuck is when I receive gifts and don’t know what to do with them. I have tried to have conversations about gifting but I don’t want to seem unappreciative when I do receive a gift.
Those are some scary stats, but so in line with an environmentally-friendly chapter I'm teaching with my classes right now. 💟 So, thank you! It's been good to see the second-hand clothing 'industry' take off in Cambodia, as I love second-hand, and also for us to consume less!
This also feels very much in line with the new year, decluttering, and taking a honest look at what we want for the year ahead. And honestly is anything in chartreuse a wasted purchase? 🤣
I realized after publishing that post that it was very much in line with January, and I suppose a part of it is because I tend to clean a lot ahead of Lunar New Year. The pants sadly were way too wrinkly lol which is why I passed it onto a friend who looks fabulous in them!
Similar to you, I have been thinking about my consumption (hard not to reflect a little given the news broadly, and that 2024 was the hottest year on record). And your comment of 'wondering why I need more' really struck me as the key thing.
I am trying to buy less and mend when I can. I have a weird fixation in fixing socks haha!
That's a great dress you have on in the photo - you look lovely. Everyone needs a little black dress. So useful. So don't chuck that one out even if it is 15 years old!
PS - you are so right about the fashion industry. It's so hard these days to buy proper wool for knitting. It's all acrylic which doesn't last as long and is not so nice to touch. I try and buy natural fabrics for my clothes and it gets harder and harder and more and more expensive.
Unfortunately that dress no longer fits me (yay perimenopause!) so it's been donated to a loving home :)
And to your point about the quality, it is sad that it's not affordable if people want to get better materials or support companies that are doing some good. I of course don't have answers, nor judge people that can only afford fast fashion.
Thank you for sharing this- such a good reminder, on so many levels. We all need to examine & reconsider our consumption; what it does to clutter or homes, our consciousness & our planet… not to mention the toxic pollution it creates in manufacturing, transport & waste disposal. Ugh. It’s far too easy in modern life to distract ourselves from the unease & outright hardships facing our world, by looking at the shiny new things available to buy. You’ve given me the pause I needed for self reflection & reconsideration the next time I’m tempted to buy when not actually needed. Appreciate your candor & hope others will too.
I agree that it’s so easy to distract ourselves, though knowing what at I know now, that’s not necessarily our fault to a degree. Corporations make it so easy to buy and when we’re overworked and tired it makes sense we want to soothe our stress. I certainly have done that myself. I’m glad to hear this post has given you time to pause, and I hope that you give yourself the grace you need as well if you find you do need to make some changes.
I like the “one in, one out strategy.”
If I buy a new shirt, I need to get rid of an old one.
Or I know a guy who makes his kids get rid of a toy for every toy they get.
I think the constraints and forcing trade-offs, while not perfect, is a good way to craft a feeling of enough and create costs to adding more.
I love that strategy! I think where I can also get stuck is when I receive gifts and don’t know what to do with them. I have tried to have conversations about gifting but I don’t want to seem unappreciative when I do receive a gift.
Those are some scary stats, but so in line with an environmentally-friendly chapter I'm teaching with my classes right now. 💟 So, thank you! It's been good to see the second-hand clothing 'industry' take off in Cambodia, as I love second-hand, and also for us to consume less!
This also feels very much in line with the new year, decluttering, and taking a honest look at what we want for the year ahead. And honestly is anything in chartreuse a wasted purchase? 🤣
I realized after publishing that post that it was very much in line with January, and I suppose a part of it is because I tend to clean a lot ahead of Lunar New Year. The pants sadly were way too wrinkly lol which is why I passed it onto a friend who looks fabulous in them!
Even better. I recently gave a blouse to a friend because it was too wide at the neck. She loves it.
Similar to you, I have been thinking about my consumption (hard not to reflect a little given the news broadly, and that 2024 was the hottest year on record). And your comment of 'wondering why I need more' really struck me as the key thing.
I am trying to buy less and mend when I can. I have a weird fixation in fixing socks haha!
I used to love fixing socks too haha!
That's a great dress you have on in the photo - you look lovely. Everyone needs a little black dress. So useful. So don't chuck that one out even if it is 15 years old!
PS - you are so right about the fashion industry. It's so hard these days to buy proper wool for knitting. It's all acrylic which doesn't last as long and is not so nice to touch. I try and buy natural fabrics for my clothes and it gets harder and harder and more and more expensive.
Unfortunately that dress no longer fits me (yay perimenopause!) so it's been donated to a loving home :)
And to your point about the quality, it is sad that it's not affordable if people want to get better materials or support companies that are doing some good. I of course don't have answers, nor judge people that can only afford fast fashion.