Her Story of Stuff

‘The less possessions you have, the less things possess you.’

I read this in an unusual  place over the weekend and felt proud to find this in mainstream media.  A while back, after initiating with a few friends a BuildGreen Group for the Ohio Valley and after becoming involved in the Environmental Book Club at Oglebay Institute’s Schrader Environmental Center I was directed to watch Annie Leonard’s  The Story of Stuff.

Cute animated cartoons describe how much energy waste, pollution and trash it takes to make, ship, distribute, and sell common products you and I buy every day.

The marketing industry for selling things (anything!)  is psychologically in tune with how to consume people with shopping.

Keep your trash and recycles in grouped piles for two weeks to know what you use. Plastics with plastics, paper with paper, etc. While my recycling bin fills up in a few days, I maybe take one waste can full of trash a week.  You may find inspiration in this exercise to control your purchasing habits (meaning less money spent) and condense your trash at the same time.

      

Since traveling in college and my experience at only having a few changes of clothes that would last three and a half months I have often wondered to what extent could I live with less and less stuff.  I am critical at what comes into my home, because I know at a future date I will have to deal with it en masse, along side every other days accumulations.

 Have you seen The Colbert Report? Stephen Colbert, a comedian who believes that Central Park should have a stream in the shape of his last name inital, who loves being an American, who loves the different flavors we can spray on a corn chip, is hilarious. I stream his show and watch it off of my computer.  A few weeks ago he hosted Annie Leonard.  Sample his sarcasm and watch it here: Annie Leonard on Colbert

Oh, and one more thing.  I found this today and like the sounds of it!  100 Thing Challenge