Six tonnes of clothes are thrown out every ten minutes?
so what can we do to change that and a range of other stupid, wasteful ways?
Check out Craig Reucassel’s ABC War On Waste for insights and solutions.
Craig’s War on Waste
SEW BE IT
One of the best things we ever bought, was a Sewing machine.
We can hear you now ‘but I cant sew’.
One word.
Learn.
Oversized or undersized clothing from the op-shop can be easily taken out or taken in. (hello, GOOGLE, youtube for a lifetime of ‘how to’ videos’)
Collars from the 70s can be altered or even removed for updated chic.
If you’re not that adventurous gather an armload of out-dated clothes to your local seamstress and work through options together to taken them in/out, up/down to refresh the look, saving you time, money and your kit from wardrobe oblivion.
One-in One-Out Challenge 2017
Each time you bring something non-essential into your home, donate one thing to charity in order to make ‘room’ for the new thing.
This will help with our guiding question “do I really need it?”
Am I prepared to get rid of something to have this ‘new thing’?
Or try the 50 things in 5 days challenge.
Over the next five days, collect 10 things each day that are neither useful nor joyful (of course, we’ve got loads of stuff that doesn’t bring that Marie Kondo ‘joy’, but we still need the bloody thing…right?) Then bravely take them all to the opshop.
Done.
Stuff. It is just stuff.
And. we. Are. Not. Our. Stuff.
Don’t call me a consumer!
At BNNM headquarters, one of our biggest beefs (while thriving on a mostly plant-based diet…but that’s a whole other campaign…) is being called, ‘a consumer’.
We don’t know about you, but we like to think of ourselves as friends, colleagues, neighbours, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, lovers, thinkers, makers, sharers, doers, change makers etc.
Next time someone refers to you as a consumer, prove them wrong, but not buying whatever they’re trying to sell you.
Proof: buying more stuff makes us miserable…
We’ve read HEAPS and condensed what the experts say.
Here goes:
Friends, family and positive experiences make us happy.
Not stuff.
That’s it.
Here’s more:
“If we become less materialistic, our well-being improves. If our well-being improves, we tend to be less materialistic.”
time.com/22257/heres-proof-buying-more-stuff-actually-makes-you-miserable/
Rise of Less – The Capsule Wardrobe
From Zen influence to sound minimalism, more people are discovering less is more.
Declutter your stuff and create space for a whole new world and mindset.
Get into the capsule wardrobe and see how you’ll save time, resources, mental energy. Success stories from former President Barack Obama’s to Mark Zuckerberg’s and Steve Job’s limited fashion options are based on the idea.
“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” Former President Barack Obama
becomingminimalist.com/wear-one/
New to you. The second hand solution:
From op-shops to designer consignment, eBay, vintage stores, garage sales, swap parties or suitcase rummages, everything we need is available second hand.
Done right, second hand is the smart default of stylish fashionistas.
Email four mates now.
Set a date, buy a bottle of bubbles (it’s Buy Nothing New Month, not FebFast after all…)
and get together.
Everyone brings 5 things from their home or wardrobe they no longer want/need.
SWAP EM!
See. Easy.
Not new, but new to you.
How to Buy Nothing New:
buynothingnew.com.au/how/
Just ask: Do I really need it?
“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us everyday.” – Sally Koch
Vote with your money to welcome in a new world that respects and preserves our resources.
Just ask: Do I really need it? Mostly, we find, the answer is…no.
‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito!’ – African Proverb
BUY ME ONCE, loving things that last
Buying cheap stuff can end up costing more in the long run. Wherever possible, buy the best quality you can, and use it forever. Like a fine wine, good quality can improve with age.
“In 2015 the collective Australian credit card debt was $51 billion. Analysts predict the current generation of teenagers won’t even try to pay it off. We are shopping addicts, buying a lot of rubbish on impulse to wear once, spending beyond our means for no good reason.”
We love this idea of BUY ME ONCE shopping
Who are THE NEW JONESES?
As a Buy Nothing New Month challenger, you’re THE NEW JONESES
You know the phrase ‘keeping up with the joneses’? it’s a stupid, outdated lifestyle of ‘keeping up’ with the neighbours. Like when the new iPhone comes out. And you feel the need to upgrade your perfectly good, existing iPhone…
THE NEW JONESES show us a better way to live, using the power we all have in our pockets to recreate a world that looks and feels like home. A beautiful joint where we look out for our people and our planet. Sounds pretty rad eh? Get onboard and find out easy everyday lifestyle choices we can make (like our energy company, our choice of dunny paper, eliminating plastics, refusing to waste food) for the health and wellbeing of us, our people and planet.
