October is ‘Buy Nothing New Month’ – Join us in tackling Affluenza!
30 Sep
OK, so at The World by Us, we can’t say we’ve got the worst case of Affluenza…We’ve written about how much we love getting rid of things and the joys of turning trash into treasure. But we can certainly admit to craving the excitement that accompanies shiny new things. And while we believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with treating ourselves every now and then, we’ll also admit that whenever we over-indulge our appetite for new stuff, it is indeed followed by a sluggish, unfulfilled feeling that leaves us wondering why all our shiny new things didn’t make us happy. In fact, studies show that past a certain point, increases in income and an ability to buy bigger, better, shinier things actually leads to a decrease in happiness & satisfaction. Perhaps just knowing the bigger, better, shinier things are readily available robs them of some value… and us of our ability to fully appreciate the smaller, simpler, less shiny pleasures in life.
In an attempt to rid us all of this Affluenza, the organisers of Buy Nothing New Month have challenged us to think twice about ‘what we really need, where the stuff we buy comes from (finite resources), where it goes (landfill), and what our alternatives are.’ By pledging to buy nothing new in October (with the exception of the essentials like food, drink, medicine & hygeine products) we’ll commit to begging/borrowing/bartering/buying only pre-loved items. And the organisers of Buy Nothing New Month have given us some handy tips & ideas to help us avoid all things new.
We’re going to give it a try. Do you think you’re up for it?
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