#landfillcore...so depressing 😞

[Badvocthebad]

I've been irl shopping recently and, of course, ads all over SM...
The absolute tat being sold in all shops with an "autmnal theme"!
Pumpkin cushions, pumpkin mugs, highland cows (?) on everything from socks to pjs to blankets...
Its all mass produced, plastic crap, probably made by children in sweatshops. (Polyester is plastic for those who aren't aware)
The world is burning. Literally. The over consumption is killing us all slowly (some of us not so slowly..)
I'm not against buying things you need (although how much of what what we buy do we really need?) <just spent a year clearing out 2 relatives houses....trust me, you don't need 2/3 of what's in your home>
Just this week I've bought vintage 100% linen napkins and some dinner plates from vinted. All as new, but used. (I don't use plastic or paper napkins)
Cost me about £25.
Plastic tat is killing this planet, plastic grass is killing the pollinators (they die, we all die...)
It's just so...depressing. It's why I don't really do irl shopping anymore. Even clothes are all polyester/viscose/acrylic messes.
I'm currently in the process of de cluttering my house/loft. I don't want my kids to have to go through what I have over the past few years (this is the 3rd house I've had to clear in a decade)
By 2032, there will be the largest weather transfer in history.
The boomers are dying out and there houses and garages and sheds and lofts and cellars which are full of stuff which will be saturating the market.
It's a sunny Sunday morning here and- yet again - I'm going to be doing a tip run to give things to the re-home section.
I know some will say "well, its free will"
But..is it? Really? When we are now bombarded with ads and insta worthy houses and influencers flogging the latest highland cow merch from b&m?
Aren't we all just being played?
Sorry, bit of a rant for a Sunday morning 😬😕

I really don't think I "attacked" that thread?
I simply expressed my irritation.
Because it does irritate me.
That isn't an "attack" on anyone/anything.

Why do you have a problem with it? In what way does it bother you?

Why are you 'irritated', though? The thread is about people getting each other nice presents for a particular occasion, one which is traditionally centered around gift giving. It really has nothing to do with what you're talking about (which I broadly agree with)

But it isn't.
Maybe thats how it started, but it ends in posters buying things they don't need (and maybe even can't afford) just because its a "bargain".
Over the years I've also thought a few times that shop owners/sellers post on that thread to move stock!
Even mn now post black friday "deals".
Why? Amazon don't need anymore of our money. I find it all deeply depressing.
You are allowed to disagree with me without accusing me of attacking anyone 🤷‍♀️

We're not going to agree on this. I think that there is a difference between buying endless junk and having a good eye for a genuine bargain, you clearly don't.

If it helps I use the same Halloween decorations every single year, same for Christmas and Easter. Sometimes I buy a few new ones to add to the pile but I don’t chuck anything away.

@JeanSimmons
I think you are right.
I'm not sure how many genuine bargains there are on that thread, but there must be a few.
I've just seen an fb post from a local ish charity shop - so many really nice quality items. There's a hot plate I've got my eye on for christmas lunch 😋
£5!

This was totally normal until a few years ago.
Buying new christmas/easter/valentines/halloween decor just was not a thing.
These are items we are being told we need/should buy. It's mad when you think about it 🤷‍♀️

Seasonal bathroom decor swaps are expected now? 😏
Nope, not doing that.

(Auto-correct changed "expected" to "expensive" which is also accurate).

Thank you for the candle glass cleaning tips @Iheartmysmart and @Badvocthebad.

I will have some lovely "new" holders for my stationery soon 🌞

Lovely!
I use them for that, too 😄
I also use them for keeping my earrings in, lip glosses etc

@Badvocthebad It amuses me that "boomers" are so vilified and basically accused of all the evils of mankind. Yet I don't know a single one that slavishly follows Instagram or would so much as dream of decorating their bathroom with a Halloween theme. I think it must be the 30 to 40'ish age group that are buying this tat and buying into all the social media bullshit. Can you only imagine what they'll be saying about that lot in years to come? Boomer will probably look like a compliment.

I'm not sure age range wise.
Some Boomers just have lots of stuff and don't get rid of any of it (which causes problems of its own)
My gen z dc seem very aware climate change wise and are generally very keen on sustainability.
I'd say people I know personally act like this are my age (gen x) or quite young.

As I said in my op, by 2032 the charity shops/auction houses will be inundated with stuff.

This is very wrong but that thought gives me a frisson of excitement 😱when the boomer stuff hits the charity shops... good times

Some people of ‘boomer’ age are the worst for buying Shein/Temu crap - there are often threads about grandparents bombarding the kids with stuff and the parents would prefer one decent thing instead. I think our culture encourages shopping and ‘stuff’ whatever age you are.

Maybe there are different trends by age. With young people it can be more motivated by image and social media and older people it's more about perceived value for money.

Yes it's true boomers usually have lots of stuff because it's a lifetime's accumulation, and very often they still own some of their parents' possessions. But I don't know any (certainly not my age, which is 70) that follow influencers and decorate their bathrooms/kitchens every year with Christmas or Halloween themes. I'd personally never heard of it! I don't know any of them that would rush out to buy plastic pumpkin shaped things just because it was autumn either.

@AmethystDeceiver
I sort of know what you mean!
There will be a LOT of good quality furniture and silverware etc
I have a friend who picks up solid pine victorian/edwardian furniture and paints it (not something I would do tbh) but she then sells it for £££...
She has her own shop now.
It's amazing what you can pick up for £20 at auction

Yes I think you're right

Yeah...my mum knows someone like this. Problem is, she's always getting stuff for mum 🙄
Mum says thank you then gives it to me or my sister for the charity shop!

With gifts I think some take the idea that it's better to give than to receive too far. It's all about how giving a larger present or pile of presents or bag of presents feels for them rather than what would please the recipient. The recipient's perspective is an afterthought if thought about at all.

So what’s your skin care routine?
And where are people finding cotton clothes?

Yes, definitely

I follow my cousins advice wrt skincare:
Cleanser (I use a balm type one)
High spf
Any moisturiser on offer (currently using la roche posay)
That's it.
I wear a lot of linen clothes in the spring/summer. Most of which I bought from vinted/ebay. In autumn/winter I wear a lot of denim (which is a type of woven cotton), suede, leather and wool.
I prefer natural fibres where at all possible.

I agree; my ILs are in this category. Obsessed with buying stuff they don’t need, and buying gifts from Shein and Temu for their grandchildren. When the children were little (6 GCs in total), the ILs lounge was absolutely heaving with parcels at Xmas. Each child had a giant stocking, straining at the seams, and then another pile of 10 or so gifts around the tree, many of them large and made of plastic. They must have spent thousands. It was genuinely obscene and used to make me really anxious and angry (which I obviously didn’t show, but it was painful). In contrast, my parents used to give books and fabric puppets and homemade dressing-up costumes and all sorts of lovely things but usually something with minimal environment impact. Much fewer gifts from them too, but gifts you could actually enjoy with the child and engage with them over.

I guess many Boomers just don’t get it, plus that generation isn’t going to be around for much longer so perhaps they don’t really give a fuck about the environment because they won’t be here to see the worst of it. I mean, you’d think they’d be concerned for their grandchildren but maybe not! 😕