To think that buying "stuff" is getting out of hand?

[LunaLoveg00d]

Let me preface by saying I am not a lentil knitting vegan eco-warrior. I buy stuff, I drive, I fly abroad on holiday and we don't grow our own food.

However. Since I have had my first child - only 13 years ago - the culture of buying "stuff" seems to have boomed and I don't think it's positive. Supermarkets and other shops are full of (mainly plastic) tat which people are encouraged to buy for every festival imaginable - Valentine's, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, New Year, Christmas, Halloween - the list is endless.

You can't just have a pumpkin lantern for Halloween any more - you have to have fairy lights, cupcake cases, scary decorations, glow in the dark skeletons, adult AND child costumes, bunting, paper chains, etc etc etc. And nearly everything sold is poor quality or designed to be used once or twice and thrown away.

Clothing is the same - chains like the supermarkets, Primark, New Look or H&M are all about churning out clothes as cheaply as possible, designed to be worn for a few weeks or months and then chucked.

It's just all so wasteful and crazy. We are filling up landfills at a rate of knots with all of our plastic crap and disposable clothing and teaching our kids that celebrating festivals and special days isn't about being nice to each other or spending time making or finding a special gift, it's about buying as much "stuff" as you can as cheaply as you can and then chucking it out when you're finished.

All a bit depressing really.

There's a new government initiative in Sweden which rewards the public for mending/fixing items rather than throwing them away. Skilled workers are training people, so jobs are being created. They're investing in people and making things last.

It seems to me to be the way forward, but our government doesn't seem to do things that way 😕

I stopped doing Christmas years ago cos I was sick of the compulsion to buy junk for other people. Not having kids makes it easier. I wear my clothes till they fall apart too. What gets me is the crap quality. I'd like a new winter coat and I want wool. No chance.

Companies want built in obsolescence as they make more money that way. Cars used to be repairable by women and men with a bit of knowledge. Now the whole engine tends to be one part or covered up so you cannot get into it. It is the same with all kinds of products. They make parts as one big item rather than small ones so you have to replace the whole not the small. However some items still do last. I replaced by bed head after 30 years recently. Our second fridge freezer is over 30 years old now and still going strong.

Some things are going better too. I still buy 2 paper newspapers a day but that is getting rarer (so less paper wasted these days with information on line in stead).

Our main towels were bought in 1997 and still going strong. I replaced my bed sheets last year (when we had the house repainted inside and out and cleared out every single room whcih was very good discipline) and they had been bought around when we moved here in 97 too - so that was a good long time.

I agree with you OP. Have been thinking about this too. Mind you, not sure what some of you are doing to your clothes. Some of my things are 20 years old (a dress from New Look springs to mind, so hardly 'high end') and still looks fine. Wonder if it qualifies as 'retro' yet... 😳

Yes recycling is definitely better than it was in my youth when recycled paper was unheard of any everything went to landfill. It varies around the country but here we recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic bottles, food scraps and tins. It does make a lot of difference to how much is being taken to landfill each week. There are also fewer aerosols and you can easily find recycled or eco products in the shops - DH was particularly taken with the underlay for our new carpet which was made from recycled tyres.

But with the rise of recycling, the rise in "stuff" has happened at the same time and cancels out the positives of sorting rubbish.

I don't want to throw DD any birthday parties anymore because (and I think it is a lovely thought) people buy presents and she doesn't need them.
This year she got so many she couldn't possibly play with them all. So after the favourites were picked out, I've boxed the rest to give to a children's charity this Christmas.
I am with you, my children certainly don't want for something. I however refuse to buy into the tacky holiday stuff! I have decorations for my tree that my sisters and I had on our tree at home - and we are in our 30's and 40's now.
It's electronics that freak me out most, and DH (as an IT Manager) is fully hooked on the latest thing....Not that I can blame him, as my problem is make-up and scented candles. I need to stop buying them

I agree OP. There's just too much 'stuff', most of which barely works long enough to get out of warranty.

DH and I are not big consumers fortunately. DH has a phone that is about 10 or 11 years old now (still working), and wears clothes until they are almost rags (I do a good line in replacing buttons, patching torn linings, etc).

I also wear clothes until they have holes in that I can't fix. I do confess to a very new phone - but as mentioned above the old ones actually died on me - planned obsolescence in action. I have also saved all DDs clothes and toys for use with baby 2 (purposefully buying unisex), with a long term view to selling them at a car boot eventually.

But still the tide of crap continues. The GP were very upset by our rule last year of one present for DD each. And my dad loves a 'bargain' - which he keeps trying to give to me. I actually had to tell him last week to stop trying to replace my perfectly good stuff!

Not all primark stuff is tat. I've got a few tops that I wear regularly for work and I've had them for years.

This thread has come at the perfect time. DS is about to have a birthday, Halloween, Christmas etc...it all snowballs into a mad buying spree on utter shite!

We live on a budget so are fairly good but can definitely do better. I've been inspired to really cut down on presents for DS this year (he's only getting one birthday present already, I've never done that before!) and I'm getting things for others that are experiences (tickets for a comedy show and cinema vouchers) or can be used up (food and smellies). It's scary how quickly the plastic tat mounts up and our house is drowning in Lego and Playmobil...it's great quality but DS definitely doesn't need this much of it, especially as he'll be getting more from relatives for birthday and Christmas!

I'm working on MIL - she wants huge piles of presents for everyone at Christmas, even if it's stuff that will never be used and is destined for the bin. I fear I'm fighting a losing battle but last year I did manage to convince her to just buy me a printer that I needed! However, DS got FIVE remote control cars?! And no batteries for any of them! There's still some he's never played with, might re-wrap them for this year

Now our kids are turning 8, it's become a thing for parents of their friends to give a book token or similar voucher in a card, or a favourite character item of clothing, rather than yet more small boxes of Lego. And parties tend to be a trip with a few friends rather than whole -class jobs. With no party bags!

I have some clothes from my teens that have lasted, more that have only frayed recently, but it's clothes for looking smart for work or for an event that really don't last well. I've turned into my mum, tutting at lack of proper hems and collars!

It's taken me years to learn not to bother buying cheap jewellery, socks or shoes, and now just have to remind DP never to let the kids do the "get a prize" things at a funfair as someone always ends up in tears when they don't like their tat.

Thing is, local transport is so disproportionate an amount of cost that it would cost more to deliver a crockery set to a charity shop than it would earn the charity, and for a similar combined cost that someone could buy new, lighter, stacking better and without a hideous 70s design. I try to pass items on to good homes but id be better putting more into landfill now I've just about mastered not buying more tat - it's just as wasteful clogging up my home as a hole in the ground.

The existence of pound shops does make me feel oil prices are not yet too high...

My ILs bring huge amounts of stuff for everyone each year, but it all comes from charity shops and car boots, and will mostly go straight back to another charity shop in a different area, so we try to see it merely as charitable donations on their part. And they are actually starting to get rid of some junk, asking me what I would do with X once they die (almost invariably, give X to charity shop). But they are never going to get their heads round not saving string or pens - none of which they can find when they need them... At least thanks to Marie Kondo I can find what is important in my house, despite all the building materials everywhere.

V

This really resonates Op, I've been really trying to cut back on the crop over the last few years
Clothes wise I had a massive declutter and went the capsule route, I now have a small wardrobe of clothes and it's so much easier. I have a kind of uniform of jeans, blue or grey tops and green or grey coats and jackets plus a leather cross body bag. Sometimes I get a bit bored but I mostly like all my outfits and it's so much easier to hone in on what I want in ebay and charity shops
Having my daughter 8 months ago caused a bit of a blip and I bought her too many clothes for a while but I've now figured out what gets worn and what are the best colours to make sure everything mixes and matches. Toys wise her favourites at the moment are a slotted spoon and a tin of coasters
I'm going to be moving to a bigger house in the next couple of weeks so it'll be a challenge to make sure I don't start throwing money at it but having more space means space for a sewing machine which should help with the thrift efforts

A £30 jumper doesn't actually last 5 years though? I like to buy clothes that fall into the £15-£50 range and I don't get more than a years wear out of most of it. To get something that lasted me 5 years of have to do some pretty serious spending.

I bought a Harry Potter jumper for my DS. He only has 4 jumpers so it gets quite a lot of wear, and is still going strong and looks good three years later. (It's not really obviously branded as HP so it's easy to wear without people thinking you are in costume.) It cost £75, and it's pure wool, so it can be felted into a hot water bottle cover, or even composted when it does finally fall apart.

I think it was £75 well-spent, though it was very painful on the purse at the time.

An excellent thread OP

My parents didn't have much money when I was a child so every single penny counted. My clothes were made at a local dressmakers, and mum insisted they had 'growing room' put into them, so that they could be let out, and hems let down as i grew. As a result, my clothes lasted at least a couple of years.
We didn't have a TV until I was about 9, and even then it was a tiny B&W which was only allowed on for 2 hours a day. Manufacturers hadn't really cottoned on to the 'pester power' of children then, so I remember ads being about toothpaste and Daz washing powder, and not all the latest items of nothing that will make our lives worth living!
Alas, through constant and aggressive advertising media, manufacturers have convinced many of us that we 'must have' the latest kitchen/car/outfit/toy etc, else our lives won't keep up with the proverbial Jones' (apologies to anyone called Jones).

I was taught to knit and sew from the age of four onwards, and by my teens was making my own clothes and creating soft furnishings. When i got my own place I had no money for brand new furniture, so visited junk shops and bought cheap - but very well made - old furniture that I restored. I did this some 30+ years ago but still have that furniture today. I love it and have no intention of replacing it - so in all probability it will out live me, and I am content for that.

The house that my partner and I moved into last year had been neglected for some years. We are slowly restoring it ourselves.
This weekend we started on the kitchen which had a couple of worn out cupboards. So instead of replacing all the kitchen units we've just replaced those 2, have colour washed and polished the doors and we love it. For the rest of the kitchen we've found 2 fab pieces of second-hand furniture which are in line for some TLC, and will give love and warmth to the room as well as being functional for our needs.

We nipped out for a ride yesterday afternoon and found some fabulous silk curtains in a charity shop. Both curtains are big enough for me to make a Roman blind for each window in the kitchen....... so 2 blinds for £5.99 and a bit of my time!

I could go on but basically we don't care about fashion or what others think, as we are happy in our lifestyle.

We are warm, safe, fed and sheltered in our home, and that is all we wish for, because we are damn lucky to have that. And if anyone thinks that I sound smug, I'm not. I just appreciate what I have.

What chipmunk said up thread has really resonated with me. Why have these skills that were often passed onto us from our parents almost died out? I can only think that we were convinced it was easier, quicker, better to throw away and buy new.

I run art workshops and often use recyclable items in the art. Maybe I should set up more to accommodate these basic skills that are sadly becoming lost skills..... and yes, just like MrsDeVere I do sew up the holes in my socks.

To get something that lasted me 5 years of have to do some pretty serious spending. - are you all fashion models or something? I am wearing a perfectly OK top today that I must have had for more than 10 years - obviously not a 'fashion' piece but absolutely OK to wear.

Rag - I was thinking that. I have various costing clothing but most have lasted well regardless of cost
Today I have a merino wool dress -£45 tkmax - 8 years old, some tights £8 - about 5 years old, a cardigan I found in charity shop at 13/14 years old, and a wool coat £300! ( that's is new this year but have other coats that's are 18-5 years old and all fine still and in the range of £30-300 so diffenet costs)

I very rarely find any clothes actually fall apart, the only things I replace because of worn through or misshapen are socks, tights and bras usually

I quite agree. We say that all of this crap is due to the China effect who make all of this total trash. Remember how we would have a few toys which were so special to us. Nowadays the children have no value for anything and all of it has a shelf life of a few 'hours' sometimes. My girls are at the age where they want to go out shopping with their friends and I'm constantly telling them not to buy it. My girls are not spoilt and I know that some of these shops can be magical at their age but I hate them. Jewellery for example lasts no time and some of it brings them out in rashes- God only knows what it's made of. I hate this bric a brac and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks like this. It's the pile it high and sell it actually expensive now. Best rule is - stop buying it!!

It's not necessarily about being a fashion model but if you work in a corporate environment for example you are expected to look a certain way. I would have my hair cut and highlighted before I'd eat if I had to choose because my job depends on me presenting an image of being paid a damn sight more than I am tbh, which is rubbish but the way the world has gone

I agree with what you are saying op. Whilst I do buy from primark etc I am trying to limit how much I buy. If I see something I like online or in shops I don't buy it there and then. I leave it and if I'm still thinking about it a few days later and think I actually need it then I'll buy it but 9 times out of 10 I don't.

YANBU, it's scary
All you can do is keep your side of the street clean by not buying tat, and by talking to young people, explaining that it's impossible to throw something away, there is no "away"it's all landfill

I don't understand the thing about a £30 jumper not lasting
I've paid way less and stuff lasts years. I don't have a big wardrobe either so it's all being washed and worn a lot.

Gillybranz, op is not worried about her behaviour. It's the avalanching of plastic tat and clothes that end up in landfill