To suggest that people should buy less stuff

[Noras]

i just think that the mess we are in is because we get stuff from overseas that we don’t really need. People buy a lot of tat and junk eg cheap clothing, rubbish confectionary and artificial tat for homes. If we all just cut down on huge chunks of it we could cut out our balance of payment deficit.

Also people need to buy less from overseas owned companies. People need to check each and every company they buy from and go for smaller independents etc There needs to be an online list of stores to avoid.

Which wouldn't be an issue if she gave it to charity and passed on. I weep at what goes to tips

There will,because people who buy second hand also sell;donate stuff when they finish with it.

@SoftPillow I love your post.

I agree and am guilty of this. I’ve started trying to be more mindful of what’s coming into the house if anything.

Dh buys from Amazon 3 times a week -tools ,widgets etc -he’s a hoarder and online availability made that ten times worse

Yep. All of my furniture is brown wood, and much of it second hand. I would far rather buy a well made piece of old furniture than pay more for rubbish. If I need to replace an item of furniture I go straight to a second hand shop. My fridge and my TV are both second hand (from relatives who no longer needed them).

As for all the new kitchens and bathrooms, I despair. People are just so wasteful these days. I'm no saint myself, but I'm trying to do better, however many others simply don't care.

Brown wood furniture is having a moment so those of us with lots of second hand furniture are suddenly going to be very trendy again.

Hooray!

I am pleased to hear that my brown furniture is on trend. Some of it is nearly 70 years old, it is far better quality than flimsy stuff from IKEA and similar.

Even if you are not a fan of the dark wood look, paint is a thing. Even the ugliest wardrobe or shelving unit can look so much better with a coat of Rustoleum. We have a welsh dresser type unit in the house, it wasn't new when we got it (think I paid £75 on Gumtree) and we left it as plain pine for about 8 years, then painted it last year and it looks very nice IMHO. £20 for the paint and a couple of hours work.

About 3/4 of the furniture in my flat, not including appliances, is from the local BHF furniture shop & other nearby charity shops. I found an old record player cabinet that was absolutely perfect for keeping gym stuff in the top & crochet stuff in the bottom.

At the moment whenever I need an extra bookcase I wait until the right one appears locally. It means that not everything matches, they’re mostly in varying shades of brown, but all the pieces blend well together, & it’s a lot more interesting than getting everything from one place.

Yes, nothing matches in my flat either, and that's how I like it.

I am not a fan of matchy matchy. I want to live in a home, not the Next catalogue.

We have made a conscious decision to not buy cheap, unnecessary plastic crap. Usually made in China. We are in our 70s, and not looking to increase the stuff we have, in fact, trying to slowly clear out. No holiday souvenirs, cheap lights, or other decorative bits. Still got a houseful of crap, but hopefully over the next few years it will reduce.

Trouble with "old" brown wood furniture is that it often needs repairs/maintenance, i.e. to deal with out of alignment cupboards, or sticking/loose drawers etc., and it's hard to find someone to do that kind of work.

I often look in charity furniture shops at lovely old wardrobes, sideboards, etc., but there's always something wrong with them which is a big disappointment when I have to walk away again.

It's the same in lots of UK holiday cottages where they're furnished with "period" furniture - wardrobe doors that won't close, stuck drawers that are ridiculously hard to open, heavy drawers that are hard to move (even when empty) etc.

It's OK if you've got a "handyman" in the house who knows what they're doing and has some decent tools if minor tweaks are needed, but proper carpenters who can do real repairs are notoriously hard to find and aren't really interested in small jobs like that.

Theres enough of it around to avoid this sort of issue though if you really can't do the job yourself (often a sticking drawer literally just need s bit of candle wax rubbed along the runners).

My house is almost all furnished with second hand dark wood furniture. It looks far more interesting (IMO) and doesn't date like newer furniture since its already vintage.

Absolutely, I come across absolutely loads of it that is in perfect condition. As for them being heavy, that’s a testament to the quality of the wood they are made from, built to last.

Whilst I do try and follow the buy less, buy better mantra this thread has rapidly descended into a competition! Anyone you hoped to covert OP hasn’t got this far because of it.

Like what? Genuine question, as I can't bring to mind any tat that any of my family buy for a temporary emotional lift that ends up being thrown away?

Celebration stuff like decorations and balloons, or party bag fillers, a new cheap dress for a night out, a holiday bikini you wear once, all sorts of stuff

You are right. People have been programmed by advertising to purchase stuff they don't need with money they don't have in order to achieve fake life satisfaction. In my experience, happiness comes from close connections with people combined with the freedom to pursue enjoyable activities, not through getting the latest smartphone every six months or whatever the latest fashion is because someone has asserted you are not in the groovy gang if you don't have it. It works because the destructive side effects of mass consumption are hidden from view, all people see is the consumption side.

My father used to say "I’m not rich enough to buy cheap things". I now understand what he meant... I know people who buy stuff from Temu or Shein daily (!) only because it's cheap.

We are all just victims of marketing advertising particularly in supermarkets eat real food would be happier and healthier. Stop buying crap on the Internet.,
Real homes with handed on pieces of furniture up cycling, et cetera are far more interesting, the latest trend is a phrase that should be banished to hell we’re just being sold sold sold every day in every way

As my name indicates I am very environmentally conscious, but having children has totally messed with my carbon footprint, especially when they were babies and outgrew everything in a few months!

I still wear clothes that I bought before I got married 18 years ago - most of my holiday clothes for example that you only get to wear a few times a year when it’s sunny and warm!

I pass on almost all of my daughters old school uniforms to their schools where items are sold for £1 or less to help families who want to save money or cut their carbon footprint! We pass on as much of their clothes as we can to friends and the rest goes to charity shops(very little is actually thrown away).

The killers school shoes as they barely last a term but are not really good enough to pass on!

Day to day my husband and I try to ‘buy once’ so when our oven stopped working a few months ago we called out the Neff engineer who replaced the element for just £140 meaning we didn’t have to replace a 7 year old oven, one of our dining tables was from MFI bought in 2003 - but still in good condition so never replaced!

Lots of our furniture is from habitat and ikea or John Lewis and has stood the test of time!

I would rather spend spare money on city breaks with the kids and make memories rather than on things that won’t last!

I don’t buy costume jewellery, or seasonal fads…