Anyone ready for an anti-consumerist movement?

[AlpineButterfly]

Based on my previous thread which I'm struggling to link to using my phone someone suggested I start an anti consumerist movement.

I'm talking
Less stuff - do you need it?
Stuff that enhances your life - do you love it?
Time - do you need to do it? Is it fulfilling? What does it bring to your life, your well-being?
Food - does it help your body? Does it add toxins? Do you need it? Is it mindless consumption?

I'm not talking about depriving myself to become an eco warrior. I'm thinking about mindful ways to improve my life.

VintageFur I suspect it will become less socially acceptable to waste space in the coming years... people (of a certain generation) living in houses far exceeding their needs.**
How else can we cope with the housing crisis we have in this country?
A home office of some description is pretty key for me, though, as I work from home a lot. I'm planning to combine it with an occasional guest room though so at least the space is pretty much always in use.

Anyone thought about the price of food? We have a new Aldi opened up locally. £2.99 for a medium size joint of chicken. A good price really but at what cost? Unfortunately we don't have the budget to pay more but I feel that a chicken should be worth more than £2.99

Alpine definitely. Switching to plastic free, ethically sourced foods will undoubtedly increase people’s shopping bills and that’s why the supermarkets have to be on board (eg subsidising the cost of eco packaging by increasing the cost of plastic?). And a lot of it is habit- we just do things a certain way. I was thinking this about icing sugar the other day- always, since the dawn of time, wrapped in paper. It just is. Now I can’t imagine a good item more susceptible to damage from water than icing sugar, can you? I can’t imagine something as messy if it exploded in the lorry or shop, or customers car, or cupboard. And yet it’s always wrapped in regular paper- and yet dry pasta, raisins, cereal, oats, rice, breads- all in non recyclable plastic! Surely in this modern world someone could invent a paper packaging that could be made airtight (or at least airtight enough?) The supermarkets need to drive this change and do it through pricing. It’s the only way.

The poster above has made an excellent point on sugar packaging!
It's amazing how much we just don't even think!

I do wish I could afford to pay more for my food. Never thought about packaging in that way though. Is it to keep moisture out of the pasta?

Alpine possibly, although some posh brands use cardboard packaging with a little window, which I’d guess is not air or water right. Maybe more so than a paper bag. Look at the big bags of potatoes and the rice and gram flour sold in ethnic shops.

The cardboard packages of pasta cost about 2-3 times more per 100g, so unfortunately it’s simply not possible for it to be a viable choice for most customers. Even the window panel is unnecessary- do we really need to see the product inside? On pasta? It’s in the hands of the retailers, because the cost difference moves it from being consumer choice for the masses into consumer choice for the few who a) care enough and b) can also afford it. The retailers need to be held accountable for making plastic packaging the cheaper option. It’s been done to maximise profits, and it’s time they started putting something back in to solve the issue.

Manufacturers and retailers will do a)whatever makes them the most money b)whatever 'builds their brand' [see point a] or c) whatever they are forced to by law. That's it.

The plastic is lighter than cardboard, which makes a big cost difference when you are shipping thousands of units. Icing sugar is better in paper as it gets sweaty and clumpy in plastic. Other sugar is fine in plastic and dark muscovado type sugars are better in plastic as moisture is retained. Until it is more expensive to use plastic (through taxation or scarcity or public backlash), it will be used by mass retailers. Supermarkets are very cost sensitive because customers are price sensitive - more so in economically uncertain times.

@TiddleTaddleTat really interested that you're opting to go mortgage free. We could potentially move areas in around six years time mid/late thirties and be mortgage free but we're hoping to move somewhere bigger. It's a dream of ours when DH qualifies, to be able to get somewhere big enough so he can set up clinic from home

A bigger property is a massive waste of resources. I live in a big house with an office etc and land. It costs an absolute fortune to run and heat in particular. DSis came over yesterday during the day and commented on how cold it was. That's because I can't justify heating the house when its only me here. I sit under an electric blanket. The reality is that we might live in a property with 21 rooms but we only really live in the kitchen, the snug and three of the bedrooms. Cutting down on plastic packaging is nothing compared to using resources in this way.

Plastic is lighter than card and much lighter than glass or metal, which hugely reduces the amount of fuel needed to transport the items - no point reducing plastic if it means more crude oil is used elsewhere in the supply chain. Often more protection of items that the purchaser thinks wasteful has hugely reduced the numbers of pallets and plastic wraps and fuel litres upstream.

My mission is to get more stuff out of my house either to charity shops or Freecycle, or bin if necessary - it's just as wasteful cluttering up my house as in landfill!

Our main challenge is buying items like toasters, baking pans, showers that turn out not to last and need replacing - paying more isn't any guaranteed of quality, sadly.

House sizes a really interesting one to me. I lived abroad for most of my life and then briefly in Ireland and now in the UK. Houses are much smaller here and in Ireland than in Europe. But they seem to have less dead space somehow, like they have been planned out a bit better (which they probably have, most places I have lived don't have houses built all at once in estates). The bedrooms are also tiny in comparison.
But it is true that people rattling around in big houses is a huge drain on resources and feels especially galling when there is a housing crisis (hideous one in Ireland at the moment). Part of the problem is that houses are put up in estates, so that all the houses in an area are the same. It would make much more sense for there to be a mix of sizes, houses and bungalows and flats etc in an estate that way you get a mixed population and if people want to downsize they don't necessarily have to move away from where they have always lived and know people.
The way places are designed really has a lot of impact on people's lives I think. Simple things like you are much more likely to drive if the bus stop isn't nearby and more likely to eat a takeaway, the more of them you pass on your commute.
Anyway, I don't tend to buy things, naturally, though I have noticed bad habits creeping in lately and I would really like to reduce my food waste.

Interesting thread

We're making baby steps here.

Trying to reduce cling film is one of our daily 'goals'. Problem is that we have a lovely dispenser and it's so bloody convenient!

Haven’t read the full thread. But I like the concept. So am in. Will read

My initial thoughts are I need this.

I need more quality time. I think I’m fairly eco. Reuseable face wipes, sanitary pads, cleaning cloths etc.

I like things which are convenient which means they buy me time. But I’m not a gadget for everything person.

I like the idea of having less.

I’m going to attempt a no spend on stuff on myself 2019 (unless an essential item of clothing footwear).

So I've had a little splurge in the shops this week. Toddler has moved into age 2-3 clothes. I've bought mostly second hand bits but did fancy some new pj's and some new trousers. I've kept it pretty light but 4 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of joggers seems excessive. I guess he's going to be starting preschool in Jan so it'll be needed.

@ememem84 I'm the same with reusable clothes, sanitary pads, etc. I should use my wipes on the boys as I have some bum wipes but somehow it just never seems convenient.

DH finishes work on Saturday to become a FT student so hopefully we can become more careful with money and get more time as a family but also productive time for his studies. It feels exciting to move away from a normal FT working week and to be a bit more flexible.

I don't think we'd dream of buying a massive place. Just somewhere with a bigger kitchen and maybe a fourth bedroom.

We're beginning to think about TTC our third child in the new year. Now that DOES feel like a drain on resources. However, hopefully DC3 will be a worthwhile, contributing member of society so I don't feel too bad.

How do you guys keep your little ones clothes clean during meal times? Currently the 10mo and 22mo are stripped for all meals. It's so annoying when I don't because my washing pile grows so quickly! Especially if PJ's get breakfast on them and then jumpers/jeans get lunch on them. That's then x4 bottoms and x4 tops to wash, plus socks and if vests get covered in dribble or something. That's just for my two boys. Maybe I should wrap THEM in cling film

I used to put those bibs with long sleeves on. Then flannels to clean them.

It definitely down on washing.

Ditto above. We use long sleeved bibs. Or I do. Dh usually forgets.

I bought bundles of second hand stuff from eBay and all of ds’ new stuff is from the sales.

He’s at nursery 3 days a week so gets through a lot of clothes. I’ve got a super eco washing machine and dryer though...

I use bibs but I never change my children's clothes once they're dressed for the day, any food, paint etc can be spot wiped and I just put it in the washing basket at the end of the day, I don't really care if they look a bit dirty... they're children! lower your standards = less washing + more eco friendly

Lovely idea - supporting each other. I am in!

I try hard to be more aware. Using soap, grease proof paper to wrap sandwiches, loose fruit and vegetables, organic tampax, but I still have a long way to go.
Pretty much all my clothes are from ebay, and shoes.

@RickOShay recommend mooncup!

We are pushing ahead with looking for a small house rather than a big one to do up and probably extend beyond need. I'm feeling quite comfortable with the idea of decluttering - genuinely I seem to get more pleasure from giving things to charity shops than I do buying stuff (especially if it's new). I guess I have a lot of guilt buying lots of stuff when I know it's not really needed.

I really like Marie Kondo's book.

@user187656748 just curious as to why you have a house that big if you only use a few rooms and it's expensive to heat. Could you not downsize to some where smaller? (Not criticising- just curious)

We are mortgage free. It would cost us much more to move than to stay put.

Hi there! I'm totally in!
I'm soon moving to UK and I'm coming with the strong resolution to stop buying things I don't need, and if I do really need, to buy second hand clothes, furnitures etc... I'm planning on buying most of my furnitures since we're moving only books and clothes. I've already looked into gumtree and they just have plenty of stuff! Mostly I think an object that has been used has so much more history and soul than just a plastic brand new object that doesn't tell anything (but that's only my point of view)

I am currently living in Shanghai, China, and here we have a groups system to communicate and interact which I find really interesting. For instance I am currently on a group (wechat group) called Sharing is caring. You simply post an item you don't need anymore and that you are willing to give for free, and that's simply amazing! Letting things go like that, it's freeing in a way I couldn't imagine. We get so addicted to our belongings that they end up owning us.

I'm sure it already exist in the UK and I'm wondering on which platform could I find such a group? Mumsnet??

thanks for reading!

Elodie

Yes we have local Facebook freebay type groups and freecycle.

They're really popular but are often abused around here with people selling stuff on.

I give loads of stuff away and I really don't care if someone sells it on. If they have the time or inclination than good luck to them.

I come from a family of hoarders and the obligation to hold on to heirlooms is ridiculous. There's no end point.