Sustainable Living: How to Live in a Consuming Nation

Recycling is an admirable thing to do but alone it doesn’t serve a just purpose. Reusing items is also a wonderful and sometimes creative act; although beware of items that really aren’t safe to reuse, like certain plastics. I’m amazed by the people who turn normal household items into functioning decor, such as water fountains and such keeping them out of landfills. But the best thing we can all really focus on is reducing.

Reducing is the most important key to eliminating toxins, conserving world resources, protecting underpaid workers, and all of the other unfriendly things that come along with consumerism. There are a number of things that we could throw out of the house right now and never miss. I’m not saying to do that… quite the opposite. Instead, just stop wanting the next best model, don’t upgrade when what you have is working fine, repair a video recorder instead of buying a new one, don’t fall into the trap that the marketing agents have set.

Annie Leonard explains how things get from there to here in “The Story of Stuff,” a video by Free Range Studios. The video is packed full of interesting facts but don’t worry, its not blah. When you are done watching the video be sure to check out Another Way. Here you’ll learn that there isn’t a single way to solve the production and consumption problem that we face…and you’ll find examples of what can help.

So, tell us what you are doing to reduce your consumption. We want to know what your ideas are for using less stuff. Even if you haven’t tried your own ideas, we’re open to giving them a spin…and then we’ll give you our feedback on them. Ready to share? Post a comment below so everyone else can start reducing today.