Sunday links

video via Unconsumption

For the past six months, I have been collecting links to share on this blog. It is a very long list. Here are some of the more recent reads:

• "Admire success. But do not praise excess." 7 Reasons Why We Should Stop Praising Excess by Joshua Becker. (Becoming Minimalist)
• I would like to master The Elegant Art of Not Giving A Shit. Imagine how much worthwhile stuff I could get done. (Raptitude)
• Lifestyle blogger Sarah Wilson has written a Slow Food and Outdoors Guide to Perth and Fremantle. While I am certainly not planning to quit sugar (she authored the best-selling I Quit Sugar program), I do enjoy Sarah's blog and will be trying out some of her recommendations of places to visit in my home town. It's worth checking out the comments for further suggestions. I'm excited to try some new places that popped up while I was out of town for six months.
• Australian blogger The Rogue Ginger recommends some sites for collaborative consumption.
• 'The Great Fish Swap': How America Is Downgrading Its Seafood Supply - NPR interview with Paul Green, author of American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood, about how the US exports a lot of its best quality fish (eg wild Alaska salmon) and imports poorer quality seafood.
• Two Economic Concepts That Might Just Save Us ( or at least help us make better decisions) by Aussie doctor Alessandro R Demaio. (The Conversation)
• A supermarket in the UK is planning to power one of its stores completely off food waste. I hope it works and becomes standard practice. I wonder if other businesses could be powered off their waste? (Unconsumption)
• While we're on food wasted, closer to home, a "campaign for ugly fruits aims to end food waste". Personally, I prefer ugly fruit and vegetables. They usually taste better and I like ugly things in general. Wabi sabi. (ABC) The video at the top of the post addresses the same subject.

Life in a Mini

Bunker Bay, WA

The last time I blogged here was six months ago, which coincides with me moving from Perth to Bunbury (175km south) for six months. I can't explain the lack of blogging during that time - it might have been distraction by work, hanging out with new friends (including housemates!), making the most of my time "down South" by travelling, or general despondency about political events during that period. While I was away, I was staying in furnished accommodation provided by my employer, while a friend house-sat for me in Perth.

What struck me on arriving home yesterday, with six months worth of life (clothes, toiletries, bedding, towels, exercise equipment, books, cleaning equipment, kitchen essentials, computer, lamp, radio, wooden coathangers) easily stacked in the back of my small car (a baby blue, 2-door Mini Cooper) is that I was returning home to an apartment empty of people but overflowing with my stuff.

My wardrobe was overflowing, even though all of the clothes I'd worn for the previous six months (in my own version of Project 333) were still sitting in bags on the living room floor. The bathroom counter was similarly overflowing with half-used make-up bottles, brushes and toiletries (but not hair elastics - I can never find them when I want them) despite the fact that I had a full complement in my suitcase waiting to be unpacked. Most of the items waiting to be unpacked had travelled from Perth to Bunbury and back again. In fact, only a few of the items I brought back from Bunbury were new - bathers (Aussie made), some pottery I made in a beginners' class (ah -that's what I was doing instead of blogging), a pair of warm boots, a warm blanket, some warm slippers (do you see a theme?), pillows (Aussie made of course), some gifts from workmates, two new artworks, and some food and wine I picked up on my travels.

The upside is that most of the clothing, shoes, accessories, toiletries, bedding, etc that I abandoned for the last six months will be leaving the house to allow for a much more minimal wardrobe. I have no desire to shop for anything new (besides books...although I am getting better at giving away ones that I've read) and am already dreaming about the extra space in my apartment...remaining empty.

Not resolving, just doing

I am working on a review of my 2013 resolutions.

I don't have resolutions for 2014 but am trying a bit of this, a bit of that, and this too. You may also wish to try these.

I will also do this and this, which I already do anyway but should do more publicly now that it has a higher profile. I'll write more about these in future.

It's seems particularly pertinent due to the news today that striking garment workers in Cambodia were shot dead by police.

Sunday links

American ex-pat Traveling Mama was scolded by her daughter's Danish school for slipping a cookie into her lunch box. Isn't that a great message to send kids - sugary foods are for special treats only.

Speaking of sugar... "Sugar Love: A Not So Sweet Story." - National Geographic

A beautifully edited movie about the sad consequences of plastic pollution - People Should Know About This Awful Thing We Do, And Most Are Unaware on Upworthy

The Noise of Stuff. It stops me from sleeping sometimes - Ooomf

Everyone buys too many clothes... - Perth blogger Treading My Own Path

The American Edit agrees, and quotes the same Vivienne Westwood piece, "Buy less, choose well..." - The American Edit

On a similar topic, "Unseeing what's really on sale" -  Victoria Mason Jewellery

Sunday Links

I have been thinking about what I would do with all my stuff if I moved away for a year or two. I could rent my apartment fully-furnished but what would I do with all my clothes? Books? Magazines? Liquor? Art? Fancy pieces of frippery? I would take very little away with me, which would leave the options of storing it, giving it away, loaning it out or trying to sell it. Giving it away is the most appealing option in terms of cost, time and effort. It definitely discourages me from accumulating any new "stuff". I've written a few posts on this subject before and I always go back to The Story of Stuff for inspiration (I highly recommend watching the original video if you haven't seen it before).

I come across many minimalism blogs (mostly American). People are trying to embrace a minimalist lifestyle for various reasons (financial, environmental and mental health, to name a few) across many aspects of life. Here's some recent finds on this theme:

• Remember The New Joneses? They set up house in Melbourne's Fed Square during Buy Nothing New Month last year. For one week they had to find second-hand sources for life's necessities (and luxuries). The video explains it much better than I do.
• Ignoring the terrible grammar, I agree with most of the points in this article from Apartment Therapy.
• Erin from Design for Mankind questions her excessive (yet pretty normal for most women I know) wardrobe, illustrated by the beautiful sculptural fashion of Nadine Goepfert
• Wardrobe de-cluttering guides are pretty ubiquitous but I like this practical one from econest. (And if you do decide to buy some "new" threads, she follows up with this great guide to op-shopping from former Vogue Japan editor, Peppermint Magazine contributor and "Queen of Vintage" Leeyong Soo.)

 Here's some other reads for the week. Mainly clothing-related, for some reason.

• The uggly world of "Australian made" ugg boots - an interview with the only Australian-made ugg factory that tans its own sheep leather - ABC Rural, via my big sis
• Booming cashmere trade threatens snow leopards, wild yaks - of course, this article is plastered in pop-up ads for J. Crew, famous for their mass-produced cashmere - ecouterre
• Bangladesh Pollution, Told in Colors and Smells - New York Times
• Australians Are Getting Fatter - the New York Times perspective on our growing obesity.

Buying (nearly) nothing new - January 2013

I recently read that all social media, especially blogs, are inherently narcissistic. I will be doing a narcissistic post at the end of each month this year in an effort to make myself accountable for my "easy, ethical 2013 resolutions". This month I will focus on "stuff" because that is where I made the most change.

I have purchased two new "things" this month (not including food, drink, services or medication). One was a light globe to replace a blown globe in my storage room, which receives no natural light. I make no apologies for that. I am really proud that I resisted buying anything at the local handmade markets (my shopping Achilles heel), bookstores and post-Christmas sales.

My other purchase was a modem, after my modem stopped working last weekend. I tried to use an old one of my Dad's but it didn't work. I had no idea how best to choose electronics from an ethical perspective, other than avoiding them. I should have chosen to do without a modem. I could have looked for one for sale secondhand or on Freecycle. However, I use my broadband for work and study (plus watching TV and narcissistic blog posts) so decided to replace my modem within a couple of days of it dying. My first instinct was to head to the discount electronics superstore across the road. Instead, I paid a visit to a family-run computer store in the next suburb. The advantage? I saved time choosing which modem to buy, as they only had one model in each speed. I didn't waste time searching product review sites on my phone. I received great service. The whole transaction took about 5 minutes, instead of the 30+ minutes I would have spent agonising over the choices at the chain store. I supported a local business and I saved 30 minutes of my time. (I still have the two useless modems sitting around, waiting for electronics recycling collection time.)

I have been working at my "giving away 7 items per week" goal. I've only given away a few items but I've identified dozens that will be given away shortly. I am in the process of clearing out my wardrobes (that's right, I have a completely unnecessary TWO wardrobes for one person) that are shamefully full of clothes I had forgotten I owned and shoes I have not worn for years. Some of the shoes have only been worn once. I even hoarded some of the empty shoeboxes! I discovered bags full of clothes that I had intended to donate to charity in 2011 and had shoved in the top of my wardrobe, awaiting the annual charity collection. The charity collection never eventuated and the bags are still there, of no use to anyone. Most of the items will go to the Red Cross and I hope some will find a new home at Ready to Work, a local charity that helps disadvantaged women find employment.

Some of my sad, unloved shoes. They want a new home.

I have also been clearing out the kitchen cupboards of tools I never use and discovering products that I should use. It is helping to make my little kitchen work more efficiently and will help me cook more and follow Pollan's Food Rules.

I feel that I haven't challenged myself in January and will try to make more of a difference in February. My parents are getting me a bicycle for my birthday and that will be the topic of my next post. Yippee!

Give it away, give it away, give it away now

I have been asked to clarify one of my New Year resolutions:

  

Give away at least seven items per week

How is this an ethical move? It is not just about making donations - if so, I would be better off donating cash to help those in the developing world who would benefit most, or selling my items and donating the proceeds. It is not about getting rid of all my possessions and replacing them with "green" or "ethical" items (that would defeat the purpose). It is more about simplifying, having less "stuff" and thinking more about what I consume. It is about changing my priorities from "stuff", to "deeds". It is about having more time (because I am not spending as much time cleaning or looking for lost items or deciding what to wear) to do more important things. My home is not going to become minimalist - just less like it could appear on Hoarders.

Slow Your Home's "52 Reasons to Simplify Your Life" include these reasons that resonate most with me:

• Less time spent cleaning
• Less impact on the environment
• Less time organising your belongings
• Less likely to inadvertently support child slavery and unfair work conditions through buying cheap, disposable items
• Feeling more content with what you have
• Less time (and money) wasted shopping for things you don’t need
• You need less furniture, which gives you more space
• No more dreading drop-in visitors

There are endless blogs on the topic of simplifying, downsizing, minimising and generally consuming less. Some of those that I follow include Becoming Minimalist, Be More With Less, The Simple Year, The Clean Bin Project, Simplify Your Life and Buy Nothing New for a Year.

My first item given away for 2013 was my copy of "The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, and Regained My Soul" by A Guy Named Dave to my friend (also a guy named Dave) and his wife who are embarking on their own quest for a simpler life.  I will periodically update this blog with details of the items I have given away.

Have you tried simplifying your life? Do you have any reading recommendations on the topic?