My year of buying nothing - six months in
June 6, 2016 9:18 AM Subscribe
Journalist Michelle McGagh has opted to not buy anything extra for a year. (sltheGuardian)
McGagh's initial post here; she also runs the website London Minimalists.
McGagh's initial post here; she also runs the website London Minimalists.
Similar: No Pants 2012 (giving up clothes shopping for a year)
posted by jillithd at 9:35 AM on June 6, 2016
posted by jillithd at 9:35 AM on June 6, 2016
The minute I saw the FPP, I was reminded of Judith Levine's Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping. It is such a luxury to be able to stop spending because you wish to learn something about yourself and your world, as opposed to not shopping because you're penniless and lacking the social capital to blithely say, "I'm opting out of consumerism."
posted by sobell at 9:38 AM on June 6, 2016 [58 favorites]
posted by sobell at 9:38 AM on June 6, 2016 [58 favorites]
That was my thought too; she's "missing out" on the sort of holidays that I've never had an opportunity to go on in the first place.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [29 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [29 favorites]
This is one of those things where I'm deeply fascinated--also, I probably have too much stuff I don't need and it irritates me--by people actually doing it, but being very aware that they can afford to do it. They have the luxury and privilege to say "I can buy very little for a year" because they can always go back to it. But on the other hand, if you're someone who wants to figure out how to do it and not feel like a pariah because you have very little to begin with, maybe it normalizes your feelings a bit? I really don't know.
posted by Kitteh at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
what is a better way to support an idea of frugality and mindful, intentional consumption without sounding privileged?
posted by bl1nk at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by bl1nk at 9:42 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
Sounding privileged isn't a problem if you are
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 9:43 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 9:43 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Other than bills and food, I’d decided to spend nothing for a year starting 27 November.
so like normal life for a hell of a lot of people
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [68 favorites]
so like normal life for a hell of a lot of people
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [68 favorites]
Opting out of consumerism is a whole lot easier when you already have a generous amount of consumer goods in your possession. It's easy to stop buying clothes when your closet is full; it's easy to bike everywhere when you own a functioning bike. When already have a home, and your utilities are all hooked up, and you've got pans to cook your food in.... then it's just self-aggrandizing frugal-porn.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [74 favorites]
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 9:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [74 favorites]
I'm gonna have 'Common People' stuck in my head all day now
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:48 AM on June 6, 2016 [36 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 9:48 AM on June 6, 2016 [36 favorites]
what is a better way to support an idea of frugality and mindful, intentional consumption without sounding privileged?
If you're the publication, you could probably could do better than showing what appear to be a bunch of black Americans shopping as your example of profligate lifestyles or whatever.
posted by griphus at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [17 favorites]
If you're the publication, you could probably could do better than showing what appear to be a bunch of black Americans shopping as your example of profligate lifestyles or whatever.
posted by griphus at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [17 favorites]
I don't understand why this kind of thing rankles folks so badly. So she's comfortable enough to be able to do this, great! Good for her! She has a bike and clothes and a place to live already, so she's not buying more crap she doesn't need and she's making better connections with the people around her. What's so bad about this? Is continuing to buy stuff you don't need just because you have the money better? Is forgoing luxuries because you want to live more simply for a while so awful? Would this be forgivable if she just didn't write about it?
posted by hollyholly at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [52 favorites]
posted by hollyholly at 9:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [52 favorites]
We have a winner!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 9:55 AM on June 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 9:55 AM on June 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
I don't really buy that normalization argument. Would you say that about a woman who wrote an article about being a stay at home mother-- that she is making it harder for other women who don't have a choice in the matter?
Would we be saying the same thing if she had written from the other side, someone who tried retail therapy for a year and then wrote an article about how it didn't bring them happiness?
Of course it's easier to do this if you have a safety net. But if you distilled it down to "most people reading this article buy more stuff than they need", is it really all that controversial? It's not like she thinks her audience is full of people living in the slums.
And of course it's a little bit of self-aggrandization, but come on, it's not like when we see Bill Gates give away 99% of his money, people say "oh, sure, he can AFFORD to do that, because he's privileged and 1% of his fortune is still a hundred million dollars!" No, he's doing good in the world. Is she doing good in the world? Maybe, maybe not, depending on your perspective on consumerism, but it doesn't seem to warrant attacking her or saying she shouldn't even be writing the article.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 9:55 AM on June 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
Would we be saying the same thing if she had written from the other side, someone who tried retail therapy for a year and then wrote an article about how it didn't bring them happiness?
Of course it's easier to do this if you have a safety net. But if you distilled it down to "most people reading this article buy more stuff than they need", is it really all that controversial? It's not like she thinks her audience is full of people living in the slums.
And of course it's a little bit of self-aggrandization, but come on, it's not like when we see Bill Gates give away 99% of his money, people say "oh, sure, he can AFFORD to do that, because he's privileged and 1% of his fortune is still a hundred million dollars!" No, he's doing good in the world. Is she doing good in the world? Maybe, maybe not, depending on your perspective on consumerism, but it doesn't seem to warrant attacking her or saying she shouldn't even be writing the article.
posted by thewumpusisdead at 9:55 AM on June 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
I mean, to me, the premise is a bit silly. People need to buy things. That's how an economy works. Opting out of an economy does actual damage to other people.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:58 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:58 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
It is a picture from a UK sale, the pound signs in the background make it pretty obvious.
Whoops, I had just assumed from the TV that said "40 inches" on it. I guess someone from the UK can weigh in on whether the signalling is as equally shitty.
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on June 6, 2016
Whoops, I had just assumed from the TV that said "40 inches" on it. I guess someone from the UK can weigh in on whether the signalling is as equally shitty.
posted by griphus at 10:01 AM on June 6, 2016
In the initial article, she does acknowledge: I recognise that a spending ban is a way of life already for those living close to the breadline. I have the luxury of choosing to step out of the consumer cycle.
posted by oryelle at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by oryelle at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
If Bush taught us anything about 9/11, it's that consumption is patriotic. I can only assume that doing otherwise is treachery.
posted by krinklyfig at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by krinklyfig at 10:02 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
right, in the UK those are usually labeled as 1.016 meter TVs if I'm not mistaken
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:03 AM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:03 AM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
People need to buy things. That's how an economy works. Opting out of an economy does actual damage to other people.
Yes and no? I mean, I need to buy food and clothes as a necessity, but unless my job requires me to own a $500 camera, I don't need to buy it. I wanted to buy it.
posted by Kitteh at 10:04 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes and no? I mean, I need to buy food and clothes as a necessity, but unless my job requires me to own a $500 camera, I don't need to buy it. I wanted to buy it.
posted by Kitteh at 10:04 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I wanted to buy it.
Sure, just like you could spend $1500 to see Hamilton on Broadway because you want to. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, if you have the money to spend. Life is about all sorts of experiences.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2016
Sure, just like you could spend $1500 to see Hamilton on Broadway because you want to. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, if you have the money to spend. Life is about all sorts of experiences.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2016
I could probably benefit from this sort of challenge. Partially because I could save up a decent chunk of money. Partially because I want to break the cycle of buying and purging that I engage in and justify because a lot of it comes from (and returns to) thrift stores.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:07 AM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I definitely would not have $1500 dollars for a Broadway play, no matter how much I wanted to see it, but this is a derail.
posted by Kitteh at 10:08 AM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 10:08 AM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
First of all, of course it takes a huge amount of privilege to do this as a “social experiment”, rather than because that is just your life.
But I also think that the article itself is less about the not buying things part, and more about how the pervasiveness of consumerism had entrenched her in a life where she literally could not figure out how to interact with other human beings outside of the lens of buying things, at the beginning. Drinks, meals, trips— these things are great, but if our entire social environment is predicated on “I will buy a thing at the same time that you buy a thing so that we are buying a thing together”, then examining her own privilege is part of the experiment. How do you build community without co-buying experiences and meals? Her article points out that for many of us, we have been trained to not even believe that such an existence is possible. She had to reprogram her own modes of thinking in order to even make the experiment work.
“How do I spend time with friends and loved ones without paying for the privilege” is a question that is hard for a lot of us to answer (especially when you consider travel, as she did here). I think that’s worth examining, even in an intentional and staged way.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [41 favorites]
But I also think that the article itself is less about the not buying things part, and more about how the pervasiveness of consumerism had entrenched her in a life where she literally could not figure out how to interact with other human beings outside of the lens of buying things, at the beginning. Drinks, meals, trips— these things are great, but if our entire social environment is predicated on “I will buy a thing at the same time that you buy a thing so that we are buying a thing together”, then examining her own privilege is part of the experiment. How do you build community without co-buying experiences and meals? Her article points out that for many of us, we have been trained to not even believe that such an existence is possible. She had to reprogram her own modes of thinking in order to even make the experiment work.
“How do I spend time with friends and loved ones without paying for the privilege” is a question that is hard for a lot of us to answer (especially when you consider travel, as she did here). I think that’s worth examining, even in an intentional and staged way.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 10:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [41 favorites]
I will buy lots of crap for a year to help the economy and make up for her frugality, but will the Guardian let me write up my experiment and pay me for it?
posted by Postroad at 10:11 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Postroad at 10:11 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
With credit cards and lines of credit, a lot of people can afford to be a part of the world she's swearing off even if they can't afford to be a part of it. And then they find themselves in a deep, dark hole that it's hard to climb out of.
Anyway, good on her for using her newly free time to volunteer and be sociable. Sounds like she's enjoying that part of it more than the expensive recreation of yelling at her friends in a pub, anyway.
posted by clawsoon at 10:12 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Anyway, good on her for using her newly free time to volunteer and be sociable. Sounds like she's enjoying that part of it more than the expensive recreation of yelling at her friends in a pub, anyway.
posted by clawsoon at 10:12 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
The last six months have made me happier but that’s not to say I don’t miss lots of things. From small things like buying flowers to big things like my family. My dad and granddad live in Ireland and I miss them a lot. I haven’t been able to see my mum, sister and brother as much as I’d like either as they live miles away so I can’t just pop down on my bike and see them.
This is why this article is a silly exercise in moralism. (And in the particular kind of moralism that middle class women are encouraged to enact - the "beautiful soul" kind.)
How exactly does anyone benefit by virtuously skipping trips to see their family just to prove a point? I'm not sure that's actually a virtue, honestly, and frankly one's grandfather won't be around forever. "Oh, I'm sorry that I only saw him once before he got really sick...I was doing a 'no shopping' experiment for the Guardian"?
It's precisely this sort of silliness that really bothers me - many people (including me) don't get to see our families very often because of work or financial constraints, and someone pretending that she is ethnically prevented from seeing her own because of her little Guardian project is pretty ridiculous. It's placing visits to see family on a par with an extra pair of fashion sneakers or something.
I add, too, that if one's going to be a capitalist, this whole "I think I will stop buying even the most innocuous items because Buying Is Bad For You" thing is pretty dumb. If we all virtuously stop shopping, major sectors of the economy collapse - and if that's the plan, sure, fine, revolution and luxury communism for all. But otherwise, hell no, she should be spending her dollars on ethical production at the very least.
There are plenty of reasons not to buy stuff, but there's also this "well, I won't buy stuff because that will make me a beautiful soul, but everyone else needs to keep buying stuff in order to sustain the social order upon which I rely" undercurrent to these articles.
posted by Frowner at 10:17 AM on June 6, 2016 [37 favorites]
This is why this article is a silly exercise in moralism. (And in the particular kind of moralism that middle class women are encouraged to enact - the "beautiful soul" kind.)
How exactly does anyone benefit by virtuously skipping trips to see their family just to prove a point? I'm not sure that's actually a virtue, honestly, and frankly one's grandfather won't be around forever. "Oh, I'm sorry that I only saw him once before he got really sick...I was doing a 'no shopping' experiment for the Guardian"?
It's precisely this sort of silliness that really bothers me - many people (including me) don't get to see our families very often because of work or financial constraints, and someone pretending that she is ethnically prevented from seeing her own because of her little Guardian project is pretty ridiculous. It's placing visits to see family on a par with an extra pair of fashion sneakers or something.
I add, too, that if one's going to be a capitalist, this whole "I think I will stop buying even the most innocuous items because Buying Is Bad For You" thing is pretty dumb. If we all virtuously stop shopping, major sectors of the economy collapse - and if that's the plan, sure, fine, revolution and luxury communism for all. But otherwise, hell no, she should be spending her dollars on ethical production at the very least.
There are plenty of reasons not to buy stuff, but there's also this "well, I won't buy stuff because that will make me a beautiful soul, but everyone else needs to keep buying stuff in order to sustain the social order upon which I rely" undercurrent to these articles.
posted by Frowner at 10:17 AM on June 6, 2016 [37 favorites]
Pounds, rather.
posted by Frowner at 10:18 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 10:18 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
"well, I won't buy stuff because that will make me a beautiful soul, but everyone else needs to keep buying stuff in order to sustain the social order upon which I rely"
Aphrodite Shrugged
posted by griphus at 10:22 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Aphrodite Shrugged
posted by griphus at 10:22 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
This moral imperative to consume coming from the left is really weirding me out today
posted by indubitable at 10:23 AM on June 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 10:23 AM on June 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
Bill Gates give away 99% of his money, people say "oh, sure, he can AFFORD to do that, because he's privileged and 1% of his fortune is still a hundred million dollars!" No, he's doing good in the world.
Please don't use Bill Gates as an example of doing good in the world. He is barely denting the karmic debt he accumulated via selling software at inflated prices due to illegal monopolistic practices that took money out of the pockets of just about every single person on earth whether they used a Microsoft product or not.
posted by srboisvert at 10:24 AM on June 6, 2016 [19 favorites]
Please don't use Bill Gates as an example of doing good in the world. He is barely denting the karmic debt he accumulated via selling software at inflated prices due to illegal monopolistic practices that took money out of the pockets of just about every single person on earth whether they used a Microsoft product or not.
posted by srboisvert at 10:24 AM on June 6, 2016 [19 favorites]
It is interesting, though, because there are systemic problems with (for instance) fast fashion as an industry, or (for instance) forced obsolescence in the consumer electronics industry, and there is generally in modern consumer economies so much waste, as well as a (privileged indeed, but still valid) existential problem with being defined by your shopping and spending habits. So to explore the impact of chosen austerity and even promote some of the benefits from choosing to spend less really does not strike me as a negative move.
So why should she not reflect, publicly, on her experience? It's not a universal experience, sure, but it really is okay for a person to use the things they have to their advantage (a secure economic history that has them in a place where they can stop spending and buying) to reflect on both the waste in unnecessary buying (both personal and social waste) and on the ways they can engage their world as something other than a shopper. Both of those things are small positives and don't involve telling people who have nothing that it's easy and a growth experience to do without. She definitely acknowledged upfront that she was starting from a bonus position (including cheating by pre-spending to have the things she needed for bike camping) and some of her "sacrifices" (like no train ticket to visit your family?) seem hamhanded, to be sure. I still don't think it's a terrible experiment and, I guess Frowner said it better, but these experiments are a mixed bag of good idea/bad idea and good self-revelation/bad self-aggrandizement.
I can personally relate (and the popularity of both decluttering questions at ask.me and minimalist websites, books and gurus suggests I'm not alone) to the desire to get away from the idea that consuming is living. I don't think it's such a bad idea to promote when you're not talking about how easy it is do without when you start from a position of plenty.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:25 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
So why should she not reflect, publicly, on her experience? It's not a universal experience, sure, but it really is okay for a person to use the things they have to their advantage (a secure economic history that has them in a place where they can stop spending and buying) to reflect on both the waste in unnecessary buying (both personal and social waste) and on the ways they can engage their world as something other than a shopper. Both of those things are small positives and don't involve telling people who have nothing that it's easy and a growth experience to do without. She definitely acknowledged upfront that she was starting from a bonus position (including cheating by pre-spending to have the things she needed for bike camping) and some of her "sacrifices" (like no train ticket to visit your family?) seem hamhanded, to be sure. I still don't think it's a terrible experiment and, I guess Frowner said it better, but these experiments are a mixed bag of good idea/bad idea and good self-revelation/bad self-aggrandizement.
I can personally relate (and the popularity of both decluttering questions at ask.me and minimalist websites, books and gurus suggests I'm not alone) to the desire to get away from the idea that consuming is living. I don't think it's such a bad idea to promote when you're not talking about how easy it is do without when you start from a position of plenty.
posted by crush-onastick at 10:25 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
But actually, I think the issue isn't her - it's perfectly reasonable to say "my life of spending money on going to the pub and on buying random things does not make me happy".
It's just one of those contemporary things, where channels for actual political change are blocked so everything gets put back on the individual, on withdrawal, on internal emmigration, on beautiful soul-ism. Unhappy with the way modern life works? Solve it yourself by behaving in a "virtuous" way that doesn't actually scale, because collective change is impossible and indeed the situation of the collective is deteriorating.
posted by Frowner at 10:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [25 favorites]
It's just one of those contemporary things, where channels for actual political change are blocked so everything gets put back on the individual, on withdrawal, on internal emmigration, on beautiful soul-ism. Unhappy with the way modern life works? Solve it yourself by behaving in a "virtuous" way that doesn't actually scale, because collective change is impossible and indeed the situation of the collective is deteriorating.
posted by Frowner at 10:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [25 favorites]
So why should she not reflect, publicly, on her experience?
Well, obviously she should, since she's getting paid to do so.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Well, obviously she should, since she's getting paid to do so.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
There's some fifties/early sixties science fiction novel which predicts certain aspects of this, too - I forget which one as I only know it by reputation. But in that novel, consumption is so baked in that the poor are required by law to buy and buy and buy, and only the rich can afford the enormous costs necessary to opt out of the labor of shopping and just keep driving their old cars, etc. You can read that as a metaphor for "I wear my mouldering tweeds rather than mass fashion because I am from a country family", yeah, but I'd argue that it's become rather more literal now.
posted by Frowner at 10:28 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Frowner at 10:28 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Like, I don't think that there's anything wrong with her trying this, and I don't think there's anything wrong with her writing about it.
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
The larger point, that our leisure time has undergone such a huge amount of commodification, is one that's worth thinking about, since it impacts everyone--and on average impacts poorer people more. She is cushioned from some of that because of her privilege, but the point still applies, I think.
I don't think she intends this to be a grand statement on the economy or on how to live frugally.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:29 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
The larger point, that our leisure time has undergone such a huge amount of commodification, is one that's worth thinking about, since it impacts everyone--and on average impacts poorer people more. She is cushioned from some of that because of her privilege, but the point still applies, I think.
I don't think she intends this to be a grand statement on the economy or on how to live frugally.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:29 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Please don't use Bill Gates as an example of doing good in the world.
i don't care how many malaria shots he gives away, nothing can make up for that fucking GET WINDOWS X thing that keeps popping up no matter how many times i kill it in task manager
posted by poffin boffin at 10:34 AM on June 6, 2016 [17 favorites]
i don't care how many malaria shots he gives away, nothing can make up for that fucking GET WINDOWS X thing that keeps popping up no matter how many times i kill it in task manager
posted by poffin boffin at 10:34 AM on June 6, 2016 [17 favorites]
Frowner: Solve it yourself by behaving in a "virtuous" way that doesn't actually scale, because collective change is impossible and indeed the situation of the collective is deteriorating.
If you're on the treadmill, though, you have to keep running just to stay in place, and the chance that you'll have time or energy left over to fight for political change gets lower.
There is a huge amount of money being spent, constantly, on getting everyone to spend more and go into debt more. There's an advantage for the current political system to having everyone always running, too busy spending and (if they're lucky) earning to do anything else. Having the occasional voice suggesting the opposite is okay.
There's something to be said for the Fable of the Bees, whose point you're partly making - a world of skinflints is a world where the economy has ground to a halt - but we're not in that world. We're not even close to that world. We're in the world of keeping up appearances and enjoying experiences no matter how far into debt it gets you, and that's something that threatens to bring the economy to a halt by the opposite mechanisms.
posted by clawsoon at 10:36 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
If you're on the treadmill, though, you have to keep running just to stay in place, and the chance that you'll have time or energy left over to fight for political change gets lower.
There is a huge amount of money being spent, constantly, on getting everyone to spend more and go into debt more. There's an advantage for the current political system to having everyone always running, too busy spending and (if they're lucky) earning to do anything else. Having the occasional voice suggesting the opposite is okay.
There's something to be said for the Fable of the Bees, whose point you're partly making - a world of skinflints is a world where the economy has ground to a halt - but we're not in that world. We're not even close to that world. We're in the world of keeping up appearances and enjoying experiences no matter how far into debt it gets you, and that's something that threatens to bring the economy to a halt by the opposite mechanisms.
posted by clawsoon at 10:36 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
by the time you are deciding whether or not to buy pants this year, you really are moving deck chairs on the titanic of "consumerism" or... what is that other word that begins with 'c'.
but the reason why articles like this get published is that they reinforce the idea that its all about individual choice, rather than the system which structures the choices you have.
you could quit your job, do something important or interesting, try to smash the system and starve, go homeless, lose your children, etc. individuals do it all the time. but usually it's a story of failure and suffering and is the Guardian going to publish that?
posted by ennui.bz at 10:40 AM on June 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
but the reason why articles like this get published is that they reinforce the idea that its all about individual choice, rather than the system which structures the choices you have.
you could quit your job, do something important or interesting, try to smash the system and starve, go homeless, lose your children, etc. individuals do it all the time. but usually it's a story of failure and suffering and is the Guardian going to publish that?
posted by ennui.bz at 10:40 AM on June 6, 2016 [14 favorites]
she's not buying more crap she doesn't need and she's making better connections with the people around her
Yes and no? She hasn't seen her family because "crap she doesn't need" apparently includes train tickets to visit her family. That might be a lot of things, but it's not an improvement to her connections with other people.
I also find it weird that bike repairs aren't considered a necessity in her budget, though I get why she prefers to exchange other things besides money if she possibly can. Still it does seem that the line is drawn a bit arbitrarily.
posted by tel3path at 10:41 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Yes and no? She hasn't seen her family because "crap she doesn't need" apparently includes train tickets to visit her family. That might be a lot of things, but it's not an improvement to her connections with other people.
I also find it weird that bike repairs aren't considered a necessity in her budget, though I get why she prefers to exchange other things besides money if she possibly can. Still it does seem that the line is drawn a bit arbitrarily.
posted by tel3path at 10:41 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
My problem with these "experiments" is the fact that they lend legitimacy to the argument that poor people just aren't living within their means, which is obviously an achievable task because this lady from the Guardian did it.
We live in a consumerist society that literally sells happiness in the form of goods and services. Advertisers don't sell products, they sell acceptance and satisfaction and self-worth. If you're privileged or socially supported enough to already have sufficient quantity of those things then maybe you can resist the siren song of consumerism, but if your life affords you little comfort and all around you are promises of salvation if you spend (or borrow) enough to buy it, then rising to the advertisers' bait isn't a moral failing.
The author of this piece can play make-believe poor because she has other sources of pleasure and comfort in her life. Not everyone does.
posted by rocket88 at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
We live in a consumerist society that literally sells happiness in the form of goods and services. Advertisers don't sell products, they sell acceptance and satisfaction and self-worth. If you're privileged or socially supported enough to already have sufficient quantity of those things then maybe you can resist the siren song of consumerism, but if your life affords you little comfort and all around you are promises of salvation if you spend (or borrow) enough to buy it, then rising to the advertisers' bait isn't a moral failing.
The author of this piece can play make-believe poor because she has other sources of pleasure and comfort in her life. Not everyone does.
posted by rocket88 at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2016 [12 favorites]
I'm not particularly for or against buying stuff, actually - that whole "would I be happier if I had less stuff" thing seems so trendily individual as to be unworthy of the ink it gets.
"I'm not going to pay for bike repairs or trips to see my family because that's consumerism too" is precisely the kind of thing no one sticks to long term. (If there's one thing I feel great about, actually, it's paying for bike repairs - I'm keeping my bike in shape, I'm supporting a small business and I'm buying a sort of semi-intangible good; it's not like a repaired bike takes up more space or time than a broken one.)
Although I guess we should be cheering for it, because everyone who has kon mari'd away their colander and their extra winter jacket will be replacing them in a year or so anyway, thereby boosting the economy. And everyone who makes their career on writing about minimalism and the simple life will get a better job and spend more money and move on, just as they did during every other simple-life trend period in the past. Minimalism this year, maximalism next.
posted by Frowner at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
"I'm not going to pay for bike repairs or trips to see my family because that's consumerism too" is precisely the kind of thing no one sticks to long term. (If there's one thing I feel great about, actually, it's paying for bike repairs - I'm keeping my bike in shape, I'm supporting a small business and I'm buying a sort of semi-intangible good; it's not like a repaired bike takes up more space or time than a broken one.)
Although I guess we should be cheering for it, because everyone who has kon mari'd away their colander and their extra winter jacket will be replacing them in a year or so anyway, thereby boosting the economy. And everyone who makes their career on writing about minimalism and the simple life will get a better job and spend more money and move on, just as they did during every other simple-life trend period in the past. Minimalism this year, maximalism next.
posted by Frowner at 10:45 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
Good on her for the experiment, I guess, but it is so on-the-nose "Look how I have grown since I stopped buying designer handbags," I literally thought it was satire for the first 3/4 of the article.
posted by thivaia at 10:47 AM on June 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by thivaia at 10:47 AM on June 6, 2016 [9 favorites]
Still it does seem that the line is drawn a bit arbitrarily.
I mean that's the thing, isn't it? There's no way to actually do this that isn't 100% arbitrary even if you pay for nothing but food and necessary bills. Maybe she could've lived ten times more miserably on nothing but rice and water and seen her grandparents with the money she saved. Any actual metric for "buying nothing" is so vague as to be useless.
posted by griphus at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I mean that's the thing, isn't it? There's no way to actually do this that isn't 100% arbitrary even if you pay for nothing but food and necessary bills. Maybe she could've lived ten times more miserably on nothing but rice and water and seen her grandparents with the money she saved. Any actual metric for "buying nothing" is so vague as to be useless.
posted by griphus at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have a teenager. I swear to god y'all, that boy outgrows his shoes and clothes before we get home from the store. If I went a year with buying clothes, he'd be a naked, barefoot savage and I'd be fending off CPS with a stick.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2016 [20 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:50 AM on June 6, 2016 [20 favorites]
Glaring lack of numbers makes it hard to judge her with any specificity, but good for her nonetheless putting up the target.
posted by notyou at 10:52 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 10:52 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world. I could probably access the same amount of outdoors based on where I am in Ontario, but then I don't own a car and am not brave enough to figure out how to bike out to campgrounds (and I don't care for camping, anyway). I don't know anyone who could swap me things like tickets. It was weirdly easier to be social when I was younger and poorer as all my friends worked second jobs at clubs and music venues, so they could get me into a show occasionally or slip me a couple of free beers. We basically lived off knowing where other people we knew worked--and vice versa as I gave out many free lattes and coffees and bagels in exchange--to be able to do stuff like see bands.
Like, I wish I could figure out how to make myself content as an adult with having friends over to play board games instead of meeting up at the bar and spending money. But my growing-up socialization always involved going somewhere and spending money, even when I didn't have much or any. I am really trying to re-learn how to be social by not having to drop cash just to have a good time.
posted by Kitteh at 10:54 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world. I could probably access the same amount of outdoors based on where I am in Ontario, but then I don't own a car and am not brave enough to figure out how to bike out to campgrounds (and I don't care for camping, anyway). I don't know anyone who could swap me things like tickets. It was weirdly easier to be social when I was younger and poorer as all my friends worked second jobs at clubs and music venues, so they could get me into a show occasionally or slip me a couple of free beers. We basically lived off knowing where other people we knew worked--and vice versa as I gave out many free lattes and coffees and bagels in exchange--to be able to do stuff like see bands.
Like, I wish I could figure out how to make myself content as an adult with having friends over to play board games instead of meeting up at the bar and spending money. But my growing-up socialization always involved going somewhere and spending money, even when I didn't have much or any. I am really trying to re-learn how to be social by not having to drop cash just to have a good time.
posted by Kitteh at 10:54 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I have a teenager. I swear to god y'all, that boy outgrows his shoes and clothes before we get home from the store. If I went a year with buying clothes, he'd be a naked, barefoot savage and I'd be fending off CPS with a stick
Haha yes the first thing I thought: "Bet she doesn't have kids." My kid apparently lets weasels chew on his shoes during school, that's the only explanation for what happens to them.
posted by emjaybee at 11:00 AM on June 6, 2016 [15 favorites]
Haha yes the first thing I thought: "Bet she doesn't have kids." My kid apparently lets weasels chew on his shoes during school, that's the only explanation for what happens to them.
posted by emjaybee at 11:00 AM on June 6, 2016 [15 favorites]
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Well - that's partly *why* London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
posted by tel3path at 11:00 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Well - that's partly *why* London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
posted by tel3path at 11:00 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
My kid apparently lets weasels chew on his shoes during school, that's the only explanation for what happens to them.
Well you'll be thanking your lucky stars he had those Varmint Husbandry classes when the future arrives and leaves the rest of us chewing on old shoes picked from the bonfires the Eloi set for their annual Bring Us Joy Festivals.
posted by griphus at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
Well you'll be thanking your lucky stars he had those Varmint Husbandry classes when the future arrives and leaves the rest of us chewing on old shoes picked from the bonfires the Eloi set for their annual Bring Us Joy Festivals.
posted by griphus at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
Article needs a link to the video of Steve Martin on Saturday Night Live telling us not to buy stuff we don't have money for.
posted by bukvich at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by bukvich at 11:05 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Glaring lack of numbers makes it hard to judge her with any specificity
That's hardly the spirit. Try harder!
posted by thelonius at 11:06 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
That's hardly the spirit. Try harder!
posted by thelonius at 11:06 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
Another thing: only all-or-nothing gets clicks. "I decided to switch from going out every Friday to going out once a month and my friends and I also get together for drinks at someone's house every week, taking turns to bring the booze" doesn't have the same swing to it.
"I got super into making shrub syrups and I invite my friends to my house for the shrub-of-the-week and a depressing European film, then I only go out when it's something I really, really want to attend".
"We've been getting very into taking long walks through interesting parts of town and finishing up at a wine bar to share a bottle rather than spending the whole night at the pub".
....Actually, I think I might make a shrub and invite people over. I've been meaning to do that for a while. Or some walking followed by a glass of wine, that would be nice too.
posted by Frowner at 11:06 AM on June 6, 2016 [25 favorites]
"I got super into making shrub syrups and I invite my friends to my house for the shrub-of-the-week and a depressing European film, then I only go out when it's something I really, really want to attend".
"We've been getting very into taking long walks through interesting parts of town and finishing up at a wine bar to share a bottle rather than spending the whole night at the pub".
....Actually, I think I might make a shrub and invite people over. I've been meaning to do that for a while. Or some walking followed by a glass of wine, that would be nice too.
posted by Frowner at 11:06 AM on June 6, 2016 [25 favorites]
Frowner did you even stop to think how privileged you are to have shrubs and access to depressing European films? Plenty of people have no access to land for making shrubs and plenty of people have such crap broadband that the most depressing part of the film is staring at the little spinning beach ball waiting for it to go away
posted by tel3path at 11:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 11:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [16 favorites]
I did one of these experiments--it was called Writing My Dissertation as a Solo Parent to Two Kids on a $9,000 /year TAship. Unfortunately, there was no big book deal for the book that resulted from it :-(
posted by drlith at 11:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by drlith at 11:09 AM on June 6, 2016 [13 favorites]
Haha yes the first thing I thought: "Bet she doesn't have kids." My kid apparently lets weasels chew on his shoes during school, that's the only explanation for what happens to them.
I've been assuming third period consists entirely of kicking lava rocks for an hour
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:10 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've been assuming third period consists entirely of kicking lava rocks for an hour
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:10 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I always figured they carpeted the classrooms with sandpaper.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:13 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:13 AM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
I had a single parent getting a PhD and it was a really miserable experience. We were always poor and broke and there was never any time for anything but The Dissertation.
posted by thelonius at 11:14 AM on June 6, 2016
posted by thelonius at 11:14 AM on June 6, 2016
Frowner did you even stop to think how privileged you are to have shrubs and access to depressing European films? Plenty of people have no access to land for making shrubs and plenty of people have such crap broadband that the most depressing part of the film is staring at the little spinning beach ball waiting for it to go away
Actually, I am...gee, what is the proper term? Rentier class when it comes to depressing European films? I am going off of the stockpiled VHS tapes that my family gave me when they moved, plus years of random DVDs, so it's sort of a depressing film trust fund.
Now see, if I'd kon mari'd these into the trash because they didn't bring me joy, I would not have them now. (Although really, I don't think they ever brought me joy per se - more like gloom with occasional periods of hysterical weeping.)
posted by Frowner at 11:15 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
Actually, I am...gee, what is the proper term? Rentier class when it comes to depressing European films? I am going off of the stockpiled VHS tapes that my family gave me when they moved, plus years of random DVDs, so it's sort of a depressing film trust fund.
Now see, if I'd kon mari'd these into the trash because they didn't bring me joy, I would not have them now. (Although really, I don't think they ever brought me joy per se - more like gloom with occasional periods of hysterical weeping.)
posted by Frowner at 11:15 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
...shrub-of-the-week and a depressing European film...
ooo do Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy w/ a matching shrub syrup for each one
posted by griphus at 11:15 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
ooo do Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy w/ a matching shrub syrup for each one
posted by griphus at 11:15 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
Okay, this is so on. I am going to do themed shrubs.
posted by Frowner at 11:16 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Frowner at 11:16 AM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
While I would not (and could not) do the not buying stuff for a year thing, I really should go through the stuff I do have and see if it wouldn't make someone else happier and donate it. There's at least two boxes of crap in my office closet I haven't touched since moving into our house last year.
posted by Kitteh at 11:18 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 11:18 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
You could do a shrub party themed around von Trier's "5 Obstructions" where you make your guests make new shrubs based on their original shrubs but with all kinds of annoying conditions, including the fifth shrub where you actually make their shrub for them but force them to take credit for it.
posted by cortex at 11:21 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by cortex at 11:21 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
Money gives you choice. She has chosen not to buy, to go away from materialistic things. And that's a valid choice, and perhaps even a noble one. All through history, men and women have made that choice by going into a monastic tradition. This is not a new thing.
Maybe it's a good idea to become a non-consumer for a while, just as it's a good idea to occasionally fast, or to go dry. Question your lifestyle, and see if there's not a better option out there for you. And she is doing this. Good for her.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [15 favorites]
Maybe it's a good idea to become a non-consumer for a while, just as it's a good idea to occasionally fast, or to go dry. Question your lifestyle, and see if there's not a better option out there for you. And she is doing this. Good for her.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [15 favorites]
You could combine the joys of board games and shrubs by having Monopoly-themed shrubs where people can never ever go home because the game goes on forever and they would just have to stay and be taught about the ills of our unjust economic system until the game ended.
posted by tel3path at 11:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by tel3path at 11:26 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't understand why this kind of thing rankles folks so badly.
I'm confused by the response as well, because I read the article as less an example of "I'm going to show you people how you really should be living," than "Because I'm a journalist, I'm going to do something most of my readers probably don't do and see if there's anything interesting to say about it."
The fact that she specifically opted to do this for one year is part of the reason I didn't get the impression that she was offering an example of something that was sustainable in the long term, let alone a moral imperative. And given that it was, basically, just a peg to build a couple of articles around, I assume that if Grandpa had become seriously ill, she'd have abandoned the project without feeling guilty about it.
Did people get mad because that "Dirty Jobs" guy didn't really have to do dirty jobs to make a living?
posted by layceepee at 11:28 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
I'm confused by the response as well, because I read the article as less an example of "I'm going to show you people how you really should be living," than "Because I'm a journalist, I'm going to do something most of my readers probably don't do and see if there's anything interesting to say about it."
The fact that she specifically opted to do this for one year is part of the reason I didn't get the impression that she was offering an example of something that was sustainable in the long term, let alone a moral imperative. And given that it was, basically, just a peg to build a couple of articles around, I assume that if Grandpa had become seriously ill, she'd have abandoned the project without feeling guilty about it.
Did people get mad because that "Dirty Jobs" guy didn't really have to do dirty jobs to make a living?
posted by layceepee at 11:28 AM on June 6, 2016 [10 favorites]
The part about this that drives me most crazy is that her arbitrary decision to quit spending money in order to improve her life is causing her to miss out on spending time with her family and friends, which is the whole fucking point of life. Or at least it should be. I spent 2015 in cancer treatment and couldn't travel or see the people I love because of feeling shitty and not having money and having to be at home for scheduled chemo and treatments and what have you, and the fact that she's giving that up voluntarily for no good reason is pretty infuriating. Someday she's going to want that time back.
posted by something something at 11:30 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by something something at 11:30 AM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I don't particularly care how she spends her money, I'm just tired of hearing about yet another person doing an experiment like this and inevitably learning spiritual lessons along the way. It's formulaic.
posted by tel3path at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
That's the thing, right? You don't get that year back.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2016
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:32 AM on June 6, 2016
I would pay upwards of a dollar to read "I Only Bought Bare Necessities For A Year And It Was A Fucking Miserable Slog And All I Learned Was That Money Definitely Buys Happiness"
posted by griphus at 11:33 AM on June 6, 2016 [37 favorites]
posted by griphus at 11:33 AM on June 6, 2016 [37 favorites]
Not necessary to read much to realize it was just another well off fool fulfilling their need to write a fluff article.
posted by notreally at 11:39 AM on June 6, 2016
posted by notreally at 11:39 AM on June 6, 2016
The article was the usual. I think it a very reasonable reaction to a consumerist society and impending ecocide but reading about it isn't very exciting.
> Opting out of an economy does actual damage to other people.
NO, you are not morally obliged to participate in the economy! If you don't want to consume it is your business and you aren't "damaging other people".
If there are any personal choices that people get to make without getting guilted out, "not consuming" should be one of those.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:43 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
> Opting out of an economy does actual damage to other people.
NO, you are not morally obliged to participate in the economy! If you don't want to consume it is your business and you aren't "damaging other people".
If there are any personal choices that people get to make without getting guilted out, "not consuming" should be one of those.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:43 AM on June 6, 2016 [8 favorites]
I should hope that we could transition from a consumerist economy, in which we're expected to define ourselves by buying exotically useless stuff, to an economy of consumers and producers who make generally useful stuff and then hang out and drink shrubs.
posted by clew at 11:44 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 11:44 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
griphus--I think the history of mankind supports your notion--whether we like it or not, and I do, thoughtful, prudent, generous and rational spending on goods/services/labor is what keeps us going, stable, sometimes growing, usually healthier, living longer and facilitating development throughout the world. There is nothing like a nicely shaped bell curve of spending within 1.0 to 1.5 S.D. of the mean to keep us going. Extreme poverty or wealth does very little, if anything, for anyone.
posted by rmhsinc at 11:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rmhsinc at 11:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
What gets me about these artificial constraints is what she defines as "bills" and what... not. I bet you television, phone, and internet are included in those bills, which is why saying she now can't go see her family because she can't travel is disingenuous. Yes internet, no public transportation is an arbitrary parameter she set up for the purpose of the exercise.
To me, this falls under the same click-bait category as only eating McD's for a month to prove it'll make you gain weight.
posted by lydhre at 11:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
To me, this falls under the same click-bait category as only eating McD's for a month to prove it'll make you gain weight.
posted by lydhre at 11:46 AM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
...to an economy of consumers and producers who make generally useful stuff and then hang out and drink shrubs.
I mean that's sort of already going pretty steady w/ the whole artisinal/locally-produced thing but that comes with the added premiums of a) paying a person in a first world country fairly for their time and effort (which is a lot more than paying someone's Foxconn wages) and b) the artisinal/locally-produced thing is the New Hot Shit so there's a lot of disingenuous coattail-riding (e.g. Mast Brothers) as well as just the standard regular consumer-class price-gouging that you say on Sharper Image items twenty years ago.
posted by griphus at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016
I mean that's sort of already going pretty steady w/ the whole artisinal/locally-produced thing but that comes with the added premiums of a) paying a person in a first world country fairly for their time and effort (which is a lot more than paying someone's Foxconn wages) and b) the artisinal/locally-produced thing is the New Hot Shit so there's a lot of disingenuous coattail-riding (e.g. Mast Brothers) as well as just the standard regular consumer-class price-gouging that you say on Sharper Image items twenty years ago.
posted by griphus at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016
Of course, but if she lives in London the cost of public transportation could easily take up a quarter of her income.
Which means her real savings would be on bus fare, not on designer handbags; but the totality of her approach conflates the two.
Television's an interesting case. I would bet she already has a TV, unless she got rid of it to save the annual licence fee (and they'll still be hassling her for that money so why bother).
posted by tel3path at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016
Which means her real savings would be on bus fare, not on designer handbags; but the totality of her approach conflates the two.
Television's an interesting case. I would bet she already has a TV, unless she got rid of it to save the annual licence fee (and they'll still be hassling her for that money so why bother).
posted by tel3path at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016
I would pay upwards of a dollar to read "I Only Bought Bare Necessities For A Year And It Was A Fucking Miserable Slog And All I Learned Was That Money Definitely Buys Happiness"
Please see all of my metafilter and facebook activity after about March of 2012.
posted by phunniemee at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
Please see all of my metafilter and facebook activity after about March of 2012.
posted by phunniemee at 11:51 AM on June 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
("New Hot Shit" for the last decade+ or since whenever the 'hipster' stereotype turned from "I Paid $500 For A VHS Tape Of The Lost Pilot To Perfect Strangers" to "I Paid $500 To Spend A Weekend Slaughtering and Butchering Cows On A Farm")
posted by griphus at 11:54 AM on June 6, 2016
posted by griphus at 11:54 AM on June 6, 2016
shrub syrup? shrubs? like... small trees?
posted by ennui.bz at 12:05 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by ennui.bz at 12:05 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
But in that novel, consumption is so baked in that the poor are required by law to buy and buy and buy, and only the rich can afford the enormous costs necessary to opt out of the labor of shopping and just keep driving their old cars, etc.
You might be thinking of Frederick Pohl's 1954 story "The Midas Plague", which had a profound impact on me when I read it, or the book that included it and several other stories on related themes, "Midas World". Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth also wrote a book called "The Space Merchants" that seems similarly prescient.
posted by Sequence at 12:17 PM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
You might be thinking of Frederick Pohl's 1954 story "The Midas Plague", which had a profound impact on me when I read it, or the book that included it and several other stories on related themes, "Midas World". Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth also wrote a book called "The Space Merchants" that seems similarly prescient.
posted by Sequence at 12:17 PM on June 6, 2016 [5 favorites]
People who set out with a plan to do something AND a content calendar attached to said thing, to me anyways, seem more interested in generating attention than they do finding out something about themselves. When one starts with the premise that they will be generating content for an entire year out of some thing they are doing, it feels to me like an experiment where failure is not an option and thus grand truths are found left, right, and center, because without them there's no content.
For myself, personally, doing a project like this for me would be less "hey, lookit me!" and more about me being able to be consistent with being able to keep myself accountable with getting things done. I have toyed with doing a single serving photography Tumblr, not because I want eyeballs, but I want something to motivate me to use the damned camera I dropped a lot of money on (well, a lot of money to me, at any rate) earlier this year. I am a terrible procrastinator and sometimes the idea of having an audience to encourage you isn't a bad thing, especially for a lazy person like myself.
posted by Kitteh at 12:21 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
For myself, personally, doing a project like this for me would be less "hey, lookit me!" and more about me being able to be consistent with being able to keep myself accountable with getting things done. I have toyed with doing a single serving photography Tumblr, not because I want eyeballs, but I want something to motivate me to use the damned camera I dropped a lot of money on (well, a lot of money to me, at any rate) earlier this year. I am a terrible procrastinator and sometimes the idea of having an audience to encourage you isn't a bad thing, especially for a lazy person like myself.
posted by Kitteh at 12:21 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
Its all right for all of you, I have disposable income available but have run out of things I want to buy on Amazon.*
*Except the Han solo cake tin, which is outrageously priced.
posted by biffa at 12:25 PM on June 6, 2016
*Except the Han solo cake tin, which is outrageously priced.
posted by biffa at 12:25 PM on June 6, 2016
...to an economy of consumers and producers who make generally useful stuff and then hang out and drink shrubs.
I mean that's sort of already going pretty steady w/ the whole artisinal/locally-produced thing
I think *most* artisanal/local "economies" are dressy consumerism, demonstrable in that they couldn't survive without the rest of the economy, but the rest of the economy could survive -- in the literal, eat and not freeze/steam to death, way -- without them. Not all, but the high profit margins are in consumerist appeal, so.
Maybe "artisanal" is a necessary stop to "productive". I am dubious about this because there's a hell of a lot of ignoring productive, unbranded, working-class versions of a thing until they're bought, "heritage branded", and produced by high-SES people with "interesting stories". Also, side-eye for the "Makers" who take in highly processed industrial material and output semi-custom decorative objects.
My plans for an economy that uses negative entropy for currency continue apace.
posted by clew at 12:41 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I mean that's sort of already going pretty steady w/ the whole artisinal/locally-produced thing
I think *most* artisanal/local "economies" are dressy consumerism, demonstrable in that they couldn't survive without the rest of the economy, but the rest of the economy could survive -- in the literal, eat and not freeze/steam to death, way -- without them. Not all, but the high profit margins are in consumerist appeal, so.
Maybe "artisanal" is a necessary stop to "productive". I am dubious about this because there's a hell of a lot of ignoring productive, unbranded, working-class versions of a thing until they're bought, "heritage branded", and produced by high-SES people with "interesting stories". Also, side-eye for the "Makers" who take in highly processed industrial material and output semi-custom decorative objects.
My plans for an economy that uses negative entropy for currency continue apace.
posted by clew at 12:41 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
shrub syrup? shrubs? like... small trees?
Shrubs can be made from the fruit of small trees! This is a recipe for shrub syrups - pay no mind to the frustrating voice of the article. Basically they are sugar/vinegar/fruit syrups that you add to drinks - I really want to make them because they're nice to add to fizzy water and I don't drink much alcohol. But they're not expensive, you can make them easily and then you can just add them to fizzy water and vermouth.
They were sort of trendy a couple of years ago, but that doesn't mean they're bad. I like tart-sweet fizzy drinks.
posted by Frowner at 12:43 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
shrub syrup? shrubs? like... small trees?
Have you ever sipped a shrub? Not the bush out in your front lawn, but a fruit syrup, preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a tangy, refreshing beverage.
no, I didn't know what it was either
posted by Existential Dread at 12:44 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Have you ever sipped a shrub? Not the bush out in your front lawn, but a fruit syrup, preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a tangy, refreshing beverage.
no, I didn't know what it was either
posted by Existential Dread at 12:44 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I was on a real shrub kick a couple of years ago. V v good mixed with gin and soda.
posted by Kitteh at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by Kitteh at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2016
Ooh! I didn't know the shrub syrups were real. I thought they were just, like, little succulents in pots that you had to hop over as part of a ritual somehow.
I have blackberries coming in tomorrow's grocery delivery - I'm trying that recipe out right away.
posted by tel3path at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2016
I have blackberries coming in tomorrow's grocery delivery - I'm trying that recipe out right away.
posted by tel3path at 12:46 PM on June 6, 2016
The author's only irony is being published by the Guardian, which lost 400 million in the last decade and now has to sack 250 journalists. Will our heroine be employed long enough to complete her story and return to the status quo?
posted by parmanparman at 12:47 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by parmanparman at 12:47 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
You can always buy your own Shrub, like the little people. Thought maybe this is quite different, since it leaves a film on your teeth like its liquid sugar.
posted by biffa at 12:50 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by biffa at 12:50 PM on June 6, 2016
No we need to be prepared to give an offering to the Knights Who Say "Ni".
My only worry is, how am I going to justify the luxury of drinking fizzy water.
posted by tel3path at 12:52 PM on June 6, 2016
My only worry is, how am I going to justify the luxury of drinking fizzy water.
posted by tel3path at 12:52 PM on June 6, 2016
I think the thing with the shrub recipes is that they're very simple. I am no die-hard don't-buy-if-you-can-possibly-make person, but shrubs are simple enough that it's almost easier to make them than to order them or make a special trip to the liquor store. And since I don't drink much, I don't get to the liquor store too often, so it would be a special trip.
Plus, how many home-made food things are really both extremely easy and extremely easy to vary?
posted by Frowner at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Plus, how many home-made food things are really both extremely easy and extremely easy to vary?
posted by Frowner at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Well, since we've already derailed this train, if someone knows how to make my own faux Izze [blackberry pref.!] at home, please help a girl out. I'm willing to buy a Soda Stream or whatever it takes. Thank you.
posted by bologna on wry at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by bologna on wry at 12:56 PM on June 6, 2016
I agree, Frowner - this is one of those "can you afford not to" things.
posted by tel3path at 1:02 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by tel3path at 1:02 PM on June 6, 2016
Shrubs are simple to make and deeeeelicious if you like vinegar.
Another thing: only all-or-nothing gets clicks.
So, as a critique of journalism, this is probably true, but I do think there is some value, as a way of breaking through accumulated habits and encrusted layers of thought, to making a radical change. Inertia is powerful.
posted by praemunire at 1:03 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Another thing: only all-or-nothing gets clicks.
So, as a critique of journalism, this is probably true, but I do think there is some value, as a way of breaking through accumulated habits and encrusted layers of thought, to making a radical change. Inertia is powerful.
posted by praemunire at 1:03 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I've found that not buying anything is easy to do if you already have a lot of stuff.
People forget just how much crap the average affluent Westerner buys. And, yes, projects like this shine a light on it, but I think not in the way that the authors think they are. This is an option because you already have five times the amount of clothes you need, everything you could ever want for your home*, vats of personal and household cleaning products, a late-model car, etc.
I've had involuntary periods of having to live this way due to a couple years of chronic underemployment after moving cross-country and getting rid of most of my things. Frankly, it sucks, and was not fun or quaint or spiritual at all. What I learned is that you really do sometimes need new shoes.
On the other hand, I think the fact that she's running into difficulties at the six month mark (things like needing bike repairs) is telling -- because in my experience that's when this shit starts to get real, real old.
*This is actually a problem for my fiance and I with registering for wedding gifts, because we already have all the stuff, and it's quite nice stuff because we both assumed we'd be single forever, and even duplicates of some stuff, and the suggestion to just throw away our perfectly good stuff to get new "because it's your wedding and people want to give you things" seems horrifically wasteful.
posted by Sara C. at 1:17 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
People forget just how much crap the average affluent Westerner buys. And, yes, projects like this shine a light on it, but I think not in the way that the authors think they are. This is an option because you already have five times the amount of clothes you need, everything you could ever want for your home*, vats of personal and household cleaning products, a late-model car, etc.
I've had involuntary periods of having to live this way due to a couple years of chronic underemployment after moving cross-country and getting rid of most of my things. Frankly, it sucks, and was not fun or quaint or spiritual at all. What I learned is that you really do sometimes need new shoes.
On the other hand, I think the fact that she's running into difficulties at the six month mark (things like needing bike repairs) is telling -- because in my experience that's when this shit starts to get real, real old.
*This is actually a problem for my fiance and I with registering for wedding gifts, because we already have all the stuff, and it's quite nice stuff because we both assumed we'd be single forever, and even duplicates of some stuff, and the suggestion to just throw away our perfectly good stuff to get new "because it's your wedding and people want to give you things" seems horrifically wasteful.
posted by Sara C. at 1:17 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
Similar: No Pants 2012 (giving up clothes shopping for a year)
I tried that. I called it grad school.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:19 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
I tried that. I called it grad school.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:19 PM on June 6, 2016 [3 favorites]
Sara C., it's 300% polite not to have a registry at all and if you already have two of everything, you are 300% right not to ask for more.
If anyone is shocked that you don't have a registry, you can just smile demurely and not say anything, having struck a blow at the heart of consumerism without even writing an article about it.
posted by tel3path at 1:21 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
If anyone is shocked that you don't have a registry, you can just smile demurely and not say anything, having struck a blow at the heart of consumerism without even writing an article about it.
posted by tel3path at 1:21 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Supposedly you have to register for SOMETHING because if you don't people will give you presents, and you won't like them. Which is probably worse than "Oh IDK wanna just register for a pasta maker and a mandoline and then we won't feel bad that we only use them once a year?"
We're thinking about doing the honeymoon registry idea, or possibly asking people to give to charity.
posted by Sara C. at 1:31 PM on June 6, 2016
We're thinking about doing the honeymoon registry idea, or possibly asking people to give to charity.
posted by Sara C. at 1:31 PM on June 6, 2016
opt out of the labor of shopping and just keep driving their old cars, etc.
I think this is actually really true/one of those weird sci fi predicts the future things.
At least in my social circle, you can always tell that someone is wealthy when they drive their parents' 10 year old hand-me-down luxury car. Whereas a brand new version of the same model is invariably driven by a lower-middle-class striver who needs to invest in a "nice" ride to project a certain image so that people don't confuse him with a poor person.
posted by Sara C. at 1:41 PM on June 6, 2016
I think this is actually really true/one of those weird sci fi predicts the future things.
At least in my social circle, you can always tell that someone is wealthy when they drive their parents' 10 year old hand-me-down luxury car. Whereas a brand new version of the same model is invariably driven by a lower-middle-class striver who needs to invest in a "nice" ride to project a certain image so that people don't confuse him with a poor person.
posted by Sara C. at 1:41 PM on June 6, 2016
Metafilter: Sort of a depressing films trust fund.
posted by drlith at 1:42 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by drlith at 1:42 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Food IS my "extras," especially cheeses. And nice meat.
posted by small_ruminant at 1:50 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by small_ruminant at 1:50 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sara C., I will happily take any wedding gifts you receive off your hands.
posted by tzikeh at 1:52 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by tzikeh at 1:52 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Even if you have a registry and everyone knows about it, you'll STILL get a bunch of shit you don't want.
posted by LionIndex at 2:15 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by LionIndex at 2:15 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sara C., I'm also in the same boat about planning a wedding with a house that's full of stuff, and a distaste for registering for more stuff. We chose to go with the honeymoon registry with a very clear, No, We're Serious statement about how the thing we most want is to be surrounded by friends, and stuff IS NOT NEEDED.
The thing that most surprised me about this? The folks who had to RSVP 'no' for the event because travel was tough for a variety of reasons, and they appreciated having the option to buy something from the registry just as an option for being able to show their love and support. (Like, more than a few variations on: "hey, we just bought a house and cash flow is super tight this summer, but here's a gift that we'd like to give you in lieu of our presence.")
That's a group that's super obvious in hindsight, but just not something that either my fiancee or I factored in when we were planning.
I feel like we could've changed the registry earlier if we knew that, but it's absolutely one piece of advice I'd give to anyone who has mixed consumer feelings about a gift registry.
(also, I was kind of skeptical about what people were saying with '30%-50% of your out of town guests will decline', but it's kind of true. Kids, houses, and fragile employment make traveling tough across the board.)
posted by bl1nk at 2:22 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
The thing that most surprised me about this? The folks who had to RSVP 'no' for the event because travel was tough for a variety of reasons, and they appreciated having the option to buy something from the registry just as an option for being able to show their love and support. (Like, more than a few variations on: "hey, we just bought a house and cash flow is super tight this summer, but here's a gift that we'd like to give you in lieu of our presence.")
That's a group that's super obvious in hindsight, but just not something that either my fiancee or I factored in when we were planning.
I feel like we could've changed the registry earlier if we knew that, but it's absolutely one piece of advice I'd give to anyone who has mixed consumer feelings about a gift registry.
(also, I was kind of skeptical about what people were saying with '30%-50% of your out of town guests will decline', but it's kind of true. Kids, houses, and fragile employment make traveling tough across the board.)
posted by bl1nk at 2:22 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Being in a position of relative privilege is not a crime or a moral failing. Being oblivious to it certainly can be, but the fact that a lifestyle piece doesn't apply to everyone is kind of the point of a lifestyle piece.
I've done a lot of little social experiments like this, abstaining from certain types of things, sort of to assess what's worthwhile for me, and honestly, sort of just to stave off boredom and do something new. I've never written or even talked too much about it, in part because some people seem to take it really personally. Like the fact that I'm avoiding some specific thing means that I am harshly judging everyone who doesn't.
But for middleish income people, particularly, excess buying can be a pretty big problem, and sometimes it's probably a good idea to shake things up a little bit. Part of the reason you can stop buying things for extended periods is because you've bought enough things already to get you by. That's a pretty useful takeaway in itself. It's not applicable to everyone, but it is to a lot of people.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:25 PM on June 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
I've done a lot of little social experiments like this, abstaining from certain types of things, sort of to assess what's worthwhile for me, and honestly, sort of just to stave off boredom and do something new. I've never written or even talked too much about it, in part because some people seem to take it really personally. Like the fact that I'm avoiding some specific thing means that I am harshly judging everyone who doesn't.
But for middleish income people, particularly, excess buying can be a pretty big problem, and sometimes it's probably a good idea to shake things up a little bit. Part of the reason you can stop buying things for extended periods is because you've bought enough things already to get you by. That's a pretty useful takeaway in itself. It's not applicable to everyone, but it is to a lot of people.
posted by ernielundquist at 2:25 PM on June 6, 2016 [11 favorites]
Did you know you could hook camelcamelcamel right into your Amazon wishlist account and find out when things on your wishlist go on sale?
I did but I didn't use it and here is my story...
[PLEASE REMOVE YOUR ADBLOCKER TO CONTINUE READING THIS FORBES.COM ARTICLE]
posted by griphus at 2:31 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I did but I didn't use it and here is my story...
[PLEASE REMOVE YOUR ADBLOCKER TO CONTINUE READING THIS FORBES.COM ARTICLE]
posted by griphus at 2:31 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
My kid apparently lets weasels chew on his shoes during school, that's the only explanation for what happens to them.
You mean you don't tan their little hides and make shoes from the weasel leather? What kind of a spendthrift are you?
posted by themanwho at 3:46 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
You mean you don't tan their little hides and make shoes from the weasel leather? What kind of a spendthrift are you?
posted by themanwho at 3:46 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
So how do y'all feel about Reverend Billy? Is he an asshole too? I think I love him.
If she had said she was using her savings to give away to charity, would it be more acceptable?
i don't care how many malaria shots he gives away, nothing can make up for that fucking GET WINDOWS X thing that keeps popping up no matter how many times i kill it in task manager
It's not that hard to permanently remove (and Bill Gates had absolutely nothing to do with it.) that "Get Windows 10" nag (or as easy as anything in Windows goes ... ymmvyk).
You need to Uninstall Windows Update KB3035583. I did it a few months ago and have never seen it since. (I actually forgot all about it.) Windows 7 forever! (I actually really like Windows 7.)
posted by mrgrimm at 3:54 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
If she had said she was using her savings to give away to charity, would it be more acceptable?
i don't care how many malaria shots he gives away, nothing can make up for that fucking GET WINDOWS X thing that keeps popping up no matter how many times i kill it in task manager
It's not that hard to permanently remove (and Bill Gates had absolutely nothing to do with it.) that "Get Windows 10" nag (or as easy as anything in Windows goes ... ymmvyk).
You need to Uninstall Windows Update KB3035583. I did it a few months ago and have never seen it since. (I actually forgot all about it.) Windows 7 forever! (I actually really like Windows 7.)
posted by mrgrimm at 3:54 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
The thing that most surprised me about this? The folks who had to RSVP 'no' for the event because travel was tough for a variety of reasons, and they appreciated having the option to buy something from the registry just as an option for being able to show their love and support. (Like, more than a few variations on: "hey, we just bought a house and cash flow is super tight this summer, but here's a gift that we'd like to give you in lieu of our presence.")
Instead of a gift registry, my wife and I asked any (optional) givers to contribute to a honeymoon fund. It worked, and really helped us out. I'll be honest, I can't remember if we used Honeyfund.com, but there are online sites out that that do it.
People still gave us gifts tho. I'm sure Goodwill appreciated them.
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Well - that's partly *why* London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
LOL, exactly. It's considered a "luxury" to be able to walk around in your neighborhood?! Clean parks, local libraries ... are luxuries?!?! A sad situation, perhaps one that the anti-consumerist brigade is protesting. Just a thought.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:58 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Instead of a gift registry, my wife and I asked any (optional) givers to contribute to a honeymoon fund. It worked, and really helped us out. I'll be honest, I can't remember if we used Honeyfund.com, but there are online sites out that that do it.
People still gave us gifts tho. I'm sure Goodwill appreciated them.
But it really is a window into a different world for me. She has parks close by, within biking distance, where she can explore the outdoors without being hassled. She has access to a free campground and already has the gear that she needs. She has a social circle where she can swap for things like theater tickets.
Which is pretty impressive considering she's based in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Well - that's partly *why* London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
LOL, exactly. It's considered a "luxury" to be able to walk around in your neighborhood?! Clean parks, local libraries ... are luxuries?!?! A sad situation, perhaps one that the anti-consumerist brigade is protesting. Just a thought.
posted by mrgrimm at 3:58 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also, you you rotten consumption-obsessed people are contributing to my desire to buy gin right now.
posted by drlith at 4:32 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by drlith at 4:32 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
We're thinking about doing the honeymoon registry idea, or possibly asking people to give to charity.
We didn't have a wedding registry--again, we'd accumulated enough stuff between the two of us single, it was really unnecessary. We asked for people to donate to a charity in our names instead...which led to an horrified uproar from my Southern family and a happiness to do so from my husband's Canadian one. It really made things clear about where I'm from.
posted by Kitteh at 4:38 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
We didn't have a wedding registry--again, we'd accumulated enough stuff between the two of us single, it was really unnecessary. We asked for people to donate to a charity in our names instead...which led to an horrified uproar from my Southern family and a happiness to do so from my husband's Canadian one. It really made things clear about where I'm from.
posted by Kitteh at 4:38 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah a lot of the registry confusion is because I'm White and Southern and he's Chinese-American. Vastly different gift-giving styles.
posted by Sara C. at 4:51 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by Sara C. at 4:51 PM on June 6, 2016
I'd like to do this but desperately need new shirts for work and also am going on a local brewery crawl with my buddy on Saturday so...next week?
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:56 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:56 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I do this for a month out of every year, and I really think it resets me. I just finished my buy nothing month 5 days ago, so it's fresh in my mind. I absolutely recognize while I'm doing it that this is how millions of people live every day, so I'm not propping myself up as some kind of "better person" than anyone else. But we live in an instant society and if I don't put the brakes on every once in a while, I start to take for granted all that I have.
I do think I'd like to try longer than a month, though. I think I could easily do 3 months, but a year...? I think I'll work my way up to 6 and see.
posted by greermahoney at 7:28 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
I do think I'd like to try longer than a month, though. I think I could easily do 3 months, but a year...? I think I'll work my way up to 6 and see.
posted by greermahoney at 7:28 PM on June 6, 2016 [6 favorites]
With the exception of food, gas, toiletries and gifts, my husband and I not buy anything last year. And then, in the first week of January 2016, he bought a vintage race car. Jerk or Hero?
posted by Ideefixe at 7:34 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 7:34 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Total jerk. (Unless he lets you drive it. ;)
posted by mrgrimm at 7:39 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mrgrimm at 7:39 PM on June 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I pretty much accidentally didn't buy any clothes for about a year and a half, not out of some big social experiment but because I started with plenty and I had a job where being a bit shabby was just fine. And then about a month ago I took stock and realized that I needed an entire new wardrobe, so I've been ordering clothes every week.
It's easy not to buy stuff if you are starting with a lot, and a temporary cessation of buying doesn't mean anything when it is bookended by first stocking up, and then at the end of the year replacing everything that has worn out.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:43 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
It's easy not to buy stuff if you are starting with a lot, and a temporary cessation of buying doesn't mean anything when it is bookended by first stocking up, and then at the end of the year replacing everything that has worn out.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:43 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
In his latest book Bill Bryson rejoices that all crap he has bought in his previous life and his advanced age mean that he no longer needs to shop for many things. I can see this happening to me in some areas of my life. I sorted out my underwear drawer a while back and discovered that I actually own 35 usable matched pairs of socks, which seemed like a ridiculous number to me though it will no doubt come in handy in the case of a Boyle-style zombie outbreak.
posted by biffa at 11:14 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by biffa at 11:14 PM on June 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
I do this for a month out of every year, and I really think it resets me.
I try to do something like this in February of every year with respect to leisure/entertainment items, as a way of cleansing my palate after Christmas and recalibrating my thinking about spending. I do find it useful. I think most people could benefit from trying it, just to get a more visceral sense of what they spend and how much pleasure they get from that spending. Stop the hedonic treadmill for five minutes. I think the saddest thing about consumerism is not the spending of money, but the spending of money without getting commensurate value for it. If you don't spend money on leisure items for a month, you'll quickly see what you really miss and what you can do without or find cheaper substitutes for.
posted by praemunire at 11:22 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
I try to do something like this in February of every year with respect to leisure/entertainment items, as a way of cleansing my palate after Christmas and recalibrating my thinking about spending. I do find it useful. I think most people could benefit from trying it, just to get a more visceral sense of what they spend and how much pleasure they get from that spending. Stop the hedonic treadmill for five minutes. I think the saddest thing about consumerism is not the spending of money, but the spending of money without getting commensurate value for it. If you don't spend money on leisure items for a month, you'll quickly see what you really miss and what you can do without or find cheaper substitutes for.
posted by praemunire at 11:22 PM on June 6, 2016 [4 favorites]
If she had said she was using her savings to give away to charity, would it be more acceptable?
She doesn't need my acceptance, but I suspect she is giving the savings away to charity and isn't talking about it.
posted by tel3path at 12:01 AM on June 7, 2016
She doesn't need my acceptance, but I suspect she is giving the savings away to charity and isn't talking about it.
posted by tel3path at 12:01 AM on June 7, 2016
The very best way to avoid spending money on yourself except for rent, food and bills is to have children. Very "mindful" as well!
posted by My Dad at 2:55 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by My Dad at 2:55 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
In his latest book Bill Bryson rejoices that all crap he has bought in his previous life
I do like the idea of Bill Bryson as some sort of regenerating avuncular time Lord.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:02 AM on June 7, 2016 [9 favorites]
I do like the idea of Bill Bryson as some sort of regenerating avuncular time Lord.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 3:02 AM on June 7, 2016 [9 favorites]
Sure, she gets to write a quaint article about her experience, and having read it only makes me angry that she has the luxury to do these things, as many have pointed out.
BUT: everyone's journey starts somewhere. Maybe in the end this will open her eyes to the reality that so many people live this way not by choice. Maybe this is her first step toward something bigger.
My husband and I have been on hardcore lockdown for the last 10 years to get out of debt and attempt to not be eating catfood when we are 80. We don't buy anything that isn't necessary, and we don't spend money to keep up with people. The first year we got a lot of side eye from the family when we announced that we were not buying Xmas gifts for adults who all were fully formed and had everything they needed, nor did we want or expect gifts ourselves. By the second year, our whole family abolished holiday gifts for anyone over 18 because there is no need to.
Just this morning I sewed the holes in the toes of a pair of socks because they are perfectly good socks once the holes are sewn.
posted by archimago at 4:43 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
BUT: everyone's journey starts somewhere. Maybe in the end this will open her eyes to the reality that so many people live this way not by choice. Maybe this is her first step toward something bigger.
My husband and I have been on hardcore lockdown for the last 10 years to get out of debt and attempt to not be eating catfood when we are 80. We don't buy anything that isn't necessary, and we don't spend money to keep up with people. The first year we got a lot of side eye from the family when we announced that we were not buying Xmas gifts for adults who all were fully formed and had everything they needed, nor did we want or expect gifts ourselves. By the second year, our whole family abolished holiday gifts for anyone over 18 because there is no need to.
Just this morning I sewed the holes in the toes of a pair of socks because they are perfectly good socks once the holes are sewn.
posted by archimago at 4:43 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
> a temporary cessation of buying doesn't mean anything when it is bookended by first stocking up, and then at the end of the year replacing everything that has worn out.
Not without numbers, anyway.
If this person spends $24k on clothes in a normal year, spends $0 for the year's experiment, and the year's experiment makes them realize the $24k/year on clothes doesn't lead to happiness, and they end up spending $12k the following year instead, then, in the interests of frugality, I'd say the experiment was a success.
OTOH, if their starting position is less ostentatious, those bookends could just as easily end up totaling more than if they hadn't taken the year off from consumerism.
posted by fragmede at 11:58 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not without numbers, anyway.
If this person spends $24k on clothes in a normal year, spends $0 for the year's experiment, and the year's experiment makes them realize the $24k/year on clothes doesn't lead to happiness, and they end up spending $12k the following year instead, then, in the interests of frugality, I'd say the experiment was a success.
OTOH, if their starting position is less ostentatious, those bookends could just as easily end up totaling more than if they hadn't taken the year off from consumerism.
posted by fragmede at 11:58 AM on June 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
a temporary cessation of buying doesn't mean anything when it is bookended by first stocking up, and then at the end of the year replacing everything that has worn out.
Yeah, when I do this for the month, I don't allow myself to do any stocking up ahead of time. When I run out of something I have to make do without or make it myself. Toilet paper and Excedrin are my only exceptions. :-)
posted by greermahoney at 11:10 AM on June 10, 2016
Yeah, when I do this for the month, I don't allow myself to do any stocking up ahead of time. When I run out of something I have to make do without or make it myself. Toilet paper and Excedrin are my only exceptions. :-)
posted by greermahoney at 11:10 AM on June 10, 2016
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posted by griphus at 9:34 AM on June 6, 2016 [86 favorites]