I looked around the sub already but didn't find anything that quite described this 100%, so I thought it was worth asking.

I've mostly overcome the mindless consumption bug and am a lot more mindful of what I buy nowadays. I was once a pretty heavy collector of plastic crap of all kinds and am still getting rid of a lot of that (those of you also on r/declutter might have seen my posts where I ranted about anime collector spaces where every bit of plastic somehow manages to have value... the peak consumerism of the anime industry re: merchandising and etc. would make a great post here, if it hasn't already been discussed in the past, but that's not what I'm here to talk about). Getting out of hobbies that are just buying for the sake of buying and owning shit has been great for me in many ways, and has led to me focusing more on hobbies where I'm more involved with what I do buy and actually do something with it.

However, another issue has come up for me somewhat recently (or at least I've only paid attention to it recently). I've always been very good at taking care of what I own (partly out of necessity - I grew up poor and we couldn't afford to replace things willy-nilly), which makes most of my stuff last a long time. That's great and I intend on continuing to do that, but I've also noticed that I eventually get to a point where I want to buy something new because... I've owned the same stuff for so long that I'm getting bored of it? That's probably the best way to describe it.

I used clothes as an example in the post title because they're one of the main categories where I struggle with this, especially with shirts. I take good care of my clothes because I want them to last. Of course part of that involves getting higher quality items that last longer in the first place, but taking care during washing and drying, small repairs as needed and when possible, etc. makes a difference too. I still own a few shirts from college - I graduated ten years ago! (Most of them have been relegated to pyjama shirts, but still.) But I find that I get bored of them because I'm wearing the same things over and over and have owned the same items for so long. Sometimes I cave in and buy a new shirt or something because I want something new, but if not for those, I probably wouldn't have bought new clothes (other than socks and underwear, and 1:1 replacements of things that did wear out) in the last 2 or 3 years.

I noticed this doesn't occur with anything I view as practical/useful. It's probably because with anything useful, I only have enough for what I really need. I used to have a problem with owning too many hoodies and too many shoes (damn you Converse) but I pared down to items I loved and that had a purpose - for the hoodies, that meant more or less tying each one to a different kind of weather or occasion (one is thinner and good to wear in the evenings in summer, the two thicker ones I mostly wear in fall, that sort of thing), which got me down to 4 hoodies from... a lot more than that. For the shoes, similar idea. Now I just replace those items 1:1 when they wear out... yet despite having a limited amount of both of those things and wearing the same ones often, I don't find myself getting bored with them the same way I do with my shirts.

It happens with more than just clothes, but this example was the best one I could give to illustrate the situation.

I understand I'm rambling a bit here, but I'm wondering if anyone else has felt similar about certain things they own. How were you able to overcome that feeling in the end? I feel like this is the last thing I'm struggling to overcome when it comes to getting out of the mindless consumption cycle, so I'd love to hear your input on the situation. Thanks!

Because I no longer have any respect for it and no longer believe that there will be any kind of meaningful improvement.

Anyone else feel this way?

I get mad every month and this really does annoy me. I've had pharmacist put all the meds into 1 of these bags. I hate it when they give me a bag for each med

I feel like a standard working week exhausts me so much, that I only got a tiny bit of energy left which will then only suffice for consumption. Not that I like buying stuff, but mostly I only feel awake enough after work to go into a shop and look at stuff/buy it. Marketing and the presence of consumption are very offensive, ever present and also you can (or need to) be passive while doing so. You need to invest energy into socializing, doing sports, having a walk, educating yourself or creating something. I feel "harvested" by capitalist consumer culture.

What are your thoughts on this?

Ideally, we'd like someone who can be available to check in periodically during US nighttime hours--so roughly in the range of 4:00 and 14:00 UTC or thereabouts. Mostly this would consist of checking for spam and overactive bots, and every now and again, any really egregious problems.

Ideally, you'd have a decent grasp of the rules and the scope and the intent of the sub as well.

Let us know in the comments if you're interested. Thanks!

This was posted in r/loblawsisoutofcontrol

I love chewing gum. I’ve tried reducing my usage, switching from individually wrapped to those plastic containers with pellets. Yes I could stop chewing entirely but I enjoy it and find it helps manage stress.

Recently I’ve fully switched to mastic gum/chios tears - which comes as chunks straight from a tree resin. That seems to be doing the trick but I feel guilty having it shipped in from half the world away given if only grows in one specific area.

Anyone else have an alternative solution?

I recently saw a story about government workers being forced back into the office an extra day per week and one of the forms of resistance/protest was encouraging a "no-buy" for workers to not buy coffees, lunches, etc. on days they were back in the office. This was met with backlash saying that it would "hurt small businesses" and then changed the messaging to "buy local".

I don't understand the shift. It still encourages people to consume, whether it's from a local shop or a big chain. If the message is "if you're forcing me back in the office, I'm not buying shit because you can't force me into capitalism" vs "let me buy this $26 lunch from a local salad place." Then that's still capitalism.

I'm disappointed to see this kind of messaging. I work downtown and bring my coffee and lunch to work every time. I forgot my coffee at home one time, bought from a local coffee shop (it was not as good as I make at home) and after that I made sure never to forget it again.

What's so controversial about encouraging people who work in the office not to buy while they're at work?

I've always been a bit uncreative, and have leaned on cheap costumes from the typical halloween stores. In retrospect, it's cheap crap that doesn't look that great.

I'm looking for inspiration for this year. I am going to multiple parties, so I do feel committed to having a costume.

What fun costume ideas you guys have this year with anticonsumption in mind? I can imagine the two best paths forward are a buy it for life costume that I'd be stoked to wear every year, or explore thrift stores for ideas.

God willing, there's hope for a better tomorrow.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/10/09/renewables-revolution-the-good-and-the-bad-news-from-the-ieas-latest-wind-and-solar-stockt

https://www.chron.com/sports/article/dak-prescott-mansion-cowboys-19829357.php

My interests being history and costume/sewing can lead me to dark places...

How many GLARING red flags to do you see?

First - I absolutely hate that Christmas always "comes early" ... as in, decor being put out before Halloween pumpkins have had a chance to be carved. So I'm sorry for being "that" person, however I'm in desperate need of some ahead-of-time advice/input!

Husband and I had our first child this year and have just decided to host Christmas at our new house! We will have roughly 25 people over, almost half of those being kids. My internal struggle is I'm anti-consumption, yet also very party-hostess-obsessed. I try to do my best when we host get togethers (use our own dishes instead of single-use disposables, purchase any decorations from thrift shops only, provide compost-friendly to-go containers to take leftovers home, etc.) but this will be our largest party yet and would love some input from this fine group!

So far here is what I have:

For take-home favors ... instead of using disposable wrapping, boxes or bags, I want to stuff favors into something useful and reusable. I'm thinking personalized oven mitts for the adults, and beanies/toboggan hats for the kids. Those are both multi-use items. For the adults all I have so far is homemade vanilla extract (using mini blue glass bottles I already have), hot cocoa mix in a jar, and maybe a mini loaf of bread? For the kids I'm struggling to come up with anything other than candy and socks. My mom suggested little kitschy games but those inevitably get broken or bored with within the first few weeks, and my goal is not to purchase anything that can't be donated or will end up in a landfill by Christmas 2025.

I'm avoiding anything "Christmas specific" - i.e. Christmas mugs, socks with Santa on them, etc. - because even though yes those things are reusable, they only can be utilized a small portion of the year, and will more likely end up in a trash can than a storage tote.

For decor ... I'm going to try my hand at various types of DIY garland (dried orange slices, popcorn, strips of fabric cut from clothes I no longer wear, etc.) Are there any other decoration ideas out there that won't contribute to the already monstrous heaps of plastic and trash that exist? (I will say, the very few season-specific items I do purchase all go into storage containers and stored away to be reused the next year, no matter how cheap or simple the item is.)

Please share any and all gift/favors/decor ideas that fight against the usual bombardment of plastic candy dispensers (I'm looking at you Pez dispensers and "reindeer poop" toys), cheap tinsel, fake snow, and Christmas hand soap in a plastic container that will probably only be used for a week. Thank you!!

TL;DR - Need suggestions for Christmas gifts and decorations that are multi-use and eco-friendly

https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biae087/7808595

Please take a look at the 2024 climate report. At least the intro and conclusion. Be armed with the facts and act accordingly.

Hi I thrifted this bag recently & I was wondering how to clean it up & refresh the leather. As you can see the bottom right corner is a bit worn & generally the leather is worn so I was just wondering how to safely clean it up. Thanks in advance:)