I just read that the ship that make the bridge collapse was carrying 200.000 tons of goods!!

Crisis of abundance! Why America needs to add 200.000 tons of goods from Asia ? ( therefore more pollution)

While the country are already overflow of products and items everywhere already.

Sickening

I've had these pajama bottoms for years now, and I love them. The left side is the crotch area, it's practically lost all its colour and has become quite rough due to the friction in that area, whilst the right side is part of the lower leg, and is still vibrant (Much more so in real life, the red and blues are still deep and gorgeous) and still very soft.

I really don't want to replace them, they're genuinely perfect and I adore them so much, but the state they're in is rather embarrassing. Does anyone have advice on restoring them? I have absolutely no experience with this. I don't want to ruin them even more.

It doesn't have a label anywhere so I can't say what material it is.

I pried it open with some box cutters and a flat head screwdriver, cut the cables leading to the micro USB board and soldered on this USB cable, took me 10 minutes, don't have to throw away more e-waste and a replacement would have taken at least a week to arrive. I can't believe how long these earbuds have lasted me BTW.

Thought I might just as well share it here.

So I often see posts that shrug lithium ion batteries as contradictory to longevity . I wholeheartedly agree with them . I even go on to say that they are a means of planned obsolescence . However the truth is you cannot ignore them today , they are everywhere . What we however can do is increase their lifespan tremendously . I once saw on reddit that charging your phone from 20 to 80 inceases their lifespan and decided to go for it .And voila it helps ! 4 years later , my phone is still at 91 % health which is practically new .In my country it is very difficult to get replacement batteries and most of the available ones still suck anyways ( they stop holding a charge after a few months . I guess they just put new stickers on old cells. And regarding official service centers , they don't even stock them at all ). this method honestly saved me so much hassle . and it is not eeven about only phones honestly . My wireless headphones from 5 years ago still hold atleast 90 % of their charge . Tbh this method is not so much hassle as some make it out to be . In newer Samsung phones they have a feature called protect battery that limits the charging to 80 %. Also there are usb cables with auto cut off available online( I will happily link them if you say so ) . You can simply set them with a simple click and then don't even worry about it anymore . Thanks for reading!

Every time I walk by a spa, a massage parlor,...I could feel my muscles, my neck, my shoulders.... my bone started to ache. I can feel my age....and so on. I just want to experience that more often than I could afford on my teacher salary. I know I can not afford it.

Now, then come these fancy home goods stores where they sell these massage pillows...30 bucks, 50 bucks... I can pay this. Why are they so inexpensive? Are they any good? obviously un-comparable to the human experiences.

Do you use these? do you buy these gadgets? If you did, do you think they're just as wasteful as electric toothbrushes?

I know it's a no-brainer to people here to save as much as possible on energy, but I'm curious about what "extremes" y'all go to as far as thermostat settings.

For me, in the winter I set it so it drops down to 60 before the heat kicks on. I can always put on more clothes. In the summer, I set it so the AC comes on at 74. (I wish I could tolerate higher, but AC has spoiled me. I saw one article saying to set to 85 at night, but feck that ... I can't sleep unless it's relatively cool.)

In the spring and fall (total of about a third of the year), I turn the system off completely so neither the heat nor AC come on.

My advice for anyone doing any of this: Make changes gradually, so you can adjust to the chilliness (winter) or warmth (summer). When I tried doing it all at once, I failed badly.

My energy bills went down significantly when I took these steps. (Apologies to non-US folks for using Fahrenheit.)

My formally 32oz water bottle got crunched in a scissor lift. it still holds water, wondering if there is a trick to expanding it again!

Let's be honest, this world is doomed, capitalism is killing the planet and there's nothing we can do.

I feel relieved that I'll be dead when this world will be in the verge of collapsing.

I know it's a more expensive option, but do you think that getting quality hand-made items for yourself is more sustainable? I'm starting to consider that route, even more these days cause even cheap items last no more than a few days for me now. I've realize that the market constant focus on profit has saturated itself so deeply into our society that items have become less and less quality up to the point that there is just no point in spending money on them anymore, as it feels like it's just is just akin to throwing your money in a fire at this point. Idk. Is it just me, but has anyone noticed that low-quality items are even lower and high-quality items are just low now?

So, I recently had to get a new pair of shoes. That said, I don’t know what to do with the old ones. The soles were coming off, ruptured insoles, and holes in the top. Can’t just give them away in that condition.

Is there anything I can do other than throw them away?

So many forms of consumption are completely normalized like diamond rings and hair removal, and I think conventional furniture is similarly normalized. Back pain has caused me to reject my mattress, my couch, my office chair, and learn to support my spine with my core muscles. This is my own personal experience of course, but the fact that I, and many people loose the ability to naturally coordinate our core muscles from a lifetime of seating that forces slouching is conspiracy-level-insane to me. Couches encourage slouching of course, but even kitchen and school chairs are usually 'bucket style'. I was recently watching a Ted Talk about back pain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqp9sAM3bYI where it was stated that Japan's back pain rate is 3%, while Americas back pain rate is 80%, and they attributed this to the culture of floor sitting in Japan. I know correlation is not causation, but since back pain can so often be treated by improving core strength, it stands to reason that building and maintaining core strength through active postures (aka squatting, floor sitting, stool sitting, standing) could prevent it. In my opinion modern chairs and couches are similar to Cheetos; specifically designed to be addicting, and not healthy for you. Furniture is one of the more expensive purchases we make (if you don't get it second hand), and it creates a dependence. Use it or loose it. When you don't get up and down off the floor you loose that mobility. When you don't support your own core you can become completely incapable of creating good posture. And then you're trapped into a cycle of buying furniture because now your body has become dependent on it. Don't get me wrong, I advocate for a very accessible world, and that means furniture. Lots of people legitimately need conventional furniture for a variety of reasons, but I also find it very disturbing that I and so many have lost the ability to get up and down from the floor easily, that companies have convinced us we 'need' to spend thousands of dollars on a mattress for our health (most don't), and that my successful efforts to manage my pain have made me a 'weirdo' in a culture that has so normalized furniture. So much of consumption is enforced through conformity, and that has been a big realization in this journey.

Quick question: what’s the warranty situation like where you live? Where I live (Italy) all new products must have a minimum warranty of 2 years against manufacturing defects (with some exceptions, usually batteries or other wear items aren’t covered). For new vehicles it’s the same 2 years, but if you buy a used vehicle from a dealership they must legally give you a minimum of 1 year warranty. I think this is one of the main reasons why many people prefer to buy new instead of used

After doing some research, I found out sustainability is more complex than it seems. For example, plastic isn't always the worst option and organic farming isn't always better than traditional farming. Just important to be aware of especially with the rampant greenwashing. Here's a video that goes into more depth about it.

We now buy the cheap crisps & put them into reusable tubs.

My not-so-old wireless headphones started to wear down in multiple points exposing the cables. Can't pull in a heat-shrinking-cable since the ear modules are too big to pull through. Thinking about maybe cutting thin bands from duck tape. Any other suggestions?

I'll be honest. I LOVE STUFF. I love physical media like vinyls, CDs, tapes, VHS, and DVD. I love books, and clothes, and crystals. But I can't stand having to buy food I can make myself or buy certain products I can make myself, like bagels or something. I buy almost everything secondhand, is that enough?

We moved to the countryside a year ago and wear wellies often because the surrounding area is pretty wet /muddy. I have some pretty good other boots that are mostly waterproof but not completely. In the past year we have had three pairs of wellies (two of them second hand) develop holes either at the point where the sole is glued on or where the rubber folds/moved while walking. What can I do to make them last longer? Is there a way to repair them that will make them completely waterproof again?

I have been working hard to reduce my consumption, it was already kind of natural as I am very frugal and thrift everything I can. What gets me is groceries. Most of the items are plastic, and while I reuse plastic containers as Tupperware, milk cartons and single use plastic wrapping/bags will be the death of me. It seems there is no alternative in my area. I am wishing for a refill store, but I live in a smaller city so it’s unlikely to happen. I do try to buy from local places as much as possible, but I can’t always due to distance and they don’t have everything I need.

All of that to ask, does anyone know of a way I can reduce plastic waste with groceries? Any practical ideas for how to reuse plastic waste? Apologies if this post isn’t allowed, but I figured y’all would be able to help :)

Ran out of sugar scrub, instead of buying one of the MANY available in the store, I made my own from ingredients I already have and in a jar I had in the cabinet. Sugar, coconut oil, vitamin e oil, and aloe. Smells delicious, saved money, and I know exactly what’s in it. :)

Easter Basket Filler Ideas?

Hi,

I was hoping for some ideas for what to put in my kids’ Easter baskets this year. Not a fan of cheap plastic toys and candy. So far all I’ve thought of are socks and home made cookies.

Any ideas? We’ve been reusing the same small baskets for years. Last year, I did a thrifted books theme.

Thanks!

What was the moment that made you decide you wanted to live an anticonsumption lifestyle? What changes did you make as a result?

On the one hand, you are spending time obsessing over mass produced materialism, which is arguably pointless and sad. On the other hand, you avoid contributing to environmental destruction and are connecting with other people face to face. It’s kind of a rorschach test for what it means to be anticonsumption. A similar issue is buying raw materials to make stuff- good or bad? Curious to find out where people here draw the line for themselves.

I feel like these are such a waste of time and materials to produce. In the old days they used to patch holds, now they purposely create. $64.95 to have jeans pre worn. My wife loves them and I hate them. I don’t want this to come between us but how can I encourage this kind of manufacturing and wasting of time and materials