| IF THERE’S any “downsizing” or “rightsizing” needed in these hard times, it is not in the workplace, but in people’s lifestyles, and their consumption habits. Consider, for example, how some people have managed to stuff their homes with things they can do without and have bought unnecessary things with money they don’t have, that is, via credit card. Much of a country’s economy is fueled by consumer spending, but American-style consumerism has deluded people into believing that acquisition of material goods brings happiness. 100 things A grassroots movement in the US known as “The 100 Thing Challenge” started by Dave Bruno (author of a book of the same title) is pushing for ways to buy less and “change the way commerce happens.” After looking around his home one summer and realizing just how much of his family’s belongings were cluttering their lives, Bruno said he decided to embark on this undertaking to help him and his family “put stuff in its place” and explore his belief that “stuff can be good when it serves a purpose greater than possession alone.” Bruno injects humor in his book saying that we are first and foremost human beings, not consumers. “Sometimes I’m surprised by humans. There is simply nothing else on earth remotely like us. But we’re too content to act beneath ourselves. Dogs act like dogs. Birds act like birds … dolphins act like dolphins. But humans? We often act like jackasses! We’ll divorce the woman we once loved in order to pursue wealth. We’ll charge up a credit card in order to buy cute clothes to try to be more attractive for some guy who treats us like nothing. We’ll stop being friends with someone who’s no longer in our socio-economic strata ... We sometimes act as if things were more important than people ... Act like people are most important! You’ll find yourself buying less things and you’ll be a blessing to many people along the way, including yourself,” he says. Meaning Crafty marketers, Bruno says, figure out all sorts of ways to make their products sound like they will make your life more meaningful. “Don’t be fooled—you cannot buy a meaningful life ... I’m not saying you cannot buy something that will benefit your life. Lots of things we buy make life better—chocolate, books, underwear, computers, garden hoses. Yet I’m not aware of anything that can be bought in a store that will make life more meaningful,” he writes. Simplify Bruno’s battlecry: Reduce (get rid of some of your stuff), refuse (to get more new stuff), and rejigger (your priorities). He says you can simplify your personal possessions to just one hundred items by following these simple guidelines: “Shared items such as your family’s cookware and items for strictly utilitarian reasons (cleaning supplies, basic tools, an emergency kit, eating utensils), and household things such as dining tables and beds, pillows and bed sheets don’t count among the 100 items. Collections or memorabilia count as one item and so does your library of books. “Do some regular decluttering at least a few times a year. “Give away unwanted junk such as tacky Christmas ornaments, old and unused clothing and accessories. See if an old printer will be of use to a nonprofit organization. “Think of how much lighter you will feel when you clear up more space.” Bruno says when we own a lot of stuff, the stuff starts to own us: Our happiness, our attention, and our sense of identity. “Imagine how wonderful you will feel when you’ve reduced your personal possessions by 50 percent and you can enjoy a simple bouquet of freshly cut followers on the kitchen table instead of five magazines, old vacation souvenirs and useless electronics. The spiritual cliché proves itself to be true: The more we let go of our earthly possessions, the greater opportunity we have to expand in spirit,” he says. “Sentimentality and nostalgia are the two killjoys of efficient decluttering.” Bruno says people shouldn’t be worried that donating family Christmas ornaments is like throwing away your family memories in the garage. He cites the advice of organizing expert Julie Morgenstern: Remember to SHED—“separate the treasures, heave the trash, embrace your identity from within and drive yourself forward.” “Once you’ve gotten rid of your unwanted stuff, be extremely conscious about future purchases that will take up space. Bruno says decluttering defeats its purpose if, a few months later, you will buy more stuff that will take up new space and which will get trashed in next year’s massive possessive purge. Keep up the simplified life. Our take on this is, what you don’t use, you don’t need. Calculated consumption According to a recent New York Times article, new studies of consumption and happiness show that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses. It cited the example of an investment manager married to a physiologist, who made about $40,000 a year and had too much: A two-bedroom apartment, two cars, enough wedding china to serve two dozen people. Caught in what she called a “work-spend treadmill,” but gradually inspired by books she had read on simple living, she and her husband started to donate some of their belongings to charity. “As months passed, out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, books, pots and pans. Eventually they got rid of their cars too. Now she owns four plates, three pairs of shoes and two pots. She happily works from home as a web designer and freelance writer. One other thing they no longer have: A $30,000 debt, but they are able to pay off their bills. And because their debt is paid, she now works fewer hours, giving her time to be outdoors and to volunteer for a nonprofit outreach program,” the article says. “While she and her husband overhauled their spending habits before the recession, legions of other consumers have since had to reconsider their own lifestyles, bringing a major shift in consumption patterns.” Marshal Cohen, an analyst at a retailing research and consulting firm, says conspicuous consumption has turned from “buying without regard” to calculated consumption. “Consumers are saving more and spending less than they have in decades, and this trend is expected to continue,” Cohen says. Although a nation’s economy may be largely dependent on consumer spending, the upside is that consumers have adopted certain forms of behavior and practices to cope with the economic crisis—something that makes them happier. |
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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