Watch THE STORY OF STUFF...

if you haven't already! I was feeling a little sorry for myself this evening, sitting at home writing my thesis and wondering what I'm going to wear for a birthday party tomorrow since I can't buy anything new. Then I watched Annie Leonard's 20-minute flash video, The Story of Stuff. Hadn't seen it in a while and it re-invigorated me [Thanks Ginna for suggesting I rewatch!]. It's just so insulting the way companies treat us: we're consumers - nothing more. I dove into my closet and found three dresses I've literally never worn since I've purchased them. There are two tops in there I've never donned either, all cute and all suitable for a night out. What is WRONG with me? I have plenty to wear!

Watch for a reality check here

Libraries? How Novel!

As a grad student, I spend a great deal of time in the library. I owe CU's Librarian my firstborn child in overdue book fees (ok ok, only 128$ according to the bill I got today.) Something I never do, however, is check out a book for pleasure from the library. If I want to read for fun instead of for school I buy books on Amazon. Not sure why I make this distinction. Maybe when reading a book cover to cover rather than quickly skimming for facts I care about newness, shininess, and cleanliness?

But no more! The no more crap rule applies to books too. I love books, so this one will be tough. But like clothes, even though I truly enjoy and value them, partially my purchase of books is just to have another status symbol. Everyone does this, right? You want people to see the "right" books at your house when they come over for dinner so they think you're deep and brilliant. Ewwwwww. We humans can be so lame! If we really are what we own as a bunch of pessimistic 20th century theorists say, my worth is dwindling significantly. I prefer my Nana's logic: You can't take it with you (when you die, that is.)

Today I returned a number of overdue academic works and checked out a Dashiel Hammett novel. It has writing in the margin which i find really annoying, but it isn't another 13 dollars down the tube for something I'll probably read one time.

PS: The irony of talking about saving money while I have accrued 128 dollars in avoidable late fees is not lost on me. I'm trying to get better...

Need another excuse to stop buying crap? you'll get thinner

...or at least that's what Peter Walsh claims in his "Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" Book

Does this sound familiar:

“All of us deal constantly with the urge to consume more,'’ he writes. “We spend too much, we buy too much, and we eat too much. In the same way we surround ourselves with so much clutter, we overwhelm our bodies with caloric clutter consisting mainly of sugar and fat.” - via Tara Parker-Hope's NYT Health Blog

One thing I strongly disagree with is his insistance that you trash the clutter. Why not give it away? Why not repurpose? Still, the gist of the argument is that less stuff makes you happier and thinner, and I am down with that. Also: richer, I might add.