“We’re all just spending $40 on the lobster, forgetting it's the butter that makes it good.”
My first thought was “This would look great as a plaque! I wonder if I could have someone on Etsy make it.” Then I thought “Dang. That would be a lobster.” so instead I’m going to write this on a scrap piece of paper and put it on my bulletin board.
I love this post, it was well-written and on a topic I care deeply about. I love recycling old things, in particular I make scrap metal art from things that other people throw away on trash days - it's just so much fun to take random pieces and create something new out of them :)
I love scrap metal art! There was a house in my old neighborhood that had an entire fence made out of it, and every time I'd see something new. So magical.
Thank you for writing this. Those Kardashian pics sucked life from my soul and really highlights how consumption culture is killing everything. Take a walk along a beach in my part of the world and you'll see beautiful Caribbean shorelines choked with flip-flops, plastic toys, Tupperware etc. Microplastics are now in the salt air we breathe. It's sad:( But good on your town for keeping things in check with their garbage policy! Sounds revolutionary.
Beautifully articulated! Particularly love this about where you (and I!) live — "The best things you can acquire seem to be wrinkles, tans, and peaks, because even without stuff, envy can find a new target." We're certainly lucky to call these peaks and people our home, but it still does take a conscious effort to avoid the hyper-consumption of the rest of the world.
"There’s never a moment with the parents when the hosts acknowledge the problem is not a lack of shelves, but a lack of self-control. "
Yes. Also, I remember when you and I talked in our interview about the biggest challenges a newcomer might face with remote cabin living, we discussed the ability to have everything we want delivered almost instantly, and the limited capacity for storing things.
I think the single best thing that the average person could do to stop mindless consumption is to cancel their Amazon subscription. Sometimes even a 15-minute trip to the store is enough to make you consider whether a purchase is worth it.
I wonder if the shipping costs are enough of a deterrent? Our best hope seems to just be awareness and self-control (yikes) the easiest way I convince myself to not purchase is to simply put it in my cart and wait a week. Usually I either forget about it, or I'm like, "yeah I don't need that." But we've seen how well preaching patience works lol — there's a whole industry fighting it!
“We’re all just spending $40 on the lobster, forgetting it's the butter that makes it good.” That’s pure gold. Like the butter itself.
This really hit home as I had taken a break from reading Fulfillment, by Alex MacGillis, about the impact (read: devastation) Amazon has had on America, to read something brief but uplifting. While it didn’t lift me up, it did reinforce the need to think differently about what we truly need.
P.S. I did go to the Container store today and only spent $11 on a weekly chore organizer for the kids, and laughed when I saw the Marie Kondo products being hawked.
Utter curiosity, what is an Eco Queen? and perhaps, is there something about that which you seek to avoid being/becoming? (any lack of sewage treatment quite notwithstanding)
I meant it in that I'm not a perfect steward of the environment — I take airplane rides, I still order some things online, I don't grow all my own food. But being as eco-conscious as possible is something that now, in my mid-30s, I'm so much more aware of. I don't avoid it, I strive for it.
“We’re all just spending $40 on the lobster, forgetting it's the butter that makes it good.”
My first thought was “This would look great as a plaque! I wonder if I could have someone on Etsy make it.” Then I thought “Dang. That would be a lobster.” so instead I’m going to write this on a scrap piece of paper and put it on my bulletin board.
This is where me and my terrible painting skills go wild
I have terrible marker skills! They could go wild too.
Hit the nail on the head. If everyone began to thoughtfully consume.....the world would be healthier .... and so would we.
I love this post, it was well-written and on a topic I care deeply about. I love recycling old things, in particular I make scrap metal art from things that other people throw away on trash days - it's just so much fun to take random pieces and create something new out of them :)
I love scrap metal art! There was a house in my old neighborhood that had an entire fence made out of it, and every time I'd see something new. So magical.
Thank you for writing this. Those Kardashian pics sucked life from my soul and really highlights how consumption culture is killing everything. Take a walk along a beach in my part of the world and you'll see beautiful Caribbean shorelines choked with flip-flops, plastic toys, Tupperware etc. Microplastics are now in the salt air we breathe. It's sad:( But good on your town for keeping things in check with their garbage policy! Sounds revolutionary.
Ugh, makes me so sad about your shorelines. Humans, woof.
That last sentence…so good!
💛 Thank you!!
Beautifully articulated! Particularly love this about where you (and I!) live — "The best things you can acquire seem to be wrinkles, tans, and peaks, because even without stuff, envy can find a new target." We're certainly lucky to call these peaks and people our home, but it still does take a conscious effort to avoid the hyper-consumption of the rest of the world.
Oooh, just signed up!
Thank you!
"There’s never a moment with the parents when the hosts acknowledge the problem is not a lack of shelves, but a lack of self-control. "
Yes. Also, I remember when you and I talked in our interview about the biggest challenges a newcomer might face with remote cabin living, we discussed the ability to have everything we want delivered almost instantly, and the limited capacity for storing things.
I think the single best thing that the average person could do to stop mindless consumption is to cancel their Amazon subscription. Sometimes even a 15-minute trip to the store is enough to make you consider whether a purchase is worth it.
I wonder if the shipping costs are enough of a deterrent? Our best hope seems to just be awareness and self-control (yikes) the easiest way I convince myself to not purchase is to simply put it in my cart and wait a week. Usually I either forget about it, or I'm like, "yeah I don't need that." But we've seen how well preaching patience works lol — there's a whole industry fighting it!
“We’re all just spending $40 on the lobster, forgetting it's the butter that makes it good.” That’s pure gold. Like the butter itself.
This really hit home as I had taken a break from reading Fulfillment, by Alex MacGillis, about the impact (read: devastation) Amazon has had on America, to read something brief but uplifting. While it didn’t lift me up, it did reinforce the need to think differently about what we truly need.
P.S. I did go to the Container store today and only spent $11 on a weekly chore organizer for the kids, and laughed when I saw the Marie Kondo products being hawked.
I hadn't heard of that book - can't wait to check it out! (To be equally sad, read Billionaire Wilderness.)
Utter curiosity, what is an Eco Queen? and perhaps, is there something about that which you seek to avoid being/becoming? (any lack of sewage treatment quite notwithstanding)
I meant it in that I'm not a perfect steward of the environment — I take airplane rides, I still order some things online, I don't grow all my own food. But being as eco-conscious as possible is something that now, in my mid-30s, I'm so much more aware of. I don't avoid it, I strive for it.