Simplicity Month, or How Saturday Didn't Go Like I Planned, but That's OK Too. By Catherine on 9/24/2007 09:21:00 AM
So Saturday was not the day of heavy lifting and de-messing that I anticipated, but truthfully we got a frigging TON done. You should see the closet. You wouldn't even think it belonged to me. And now some lucky Sal-Val shopper will get a bunch of too-sexy-for-work shirts and a few pairs of stripper-esque high heels. Also Carol gave me 2 new white shirts that she decided weren't for her, which, hello awesome timing, cause I definitely threw out a bunch of stained and yucky white stuff. Some of my wackier items went to Cha-Cha, the only girl I know wackier than me (and with an awesome body to show off). She got the France shirt, a strappy shoulderless number with silver chain (oh yes, you know you always wanted to see me in nylon and chain-maille.) I think my club days are over... Though, they only ever existed at Diva's, because I can't dance unless it's with other girls and gay men. Sometimes I get the feeling my life is going to end up like an episode of Will and Grace. But I digress, shockingly enough.So, the clothes/closet/laundry, that got done. And the tupperware, and pots and pans, and Really Deep Cabinet. And I made a pile for dry cleaning, yay more bills. Zach came over to help, and he made off like a bandit with some of Adam's old clothes, and funny enough, a tupperware lid that HAD A MATCH. He said he was going to make a mask out of it... I hope it's worth it, cause otherwise his mask will be coming back to live at my house and cover the chili. Like, you know, tupperware lids are supposed to. I'll make room in the fridge if he's grown attached. I keep digressing, I really have no right to be a SpEd teacher with this untreated ADD.
All in all, I really wanted to make this purge an exercise in simplicity, because humans have no right to consume consume consume the way we do. In an ideal world, I'll eventually have a lucrative book contract and money to spare, so I'll be able to have a little eco-compound and spend my days as a prolific hermit. EcoStreet actually has a great blog post that gets right to the heart of what I mean by eco-compound, but until then, small things like recycling bottles and cans, composting food waste (can't do that at my house, grrrr landlord), keeping the heat/lights/AC off, going paper-free for bills and news, etc... There are infinite options to use LESS, waste LESS, and I'm trying very hard to live simply and be conscious of those things. There have been times in my life when I've given into the hopeless materialism that seems so pervasive in my generation, but I realize quickly that none of that makes me happy or has any lasting value. I don't condemn those who do live like that, because I am all about doing whatever the hell you want, as long as you don't bug me. I don't care if you sew your clothes by hand from hemp and burlap or buy everything at Louis Vuitton, drive a Prius or an H3, but collectively we need to make some concessions and realizations, because the destruction is visible on a daily basis. It's not the actions of any one individual that creates the crisis, but rather the collected actions of many, intensified by the pure, unadulterated love of STUFF that has completely permeated American society.
And it feels like it came on pretty fast-- correct me if I'm wrong, but after 9/11, there was a huge campaign to "keep the economy growing" by buying sundries and luxury items, as a kind of eff you to the terr'sts. I was 17 on 9/11, and completely unaware of the consequences it had on our economy. Maybe the mentality is left over from the 80s and 90s, when the upswing and the boom and the balanced budget made us forget our simple roots. But, as I grow older, I discover that the simpler my life is, the better I feel. Processed foods, plastic EVERYTHING, bling-- I don't need it and neither does anyone else, for that matter. So, the call, from Pavots Rouges-- donate your stuff. I am officially naming September "Simplicity Month." Take a step back, do some yoga, and reflect on what's actually important to you. You might be surprised what you find; I know I was.
For more, check out these links:
Friends of the Earth
EcoStreet
Environmental Health News