I’m just about to celebrate 20 weeks of Subverting Overconsumption, bringing me well over a third of the way through my project of buying nothing new for a year. Unfortunatey I seem to have hit a bumpy patch on the road, and though there’s not much to do but keep going, I’m not feeling all that happy about it.
It’s like this interminable Canadian prairie winter: March 1st hits, and what started as just a few months of cold weather suddenly turns unbearable. The thought of enduring one more night of freezing feet or one more wind-bitten walk to work is just too much to handle.
Subverting Overconsumption is feeling similar. It’s not that what I’ve set out to do is that hard - I’ve stuck to my plan, and the result has been a significant increase in my awareness of what I consume, how and why. But at the moment I seem to have hit a wall where everything about it just feels uninspired and irritating.
Case in point: when I moved out of my old place I had to leave the left-shooting house hockey stick behind. Now I’m without, so I’ve tried the regular stuff: posting it to my Wish List and to Freecycle, visiting the local used sports equipment store, etc. But to no avail. No stick wants to find me.
When I had to endure a trip to Canadian Tire to help a friend pick out her own shiny new stick, I couldn’t help wondering what the purpose of me not buying a stick actually is. I mean, my rationale is still rational: though I consume plenty, I like that new goods aren’t being manufactured just for me when there is more than enough perfectly good stuff already in existence to reuse. But the sound of my voice explaining to friends that I can’t come out to play for lack of stick is increasingly grating, and in the meantime I’m getting less exercise, breathing less fresh air, and having less fun for my trouble.
I guess I’m in the whiny phase of Subverting Overconsumption. It’ll probably pass. I mean, I’m certainly not bored with life…there are a million more radical things I want to do as a result of starting by buying nothing new. Maybe I’m just at the part where I realize that what I’ve committed to isn’t enough, but what I think I might want to commit to next is too scary to say out loud. For now I just want a fricking hockey stick.
Sticklessly yours, n
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March 10, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Peter D
Hey Nikki,
I’ll just say that I think that what you’re doing is great. But if you buy a hockey stick, you’re not a bad person or anything like that, you just want to play hockey.
It’s never been about not consuming anything (or producing no ghg’s, or watching no TV), for me, it’s about doing a lot less of each of those and having an understanding of what you are doing when you engage in those activities. I know I should probably tell you to resist and not buy the stick, but hell, buy the stick and then go have fun playing hockey. As long as you don’t buy a new stick every week, or even every year, then why not?
The Devil on your right shoulder,
Peter
March 13, 2007 at 7:24 am
signature103
Hi Nikki,
I agree with Peter.
Subverting overconsumption isn’t subverting consumption. If you need something buy it. But cherish the purchase. Make sure the item is not wasted, that you really need to make the purchase. If you are only going to use it once or twice I’d hold off. But if you eventually need to make the purchase anyway then go buy it.
But knowing Murphy’s Law one will show up at your doorstep just after you make that purchase… and one won’t show up if you don’t. So that way I see it is, make the purchase and know that it will be a buy-one-get-one-free purchase. Then you can go sell the one at your doorstep and feel you have received a discount. Haha.
March 17, 2007 at 10:23 pm
goodgirlculture
thanks guys for your encouragement to buy what i need. problem with this project is that i have so very many caveats to begin with that i’m reluctant to break the guidelines i do have.
this particular problem was resolved by a major thaw in southern saskatchewan that ended the shinny season. so unless i decide to get involved in street hockey this summer i should be ok!
xo nikko