{Sustainable} Conscious Living

For a few months now, I’ve been thinking more and more about the amount of stuff I need. As I’ve said before, my favorite thing to do is thrift. I also love things. I’ve always justified my mild hoarder tendencies with the idea that 80% of the clothes, housewares, general knickknacks were second hand, new to me, so that made it ok. As long as I wasn’t consuming new goods, and “saving” stuff from landfills, how much I bought was a non-issue.

My wardrobe has always been a revolving door. Things hang in the closet for a few months, get moved to a pile on the floor and then get donated. But lately, many items overstayed their welcome and I felt overwhelmed by the number of dresses (or sweaters or coffee mugs) I owned. I’ve been feeling more and more disillusioned with my collection (this is maybe another problem, that I think my piles of cashmere sweaters and lampshades are worthy to be called a “collection”). I feel a little smooshed by stuff.

A lot of this disillusionment has to do with Four Corners and learning about fair trade. When I watch the films from the film library or read the books we have, I’m reminded that everything I own was made by a person. Even if I bought it at Goodwill, every plate was originally 1 in a pile of 20, packed into a box to be shipped across the world. Can you even imagine all the resources that went into making one single object?

So, I’m working on it. I ruthlessly cleaned out my closet, but I still have a long way to go to a minimalist and thoughtful lifestyle. Here are some of the steps I’m taking to live a more sustainable, conscious life.

get rid of it!
Self explanatory. If you don’t use it, get rid of it. Done and done. (Psst… give it to someone who does need it.)

buy second hand
This one is easy, since it’s what I do most of the time. The key difference is now quantity. New mantra: I do NOT need another white t shirt. From now on, I’ll be in forcing a strict “one in, one out” policy, and donating what I do not need to Milwaukee’s House of Peace.

buy fair trade or usa made
When buying fair trade, you are making the conscious decision to honor people around the world. Fair trade means fair treatment, a guarantee you cannot get from Target. I usually equate the same to USA made. However, Google is my friend. I will look up exactly where “Made in the USA” products are made, and find a word or two about the factories. My favorite USA brand is Everlane, for their transparency.

save up for big purchases
This one is a “duh” but when you’re conditioned to gobbling $2.99 tank tops like candy, it takes some reminding. At the moment, I’m saving up for a Lemlem Ethiopian cotton beach coverup. Expensive, but it would easily replace the 4 or 5 dresses I have laying around. (To be completely honest, this won’t happen. I am my Goodwill-lovin’ mother’s daughter, after all). BUT the idea is spending a bit more to find what you really need. One well-made and unique Mata Traders dress is worth much more than a boring old jersey maxi.

We talk a lot about conscious consuming at Four Corners, and when dreaming up our summer activities at the store, it seemed a natural choice to discuss these ideas.

Please Join Us:

August 7th @6pm for a film showing of Tiny: A Story About Living Small. “What is home? And how do we find it? One couple’s attempt to build a Tiny House with no building experience raises questions about sustainability, good design, and the changing American Dream.” Read more here.

August 28th @6pm for our book discussion on Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. Learn more about the book here.