Exit Blog

In 4 hours my month of anti-consumerism comes to a close.

I am relieved but a little sad. My little journey of discovery is ending. There is so much that I will take with me and carry over into my everyday life so I guess it will never truly end and this extreme form of protest may be repeated at some point. It has been very 'cleansing'.

I have had the opportunity to really think about the elements of modern society that usually I would not stop to consider more than fleetingly.......distribution of wealth most importantly and how one can be a willing member of our contemporary life yet make the right choices in everyday consumer decisions.

Dropping out of society and mass-rejecting the life we have become accustomed to is not necessarily a positive move, rather adopting a different, more questioning approach and an analysis and re-assesment of how to participate and positively influence the world today and all that encompasses.

By simply choosing to purchase ethically sourced goods or from companies that minimise the environmental impact whether it's a reconditioned fridge or fairtrade coffee will start making a difference.

By boycotting commerce in all it's forms will not solve any problems only create more.
By making the right choices - from changing your energy supply over to a renewable source, darning socks rather than buying them from Primark to supporting your local greengrocer (if you are lucky enough to still have one!) will benefit not only you and the world we live on but will help promote the the traditional aspects of simple life that we have lost.

Reaslising that the 'convenience' that big brands market at us will only result in sort term gain, long term pain.
For the 'cash rich/time poor' people out there. Why? Try a little balance, chill out a bit, maybe earning a little less and having a little more time would be more rewarding.

Working more to earn more to buy more, where has this mentality come from?
Have we been so heavily advertised at that this is what happiness is? Owning things? Is satisfaction being able to afford food from M&S and Waitrose (who, by the way, may get their beef from the farm just down the road from you but then transport it to various packaging and distribution centres, so by the time it gets back to you has travelled half way round the country) ?
Does the personal satisfaction gained from buying and owning a 300 pound pair of shoes cancel out the exploitation that occured in the making of them?

I still will struggle with the pleasure gained from purchases. I really use shopping as a mood booster, retail therapy has always played a big part of my life. I am determined to stiffle this. This month I have not been able to lean on that 'therapy', I have had time to reflect and have been happier this month and more care-free than I have felt in a long time.
Just being able to apprecitate simple things has changed my perspective. I will try and hold this experience close to me and my everyday actions for as long as possible. If I lose sight of these strengthened priorities then I will simply go cold turley for another month.


We all like to treat ourselves, whether it's a meal out, a shopping spree, a holiday, etc and we are encouraged SO MUCH through advertising that we are 'worth it' and that we deserve it.
We should take the time to appreciate ourselves and reward ourselves but I dont think it should come in the form of a product or service that has negative effects on either another society, the environment or your own health.

I will be donating 150 pounds (the pound sign on this pc does not work!) to Thames Reach Bondway tomorrow morning.
I would really like to encourage any donation for them or any other charity.

Thank you to anyone who has been reading this, hopefully you may have considered things that you previously had not.

Over and Out.

Milky bar kid

Just been looking through some entries from the beginning of the month and found a bit that said I would list any food purchases on here to keep track. Well, that has not happened but this blog is a living thing (it's not - but go with me on this) and it therefore develops and changes and grows into something that it did not think it would be when it grew up.
What a blog thinks it will be when it grows up I have no idea. Bigger, most probably. ("when I grow up, I'll have more words!")
Anyway, I have not spent over twenty two pounds a week, infact I think I've spent about fifty pounds in total so far (only 6 days to go) so that's all good.
Next Thursday the milky bars are on me.
One thing I was very sure when I started this form of documentation was that I would avoid the 'online journal' element, of course it will be personal but only when it relates the my anti-consumerism.
I'm just about to mess that right up because I wrote a letter to Time Out and they made it letter of the week which I am very very chuffed about. Unfortunately it is not about anti-consumerism, no hope in hell of them taking an interest in what's happening here when they are what is essentially a magazine for city consumers (I subscribed last year so have not been sneaking round newsagents under the cover of darkness trying to trade a copy for a bag of potatoes).
Apathy has set in and I am saving all my energy for an epic exit bloggstraveganza.
READ THIS BOOK: Timeless Simplicity by John Lane.

QUOTE

"I think that it is generally true that members of certain traditional, rural communities, do enjoy a greater harmony and tranquillity than those settles on our modern cities. My impression is that those living in the materially developed countires, for all their industry, are in some ways less satisfied, are less happy, and to some extent suffer more than those living in the least developed countires. Indeed, if we compare the rich with the poor, it often seems that those with less are often less anxious. As for the rich......they are so caught up with the idea of acquiring more than that they make no room for anything else in their lives. As a result, they are constantly plagued by mental and emotional suffering - even though outwardly they may appear to be leading entirely successful and comfortable lives."
Dalai Lama

Only eight days to go. Thank god.

It's official, I'm a consumer, there's just no escaping it.

I may make ethical choices but I have got to the point where I miss my life!
I want to go to the pub, I want to buy a newspaper and I want to go out for a coffee and maybe buy a book or a CD.
At the beginning of the month it was easy, I was surprised by how easy it is not to spend anything and to an extent this is still true but I am really counting down the days now.
I am glad that it has come to this though. If I found it easy the whole month I could not really learn anything from the experience.
I have learnt a lot about myself and the topics I have researched (failed miserably to document most of my research but I doubt anyone is reading this anyway so no matter).
I'm in a kind of summarising mood but will leave it till the end of the month.
In the meantime I will savour my last eight days of freedom from the 'trappings of modern society' whilst planning my social calendar for next month.

I checked out the Freegan website.
Basically, to minimise landfill and waste, a Freegan (is it two e's or one....can't remember) will loiter round offices, shops, commercial outlets and 'skip-dive' then walk away with tonnes of stuff that is mostly new or unused. Yes. Wicked, I get it.

Then.................they go on to say that they do not believe in work, no-one should work, etc, etc. How then will the cogs that enable them to reap the discarded benefits of the corporate/consumer/commercial world continue to turn. Hmmmm. Maybe think that one through a little more.
Maybe they did and I missed it. Apologies if this is the case.

C'est tout aujourd'hui.

south london rambling association

I accepted an invitation to my cousin's house warming/birthday party way back in March, so I went yesterday.
I walked from my house to East Dulwich and then back again this morning.
That's just under four hours walking.
In the rain.
Yep.

But it was worth it and I can tell you - I have a much deeper appreciation for public transport now. To be honest it may have taken about the same amount of time if I was taking two buses, waiting for them, etc - but my calves are a little sore.
I'd rather spend half the time listening to the tinny sound of grime from a mobile phone on the back of the top deck of the 155 and be able to have a conversation on arrival at a friends house than puff my way through the back streets of Norwood in the rain and almost collapse when saying 'hello'.
Seriously though.....
It was actually quite satisfying and if the weather had been a little more clement I dont think I would have cause to complain.

Ain't no sunshine

This anti-consumerism malarky can be a lonely business. It's the beginning of my third weekend and I dont think it's going to be much fun.
I really enjoyed the first couple of weekends, even if boredom did get the better of me a couple of times, just chilling out and pottering around was good for me and relaxing. The idea of another weekend of the same is not filling me with joy. At all.
The rubbish weather means that I cant go to the park or go for walks which would most probably keep me content to a certain extent.
Yep, I am not looking forward to the next couple of days one bit.

On a good note, Abel & Cole (where I work) won 14th Best place to work in the UK (FT award) which is pretty cool. It came 5th out of companies with 250 employees or less and made it into Europe's top 100. I also celebrated my first year anniversary there on Wednesday and was given a bottle of Champagne which was also very cool.

What? Not more links!

Some more sites for your perusal.

The reason I include these is that other people have said what I am trying to say and credit should go to them.
Also, it means that you can chose whether to read them or not. Choice being a word of great importance in today's consumerist society. We are seemingly surrounded by so much choice but most of the time the choices on offer are really quite limited. Usually the most ethical companies are not able to compete with the much larger companies in advertising and product placement (i.e where things sit on shelves) and so therefore, to be able to make an informed choice the consumer has to actively seek out these other companies or do a bit of research before being able to make an informed choice. Hopefully some of the links that I include may help a little or may just encourage a more questioning approach to everyday consumerism.

So - some of the sites I have looked at today:
http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/monsanto.html
www.greenenergy.uk.com
www.recycle-more.co.uk
www.wrap.org.uk
www.guardian.co.uk/chemicalworld
www.defra.gov.uk
www.sustainweb.org
www.maketradefair.com

I have to thank Leo Hickman and all the research he has done for ethical living. His books continue to shock and inspire me.
The guardian is such a great resource as well, give yourself a couple of hours to just meander through their online archives, it is time well spent.

Happy reading!