Less is more

Over the last 6 months I have been becoming more and more at odds with my "stuff". Being in a 1 bedroom and now a small 2 bedroom condo has amplified the amount of "stuff" we own.
I peer into our yet to be organized closets and see "stuff". I think do I really need it? Do I really need all this "stuff". I have gone through many purging cycles in my life. Right before I moved to California, right before I moved back to Minnesota. I think I am overdue for a purge. The problem is the cycle of stuff I continue to accumulate. After getting married and having Amelia we are innundated with stuff. I am to blame. Also I think my American consumeristic mindset is to blame. While I don't think I am as bad as other people in our country I do think I could improve on decreasing my consumption. Ever since I was a young child I have been a little bit of a eco nut (ask my mom!). Pressuring my family to recycle. I also remember even as a young child begging my mother to walk to the store instead of drive. I thought it was so much fun!!!

Throughout our journey of getting ready for Amelia this winter we utilized "Craigs List" for most of our bigger purchases. We bought our glider and changing table used. We obtained our crib from a friend for free who no longer needed it. We borrowed our baby bath tub, stroller and swing from a friend. We got a used exersaucer from Amelia's grandma. I borrowed many of my maternity clothes and bought most of the others at "Turnstyle" (which by the way is a great place to shop!!!) . We cloth diaper Amelia and I have also made about 4 of her diapers. I plan on making more once she grows out of these. Even through all these practices with our daughter we still are busting at the seams with stuff. Mainly clothes. She grows so fast! I have a hamper over flowing with clothes I need to sort to store for #2. I was thinking about lending some out but most of them are out of season for the people I know who just had Fall baby girls.

With Christmas just around the corner and thinking of yet another year of getting a bunch of stuff I don't want and ultimately I do not need makes me a little well depressed and frusterated with the consumeristic system we have. I would love to make some gifts for family and friends. I have done this in the past. I made knitted scarfs in addition to other bought gifts.
The only thing I really want for christmas is an automatic starter for our jeep so that I can have the car all warmed up in the winter for Amelia. Other than that....I really don't need anything. Sure I have a lot of things I would like...but they are mainly services like a simonson's gift card so I can get a facial, get my hair cut and dyed and maybe get my brows waxed. I guess I just don't want more stuff.

I was watching the last part of Days of Our Lives. I know a soap...but I follow it now that I am home at that time. Sad I know. During the show I was just getting sickened by the comercials. I was getting sickened by our consumer driven our culture is. Buy this...buy that. Then I think of this Wall Street crash and bailout. I feel like the government is more concerned about corporate America than "Americans". While I understand the economic repercusions of the bail it is just a symptom of a bigger problem. I am not anti capitalisitic but I do think we put to much emphasis on our "stuff". Be it houses, cars and other items. I feel that if we didn't have so much emphasis on owning these things perhaps...now just perhaps we wouldn't be in the credit crisis we are currently in. If people weren't so concerned about being things they can't afford and living with in their means perhaps the government wouldn't have to be stepping in. I don't like the idea of the government owning or having a stake in so many corporations. Because if the government has a stake in all of this and the goverment is supposed to be for the people it isn't any more and is now more "for the corporations".

Well...so with that I will leave you with
Less is more!

http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives/index.html

http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns

http://www.storyofstuff.com/anotherway.html

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

http://www.globalfundforchildren.org/

http://www.storyofstuff.com/ngoextraction.html

http://www.newdream.org/c3/index.php