I am an unconsumer. The first action is to not buy or own whatever it is. Can we do without it? The second act is to precycle before buying. What is it made of and can it be truly reused or recycled? Thirdly, I ask myself the reason for buying anything. Do I really need it?
We have not bought furniture in a long time between the merging of two households, inheritances and reupholstering there has been no need, if anything we need to cull.
Almost all our "newer" kitchenware has been used. We needed two waffle makers for a large brunch we held (I really like fresh waffles) and got them for $5 each at Recycle Ann Arbor. Our strainers, implements, cutlery, grinders, whatever have come from Kiwanis or garage sales. My bread maker (when I got lazy) came from Treasure Mart for $10, and it makes great Cuban bread. When I made a bay window pillow, the perfect covering was a corduroy curtain from the Salvation Army, filled with wool from a local sheep farmer. One of my composters is from the recycling center as are our metal patio chairs and table.
Items bought new include: our rain barrel that looks like a large urn, rotating composter (a luxury and probably unnecessary) and I am considering a worm tower for the worm composter. I believe this will be much easier for the red worms and me to work with than my homemade system.
Purchasing rules are to buy items new with as much "clean" recycled content as possible, buy made in USA or Canada first, fair trade, sweatshop free, from local non-franchised stores. This is not an easy thing to do but we try our best and will look for a long time until alternatives are reduced to nil.
Dilemmas. We cannot find a new toaster, cutlery or a food processor made in the USA or Canada, so these we keep replacing with used and recycle them (if possible) when we they stop working.
Everything we discard gets returned and sent somewhere they are reused, woman’s' centers, safe house, reuse center, Treasure Mart or Kiwanis when we don't need them anymore.
Aren't we still consuming even if it is used? According to the experts, consumption is the acquisition of something in the exchange for money. Unconsumption is noncorporate, local, community related and embody actions that are not reflected in the GDP after the initial acquisition.
I feel good when I extend the life of a viable and useful item instead of trashing it. I have a large choice of styles, makes, and models when I go shopping. Many people have great taste in consumables that I get to share in by reusing their items that they loved enough to keep around. I like that my home is unique and individual and does not look like a corporate magazine image of living. I feel I am sharing with my community when I return a useful item back into the reuse stream. I am a proud unconsumer.
