Feeling Bleugh

I've picked up some horrible lurgy which is making me feel totally bleugh.  I've barely moved out of my own way all day today and have spent most of the time re-reading How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly. 

I think this is the third time I've read this book and each time I find something new to inspire me or to get me thinking.  This time of reading I'm really tuning in to her thoughts on just how much we all posses - even people like herself who think they've not really got that many possessions - and how we've all been lured into buying more and more as goods have got cheaper and cheaper. 

Now I have to admit to having A LOT of stuff in a rather small house (most of it bought second-hand admittedly, but still a lot) but lately I've become rather unsettled by the amount of stuff - most of it complete tat - that I see at car boot sales or in charity shops.  It makes me rather uneasy that there is just SO MUCH knocking around in the re-sale chain - be it on ebay, in charity shops or at boot sales that is complete and utter dross - much of it plastic, nearly all of it manufactured in China.  And don't get me started on the utter rubbish that is for sale in a lot of high street shops - especially of the 99p and Poundland variety.  I find it all quite repellent and worrying - are we all going to drown in a sea of plastic cr*p soon or will we come to our senses and stop buying all this cheap junk in the first place?  Is it just me (or my lurgy-addled thoughts today) or do other people have similar feelings?

Comments

[Debbie]

Hi there
I have just found your blog and really enjoy reading it.
Your post today really struck a cord with me as I feel exactly the same way. I really worry about the amount of junk that is for sale in the 'cheap' shops, most of it unfit for purpose. I am glad to find I am not alone.

[Sarina]

I only just dropped by. Yes, there is a lot of crap about.
How we define what`s important to our lives is the key to selecting what we buy. Being more aware of the crap in our lives might stop us from adding more to what we have. Good perspective to have, I think.

[Caroline]

Great post, Elizabeth - absolutely spot on in my opinion, and sentiments that are very close to my own heart as well. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[Librariann]

Hello, hope you're feeling better v soon. Definitely too much rubbish around. I think people think it's OK to buy something if they then pass it on afterwards, forgetting that by buying it in the first place, they're creating a demand. Has everyone forgot that the original green slogan was "REDUCE, reuse, recycle". If we don't buy so much stuff in the first place, we won't need to recycle it.
I like knitting but just because I'm making something unique doesn't mean I'm not creating more stuff in the world. I'm trying hard to reduce what I have at home and turn it into useful stuff that I need, rather than yet more scarves (I only have one neck...).
Thanks for the book receommendation - I have a feeling I'd really like this.

[Itsformybaby]

I totally agree with your post, and with the previous commenter about REDUCE reuse recycle. I might have to check out this book.