One of the most important aspects of living more sustained is simply making conscious decisions to reduce less consumption. practice Conscious In other words, consumption.
Becoming conscious consumers may look simply armed, but that is not the case. Inevitably means that it is always easy. In particular, it is a culture that is attacked by advertising that is more happy, more popular, more wise when purchasing a specific project. The $ 1 billion advertising budget aims to make you feel more needed.
Before you buy something, ask your own four questions will help you match your behavior with your ideals and reduce the impact on your environment.
1. Do you need this?
Simple and effective. you Really Do you need this item? Is it a dust collector, duplicate, or impulsive purchase that you regret and never use it? Or is it real? need? Everyone has a slightly different definition of “needs”, but I’m usually default for William Morris’s wise words. Don’t know what is useful or believe it is beautiful. “
If you really need an item, continue the second question.
2. Can I make it?
Why do you support multinational companies to create something for yourself? If you can make something instead of purchasing, you can completely control the materials, packages, and effectiveness of the product. Instead of purchasing mass -produced prints, exciting your own body care products, and creating your own cleaning solutions. If you can use the entire Internet freely, you can find guidance to create many things.
you you can’t Create it (and this is the case, let’s face it, I will probably never be a cobler), follow the third.
3. Can I borrow it?
Why buy why you can borrow? And why do you buy something new when you can find it gently used at half the price? We are observed by ownership, but for items that can only be used once or twice a year (camping equipment, party tent, food dehydration, etc.), the financial and environment for pooling resources with friends You can enhance the meaning or family. Share items, half cost, and reduce the amount of space in houses that are concentrated in storing things. Win-win!
Or look for a used store and attack your local people purchase,, Clay glist,, Facebook marketOr list the requests you need NEXTDOOR。 If you buy used goods, you can save money, hit the pause button in the consumer cycle, and how the items will be worn over time. A wooden table 50 years ago, which is still solid after several decades, is always a better investment than the counter part of the major particle board.
And finally, ask yourself …
4. This is Best Can you afford it?
This question is contrary to all our instinct in North American society. There, we deal with the enthusiasm of the fanatics. The truth is that if you really need something, you decide to invest in high -quality and well -built clothing, furniture, or equipment in a few weeks, months, or months. A year that means not to buy it. If you need sandals, look for stitched soles and natural materials instead of thin plastic flip flops. If you need a beach umbrella, make it more expensive to make wood or metal instead of plastic. Make it a habit that prioritizes quality over prices.
At first, these questions may seem difficult to handle. But I can distill the process of consuming the most pure form, rather than itching that I need to do with scratches constantly.
Editor memo: Featuring images will be provided Douglas Mass。 This article, which was initially released on November 20, 2014, was updated in January 2025.
