I’m a hoarder. It’s so bad that I’ve known that fact word for word since I was in 3rd grade. Part of it was definitely genetics and the other part environmental factors, but regardless it’s BAD. I see way too much potential in everything and will keep every scrap just in case I can use it in a project I definitely won’t have time for ever. Then eventually in the not-so-far future, I’ll end up cleaning out my walk in closet that’s more hoarding problem than clothes (I’m being so serious about a fifth of that closet was used for clothes…), and that’s where I’m at now, a week deep into cleaning it out. Funny thing is, cleaning made me think about a lot of stuff, so hey, let’s discuss!
De-consumerism: With or without the dash, this is basically a movement that has its roots in sustainability and is somewhat influenced by climate change prevention movements. I’m sure you’ve seen a few videos or articles criticizing the influencers promoting overconsumption. So have I, and i was even sitting there nodding along in agreement with what they were saying. So tell me why it takes this one video by Hannah Alonzo (INFLUENCERS DISTORTING “SELF CARE” TO PUSH OVERCONSUMPTION & CONSUMERISM | Influencer Insanity Ep 11 https://youtu.be/sRk5RX-vLBw?si=sjdqPjyMGqdbYBzh) for me to realize…holy shit I’ve been influenced. FU-
LISTEN I thought I was doing alright when it came to all of this! Then suddenly I’m struggling to leave a store without buying something because it makes me sad not to. I would genuinely go to a store when I was bored and leave with something new every time and think nothing of it. I didn’t even really think of it as overconsumption because I wasn’t overconsuming the way influencers were. They were buying weird red light masks and I’m getting cute Halloween earrings. Not the same thing, right? WRONG.
Side note, I will be capitalizing however much I want because I’m angry if you have a problem with that you can leave for real.
Look me in the eyes. I’ve thrown away over 7 bags of TRASH from my closet AND I’M NOT EVEN DONE YET. Yes, most of it was random things that I just couldn’t let go of from my childhood or whatever, but a good chunk of it was things that I bought or was bought for me that didn’t even make it out of the box. I just enjoyed that little serotonin boost that came with receiving things. But even though it wasn’t face masks and skin care, it was still overconsumption. I know I don’t need those things, they didn’t even really bring me any joy past getting them in the first place.
As I was pulling things off of the storage shelf, I was really thinking about that fact. And to be so honest? I just grabbed a trash bag, and if I had to think about whether I wanted to keep it or not, it went in the trash. I understand that doesn’t work with a lot of people, but if I genuinely want something it’s a pretty instant decision for me. Any other time, I have to talk pros and cons for a while. And after getting the majority of the way through my closet with this new method, I’m very proud of how much stuff I’ve let go. Some of it has been sitting in my closet since elementary school, and it definitely did not need to be. It’s been a very liberating experience, honestly. It almost feels like the giant mess in there had been looming over me for a while now.
I was taking a break for some coffee and, of course, slipped back into my little thought process about this all. What was I going to do with an almost-empty closet? Everything that’s happened lately politically has really made me think of my personal impact on a lot of things. I decided that If I could, I wanted to source my things from second hand stores instead of chains. I wanted to reduce how much I spent in general, and save more of my money. In general, I wanted to commit myself more to de-consumerism.
How will it go? I don’t know, I guess you’ll have to come back later. Your bets are as good as mine. I know this isn’t as structured of a post as I usually enjoy, but if you read it anyways then thank you for letting me ramble haha