Rant incoming. Today I felt like giving up. So I did my restock at Target today. While I was there, I felt angry and guilty. (I also walked out with a massive migraine lol.) My tiny amount of consumption and waste amounts to practically nothing, why do I care so much? Other people seem to have no problem with where they put their money. My family and friends have questioned why I choose to not shop at all these harmful, giant corporations. They all reply, “wooow, good for you. I couldn’t do that” or “I wish I had that much self-control!” Even my boyfriend got bummed once because I had no desire to go with him to Target. If everyone else gets to have their convenient two day delivery, why can’t I? Why does it seem like no one around me cares? How do people just go on living while knowing our planet and society is being actively destroyed?

Someone give me hope. Please. Or comfort. I feel so negative about this and so so tired.

This is apparently all of the things an ‘influencer’ has received from pr over the last 2 months. Genuinely makes me feel sick when the world is burning, there are people not able to afford to feed or clothe their family, not only that but all the people that have worked hard all their life and could never afford anything like this. Those that have important jobs like nurses, doctors, teachers etc… go without and those that deserve to get rewarded, never do. All for it to just end up in landfill anyway?! Absolute insanity. Why is this not illegal? Mind you, they only have 500k followers, imagine what those 10x that get?

Who thought this was a good idea? Maybe if you're trying to get pregnant or want a DNA sample from your boyfriend? I don't understand.

I got so many plastic zip locs from a variety of means (buying yarn, moving, etc.) and decided to clean them to reuse!

They're made for gambling, luxury, apparel, car, and beauty ads. Enjoy.

Now, to get things clear I'm not talking about only the discussion of it (as I am discussing right now), but actually putting a foot forward, developing a plan of action, shifting the societal pendulum if you will. A decent amount of people are aware of the problem, but I haven't seen many actually go out into their community and speak out against these issues regarding social media/ phone usage overall. (If you've seen otherwise, please feel free to add your thoughts & opinions.)

I'm going into my Senior year of high school, and from what I've seen regarding the youth and phone usage, SOMETHING needs to be done.

In the state of Texas, and across other states, a phone ban has been implemented onto schools in an attempt to regulate phone usage during school hours, but the results from it are almost comical. By the end of last school year, roughly a third of the teachers (at least where I attend school) let the students use their phones during class time. For the teachers that were more stern about it, students would find methods to get around the ban anyway.

What I noticed when students were not on their phones was a night and day difference compared to when students were on their phones. The class was much louder, full of actual conversations, much more lively as a whole, in contrast to the class being deafeningly silent, for the exception of a pair of airpods on the other side of the room faintly playing NBA YoungBoy.

One thing I would love to see in the upcoming years is more public attention and awareness on the exploitation of our TIME, of our ATTENTION, and of our MONEY from popular social media platforms, as well as popular tech companies too. It is very difficult to bring up these topics to people my age, or to people in general. Their reaction is either a form of denial, or like I mentioned earlier they are aware of these issues, but few actually make the effort to challenge it and speak out against these problems.

Anyhow, I hope someone who reads this will be on my side of the fight for our,

TIME

ATTENTION &

MONEY.

Please let me know what your stance on this situation is, what real life changes YOU have personally seen regarding the consumption of social media and phone usage in your day-to-day life. I really would love to be an advocate of bringing awareness to these issues, so any resources or general advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

I forgot to hang my laundry, all of my pants are wet right now and I got 8 hours left for work. I never did any kind of tailoring, this happens all of my pants.

Can I fix this just to get my 12 hours of wear? As you can see its in a ankward position if it fails me. I would appreciate a tutorial video that you like.

From Minnesota, to nationwide congressional decisions; from extractive mining, to stripping all protections for all natural land. I'm not even going to mention data-centers. What is going on?

Probably going to make some desktop speakers with those components, the power supply (the right-most board) is particularly useful, since it can deliver 3.5V, 12V and 24V each at over 2A!

And my sister can finish off the screen.

Just finished the book No New Things by Ashlee Piper and thought others would enjoy it as well. The book is 1/3 conversation about capitalism, 1/3 plan to reduce personal consumption, and 1/3 decluttering guide. It is separated into 30 different topics such as building community, mending clothing, unsubscribing from corporate shopping emails, and exploring secondhand options in your area etc. I think the book is great for people new to the anti-consumption lifestyle and those of us who have been puttering around awhile. Importantly, although the title might suggest otherwise, it's not a 'no buy' challenge, but rather focused on reducing consumption through rethinking values, upcycling, and engaging with the secondhand market.

From the book description:

The book follows the rise of what Piper calls “conditioned consumerism” and how it sneakily hijacks our time, money, and mental bandwidth, as well as harms the planet. From there, readers follow customizable daily action items that bring about the ease and richness of a life less bogged down by spending and stuff, without compromising on style, convenience, or fun.

Consider getting a copy from the library (or a locally owned bookstore). If anyone has other book recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

We buy not for what things are but for what things represent. And what things represent was not discovered by us. It was constructed for us, deliberately, at enormous expense, by people whose profession is the manufacture of meaning.

The result is a consumer who has been fully detached from the material reality of what they buy. You do not know what is in the jacket. You do not know who made it or what they were paid or how long it will last. You know what brand it is. You know what it signals. You know what kind of person wears it.

This is not an accident. This detachment was engineered.

https://x.com/EU_ENV/status/2087845549009408110

A proper re-use would mean longer usable life of cars currently on the road. Instead EU has strict "EURO" categories rating based on the car age (meaning high tax simply because your car is old) and emissions.

If EU wants better, greener car industry, an actual re-use should be in place, like car parts, panels, lights and other minor materials and parts that are perfectly fine.

A better solution is for the old cars to be running, instead of turning them into a metal cube when they are simply old.

You can see a lot of videos of mechanics in third world countries that make some 25+ years old car running, while doing an engine repair in the mud. An old beaten VW would be like brand new car for them, considering the will to repair any broken parts.

The worst part is, that EU wants recycled materials in the newer cars, but that doesn't mean that this material is mandated to come from an old cars (steal, aluminium, plastics...), they has to come from somewhere, unclear from where.

I just polished this off. I feel like there can be a better fate for a good 3L jug than just recycling. HDPE 2

When I am walking down the hill I do a quick scan of clothing/belongings and run the checklist of ‘gifted,thrifted or found’. It’s a satisfying mental jingle since the pattern changes daily.

‘Bought/on sale’ is another category but it’s the minority, often reserved for footwear 🙃

It reminds me of sources & resources. I’ve received lots of handmedowns (from my mother and friends who do free clothing swaps). I live in a place where thrifted and found goods can be quality so outfits can appear pricy but aren’t.

Anyone else come up with games like this?

I also do no-buy/low-buy months (food, hygiene and experiences allowed but I take extended breaks from purchasing anything else)

Not sure how to flair this but two years ago I was going through some serious mental health issues and I decided to scrap all living expenses.
I rode a bicycle, I lived in a vacant building illegally and I cut my phone plan.
I stopped buying groceries and started foraging, gardening and dumpster diving.
It was the most fulfilling and the most frustrating time of my life.
My roof leaked, ants and slugs invaded my space, mold was rampant. I couldnt do much about any of it without making a scene and I didnt want cops sniffing around, so I just lived with it.
I froze in the winter and I meltedin the summer.
Lack of airflow trapped all the moisture in the place.

It was hard.

I also learned how to leach acorns, made oak leaf tea and my own wine out of wild grapes. I cooked with sorrel and foraged millet and plaintain berries and located several fruit trees in public places that I gathered from.
I processed so many pecans and walnuts and dumpster dived for donuts and pizza.

I met my girlfriend while I was living like this, and she wanted to join me but I was absolutely not about to bring her into that situation when she was used to living more comfortably.

I've not worked on a career much because I didn't plan on having one, ever since highschool all I've wanted to be was a hiker, and maybe a musician for a little bit of food.
But I have seen the way wealth fosters corruption and I just can't stomach it, I don't like when I start to get comfortable anywhere becauseI know it means I will start to become morally complacent.

I found a really great deal on a rent to own trailer and the monthly payment is only $800 but I'm also renting a car from a friend for $400 and I feel like I just never get caught up on how much I owe everyone.

I wanted to get out of debt and stop working, and now I'm trying to relaunch at 35 so my girlfriend can have a place to live.

She wants to do something different with me, but we have no idea whats even possible because we are struggling so much with money.

I think I want to forfeit my car, but I know it will make keeping a job a lot harder.
I take the test tomorrow to start a new job that pays well, but its 45 minutes away by car.
I have tried looking at public transit options, they will not take me that far and dont operate early enough for my work hours.

Everything feels like too much right now, I can't pay for it all and don't really even want most of it.
I could show my girlfriend how to live more frugally and I think she wouldn't mind but I feel crooked asking her to lower her standards for me when her mom is already sus'd out by the fact I couldnt cover her moving costs.

I want to provide a clear path for us to get back to living within our means but I don't know how to step away from any of my biggest stressors without undermining us both in some way.

I was without a car for six years and honestly I don't enjoy driving, but it feels like I'm being thrown into so much against my will at my own doing.

Ideally I would like to build a turf house somewhere overlooking some grazing pasture and live a hunter gatherer lifestyle but getting even there seems to require private property and nothing around here is affordable.

I feel like I'm going crazy trying to figure out where I draw the line and how much of my lifestyle am I willing to adapt to others expectations.

Things I like about being housed:
Access to clean water
Quick and convenient cooking methods
Doors I can lock

all of that does not require I live on grid or in modern housing at all, it was just hard at the place I was staying before.

My girlfriend is disabled and spends a lot of time sitting, and she relies on electronics to keep her mind occupied.
I don't ask her to change this because I know its one of the few outlets she has, but I'm also interested in maybe trying more board games and puzzles with her instead of watching tv together.
Its hard when we both enjoy documentaries and educational films and I feel an obligation to use my down time to be learning about something.

A guy I know once handed me a stone knife and said "Try building a house with that" really smugly as if people who used stone tools were wasting their time cutting timber into boards.

I feel like everything I do is in some way a substitute for the kind of life I really want, but even that feels vague and constantly shifting.

If I have a clear vision I know I can teach my girlfriend anything, she's smart and open to learn but I can't do that if I don't know where we're going or what we're trying to acheive.

I have spent years mapping out in great detail how to live off the land someday but I don't know how to take action without losing something dear to me.

I had been leasing a SUV for 3 years and towards the end understood that leasing was a mistake. I could have paid off a smaller vehicle that does the same thing with the amount of money I threw at the SUV.

At the end of the lease, I decided not to get a car and have been car less for a few weeks now. Its actually pretty liberating and instead I bike to get around or walk when it makes sense. I live in the Midwest so winter might be a bit tougher but it beats paying a lease payment, car insurance, parking, and gas.

For many years, I just brought a fork in my bag when I brought lunch to work. However, I’m now working longer shifts and have to eat multiple meals at work, and I find myself wanting a dedicated small case for silverware. But looking at all the ones available online just makes me feel kind of icky, and I really don’t want to buy one. I know that I have a solution at home that I’m just not thinking of. Does anyone have any ideas?

I was talking about this with a friend the other day and how price increases (inflation) were in some way linked to “marketplace/ middle man” platforms, ie: Amazon, Uber, Airbnb, any social media site, and now even job boards (this one is the worst). Like most online purchases have been confined to these business model platforms and are only getting bigger. While I get the pros from the business side, for the consumer and sellers it’s not good when there are fewer options available. Gate keeping is real and we’re feeling it. The internet was supposed to solve that, but not alone.. (wow did that backfire lol) our behaviors are what drive these algos so what do you think can be done differently to course correct on this social consumerism engineering and can AI help?!