Eco audit: only reduce

‘Only connect’ is the classic injunction by E. M. Forster – that we might reach out beyond ourselves, amongst other things.  In environmental terms, my attempt at encouraging myself starts with: only reduce.

Forster might well have been surprised at how well his phrase works in the multi-connected world of today.  But our world may well need its own encouragements to change.  Because one of the shifts that stands out the most for me, over the last two decades, is the rise of the consumer society.

Yes, you can argue that it had its roots much earlier – perhaps with baby boomers, determined to put the privations of wartime and rationing behind them.  But we don’t now seem to believe that ‘we’ve never had it so good‘.  We still seem to want…more.

Out of the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra, I’m beginning to see that reducing is much more of a challenge than it sounds.  Put things in the right recycling bins – tick.  Find another use for something? Fine.  Stop buying more things in the first place? Hmm.

It’s hard to do – because the notion of scarcity seems hardwired in us.  As does the ability to spot something new.  Both must have been everyday experiences for our ancestors – scarcity their normal place.  Spotting something new could keep you safe – or present you with an opportunity, perhaps.

However you square it, people don’t seem to need to have it explained – they know what to do.  Buy stuff. And hang on to it.

When you’re in your teens, you want new stuff, partly because of how (you hope) you’ll feel when you get it, partly of course to show that you’re keeping up with your friends.

This is why selling to people under 20 is so lucrative – you don’t really have to convince them to buy.  Plus they may have come into a little more money, if they do a part-time job AND their parents may not yet be asking them to contribute to the housekeeping costs.

I’m noticing a finance, and life stage, trajectory to all this.  Start in your teens, maybe with some good examples from your parents, or others who’ve influenced you.  Move on to student days of little money, and early working days, also without so much money.

It’s the ‘dual incomes no kids‘ stage that makes it easy to acquire – because there’s a bit more money to go round. And parenthood? You have less money – and yet more reason to spend it on your little treasures, rather than yourself.  And kids are just as single minded about Getting Things as adults – more so, in fact.

Buying second-hand can be great – often cheaper, reusing and all that – but it can also allow you to justify buying.  Nothing like a bargain to set the pulse racing.

In fact, looking back through the old blog posts revealed I’d written about this before, and what is actually going on in our bodies (hormone-wise) when we find a sought after item.  Talk about the thrill of the chase.  No wonder it’s hard to overcome the urge to acquire.

When I started thinking about environmental issues again, before the new year, reducing the amount that I buy was the one that emerged as an immediate improvement – and an immediate challenge.

There are others out there who have written books about trying to go through a year without spending.  I wasn’t setting out to do that, quite, but more to see how long I could go without contemplating scoring second-hand books, my main weakness.

About two and a half weeks, I discovered.  The local library had a box of books that were being taken out of circulation.  In fact, they were offering them for free! I still made a donation, but there it was: the combination of the word free and the availability of books.

I think I’ve gone about another three weeks since then.  And yes, it gets easier (even where it concerns books).

It’s probably a bit like giving up something for Lent – you don’t just notice the not following through, you also notice the time that’s available when you don’t have to think about it.  (Or because you are not out ‘hunting and gathering‘.)

If any of my posts so far is directed squarely at myself, it’s this one.  (There’s a next step, which is to sit down and read more of the stock that I’ve bought in before.  I’ll let you know how that goes.)

When I came up with the title, I realised it could be seen to do with slimming.  Sorry if that’s what you thought I was going to write about.

But you know what? People notice if you’ve lost weight.  There are lots of incentivising methods to help you do just that – and celebrate it. But who is watching when you choose not to buy? Who is offering encouragement? Cheering you on, even?

Maybe we have to start – as with slimming – to see if WE feel better first, before concerning ourselves with whether others notice.