The Less is More Project: Week 1 - Shopping frenzy

MacBeales, flickr

“All ads do the same: create an anxiety relievable by purchase.” ―David Foster Wallace

One week into the Less is More Project! Contrary to what the title of this post implies, I did not go shopping. However, I do want to tackle the reasons why people shop. It boggles the mind how shopping has become such a daily part of our lives, a hobby, even, especially when you consider that most of the things we acquire are absolutely not necessary.

As Bill Bryson aptly demonstrates in The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, this tendency isn't something new:

"By the closing years of 1950s most people had pretty much everything they had ever dreamed of, so increasingly there was nothing much to do with their wealth but buy more and bigger versions of things they didn't truly require: second cars, lawn tractors, double-width fridges, hi-fis with bigger speakers and more knobs to twiddle, extra phones and televisions, room intercoms, gas grills, kitchen gadgets, snowblowers, you name it."

And what's wrong with that, you ask (apart from the obvious stress it puts on the environment and the ever-increasing problems of globalization)? Keep reading: 

"Having more things of course also meant having more complexity in one's life, more running costs, more things to look after, more things to clean, more things to break down. Soon millions of people were caught in a spiral in which they worked harder and harder to buy labour-saving devices that they wouldn't have needed if they hadn't been working so hard in the first place."

I don't have to convince anyone that this phenomenon is still very much alive some 55 years later. But why do we keep buying? If the objects we acquire do not really fulfill a need, maybe the act of shopping in itself does?

Thomas Hine's book, I Want That - How we all Became Shoppers, might hold the answer. People do not simply shop to acquire nice things. Here are 9 reasons why we shop (and buy):

1. Power - the use of objects to assert authority and prove your worth.
2. Responsibility - shopping as a nurturing activity.
3. Discovery - going among strangers to trade and learn.
4. Self-expression - the role of objects in a world where individuals' identities aren't fixed.
5. Insecurity - the conspiracy of shoppers and sellers that conjures the illusion of scarcity and creates fashion to enhance the eventfulness of life.
6. Attention - the craving to have one's desires recognized but not judged.
7. Belonging - the use of objects to forge communities of taste and to rebel against mainstream thinking.
8. Celebration - the ways in which shopping helps give meaning to Christmas.
9. Convenience - the integration and entanglement of shopping with the rest of life.

Do you recognize yourself or someone you know in those 9 forces that drive people to shop? Please share your examples in the comments!

WEEK 1 IN REVIEW


Temptations 

Holidays and vacation time might be the worst, temptation wise. My spending style is what I call "Save 'n Splurge". I don't tend to spend little amounts on a regular basis; instead, I will be reasonable for a while, until a "special occasion" pops up (such as holidays), at which point I will go on some kind of shopping spree. When on vacation, I spend more time out and about in general, and downtown in particular, where nice shops abound (as opposed to my quiet neighborhood in the woods). 

But I resist. I am proud to say that I was able to walk past an outdoor gear store, a running store, a yoga store and a wine store (some of my biggest weaknesses). I also refused to enter a variety of other stores that advertised huge sales in their windows. I would probably have bought nothing (my commitment to this project is serious!), but I would definitely have ended up feeling very frustrated. Instead, we went for a stroll on the waterfront. We browsed an interesting (and free) exhibit on the war of 1812. But the highlight of the day was rather unexpected:

There was a homeless man on the street, enthusiastically singing an upbeat song. I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. Considering this an "experience" worthy of my small change, I gave him a dollar. We exchanged Happy New Year wishes. The whole interaction itself was an exchange. I was not the giver, and he the receiver. We both gave to each other. We were both happier after the interaction. I really mean that. 

Oldest daughter R said "That was nice, mom. This man will put that money to good use" (her actual words). I don't know about that, but it does not matter at all. What that man does with the money is none of my business. Plus, we all deserve some fun. No judging.

Surely, giving away a dollar to a homeless person does not qualify as buying?

Donations

My youngest daughter, A, and I, did a serious cleanup of her bedroom, and filled a big bag of toys, books and decorative objects that she no longer appreciates, to donate to younger children. 

I also gave away some books from my own personal library.

Good riddance - the things that are in too bad a shape to even be donated: I threw away an array of random things that we found under A's bed.

The house already has a fresh, decluttered feel to it. As I had been getting rid of things for the past 2 years already, most rooms are in a pretty good state. However, I know the time will come when I will need to do a serious cleanup of my office. And to be honest, that prospect scares me. I have no trouble getting rid of objects, but I hold on to paper like my life depends on it! Wish me good luck on that one.

Observations

I realized that:

• I own 8 pairs of jeans. I always wear the same 3.
• I work outside the home 3 days a week (and work from home the 2 remaining days), but judging by the contents of my wardrobe, you would think I work outside the home 7 days a week and change my entire outfit 3 times a day.

Cogitations

One thing I have noticed in the past is that I cannot be trusted in wholesale stores. They might be good value for your money, but I always end up buying things I don't need, in a quantity I don't need, or both. Our membership card to one of those stores has just expired and we decided that in 2015, we will not renew it.

What did you resist this week? Did you donate or get rid of anything? How did that make you feel? Please comment below! And...

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