Live a fuller and happier life by buying less stuff.
Welcome to Day 1 of your No Impact Experiment!
This first challenge is about doing more with less. People around the world are discovering that they'd
rather spend time making social connections than buying new stuff. To learn why this is such an important
part of living a lower impact life, watch one of our favorite videos, The Story of Stuff. The No
Impact Experiment is a truncated version of Colin Beavan's experience trying to live in New York City
with no environmental impact. Three months into Colin's year-long experiment, he stopped consuming
new goods (except food). As his wife Michelle discovered, when you kick your shopping habit, you'll
save money, have more time to spend with your family and friends, discover more space in your house,
and maybe — just maybe — you'll discover that less really IS more.
Type up a list of all the stuff you "need" to buy this
week. Delete the items that you can live without
for the week. For the rest of the items, figure out
if you can purchase them second-hand, borrow
them, or make them yourself.
Put an empty re-usable bag in a private place at
home. Throughout the day, fill it up with all of your
trash, recyclables, and food waste. If you're out of the
house, carry your trash home with you. Make sure
that nobody else's trash gets in there but your own.
This will help you get ready for Monday's challenge.
Just for this week, try not to shop for new items.
Will you find something better to do with your
time and money? Could you use this time to
spend with friends instead?
What is the hardest part of decreased purchasing?
Go to our site and blog about your experience,
thoughts, and overall consumption habits. If you're
trying something new or unique, tell us about it.
Please take your brief end-of-day survey. We will email
it to you. You will be asked to do this everyday
this week. It will help us evaluate your experience.
It's a vicious circle.
I worry a lot about this keeping-upwith-
Jones's stuff because I believe
that many of us compulsively work
our butts off to get more stuff
— which means more resources
have to be dug out of the planet's
guts and more pollutants have to
be vomited into the air, earth and
water. And what stings is the fact
that we often find out that getting
more
isn't making us happier.
—
No Impact Man blog, August
9, 2007
sunday: consumption
your challenge
fyi
Get inspired to give it up. Go online and watch Reverend
Billy's next "Stop Shopping Hour of Power."
• Instead of another few hours spent shopping, take a
bike ride, go ice skating, clean out your closet, read
a book. Replace shopping with an activity that you
enjoy doing more.
• If you've never considered
making your own
body and cleaning products,
you'll be surprised
at the money you'll save
and the fun you'll have.
• Let's face it — things
break. Instead of heading
straight for the mall, first try to fix it yourself. For
tips on how to fix things or to post your own fix-it
problem, click here.
Hand-Me-Loves (aka Hand-Me-Downs)
• Try shopping in your own closet (you never know
what you'll find that you forgot about!) Clear out
your closet with Freecycle™, a free local network of
people who give away their stuff. Other good ones
are SwapTree, Craigslist, and, of course eBay®.
• Get a group of friends together and have a clothing
swap. Trade your tired threads and get a new look
without spending a penny. Click here for five strategies
for throwing the perfect clothing swap.
• One person's trash is another person's...Take your
pals dumpster diving for
treasures untold. For the
truly adventurous, give
freeganism a go.
cool idea #1
Be lazy! According to
Matt McDermott's article
on Planet Green, "buying
nothing, doing less,
and being lazy can help
the planet!"
cool idea #2
Get crafty with these
eight fabulous green DIY
fashion projects.
Find an alternative to brand new in secondhand
stores such as Goodwill, The Salvation Army, or
Buffalo Exchange.
For Must-Have Purchases
• To learn how to keep more money in your pocket,
support people and places you love, and find products
that are good for all of us, download a local buying
guide from the Center for a New American Dream.
• Browse the Green
Guide for a cornucopia
of ideas to help you
make better product
choices for your health
and the environment.
• Look for green products
that are eco-friendly or
made from recycled materials
and shop from truly
green companies. Search
the GreenPages to find
screened and approved
green businesses.
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