Netflix has two streaming series, originally presented on the History Channel, which I've found extremely useful for decluttering inspiration. "How the Earth was Made" puts things into perspective about geological time and our brief lifespans. "Life After People" shows what would happen to all of our stuff if everyone disappeared tomorrow. If, as you're sorting through items to declutter, you watch all the episodes of each series, you may find them more inspirational than, say "Hoarders." I recommend alternating between the two. I'm getting rid of so much stuff because I can truly see that even the items I love are not likely to be valued much after I'm gone--so why keep anything that I don't passionately love?
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Posted 10 months ago #
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I agree with you. I am trying to get rid of items that I don't passionately love as well! I think it's better to have fewer, higher quality/highly valued items than loads of stuff that you only "kind of like".
Posted 10 months ago # -
'Life After People' is a good series. It's fascinating to see how quickly the forces of nature obliterate human existence. Well, except for plastic.
Posted 10 months ago # -
I just checked and "Life After People" comes on tonight at 8 so I'll watch it. Thanks,Jude.
I don't want my sons or anyone else to have to clean up after I'm gone or have to decide what to do with a bunch of stuff. Things go in cycles but I don't see people going back to formal china, silver, crystal, etc. I'm struggling with my Mom's but I'm about 90% sure it is going. Every time I mention it, no one wants it but is horrified that I don't keep it. It takes up space, is never used, has gold trim, can't go in the dishwasher and it is too delicate.
I want to be remembered for who I am and what I did, not what I owned.
Posted 10 months ago # -
I'm a geologist, and I've often thought that a million years from now our era will be a thin black line in the rocks, from all the plastics. Oh, and a major mass extinction, but that's another story.
Posted 10 months ago # -
mugwump, they actually show that "thin black line in the rocks" in one of the episodes--and it is filled with plastics.
Posted 10 months ago # -
my house guest...a childless gay man.....has repeatedly said this week, during carbon-tax discussions, that he'll be dead in fifty years, so he doesn't give a toss about the planet.
i find this unutterably depressing, selfish, narrow minded.
i've known this person for 20 years and i am so distressed by his attitude that i just don't think i can be friends with him any more.
i have zero respect for such a shortsighted stance.
i don't have any children either, but i don't feel this huge disconnect from everybody else's children.
i've been mock-whinging about his clutter for months and suddenly it isn't funny.
suddenly i see this attitude actually permeates everything he does and it makes me sick.
to be clear, i am not some extreme enviro-activist, living on raw food, in a handmade yurt, and wearing rope sandals.
but i am mindful and conscious about what i consume personally, and how i run my company.
and that all takes energy and sometimes, some hard decisions.
and when i see someone close to me, bent on consumption, waste, environmental vandalism and irresponsibility.....i just don't want them next to me.Posted 10 months ago # -
I have heard similar claims from people even though they DO have children, Bandicoot. It's sad, but they have less time than 50 years to see some of the results. Climate change is affecting us right now.
I don't have children, precisely because of the additional load on population growth. That was a decision I made thirty years ago and do not regret it. I do have nieces, nephews and grand-nephs. I have friends with lovely children and students who will need this earth for many more years. Your "friend" certainly has a dismal outlook for someone who probably knows a few children, possibly because he feels helpless to make a difference.
Take heart, many countries seem to have a better grasp on consumerism and waste. I was just in Ireland and the UK and was pleasantly surprised that there was not a petrol station on every corner, plastic bags flying free on the highways or plastic spoons at eat-in places. Autos were much smaller, people walked a lot more and their homes were not loaded with the kinds of cheap plastic crap I see around here, my place included.
It is encouraging just to be in the places that DO support sustainability. In a recent visit to California, I saw people quietly toting their own silverware for food stalls at a festival. The little children were sorting their trash into recycling bins and people were talking about green practices without giving them that label, it's becoming second nature in some circles.
Boo on the waste, yay for recycle, repurpose, reuse, repair and refuse to buy junk you really don't need!
Posted 10 months ago # -
bandicoot -- I acknowledge that we are all imperfect in our care of the planet, but I agree -- I have a hard time being with people who do not CARE.
Posted 10 months ago # -
bandicoot....what a selfish man! I have trouble with people like that and unfortunately, I know a few.
Some times it is a pain to recycle and be conscious of our footprint on our earth but we all must do our part.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Bandicoot, I can empathise how challenging this must be to your friendship! I look around and notice almost all my friends are tech pack rats. It's scary!
Posted 10 months ago # -
Mugwump - would love to hear your theory. (took a year of Geology in College - almost changed my major to it!)
Posted 10 months ago # -
I watched "Tapped" last night on Netflix and added the above two titles to my list. We spent the weekend with my in-laws and I am just amazed how people don't think about the waste they generate. We brought a cooler full of homemade food in our own containers and fruit to eat, they brought packaged everything including water. I thought about getting a stainless steel water bottle for everyone for Christmas and a "tiffin" for each of the kids but I am not sure if they would use them or just continue to buy bottled water and disposeable lunches.
Do people just bury their head in the sand or do they really not know or just not care about the effects of plastic and single use disposeables on the earth and our bodies? One of these days I will break out of my shell and become an activist.
We don't do everything "green" but we are stiving for it.
Posted 10 months ago # -
I try to be conscious of the effect of my actions on the planet, and train my kids accordingly. I always feel like I'm falling short, and then I attended a class about it and found I do more than many people! I'm still striving to be more "green," but it's not always easy. I'm now putting a moratorium on plastic ware in my home (dh is a fan). I no longer buy bottled water at home, and instead use a filtered pitcher. I don't like all the extra packaging of items at my grocery store, and I keep forgetting to keep the reusable bags in my car! I'm going to make a more concerted effort to do that.
Bandicoot, I agree that your friend's attitude is off-putting. I feel the same way about people who don't care about running up debt (and believe me, there are plenty of those).
Posted 10 months ago # -
@NYCPR, It's just the idea that the areas where our plastic ends up will eventually get compressed (hence the thin layer) with no oxygen (hence the black carbon). As for the mass extinctions, because of human habitat impact we are living in the middle of one of the great mass extinction periods in the history of the earth.
I like to take the loooooong view. I don't worry about the earth. The earth will be just fine, and if we screw up the planet, the new life that eventually evolves will be just as varied and fascinating as what we have now. What I am worried about is the near term, and how that impacts our quality of life. Which is actually self-interest, really. Our human race is just a blip in the radar.
Oh, and I also chose not to have children, AnotherDeb.
Posted 10 months ago # -
If we worried about the impact on all of us now, and took care of it now, future problems wouldn't be an issue. There is too much going into landfills now. Too much pollution going into our waterways, too much pollution being spewed into the air we breath. All of this is happening right now. We knew about it in the 70's but everyone concerned were mocked, called tree-hugging hippies, and the situation is worse. Everyone focuses on the future, but the urgent need is now. Right now.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.
Ancient American Indian Proverb
Posted 10 months ago # -
Claycat: I was thinking the same exact phrase as I was reading this thread!
Posted 10 months ago # -
The worst for me are the people who claim to care, but won't *do* anything. I find it really frustrating.
But overall I think a lot of people suffer from despair; they can't bear to really look, so they look away and don't think about it. Mugwump's right about mass extinctions; when Richard Louv was here recently, he said in an interview that he thinks there's an epidemic of suicides among biologists who do fieldwork, because what they study causes them such despair. And yet, in his first book he seemed to be advocating that more people move out to the 'burbs and build houses on undeveloped land so their kids could be "near nature".
Posted 10 months ago # -
If I were queen of everything, there would be no new land opened to development in the U.S.
At least here in filthy old Los Angeles, most cities have to meet fairly stringent mixed-use redevelopment guidelines. It's encouraging to see the single-story commercial blocks come down to be replaced with multi-story retail, professional, and residential buildings.
I chose not to have kids for MANY reasons, but that doesn't mean my view of the future ends at the end of my lifetime. I consider the little contributions I can make to cleaner, greener living are a deposit in my karma bank. Don't believe in reincarnation, but do believe that not only is doing right its own reward, but it tends to inspire other right action and attract other right-thinking people.
Posted 10 months ago #
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