Just Challenge: Project 333

Is it too predictable to write a post about getting organized, decluttering, etc. on New Year's Day?  Probably.  But I read about Project 333 awhile ago and have finally taken the plunge because it seemed pretty lame to not even let a New Year inspire me to action.  Also, as a happy bonus, my husband has jumped in as well.  You can read about the idea yourself, but the basic concept is to whittle your wardrobe down to 33 items and live with them for 3 months.  As I have mentioned before, I do not enjoy clothes shopping and do not struggle with hoarding clothes, so this idea was not particularly daunting for me.

Despite my conservative attitude towards clothes, our closet situation has been pretty tough.  Our house has three bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom downstairs.  The whole house is 1200 square feet, so each room is pretty small and storage space is limited.  We were uncomfortable with having any of our children sleep on the ground floor, so my husband and I have taken the small downstairs room for ourselves.  Its closet was not designed to be shared by two adults.

After taking a look at my wardrobe, I was surprised to see I really only wear about 28 items with any regularity anyway.  My outfits mostly consist of shirt + cardigan + skirt + leggings.  During the warmer months you can subtract the leggings and occasionally the cardigan.  In the end I kept 9 shirts, 5 skirts, 3 pairs of leggings, 1 pair of nice pants, 1 pair of jeans, 4 cardigans/jackets, 1 winter coat, 1 raincoat, 1 hat, 1 scarf, 5 pairs of shoes, and 1 bathing suit. My discarded items easily fit in a brown paper bag.  I do have 9 items in reserve to see how much I miss them over the next three months.  Several of them are a little more seasonal, so I may need to keep them bagged into the spring to really test their necessity.  Even still, if I add some back in, my entire wardrobe will probably be less than 40 items.  I love projects like these that challenge our Western ideals of necessities and hope to apply this concept to more areas of my life this year.

Just Read: Get Real

When I discovered this book I was both an independent bookseller and a fledgling passionate ethical consumer..  And yet, I found it hiding under some picture books at a Scholastic book fair at my kids' elementary school.  How had I missed this book?!  I bought it immediately and began stocking it for our bookstore.

Mara Rockliff has written a variety of books for young people, and I really appreciate her clear and concise way of addressing the huge topic of ethical consumerism.  The first quarter of the book introduces the reader to the concepts of True Cost, Western consumption habits, and advertising schemes.  The bulk of the book breaks down the issues around production, transportation, consumption, and disposal of individual industries like textiles, fast food, electronics, plastics, and chocolate.  The last quarter of the book is devoted to strategies and examples of points of action the reader can take, whether it is pledging to buy fair trade coffee or joining an international movement.

The layout of this book keeps all of the information in very digestible chunks and is very stimulating.  It also serves to break up some of the more somber statistics with bright graphics.  I used this book as one of my resources when teaching a class on consumerism and upcycling to middle schoolers and granted them permission to make the "Debbie Downer" sound effect (mwah - mwah) when the information got too depressing or overwhelming.  Despite exposing these heavy issues, Rockliff still manages to keep the tone of the book positive, assuring the reader he or she can make a difference.  The blurb on the back of the book says it best:

     Can you really change the world with your wallet?  You already do.  Buy a pair of sneakers, and where does your money really go? Order a cheeseburger at a drive-up window, and what are you really buying?  Spend your birthday money on a cell phone or a video game, and what are you really getting?  Ask yourself this:  Who made it?  What's in it?  What's it doing to the earth, other people, and me?  Start seeing the world for real - and discover how you can make a difference.  You've got buying power - now let's see you change the world for good!

Although Get Real: What Kind of World Are You Buying? is geared towards kids, there is enough content to make it interesting and inspiring for adults, too.  It would be a great book for a family to read together and then set mini-goals to begin changing buying habits.  How does your family try to make a difference with your dollar?

Just Watch: The Story of Change

If you are unfamiliar with Annie Leonard and The Story of Stuff Project, all of her movies are well done.  She and her team have done a great job of communicating big ideas in easy to digest films that even our kids can follow and enjoy watching.

I am very excited about their latest movie, The Story of Change, because it feels like this will really get the ball rolling.  For the past few years she has worked to educate people about the consequences of our choices as consumers, tackling general Western habits, as well as, specific products like bottled water, electronics, and cosmetics.  Her philosophy exactly mirrors the tagline around here:  Learn. Choose.  Change.  And while she is quick to point out we all wield a certain amount of power as consumers, she also places heavy responsibility on our government to have better policies in place to protect the health of our citizens and our resources.  

The Story of Change outlines the three components to every significant movement of the twentieth century:  big idea + commitment to work together + action.  After watching the movie, you are encouraged to take a quiz to see where your strengths lie regarding taking action.  Although it reminded me of a "spiritual gifts" tests from church, or even the "What kind of teacher are you?" quizzes from college (both of which I always found a little off-putting), this quiz is pretty straight forward and my results were spot on, even suggesting action items that I have already done in my community.

There is also a good-sized forum where people suggest ideas for taking action.  These range from huge tasks like overturning Citizens United to smaller jobs like organizing a clothing swap.  It is very encouraging and inspiring to see the enthusiasm of others around the topic of consumerism, and I am looking forward to the changes that come out of it.