Tag Archives: affluenza

Shopping and Sad

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We live in a semi-rural area which is about 30 minutes drive to the Sunshine Coast.

Today we braved the retail chaos which is becoming more pronounced as each year goes by. Early January is a particularly crazy time as we combine post-Christmas sales, back-to-school preparations and the inevitable holidaymakers. I think this year is worse than usual as more people are around as they are not travelling further afield.

This was our shopping list:

Roll of chicken wire – to fence a dog run for our puppy
Screws for attaching metal sheeting – to complete one side of the dog run
Galvanised pipe and connections – to make a hanging rail for the laundry
Small saddle brackets – to attach gate for dog run
9V battery – replacement for smoke alarm
Prescription medications – essential
Toaster – a replacement as the previous one has ceased to operate
Pet medication – essential

The list was thought out, planned and could hardly be described as frivolous. Since it is a 70km round trip we try to make sure that we make the journey worthwhile. We did not spend any longer than necessary and were home in under 3 hours despite the busy carparking areas and heavy traffic in every direction.

This is the hanging rail assembled. It needs to be painted and then installed.

So, why am I sad?

I think it was witnessing the overwhelming amount of stock in every shop we passed and the hordes of shoppers buying more and more stuff. Is it to replace an item, as with our toaster? Perhaps but I am more than mildly sceptical of that reason for more than a very small percentage of purchases.

The passion for decluttering in recent years and resultant overflowing charity shops leads me to think that many of today’s purchases or the goods they are replacing will be charity shop stock in a matter of months.

Many items, including clothes, electronics and household goods can be purchased cheaply and we do not value or care for them but almost regard them as disposable. When they break, are superseded by a new model or are simply no longer the ‘flavour of the month’ we toss them aside. Many of these discarded consumer items end up in landfill but to salve our consciousness we drop them at the charity shop. Unfortunately, a significant proportion still ends up in landfill and takes up time, effort and resources of those who volunteers to assist the various charities.

Everywhere you turn there are empty shops and businesses. Online shopping continues to gather pace. Are we buying more stuff because it is so easy to click a few buttons and it turns up on our doorstep in a matter of days? Is the lack of effort or consideration required making us shop more?

There is plenty of discussion amongst marketers on how to make sure that people continue to buy more and more stuff so that retailers and businesses can continue to increase their profits. At what cost?

We are drowning in our stuff and killing the planet in our quest to have more and more. I feel like something has to change and soon.

My personal action is to try not to waste anything, use what we have, source items secondhand where possible and be mindful that we have ‘enough’.

I wrote this post just over 6 years ago. There is a link to an interesting short video which is worth watching.

Get Me Out of Here!

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I now know why I live where I live and do not trawl the shopping malls for ‘entertainment’.

This morning we dropped some things off to Missy and then headed off to Paddington Hardware and found these handles.

We had to order some more of the larger ones as they only had 2 in stock.

This is the project for which we need the handles.

Here are the small jewellery drawers that go on top and the supports for the mirror.

The Duke has started stripping the brown paint off the drawers so you can see the silky oak timber.  Here is the mirror.

The Duke then mowed Belle’s yard and our final stop was Westfield Chermside, a large shopping mall not far from Belle’s place.

I am not keen on shopping malls but I had a specific plan.  I wanted to go to the Early Learning Centre to buy a wooden puzzle as part of Izz’s birthday gift.  We could not find a park so The Duke dropped me off and I thought I would just quickly duck in and get what I needed.

As I got to the bottom of the travelator I turned into the main mall and was confronted by wall to wall people.  It looked like the week before Christmas.  According to the media there is a downturn in consumer spending, so were all these people window-shopping?

I battled the crowds and eventually reached my destination.  It is no longer called the Early Learning Centre but Kids Central and there is nowhere near the selection of toys and games available that there were previously.  I found this puzzle which was $15.  Unfortunately, like almost everything else these days, it was made in China.

I have heard various retailers whinging about the rise of online shopping and how it is eating into sales and profits in traditional retail outlets.  Other perceived issues include opening hours and the value of A$.  I don’t know about other people but the crowds and inconvenience would drive me straight to online shopping.

My experience this morning reminded me that I would be better off searching the internet or trying to find wooden toy craftsmen in the local area.

If you are interested in the issue of ever-increasing consumption and consumerism and have not read Affluenza it is definitely worth a read.  It will open your eyes.

I am very pleased to be home again, in the relative peace and quiet of our rural acreage.  I just sighed with relief that we made it out of the mayhem.