The items we buy create waste. Not just with the packaging that we throw away, but all the energy and materials it took to make and transport it. I wanted to share this image to help as a reminder. It’s especially hard to avoid buying stuff in the U.S with our consumerist society. Everyday we get bombarded with “stuff” “you need TODAY!” For me personally, I have never enjoyed shopping. So avoiding buying has been rather easy for me. However, one thing that I’ve had to work on is using what I have and swapping.

To help with swapping, I’ve started a bin that’s purely dedicated to stuff I no longer need. Whenever a friend or family come over, I show them the bin and see if there’s anything that they need. If there is something, then we’ll usually try to see if there’s something we can swap for. I don’t need very much though, and it’s something I didn’t need in the first place, so I don’t mind just giving it away.