"The Story of Stuff" reaction

When I was twenty four, I packed up all of my stuff, sold all but what couldn't fit in my car, and moved 3,000 miles across the country. This wasn't difficult to do, as I have always held myself to minimalism. I came from a very humble background, so I grew up with very little to begin with. I also reside to the Quaker faith, which encourages minimalism, simplicity, and generosity in all areas of your life.  I purchased a home recently and this was a big step for me because I am such a minimalist, however I viewed the home as an investment, rather than a place to fill with things.

I watched the assigned video on "The Story of Stuff" and "The Story of Bottled Water" and became more and more irritated with the culture of the United States. The videos just scream greed and self-interest. I understand the idea that consumerism makes the world go round and the economy boom, it is just disgusting. Concepts like planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence seem to support that 99% of stuff that Americans purchase will be in the trash within six months. Revealing even more about our society, Americans now see more advertisements in one year than fifty years ago saw in a lifetime.

I like that the author of the video explained the story of stuff and how it has impacted Americans lives in a "work, watch, spend treadmill" example. We spend more and more on stuff every day, however, we are not any happier than we were previously. Not to mention that once we throw away  all that stuff (within six months) that is supposed to make us happier, it ends up in a landfill and many times is incinerated before its disposal. Incineration is the number one source of dioxin in our environment.  The sad thing is, even though we are consuming more and more, destroying our planet, we aren't any happier than we were fifty years ago. The overall level of happiness in Americans continues to decrease. I heard a story on NPR a while back that theorized that a possible source of the unhappiness in the United States has its roots in income inequality.

I must admit, I was a bit embarrassed  after watching the video on bottled water. I have until recently purchased and drank rather expensive bottled water. I lived in Los Angeles when I was twenty four for a period of 6 months. I was living in a bad part of town and very inexpensive housing. I tried for three weeks to drink the water. I had diarrhea continuously and the water tasted bad. I switched to bottled water for the rest of the six months I lived there and the diarrhea resolved. My boyfriend at the time told me to buy bottled water because the water quality in many parts of LA is akin to many parts of northern Mexico. Reading the CCR from that area, I now know, I was more than likely being poisoned by chemicals and bacteria from contaminated water.

On the other hand, in college and my early twenties, I purchased bottled water because I thought it tasted better and because that's what my friends at the time were doing. Even after I moved back to Sacramento, I purchased bottled water to take with me on my jogs and physical activity endeavors. I'm ashamed to admit that unless there were trashcans advertising recycling, I never once participated in recycling. The good news is, however, when I purchased my home, I also purchased a refrigerator with a filter in it so there is no need to buy bottled water anymore. I even have a bag next to my trashcan for recycling the things that are recyclable :)

I think the big takeaways from the videos were how trusting I had been. I was a big fan of Fiji water and to think nearly 50% of its contents came from tap water! How ridiculous?!?! I think after watching these videos, I won't be buying bottled water anymore. I will even take in a deep breath and remind myself that eventually all my trash is burned in the incinerator and releases dioxin; something I definitely don't want to breathe in. I guess I will stick with my minimalism in all things-bottled water included!