Story of Stuff...

One of the things that Mark and I have been trying to do is cut back on all the needlessness around the house when it comes to "stuff". Mark has already done this when he made a major life change (right after I meet him) and got rid of most of his possessions. Was it a big deal? When he talks about it he tells me that it was a sort of cleansing. Why did he need all these things? What purpose did they have in his life? He looks back and realizes that he did it because these items (cars, pictures, CD's, books, furniture, etc.) had too much of a hold on his life. He knew that things didn't make who he was, but with our society we are prone to just buy more and more and more.

But at what cost? One thing we are very happy about is that most of the items that we have for Mikayla (clothes, toys, book) we all given to us. Many people generously gave us clothes and told us that if they didn't fit or didn't want then pass them on to the next person. We bought all her books from the library book sale (some were given to us), and toys were given to us. Although we have bought new items, we have tried to keep it to only the very much needed items. We ask people to look at second hand stores and garage sales to get things for us, but mainly we want to tell people that "things" are not needed to make Mikayla. She is happy playing with things around the house and I think she is using her imagination which is what we want.

Where do we stand now with stuff. I think we have too much (and so does Mark). As Mikayla grows we know that she is going to want certain items, but we want to start now and instill in her a sense of responsibility for what she does to this Earth and the people on it. With that said, the movie below gives a great breakdown of where stuff comes from, what it is doing t the people of the world and why we all need to take a look at the stuff we have and think about the stuff we think we "need".

From the "Story of Stuff" website:
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

This video is worth the 20-minutes. Also, check out the website here.