Living a post consumer life

Getting off the consumer bandwagon is hard!  I’ve been working at it for about a half dozen years now and while I truly love a “less is more” approach to life it’s challenging at times to not go along with popular assumptions about “wanting more.”  I recently picked up a copy of Juliet Schor’s latest book, Plenitude – The new economics of true wealth, to explore how I might deepen my commitment to a less material oriented lifestyle.

Schor advocates a time-rich, ecologically light, small-scale & high-satisfaction economy.  The Plenitude fundamentals she describes include four principles:

1. A new allocation of time  (work less)
2. “Self-provision” (make, grow, or do things for oneself)
3. “True materialism” (being aware of the impact on the environment of what we consume)
4. Restore investments in one another and our communities

Or, in more simpler terms “Work and spend less.  Create and connect more.”

The “create and connect more” part was something I had been putting to the side, focusing a lot on the “spend less” part of life.  Just thinking about creating more brought joy back front and center!!!

Have a look at this video where you’ll get an overview of the ideas Schor’s puts forward in her book: