Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/1 Show more
A quality of our material consumer culture I'm realizing from watching Marie Kondo is that it feels good to Acquire Things but it feels bad to Have Things. It also feels good to Be Rid of Things but bad to Lose Things.
There is no state of satisfaction. There is no I Have Enough; always Too Much or Not Enough. You get rid of your things to make room which you then fill with new things. To do otherwise in our culture makes us Feel Bad
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/2 Show more
You make yourself feel good by purchasing a thing
But having that thing soon makes you feel Bad
So you get rid of it, and feel Good
but then you've Lost It, and now you feel Bad
But look at this free space! Exciting to fill it!
So then you buy things to fill it and feel Good
But now you have a thing! and that makes you feel bad!! Repeat repeat repeat
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/3 Show more
And of course the things we have also are designed to quickly wear down and break. so we have to replace them. or they become obsolete or out-of-fashion. Or the Sequel or New One is out and it's Better. Or we just tire of it quickly and never revisit it when it's lost its newness.
Our culture is one of constant replacement
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/4 Show more
And the things we replace usually go to waste
They do not get re-used, or re-cycled in a meaningful well.
Those resources are gone now and for a lot of stuff can never be replenished on this planet.
No wonder this unsustainable life will contribute to our end.
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/5 Show more
My big critique of the KonMari show is it's all about the things we *have*
There's nothing about the process of purchasing it in the first place.
She asks just "why am I keeping this" but we also need "Why did I buy this in the first place" and "should I even buy this or do I have enough Stuff"
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/6 Show more
What I do like about KonMari is she does make you confront your excess. She pushes you to appreciate what you already have and derive joy from what you already have rather than from purchasing more.
But... Are the things being discarded disposed of in sustainable ways that allow them to find new homes or get recycled? And are you embracing a minimal life or are you just getting rid of the old in order to embrace More New Stuff to replace it
Thread on Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Mental Health/7 Show more
The rich people on her show sometimes break down crying when they see how much clothing they own and never wear cuz they *know* most people have so much less and they don't need all those clothes.
We would all be happiest if we practiced Buying Less Stuff.
Apply KonMari to the things you buy. "Will this really spark joy in me, 3, 6, 9, 12 months after purchasing it?" and ask yourself what else can bring you joy that requires no purchase at all
Marie Kondo, Consumption, Waste, Approaches Show more
@shel this is probably my biggest/best takeaway from having read her book (library copy!). I started pre-emptively applying it. I also started to realize I could get a similar high from thinking about acquiring a thing. And then I could think through to when I wouldn't want it any more. And then I could breathe it out.
Marie Kondo / adrienne marie brown, Consumption, Waste, Approaches Show more
also, I really appreciated recnetly reading in adrienne marie brown's Emergent Strategy that
"we are complex. While many of us articulate a yearning for a more simple life, we continue practicing complexity as our evolutionary path. ...being in a complex life is actually intriguing and delicious to my system."
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