Antinuclear

Consumerism – our personal and global mess

Decluttering can’t save us from the consumerist mess we’ve made, Guardian, 7 Jan 16 
Suzanne Moore Marie Kondo’s bestselling books sell tidying as a spiritual experience. But liberating ourselves from stuff is about more than just a neat sock drawer

“……What fascinates me is how decluttering has become yet another way of virtue signalling. The rise of mega-selling advice about decluttering is an extension of the detox, an add-on to the binge/purge cycle. For those who live on TED talks and superfood alone, then maybe tidying up really is that liberating.

For decluttering elevates the domestic sphere. This is not just cleaning. Would any woman buy a book on how to do housework?

……we hold on. We are constantly told to get more stuff and we are confused by the value of what we possess. This is acted out perversely by hoarders……

the decluttering industry can’t deal with the broader aspect of why we feel so out of control in our own homes. After all, we have merely done as we were told: consumed. Now, it has become excessive, and we are swimming in our own tat. Is this elevation of tidying enough to stop the circle of shopping, of built-in obsolescence, of fashion, of our complete lack of connection to where any of our products come from?

To be free from this cycle may indeed be magical. The illusion that it is up to each of us individually to sort this out may be comforting. But liberation from the mess we have made is about more than a neat sock drawer. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/06/decluttering-cant-save-us-from-the-consumerist-mess-weve-made#comment-66332353

January 7, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized