How much does your “joy” cost?

How much does your “joy” cost?

Not just in dollars, though it is concerning that we buy so much we don’t need, but how much does it cost the people who have to sort through the massive influx due to Netflix’s new Tidying Up show? How much does it cost the environment when these items are discarded in the trash, ending up in landfill?

How did our culture become “waste”? I remember a saying growing up, “waste not, want not”. But somehow we want to hoard and amass so many things. Have you heard of “status anxiety”? It’s the fear of being seen as unsuccessful or lower in society in materialistic terms. But you really don’t need to keep up with the Robinsons (Kardashians) anymore. It’s perfectly acceptable to not buy into commercialism just because someone else has something.

So, before you donate, as well as adding up the cost of your items and reprimanding yourself for literally throwing away money, consider where it’s going and how it will be received, but most importantly, how it got to you in the first place.

The answer isn’t how to donate or recycle better, it’s changing our consumption habits so we don’t end up in that situation to begin with.

Please also check out LivePlanted’s latest podcast “#139: Marie Kondo: Is Tidying Up Hurting Our Planet?”, as I found it illustrated the point very well.