It's the story of your stuff

Photo: Contributed - Annie Leonard

Years spent in the junk removal industry can sure change your perspective on the world around you. 

Police officers who deal with crimes on everyday basis can tell you things about our society that you wouldn’t otherwise know. 

Doctors can spot major trends in healthcare and the way people take care of themselves (or don’t). 

After spending close to eight years hauling other people’s junk, I’m starting to see the ways that waste and recycling impacts our society on a large scale.

Let’s face it - as a society, we are quite wasteful. Our parents and grandparents lived very differently. It’s neither good nor bad, but our life is quite different from 50 years ago.

I’m old enough to remember that some furniture pieces would stay in family for decades. Nowadays, a quick trip to IKEA can furnish your house from top to bottom at a very reasonable cost. 

When I was growing up, our TV had been fixed numerous times both by my dad and the TV repair man. I’m not even sure if TV repair men still have jobs today, because nobody seems to be fixing TVs anymore. It’s easier to go buy a new one.

I’ve stumbled upon this quick video on YouTube discussing this trend in our society:

The Story of Stuff

Whether you agree with the author or not, I think the video poses some good questions. It will make you think. 

Think about the things we buy.

Think of where these things come from.

Think about what will happen to our things once we’re done with them.

Think how the way we live impacts our environment and infrastructure.

Think if there is a better way to live.

I’m not saying ‘let’s go back to the way our grandparents lived!’ . . . but isn’t there some sort of happy medium we can find?

We strive to be better in our society, and to be more aware and positive about our environment. But you can’t expect to get a different result if you don’t change the way you, personally, do things.

I ask you to watch this video in full. Perhaps it will put you into thinking mode as well.

If even half of us change our habits just ever so slightly, the results will be tremendous.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.