Stuff

Check out this site:

www.storyofstuff.com

Be a part of the solution.

For me, it started today when I absolutely, positively insisted that my son did not need a new pair of shoes. He wants a new pair - the latest and greatest to replace the barely worn latest and greatest he positively had to have just a few months ago. They are completely fine, little wear and still fit. They just aren't 'new'.

He will not get new shoes until there are holes in the soles of the two pairs he has. Period.

I am resorting to threatening to sell our home and move to Idaho, ala Bruce and Demi, to ensure this materialism will not continue. The pride I feel at providing well for my kids is quickly being replaced by grief and shame - that it's all too easy these days. For them, for us - for all of us, really. It's a giant consumeristic machine that keeps chugging and chugging and we keep feeding it.

Watch the video. Think about what it says. It may change your perspective on purchases forever. At the very least, you will never go to a Target or Wal-Mart again without considering your purchases very carefully. I know I will be.

I want the best for my kids. But I want a future for their kids and all the kids that come after us. Change has to start somewhere. And one person, one family at a time is all it will take.