Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
The number one question everyone is asking me ever since I have gone off consumption is different from the number one question I have been asking myself.
While everyone else is consumed with the scientific curiosity of how will I decide what’s a necessity, I’m worried about the more immediate issue of what to do on my next date.
Consumption is a social thing and, of all our social interactions, dating is the one most tied up with buying things.
Let’s do a quick visualization exercise to establish this. Please don’t read beyond the next paragraph until you have completed this exercise.
I want you to close your eyes, breathe deeply, and think of a perfect first date for two minutes. Think of the best first date you have ever had. Or, think of how you want your next date to turn out. Or, if you are married, or off dating, think of your favorite first date sequence from a movie or an ad.
Your time starts now.
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I’m reasonably sure that your perfect first date sequence included at least some of these images –
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Now that we know why I have gone off consumption, it’s time to lay out the rules for my year-long off-consumption experiment, list down what is allowed and what isn’t.
The intent of the experiment is to spend an year — from Mar 23, 2008 to March 22, 2009 — without buying anything that is not a necessity.
I have deliberately avoided defining what is a necessity because one of the most interesting aspects of the experiment for me is to “discover” what I think of as a necessity and how it changes with context.
However, here are the ten rules — the ten commandments, if you must — I’ll use through my year of being off consumption –
Rule #1: I’ll continue to consume what I already have; when I run out of it, I’ll replenish it only if it’s a necessity.
I’m allowed to drink wine until my wine cellar is empty, I’m allowed to read the books and watch the DVDs I already own, and I’m allowed to fly if I’m using my frequent flier miles.
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Also tagged Accessories, Books, Clothes, Entertainment, Experiment, Gifts, Groceries, Investments, Magazines, Mass Media, Movies, Music, Necessities, Never Eat Alone, Newspaper, Radio, Rules, Shopping, Television, Ten COmmandments, Tolietries
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