Our culture is sooo wasteful. We buy & throw away so much junk. Because everything is mass-produced, ubiquitous and cheap, no one has to put time and effort into making their own stuff now, they can just go to a store and buy it - thus, things lose their value. I'm into knitting and crochet, making toys and clothes and things, and I know that when you've put your heart and soul into making something you value it so much more.
It's partly the pace of our lifestyles that's to blame. With both parents working now, in most households, we haven't got time to waste on making clothes and stuff - we let someone else do it, and we even expect our meals to be cooked for us. And the big companies have been all too happy to provide an array of processed junk foods for our convenience (but to the detriment of our health).
It was a trip to the shops today that got me thinking about all this. I was aghast at all the Halloween stuff that's in all the stores this time of year - rows and rows of sweets, accessories, costumes, masks, toys etc. People seem to be on autopilot: oh, it's October again, time to start buying all the same stuff we bought last year and then threw away. And once Halloween is over the Christmas stuff will start coming out. And after Christmas, all the Easter eggs will be going on the shelves. It's like a game. And I'm wondering, who is falling for this year after year?!?! Doesn't it get a little...repetitive? Is no one seeing through all the commercialism? Guess not.
Fortunately, to counterbalance all the insane over-the-top-ness of it all, there seem to be more and more people yearning to live a more simple, frugal life. And not just because of the recession. I'm doing my bit to bring back the old arts & crafts, trying to start a knitting revolution. ;) I've got both my grannies into it again, as well as a few ladies from the office where I worked earlier this year, and it's always a conversation-starter when you're sitting on the train knitting some fancy-looking thing.
I've vowed to make all my Christmas gifts for people this year. I think I'll be making a lot of amigurumi toys. Maybe I'll put up some pictures on the blog...
It's partly the pace of our lifestyles that's to blame. With both parents working now, in most households, we haven't got time to waste on making clothes and stuff - we let someone else do it, and we even expect our meals to be cooked for us. And the big companies have been all too happy to provide an array of processed junk foods for our convenience (but to the detriment of our health).
It was a trip to the shops today that got me thinking about all this. I was aghast at all the Halloween stuff that's in all the stores this time of year - rows and rows of sweets, accessories, costumes, masks, toys etc. People seem to be on autopilot: oh, it's October again, time to start buying all the same stuff we bought last year and then threw away. And once Halloween is over the Christmas stuff will start coming out. And after Christmas, all the Easter eggs will be going on the shelves. It's like a game. And I'm wondering, who is falling for this year after year?!?! Doesn't it get a little...repetitive? Is no one seeing through all the commercialism? Guess not.
Fortunately, to counterbalance all the insane over-the-top-ness of it all, there seem to be more and more people yearning to live a more simple, frugal life. And not just because of the recession. I'm doing my bit to bring back the old arts & crafts, trying to start a knitting revolution. ;) I've got both my grannies into it again, as well as a few ladies from the office where I worked earlier this year, and it's always a conversation-starter when you're sitting on the train knitting some fancy-looking thing.
I've vowed to make all my Christmas gifts for people this year. I think I'll be making a lot of amigurumi toys. Maybe I'll put up some pictures on the blog...
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