In the beginning...

Well it's December 7, 2007 and I'm sitting in Wild Joe's Coffee Shop enjoying a soy peppermint mocha and I've decided to finally commit to an idea I've been throwing around for quite a while. This 2008 my new years resolution is to live more sustainably by not consuming. I'm proposing a consume-less 08. Let me clarify a bit. It was an idea that I first got a while back when I read about a group in Brooklyn that vowed to go a year without consuming and then the idea has resurfaced after reading in GOOD magazine about another group called the compact that is doing the same thing (http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/). So I've decided to take a stand against our countries consumer culture in order to live simpler and more sustainably. So what exactly does it mean to end consumption? For me , I'm attempting to buy nothing new for one year other than food, basic cleaning and hygiene supplies and even for those items I will strive to buy local, organic, biodegradable, and minimally packaged as much as possible. I wont consider buying recycled and second hand items as consuming because it is not using new resources. I will also strive to minimize my gas, oil and electricity consumption as much as possible. So I guess the next logical question is why would I do this? There are several reasons. Ultimately I want to leave our environment in a healthy state for future generations by minimizing my consumption of the earths natural resources. I also want to break my own habit of buying "stuff" so influenced by our countries consumer culture. So much of our consuming is impulsive and unnecessary and we don't consider the environmental effects of our purchases because we are so removed from the processes involved in producing our "stuff". Also I think it will be refreshing to simplify things a bit and unclutter. On top of these reasons, I also want to show that one can live in a much more sustainable way with out having to completely give up their way of life. Yes, I will have to change some habits, but I honestly don't think this goal is as much of a challenge or sacrifice as one may first think. So there it is , I've put my plans in writing for all the internet world to hold me accountable to. I will be using this blog throughout the year to document my journey to a consume-less 08. I hope you will enjoy and will may be even consider some changes in your own consumption habits!