There seems to be a quiet revolution taking place. To simplify our lives, to de-clutter, to slow down, to embrace minimalism.
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Sure, this is a first world problem, but how did we get here?...drowning in stuff?
Annie Leonards 2007 documentary "The story of Stuff" tracks the cycle of commodities from production to disposal. In our grandparents day, resourcefulness and thrift were valued.
Our propensity for consumption began after WW11 Leonard explains, as a means to rebuild the economy, the US ramped up production of consumer goods and linked advertising strategies to emotion.
Promising happiness with the latest Hoover, or washing machine, beaming 50s housewives in heels, became the perfect model of home and hearth, stuff equals happiness.
So, more stuff will make you even happier right?
If this were true America should be the happiest place on earth, with 5 per cent of the global population consuming 30 per cent of it's resources and creating 30 per cent of it's waste.
The US ranks 13th (and falling) on 2016 World Happiness Report, well behind Scandi countries, Switzerland and Canada.
Is it any wonder the US has ended up with a president like Trump?...the ultimate consumer!
Social media Blogs like 'No Sidebar' 'Becoming UnBusy' and 'Be more, with Less' are questioning our bursting wardrobes, our clogged up garages and showering our kids with too many toys.
Studies show a negative affect on kids with too many toys, on a basic level they replace imagination.
The toy entertains with no input from the child. Difficult to stop Nanna at Christmas I know, but we've been hoodwinked into associating goods with love. Along the way we've also swapped quality for quantity, and now we can shop online 24h hours a day.
Whole industries have sprung up around our excess stuff, rental sheds to accommodate the overflow, professional declutterers who come to your home and sort our stuff, it's crazy!
Storage has taken on mammoth proportions. In my job I often get asked to create more storage during a reno, we have walk in robes, walk in pantries and still it's not enough.
I like "Your home is your living space, not storage space!" or "Maybe everything you need, is underneath everything you don't!" and "Decluttering is infinitely easier when deciding what to keep, rather than what to throw away"
Wise words, but can we stop accumulating stuff … it's a challenge!
