A Life Less Throwaway or The Lost Art of Buying for Life. By Tara Button.
Today the need for action to deal with the growing threat of serious and irreversible damage to our environment is a message being relayed with increasing clamour around the world. There seems to be no dispute that there is a serious global problem. Where there is less agreement in many quarters is about who is to blame and what to do about it. Is it the result of natural wastage or manmade wastage, or perhaps a bit of both? The disagreement over the common cause has tended to stultify efforts of governments to find or to support remedies designed to avoid the potential disaster believed to be awaiting the human race.
Tara Button in her book entitled: A Life Less Throwaway is absolutely sure who is squarely to blame and she vigorously and with much humour expounds her views and her considered solutions to the problems. She walks the talk in her own home life and through her work.
With this guide at your side, you’ll be able to live the life where you buy things you love and that will last and not be carelessly thrown away.
Tara Button is the founder and CEO of BuyMeOnce.com, which is active in the global movement to change the way we shop and live forever, championing the longest-lasting and most sustainable products on Earth.
Button writes that as a child and into early adulthood she never questioned the things she bought and had no concern for how long things would last. Her impulse buying resulted in her owning temporary things, poorly thought through and soon regretted, purchased on a wave of short-lived enthusiasm. Later came the rising credit card debts and a growing feeling of being out of control and then she became angry with herself.
Eventually, she asked herself the question: could life be different if the ‘for now ‘ objects surrounding her that soon needed replacing were replaced with beautiful, well-made things that lasted forever. In that light bulb moment, in 2013, the seed of an idea came to her and later her company was born.
The Premise
The author began to make changes in her life designed to allow into it only those possessions that she believed reflected her values and would be around in her life for a long time, perhaps a lifetime. Her book is set out a kind of roadmap for a lifestyle that leads to an uncluttered life surrounded only by things that really mean something, are every day pleasing, functional and will stand the test of time. A life of no throw away is also seen as defining a personal goal for every one of us to achieve who wishes to contribute to ensuring that the planet will be a fit place for future generations.
This guide is incredibly practical and will provide information towards fulfilling life on whatever budget you have available. This is a parable of our overbuying habits. This is also a blueprint for a simpler and richer life.
Book Organisation
A Life Less Throwaway is organised in two parts with a list of exercises. Yes, this is learning by doing to win a better lifestyle.
List of exercises
These are directed at embracing the importance of non-material actions providing simple ways to combat daily materialism. Also, finding out what you need from homewares and turning necessities into luxuries, and your purpose in purchasing.
Part I – deals with :
- mindful curation
- planned obsolescence
- psychological obsolescence
- advertising of products
- marketing of products
- fashion and identity
- born to shop or…
Part II
- living a life less throwaway
- becoming a curator
- taking stock
- before you shop
- out at the shops
- the BuymeOnce buying guide
- keeping and caring
- on money and happiness
Conclusion
What does success look like in a life less throwaway?
How to begin buying with purpose
Ten Steps to Master Mindful Curation
Appendix I – Care and Repair
Appendix II – Choosing Materials
Appendix III – Brand Values
Appendix IV – Know Your Warranties
At the end of the book you will find a list of resources and references that can help you get more depth of information should you need it. Finally, there is an index that allows you to look up specific topics in seconds.
Who Benefits
The premise of the book offers a win-win for those who want to save the planet by protecting its resources and who also want to feel in control of their lives and enjoying a lifestyle with only specially chosen things about them that they intend to use and enjoy for the long term and are
attainable within their financial budget.
My take on this is that this clear blueprint will appeal to many of us who wish to have a less stressful life in a ‘must-have’ world. We may stumble in our quest for a happier life but the planet will not be threatened unduly when,occasionally,we may feel justified in enjoying a purchase, for its own sake, of what may described as ‘just for now’ and a temporary gratification. Button says, a life less throwaway,though simpler isn’t necessarily the easiest to live by with all the commercial pressures that are currently heaped on the consumer. But if sufficient of us are mindful of what we buy this could result in a massive change for a better and more sustainable environment. This is a huge deal.
Most of us who love retro and vintage-inspired things will find much in this book that resonates with our view of what is important and worthwhile to have around us. We tend to curate possessions to keep as long as possible, even for a lifetime.
Let me close with a quote from the final paragraph of Tara Button’s book:
“ The way we buy things is broken and the things we buy are breaking. But we can break this cycle. If we buy things we love, buy things that last, and then take care of them, we might just save the world.”
You can read more at the amazon website