7 Eye-Opening Lessons I Learned From Buying Nothing New For 200 Days – Collective Evolution

7 Eye-Opening Lessons I Learned From Buying Nothing New For 200 Days – Collective Evolution: There is already too much stuff in the world. As I toured various thrift stores, online classifieds, Facebook buy/sell groups and the like, I was shocked to see the sheer volume of stuff we humans have already created. Mountains of clothes, tons of furniture, dishes, pans, walking sticks – an ocean of all things imaginable. As all of this stuff is being thrown away, more is being churned out. We don’t need more.

People buy things out of pure compulsion. As I looked to fill my needs through preowned sources, I was blown away by the amount of new items in thrift stores. Items that were unused, complete with price tags and original packaging. Everything from new scented candles to new clothing graced the aisles of secondhand stores. This showed me that the act of buying is often completely disassociated with needing, or even wanting. It just seemed to be like a compulsion that needed to be filled and that was the end of it.