Today’s Throwback Thursday post from 2023 discusses the environmental impact of our love of shopping. Find out how to get started on reducing your impact by revisiting your spending habits.
Say NO to Black Friday and YES to Buy Nothing Day
Are you ready for the silly season to kick into high gear? Black Friday is coming up next week. This day best known for retail mayhem is also Buy Nothing Day—an opportunity to rethink out-of-control consumerism. Today, I look at the origins of Buy Nothing Day, and offer alternatives to heading to the malls on Friday.
Frugal living tips to simplify your life and save money
November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada and this week is Talk Money Week in the U.K.—a terrific time to dive into the advantages of frugality, and share a roundup of frugal living tips to simplify your life and save you money!
What is fair trade and why does it matter?
October is Fair Trade Month—a time to recognize the farmers, workers and communities behind the products we enjoy every day. Although I’ve seen the fair trade symbol on products, I knew very little about how fair trade works, so I decided to do some research. Read on to find out what I learned.
The Sunday Spark – Happy Sun Day to you!
It’s Sun Day, a day of action celebrating the power of something that has the potential to create a fairer and more just world—clean energy.
Along with celebrating Sun Day, this week’s edition of The Sunday Spark looks at facts about the Bahamas, electric locomotives that can withstand Canadian winters, and the word’s first second-hand shopping mall.
Understanding the Diderot Effect can simplify your life
Are you familiar with the Diderot Effect? Even if you don’t have a name for it, you’ve likely experienced its effects. It’s a common side effect of a consumer culture that conditions us to want new things, even when our old things are perfectly fine.
Read on to learn about the Diderot Effect and get tips on how you can control its impact on your life.
Throwback Thursday – Rethink your back-to-school shopping list
Today’s Throwback Thursday post has ways to save money by shortening your back-to-school shopping list.
Can the gift economy slow down the consumption treadmill?
Today’s post explores capitalism’s impact on society and the planet, questioning consumerism’s role in happiness. It suggests the gift economy, as advocated by Robin Wall Kimmerer, offers an alternative rooted in reciprocity and gratitude. Emphasizing sharing rather than hoarding, the piece presents examples of gift economies to inspire a shift towards sustainable living.
Buy Canadian from these terrific homegrown brands
As many Canadians make an increased effort to buy Canadian, today’s post highlights several terrific Canadian brands that may be new to you.
How you can fight back against planned obsolescence
As part of our ongoing decluttering, my husband recently dropped off a huge box of e-waste at a local recycling centre. That box had been accumulating in our basement for a couple of years. It was a visible reminder of the impact of planned obsolescence and the size of our society’s e-waste problem.