I’ve often been found to be preaching against the plague of overconsumption as it occurs in America, and this year, I’m trying to commit myself to doing better than last at reducing my own wasteful expenses and purchasing. So here’s a selection of things that I have purchased that I won’t be this year.

Knives

I think most men feel a compulsion to purchase more and more knives as they proceed through life, and if you’re a collector of the stabbing and slashing implements, more power to you. However, I buy knives, use them a few times, and then stop using them. They collect dust while I enjoy the three or four uses of my next shiny blade. So, no more knives for me this year.

Electronics

We spend a TON of money buying new technology each year, often replacing technology that still functions quite well, in exchange for something that makes very little improvement and comes at an expensive price tag. Tech is an exercise in keeping up with the Jones, and as I’ve transitioned away from frequent use, I’ve stopped seeing a point in buying expensive devices.

EDC Anything

EDC branding has become a harbinger of junk. Trash. Worthless garbage that looks pretty. It is a man’s jewelry, a flaccid attempt to elicit envy in others. It is an exercise in making the most useful looking things you will never really use practically.

Toys

My generation has a toy problem. Chiefly, it’s a problem of evading growing up and being adults. We buy trinkets, nostalgias, and decorations, not to be enjoyed, but looked at. Not to be played with, but to be kept in display boxes, a trophy of our youth. I’ve increasingly found this behavior bizarre over the past year, and I won’t be partaking in it.

Subscriptions

Oh yeah, you heard that right. There will be exactly ZERO new subscriptions from me. My wife and I have decided that rather than pay for a share of something we will never own, the DVD must return. No new subscriptions, no new streaming platforms, and we may even remove the ones we have.

The Two Things I Will Be Buying

The two things I know I will be buying are seeds and books. Stored knowledge is something very hard to lose, very easy to share, and very enjoyable to ingest.

Similarly, food is something very enjoyable to grow, very hard to lose, and quite easy to give away.