FIRST EVER UNCOLLECTION GIVEAWAY! Another...

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Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

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[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

11:00 am - Mon, Aug 1, 2011: 6 notes

FIRST EVER UNCOLLECTION GIVEAWAY!

Another addition to our Uncollection, so soon? In fact, yes. And this one is unusual (although I guess they’re all unusual).

Friend of Unconsumption Rubi McGrory recently launched an un-consuming project of her own, called Object Permanence. More below, but the upshot is that she’s getting rid of a bunch of things in a bunch of creative ways — including the object you see above. (A “lemon keeper.” It’s plastic.) In this instance, she’s giving the object as a prize, to whoever can offer the best answer to this question:

What is the best possible re-use for this object?

Head over to Rubi’s site to offer your response (and, really, to read the entertaining responses so far). The object you see … could be yours!

And yes, to make that prospect even more appealing, as you can see, she has hand-painted none other Mr. (or Ms.) Cart, the famous Unconsumption logo, onto the object.

Here’s a bit more from Rubi about Object Permanence:

I am an accumulator. I don’t know if it is genetic (I come from hoarder stock) or that I am overly sentimental. I find myself surrounded by an odd array of objects: an undergrad color theory project circa 1989, a mojo-less rubber chicken, two identical spiral hole punches, 7 pair of crappy sunglasses, all these stripey beach towels — in addition to the things I use, cherish, or actively collect (respectively: sparkly embroidery floss, bobble headed Buddha and postcards, among many others).

In an attempt to free myself of the bonds of this stuff, I am examining what each piece means to me before breaking up with it. Without fail, there is a memory imbedded in the object, either of its giver, where it is from, my history with it, my possible future with it, or a simple association with something else entirely. By extracting this meaning through writing about it, then photographing the object, I no longer feel chained to its ownership. I release the object to go forward in another life, to create new memories through upcycling, donation, sale, or gifting.

Check out the Object Permanence project-in-progress at the86list.tumblr.com for more. And enjoy more of Rubi’s work — she’s a talented crafter, artist, and writer — at www.rubistudios.com.

And don’t forget to weigh with your object-reuse idea, for a chance to win the world’s first and (so far) only Unconsumption-logoed plastic lemon keeper!