The following is a reprint of a previously published column. Enjoy!
As the Non-Consumer Advocate, I usually recommend for people to buy used or not buy at all. (I follow The Compact, a buy nothing new movement.) But I am going to break from my normal stance and suggest a new purchase:
LED Christmas lights.
LED lights use a fraction of [...]
I am loving all the comments in response to the recent column titled, “Coupons — Are They Worth The Trouble?” It does seem that many people are finding ways to make coupons work for them, despite an aversion to Hamburger Helper and other packaged food.
A number of readers shared websites that they use to [...]
Today is international Blog Action Day, and this year’s theme is Climate Change.
And here’s my very extremely complicated and high tech advice to minimize your role in climate change:
Stop buying tons of unnecessary brand new stuff.
Thank you.
Please feel free to e-mail me at nonconsumer@comcast.net if you need any clarification.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it [...]
I am a foolish woman with a tendency to make sweeping proclamations such as, “I am going to wait until November 1st to turn on my furnace.”
It sounded doable at the time. After all, I live in Portland, Oregon, better known for it’s baristas and library culture than any arctic weather conditions.
But each morning has [...]
After my article ran in The Oregonian the other day, I received an e-mail asking me to publicize an upcoming focus group about consumer behavior and waste prevention for this Wednesday, October 14th here in Portland, Oregon.
And although this does not appear to be a paying gig, “Food will be provided.” So I guess there [...]
One of things I love about writing this blog, is that there’s always something new to discover. Like today, I discovered that Oregon State University has a Sustainability Living Project, complete with wonderful downloadable booklet that reads like a textbook to Non-Consumer Living.
The home page describes sustainable living as:
A thoughtful approach to leading fulfilling, productive [...]
I went to a very small liberal arts college in Nowheresville, Ohio. There were just a few hundred students on campus at a time, yet somehow each and every one of us seems to have shown up on Facebook. This re-connecting has actually been quite interesting, as many of my past friends and acquaintances have [...]
My buddies over at the Compact Yahoo Group have put together a No Heat Challenge. This challenge is simple — see how long you can go without firing up the ol’ furnace.
I like this challenge as it not only saves money, but is also about minimizing energy usage. A win-win situation in my book, (library [...]
I just finished reading Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. One of the main themes throughout the book is whether there is worth in individual action when so much [...]
Because I write about a variety of different subjects I sometimes feeling like I am a Jack of all trades, master of none.
Other bloggers write about a single area and are able to delve into their subject matter with laser-sharp intensity, getting into the nitty-gritty details without distraction. The investigative reporters of the blogging age.
Whenever [...]
