Not Buying It

I'm reading Judith Levine's book, Not Buying It, at the moment. The reviews of the book are mixed, but so far I'm enjoying it. She wrote it in 2003, and it's fascinating to note that after 9/11, the Bush administration exhorted and urged people to BUY MORE!!! And look at the mess we are in now.

Here are some interesting points she makes:

• The average new American home grew 150 to 200 square feet every few years, from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004, with many measuring four times that size.
  
• "Interest rates or currency supply want a little nudging by central bankers now and then, and prices and wages may ask for a little bullying by legislators and regulators. But these are just adjustments around the edges. For the most part, Adam Smith's Invisible Hand guides itself." No longer is this the case, as all know too well!
  
• There is a business to be made in providing crisis intervention services for people suffering from "disposaphobia." And Ron Alford of Disaster Masters, Inc., has capitalized on this need! I like this term, disposaphobia! It's what my children have...and it's what I fight against every day!! Check out these before and after photos ...they make me feel so much better about my own clutter!

My organizing year is already forcing me to think twice about buying things, and this book comes at a perfect time. Do we really need a new bedroom set, or should we refinish the one we have?