Saturday August 12
I have just purchased myself a copy of the original version of Star Wars (Episode IV - A New Hope) so I can now watch it the whole way through without yelling at the TV screen "Han shot first!"

Saturday 5 August

I am thinking of distributing the following information to people in the city. I hope it will make a difference. If anyone else wants to do the same they are very welcome. The only problem is that I think I am missing a major point. I will think about it at work and get back to it. If anyone has any ideas, be sure to contact me.

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The Benefits of Owning Fewer Possessions.

A lot of people own a lot more stuff than they really need. Listed below are two of the benefits of keeping the purchase of new possessions to a minimum.


You don�t have to work as hard:

Everything you buy costs something. In real terms for most people it�s the hours of your life spent at work. The less money you spend, the less you have to work. There is of course a limit to that as most people have to work enough to support themselves, but most people I know want to keep working to a minimum. When you�re not working you have a lot more freedom. When you�re not at work you can spend time with your friends or family, learn new things, enjoy your hobbies, experience the world. You can even spend time enjoying your current possessions. The hours of your life are limited. Do you really want to spend them saving up to buy something you don�t really need when you could be enjoying your day?

�Who then is going to do all the work?� you ask. If everyone bought fewer possessions there would be less work to do.

It�s better for the environment:

Most of the things you buy are made from raw materials. These materials have to be taken from the environment. Then they have to be manufactured in what is usually an environmentally damaging manner. For example, most synthetic materials are made out of oil. That is synthetic clothing material, plastics and the like. This is the oil we are fighting in the Middle East over. People are giving their lives for our cheap plastics. Most of these synthetic materials degrade very slowly. The manufacturing process will often result in large quantities of chemical pollutants being released onto the Earth. It is a shame that a lot of this damage is being done for items that people don�t really need. The fewer things you buy, the less damage can be done to the Earth on your behalf.

Of course buying second hand items you don�t run into these problems.


I�m not saying don�t buy anything ever again. There are necessities like food and clothing that have to be replaced over time. Also it�s really nice to own some things. I advocate passing on possessions that you are no longer using to second hand charities such as Lifeline and then keeping or purchasing a few really nice possessions that you will genuinely enjoy.

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