Take a Day Off From Consuming

November 17, 2006

There’s something about this time of year that seems to send many of us into a shopping frenzy. Besides exhausting our own personal resources (i.e. our wallets), all that consumption takes a toll on the earth’s resources, from the materials that go into making the stuff, to the energy required to produce it and the fuels needed to transport items from the factories to the shopping mall. A small but growing movement seeks to turn this consumer addiction on its head by declaring the day after Thanksgiving—traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year—Buy Nothing Day. It’s a day to take a break from our consumer culture, and its negative effects on the environment.

So what’s a person to do the day after the big turkey-gorge, if standing in line outside the big box at 4 a.m. isn’t an option? Try out some of these ideas for reconnecting with family and friends, and taking time to enjoy the simple—and free—things in life.

Get in touch with nature. Bundle up and take the kids to the park or go for a hike in a nearby nature area (be sure to wear your safety orange). Collect natural items like rocks, pinecones, acorns and dried leaves for holiday craft projects. If we’re lucky enough to get a Thanksgiving snow, look for fresh tracks. Try to identify the animal that left them and see if you can figure out where it came from or where it was going. Unleash your inner child and climb a tree, build a fort or skip rocks in the river one last time before it freezes up.

Recycle your stuff. Why not start a new holiday tradition and organize a swap with your friends and neighbors. Have people bring in clothes, books, sports equipment and toys that they no longer need but are in good condition. You can make it formal by giving people a coupon for each item they bring which they can trade for another item, or let it be a free-for-all where people select whatever they want or need. Serve up some mulled cider and Thanksgiving leftovers to make a party of it. When everything’s been picked over, bag up the rest and donate it to charity.

Make gifts for wildlife. Don’t forget our feathered and furry friends this time of year. If you still have yard work to wrap up before the snow flies, try piling up sticks and brush trimmed from your bushes and trees in a corner of the yard to shelter birds and small mammals during the winter. Pop some popcorn, string it on cotton thread and wind the garlands around trees in your yard for a bird snack. Smear pinecones with peanut butter and roll them in birdseed. Tie string to the base of the cones and hang them around your yard or distribute them to friends and neighbors so they can enjoy sharing with the birds too.

Thanksgiving weekend is a perfect time to remember to be thankful for the planet that sustains us and get involved in activities that don’t harm the environment. It’s also a great time to be thankful for that green stuff in our wallets and give it a day off.

This column was written by Andrea Lani, an Environmental Specialist in the Bureau of Air Quality. In Our Back Yard is a weekly column of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. E-mail your environmental questions to infodep@maine.gov or send them to In Our Back Yard, Maine DEP, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.