It's no joke. Shopping is our national pastime. We're choking in consumer goods. Exploding in excess. We have way too much stuff. At least in my house.
I'm embarrassed to admit how much I've added to the planet's overload with my own clutter. At this point in life, I've been there, done that, and bought more. I have way more than I can use; way more than my grown children want or need.
Start there, factor in the financial collapse, the election of Obama, and...
Enter Cluttercast.com -- at the intersection where the downward economy meets the surge in hope.
It's a new way of giving; it's even a new word:
Clutter: a confused multitude of things
Cast: to send forth, to shed
Clutter + Cast = to shed or send forth a confused multitude of things
Cluttercast started as my 2009 New Year's resolution -- the same one made by millions of other people -- to get organized and clear out the clutter. This year I added a new twist to my annual resolution: a blog.
Every day I post an item, tell the story behind it, and give it away to someone who wants it. The internet was a natural, since I started blogging and discovered its connective power. And what could be a better use of the internet than this? I always give my clutter to charity -- and I figured it would be easier to let go -- knowing where certain things are going. So this is not charity -- but it is a way to give.
3 months later I'm still going strong -- shipping out stuff all over the country from a vintage quilt to a wallet made out of a toad -- and I even plan to cluttercast my mink coat. It's not only rewarding; it's surprisingly addictive -- possibly curing me of my shopping habit for good.
And I learned from the response that this concept goes way beyond me and my clutter.
Cluttercast works both ways. People don't just want to GET; they want to GIVE. It's catching on, as other people pick up on the idea -- and it's growing everyday.
In this economy so many people are standing on the sidelines feeling powerless -- without the means right now to give -- or to get -- the way they want. Cluttercast provides a way to participate.
I'm not suggesting that clutter is the answer to our economic problems. But I am suggesting that it's a small step; a way to come together, a way to give back, or pay it forward.
It's economical, it's green, it's connecting. However you describe the spirit of hope and unity underway since the election of Obama, as one commenter wrote me, "Cluttercasting is a way to spread some positivity out into the universe." Check out the Cluttercast website.