Ethical Downsizing
Ethical Downsizing Resources
This is a reference page for attendees of Junket’s workshop, Ethical Downsizing: Do The Most Good. Printable documents & session slideshow are available at the bottom of this page.
Guiding Framework
Refusal & Consent
A brief social manifesto for the responsible divestment of material resources
(or)
How to take personal responsibility for your unwanted stuff in six easy steps.
ONE: We are each responsible for the remaining product lifecycle of the things we allow into our lives – and for everything purchased new, we are directly accountable for the upstream production impacts, as well (resource depletion, carbon emissions, and labor violations included).
TWO: When we choose to divest of our stuff, we are 100% responsible for the outcome of each choice.
THREE: It takes work to find someone who can/will make use of things that we don’t need/no longer want. In this age of dwindling resources and havoc-wreaking carbon emissions, choosing not to collaboratively transfer resources is an abdication of social responsibility.
FOUR: Dumping stuff on other people is non-consensual. Just because you want to get rid of something doesn’t mean that someone else wants to receive it.
This includes but is not limited to secondhand donations, family mementos, product packaging and in some cases, ‘gifts.’
FIVE: The transfer of stuff is an exchange between people. Communication is critical.
SIX: Some people will say ‘no’ to your gift of stuff. This is their prerogative. If they say ‘no,’ listen to them. Respect their boundaries. Allow them agency. As in other realms of interpersonal conduct, consent is sexy!
WHOOPS! SEVEN: To avoid throwing away useful things, our responsibility rests upstream and in advance – with thoughtful, incremental decisions about whether to allow these things into our lives in the first place.
Strategies
Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up
-The Netflix show (Tidying Up with Marie Kondo)
-The Book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
–Kondo’s strategies: a bullet list/overview
Margareta Magnusson’s Swedish Death Cleaning
The Book: Swedish Death Cleaning
Magnusson’s Strategies: an overview
Organizing support
Lasso, LLC (personal organizing – environmentally focused)
Two Bettys is launching an organizing support service w/in two months
Home by Eleven (personal organizing – trained in Marie Kondo method)
Senior Moving/Transition Support
National Association of Senior Move Managers
Where to sell
Online (ebay, etsy, craigslist, nextdoor, facebook marketplace)
Consignment (Bella Galleria , TurnStyle, H & B Gallery )
Garage Sales (between the article & user comments, this Lifehacker How-To is a fantastic resource)
Estate Sales (English Ivy Estate Sellers, Trust Estate Sales, EstateSales.net can help you research the market and/or find companies to help)
Auctions (Luther Auctions, K-Bid Online Auctions, Revere Auctions)
Where to donate
Donating for impact (Junket’s resource list, broken out by what’s accepted at various non-profits, etc. Additions to this list are welcome!)
Peer to peer via social networks: Craigslist, NextDoor, Freecycle, etc.
ARC’s Value Village – legitimately supporting people with job skills, better actor in the big box donation center space
Hazardous Waste
Hennepin County Recycling & Waste
Ramsey County Recycling & Waste
Estate cleanouts
Empty The Nest (estate cleanout with environmental focus)
Estate Maven (customized/high touch estate solutions)
The Pack Up Artist (emptying w/ empathy)
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