THE OTHER TWO "R'S" OF ENVIRONMENTALISM

So I am sure that by now many of you have heard of the three "R'S" of environmentalism: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Well today I was reading "The Last American Man" by Elizabeth Gilbert. In this book she chronicles the life, exploits, and philosophy of Eustace Conway. He is a guy that basically lives out of a teepee in the hills of North Carolina. He is as close as one can come to the old frontier mountain men of this country's origin.
Well anyway I could post a lot on his thoughts about modern American life. He and I share a lot of the same philosophies and ideas, though I live in a two bedroom apartment and not in the woods. Today I was reading about some of his ideas about American consumerism. We go through a lot of junk!
I know that this is probably the wrong time of year to be writing about this. This is Christmas. This is the time of year when all of our materialism comes rearing it's ugly head. We buy countless gifts for people, but how many of those gifts are going to be used? How many of them our even needed? Now I am not trying to hamper the giving spirit that grows in us this time of year. Sharing our wealth and blessing to bless others is a marvelous thing. The new idea is not just to give things but to improve someone's life.
THe other two "R'S" I was referring to are Reconsider and Refuse. Instead of buying that thing you are just going to use once then throw away, ask yourself do I even NEED this item. Can my life go on without it?
I don't want to sound extreme but I just want ot get people thinking. My dad used to tell people that I could live on less than anyone he ever knew. That I needed fewer things to be happy. Well I don't know if that is true or not. My wife and I have very little by American standards, and yet we have moved three times in the two years that we have been married. Everytime we move I am reminded of how much junk that we have that we never use. How many things do two people need to live?
Now I am NOT suggesting that you sell all of your possessions and move to the woods. I am a big supported of seemingly "useless" items. I know that reading a book will not put food on my plate or a roof over my head. It will not add another day to my life. But I am one for surrounding myself with books. I know that books will add to the quality of my life. My days are more enjoyable because of my books. I am all for surrounding ourselves with beautiful things as well.
I guess my point is think about your purchases. The more you buy the more space you need. Missy and I recently moved to a bigger apartment. We have a closet that we cannot even walk into because it is full of things we rarely use but need to store somewhere. My parents have lived in a house for over seven years now. They have a two car garage that has never had a car in it. It is just more storage space. They have boxes in their attic that have never been opened since the last time they moved! Now to my parents credit they ARE working hard to remedy this situation. They have made big strides over the last year to clean out the useless things they do not need. I forsee a HUGE garage sell in their near future.
My basic point is how much do we NEED! People are building bigger and bigger homes and going further and further into debt to pay for the homes they can't afford to house the things they cannot afford and do not need. The best illustration of my point is a modern business upstart. How many storage facilities did you see 15 years ago? Unit after unit of places that house the things that people cannot fit into their present lives.
Are we happier because of all of this junk? I think you know my answer.