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The Berkana Institute is right on when it talks about naming (see main article here). I really love the word "trash" and use it every chance I get, as an act of reclaiming. See, there's an abundance of already-existing STUFF on the planet, and the intricate international systems that produce, distribute and shove this crap down our throats make me sick. Everyone's in cahoots, too, 'cos it's a repulsive loop. You gotta feed the fam, so you take that ad agency job and try not to think too much. Then use your hard-earned money to buy more crap! Great! . . . NOT!

Take gifts, for instance. I mean as a concept. I avoid most of the pre-fab holidays with a passion, but it's hard for anyone living in the western world to avoid giving at least some gifts on the great capitalist holy day of Trashmas. One year I had some friends over and offered each of them a thoughtfully-chosen item that I'd previously called my own. I could tell by the looks on their faces that they found that kinda weird. I've also tried things like "the gift of time" where I offer a small handmade card explaining that I'll give them one session of whatever: photo lessons, design work, a trip to the zoo, you get the idea. Those usually go over like a lead balloon too.

There's always the old standby, money . . . which I reserve exclusively for my mother-in-law, along with a bottle of classy perfume.

If I give people STUFF at all, I'd rather just give it spontaneously, not on capitalism's schedule. And in my book, a gift is when you give something of yourself, with love. If you're crafty, you can make all kinds of stuff yourself, and if you're not, there's always Etsy. Now this is where trash comes in, and the term upcycling. I don't necessarily go digging through garbage cans, although I furnished my Manhattan apartment almost exclusively with stuff I found on the street. I draw the line at mattresses and panties.

There's another kind of trash too, the kind you can buy really cheap at yard sales and thrift shops. I think of this as trash 'cos it's stuff people didn't want anymore and got rid of. So enterprising people make a few cents on it along the way, big deal. Add a dime or a dollar and it's yours. You can do something with it, but even better, do something with your mind and re-think the consumption cycle that you're inevitably a part of. It's a long process, but it's fun. I've been a thrift shop and dumpster girl since birth thanx to my mom, but even for me it's been a long road. I used to go into thrift shops and be like a kid in a candy store, and almost always came out with at least one big bag. At the height of my maxi-maximalist period back in Charlotte, NC I even made my room like a boutique, just to display all the gorgeous crap I was buying. 

Trouble is, lots was coming in, but not much was going out.

Now I've moved to Europe and gone on a STUFF diet. It's been two years, and I've slimmed down a lot. I can go into a thrift shop and not buy anything, or walk past piles of interesting junk on the street without taking anything home. Amazing! But still, trash keeps serenading me with colorful love songs, and I don't always resist. We make beautiful music together.

Like it says at The Visible Trash Society: "Trash? Hell, we call it free art supplies!"