What I’ve learned from a year in a BuyNothing group
By: Kristen P Ahern
Disclaimer: many of the ideas presented here are based in the wisdom of indigenous peoples and community activism. Though the words reflect my own experience, these are not revolutionary ideas. If this is a new idea to you, I hope my words inspire you to begin your own journey to Abundant thinking.
Scarce: 1: deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand : not plentiful or abundant. 2: intentionally absent
Abundant: 1: existing or occurring in large amounts : AMPLE. 2a: marked by great plenty (as of resources) a fair and abundant land. b: amply supplied : ABOUNDING
In theatre design, we are comfortable with the concept of Scarcity; Scarcity of time. Scarcity of resources. Scarcity of money. These are the confines within which we design, the are the limitations that inspire us to be creative but are also the source of our greatest stress. While we are intimately familiar with Scarcity, how on Earth can we imagine Enough, or even Abundance?
Through my own journey as a designer and activist, I’ve heard about the importance of the Abundance mindset, how revolutionary and transformative it is. “Sure,” I reasoned, “it sounds great, but I don’t have the time or resources to really think Abundantly right now.” Only now do I realize the contradiction in framing a transition to Abundance in this way. Scarcity led me to cling onto old ideas and things, hold them “just in case” I needed them later. Abundance helped me engage in DEEP trust that the things I needed would be there when the time came.
“We see a world of abundance, not limits. In the midst of a great deal of talk about reducing the human ecological footprint, we offer a different vision. What if humans designed products and systems that celebrate an abundance of human creativity, culture, and productivity? That are so intelligent and safe, our species leaves an ecological footprint to delight in, not lament?”
― Michael Braungart, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
In July of 2020, my partner and I moved to a new apartment in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago. We’d previously gotten rid of lots of our furniture, whittling it down to only what we really loved and needed, so setting up a new home meant we were in need of new pieces. I’m used to shopping second hand for these types of things, and in a normal year, we would have gone to a few thrift stores to find what we need and then supplemented with Ikea or Target. But in a time of financial Scarcity and a public health crisis, we required a new solution. We discovered a THRIVING BuyNothing group in our neighborhood (if you are unfamiliar with the BuyNothing project, I highly recommend you check it out HERE). This is the only time I have consistently been a part of a community doing things for others with no expectation of anything in return.
“BuyNothing offers people a way to give and receive, share, lend, and express gratitude through a worldwide gift economy network in which the true wealth is the web of connections formed between people. We believe that communities are more resilient, sustainable, equitable, and joyful when they have functional gift economies.”
-BuyNothing Project
Besides sourcing many pieces of furniture (a shelf, TV stand, lamp, and rugs, among other items), I’ve never felt closer to and more supported by my immediate neighbors. When my partner had sudden late night back pain last year, I was able to drive to a neighbor’s house and pick up ice packs safely from their front porch to alleviate the pain without the risk of going into a store during a pandemic. When a mother of a newborn discovered she was out of onions and wanted to make stew, I delivered an onion to her door while walking my dog. We give what we do not immediately need for the sake of our community. This felt revolutionary, transformative, and all together wonderful.
“Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Nature does not hoard, nature flows, nature takes what it needs, not more. That’s why plants and animals die when they get too much. Too much sun, too much water, too much food, too much of a necessary thing is a poison. Water is needed, but flooding happens when we get too much all at once, wildfires happen when we don’t get enough. It is about balance; it is about the synergy of things working together.
I’m not demanding that we should keep no things and have no precious pieces, this is a provocation to consider the materials in your possession as more than just yours. They are energy, moving through the world and I believe that energy will flow to where it is meant to be. We are holding them for just one moment in their lifecycle. How can we be good material stewards and hand down quality things to the generations who come behind us? In many cases, we work with goods that have components older than we are and things that will outlive us. Everything has a home, a natural next step in its existence where it is actually desired and useful. It is up to us to take the time to help it find that next home instead of just throwing it away in a fit of frustrated cleaning and purging.
Just because it is out of your life, does not mean it disappears. There is no “away” in throwing things away; so, how can you get rid of things abundantly? Let’s take The Magic of Tidying Up one step further, after you determine that a thing does not spark joy, ask: would this spark joy for someone else? Then try to find that specific person instead of a nebulous “away.” This is true abundant thinking, realizing that there is Enough, and that if you share your excess, your needs and desires will find you.
Sure it sounds a little “woo” to manifest things in this way, but an Abundant way of living is based on trust. We (usually) trust our employer to pay us on the schedule set out in our contract, right? We trust that our direct deposit will hit and we will be able to pay our bills, in fact it is shocking and derailing when that doesn’t happen or when our bills are higher than we believe them to be. We talk about trust in currency, in brands, but where is that trust in others, trust in our Abundance?
Abundance takes vulnerability, flexibility, and patience, and that is something we are short on in contemporary capitalism. It can be difficult to ask for what we need and to wait for things to arrive, particularly in a culture that is so used to instant gratification. It didn’t take long, but it seems that everyone is conditioned to expect that any delay is unreasonable when shopping online. Buy it, and it’s there, browse photos, pick the thing, it arrives and is what you predicted. In contrast, Abundance asks us to wait, to trust that a friend or neighbor will come to our aid, a vulnerable act in a culture that glorifies independence. Abundance asks that we take what is given, not selfishly wait for the thing that is exactly what we imagined. It can even be vulnerable to give, admitting that you took more than you needed, or that your life situation has changed and a treasured item is no longer useful. Many people currently give at times of transition, weight change, moving, downsizing, new job, new beginning.
Abundant giving is also a slow, patient process. Though it may feel like you have lots of amazing and useful stuff, finding the person or organization who actively wants it will take time. It can be much more comfortable to just get it all out at once, dump it at a second hand shop, rip the band aid off and just move on. But that is not Abundant thinking, go back to the nature metaphor at the beginning of this section, rarely does nature fruit all at once but instead it goes slowly. There is always something blooming and fruiting for us. In that way, make regular checks in your life on what you need and or can spare, keep a routine flow of things in and out of your life. Eliminate the sense of overwhelm and panic that comes from the massive sort and purge cycle.
You may believe that a simple solution to this is second hand shops. What on the surface could appear to be an act of generosity, we know that these stores often take in more than they could ever sell. Often your donation can get damaged in the sorting process and put in a landfill anyways, or it is deemed unworthy for sale and will get shipped (a carbon intensive process) overseas to simply become someone else’s problem. Consider this: am I being generous and sharing with Abundance OR am I overwhelmed with the stuff I hoarded in capitalist resource Scarcity and now I need it gone ASAP before I explode?
Twice last year, Conscious Costume ran a textile drive fundraiser. While I’m proud of the work that we did, I did have some major questions and concerns. During our appointment to deliver the materials, it was pouring with rain and I saw several boxes of donated books being destroyed with water, I saw a box of dishes fall over and shatter, and bales and bales of “unwearable” clothes, destined to be sent to countries exploited by Eurocentric cultures. All of these items were donated in good faith that someone else would want and need it, buy it, love it, and maybe pass it on. That’s not the reality, we (as a culture) purchase, and get rid of more than can ever be resold. With the rise in the popularity of thrifting, many people who rely on these shops for economic reasons, have noticed steep rises in prices. I would much rather rehome each item myself, knowing that the next owner wants it and needs it.
“Here's where redesign begins in earnest, where we stop trying to be less bad and we start figuring out how to be good.”
― William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Often we begin our design careers in Scarcity, but this forces us to look around with an eye for Abundance. What could a thrifted dress become? What do I have that I can bring to this project? Who do I know that I can go to for help? When I ran a small start-up theatre company, I shared my time with almost every department because time and funds were scarce so we pulled from where we could. We borrowed flats where we had a connection, we pulled a desk from the alley to use on the set. Without the funds to purchase, we looked at the world, not with a credit card, but with our eye to the Abundance of what we could find. The show didn’t have a gorgeous or groundbreaking design, but the performance was generally what we wanted.
As we advance in our careers, we unlearn this skill. We now have the resources to just go buy what we need, which fits perfectly in our vision and does not allow for mistakes or innovation. While the practice of thrifting and upcycling is acceptable for young, scrappy designers and companies, once a certain level of success is achieved this practice is frowned upon. Let’s just buy it, let’s buy options just in case! We flip the script and buy more than we need; we collect and hoard. Even in early career years, often the Scarcity of time or support leads us to make quick, fast fashion purchases to be able to complete a project on time. It would be disingenuous to pretend that early career artists are all creative material angels and mid to late career designers are selfish or lazy.
What I wonder: can we be just as materially creative in our budget Abundance as in our budget Scarcity? I see Donyale Werle as a perfect living example of this. She could have things built from scratch for her Broadway shows. Vacuform plastic in the exact shapes she wants, the budgets allow for this. However she still dumpster dives and collects and cleans otherwise unwanted materials for her designs. Similarly, many Downton Abbey costumes are built from vintage clothing or flea market materials that have been salvaged and turned into beautiful new costumes. The scope of production could probably support all new materials from wherever the designer wants but authenticity took priority, so material creativity, Abundant thinking, and green practices followed.
Ask yourself this: am I TRULY generous and Abundant when sourcing and sharing with others? Consider the overstuffed costume storage. What if using technology, you could clear out that storage and have a good chance of getting back that costume or something better in the future when you actually need it? Instead of hoarding it, cycle it out to the community and cycle it back? Imagine if part of the production process was always to ask each other for what we need. Imagine if we were all in the habit of posting our wishlist somewhere and had a nation of designers and shops who could pull, photograph, and send.
Another part of shifting this paradigm is also changing the dynamic of renting and borrowing. Within the current system, borrowers are frequently expected to return a piece exactly as it is. What if we reimagine sharing with an Abundance mindset? We could give away instead of lending and create an Abundance of space, or perhaps the piece could be improved when returned? How does it benefit your stock to keep that piece unchanged? How does it benefit you to keep it at all if, upon the close of a show, a performer wants to keep or purchase a garment? I am a proponent of letting actors keep/buy what they wore in a show because they will love and treasure that as a memento as well as keep it in use. If you really need it back, you could always reach out and possibly rent it from the performer instead of storing it. What if part of our artistic Abundance spread to our communities, giving away winter coats and gear from costume storages to the unhoused, furniture or prop dishes to resettled refugees?
BUT (I hear you screaming as you read this) this takes time! It does, which is why we need new models and broad buy in. To borrow an analogy from the activist community: it’s like a choir, if we all breathe separately and trust that someone else will carry the note while we are breathing then we can do this. Continuing the choir parallel, this requires a collective, a community. We work together to rehome the things that aren't right for our needs any longer. And we ask for what we need. Can you put some budget towards a staff member or assistant to find the free, low cost, or second hand option? Can you pay for that time instead of paying for the stuff? Obviously this proposal creates new challenges and I’m not demanding an overhaul tomorrow, just trying to approach our materials with a new, Abundant, outlook.
Abundance also asks us to be vulnerable and to behave “differently” from current theatre structures. Asking to borrow is often done with a sense of guilt and shame, assuming we are inconveniencing the other person with our presence and needs. What if sharing were treated as a joyful experience for everyone?
I often love pulling pieces or having people come look at CC’s collection because it gives me an opportunity to joyfully share. We make a small rental or purchase fee, which may seem counter to the Abundance model I’m sharing here. Unfortunately, as long as we are trying to shoehorn ideas of Abundance into capitalistic models that promote Scarcity, CC needs to make some money to exist, the fees generally do not pay for the time I put in or the space and we are primarily supported through grants, donations, and Patrons. Are there ways that we can detach financial exchange from theatre models? I hope so.
Enough: 1: occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations (Enough food for everyone). 2: in or to a degree or quantity that satisfies or that is sufficient or necessary for satisfaction : SUFFICIENTLY
Kristen P Ahern
Kristen is the founder of Conscious Costume and a designer, activist, organizer, and educator in the Chicago area.
