A good tip I learnt since coming to Bulgaria and that is not to become a slave to fashion, especially in the home. As an expatriate there are habits that take a long time to get rid of. Wearing shoes in the house, saying please and thank you to everything, eating as fast as you can and stopping only when your plate is empty, using a knife to name a few. Most if not all habits I feel are better here than the old habits I used to have, but the main difference is the habit of being a slave to fashion in the home.
Things look nice, but they are nicer if they are trendy, up to date and fashionable. This is what I was forced to believe in the UK. Here, there are things that are used in the home that are twenty thirty or even fifty years old and work just as well as they did when first bought. If things do have to be replaced, they are replaced with the cheapest they can find, even if it means shopping for weeks to find it.
A classic example is a table cloth that was replaced. The old one was at least 30 years old and the cheapest around at that time. It was a plastic table cloth with some flowers decoration on it that had faded over the years. The problem that arose was that there were a few holes not in the tablecloth and Galia had seen some very cheap plastic material so bought form the second hand market with the table clothing in mind.
The point was that this tablecloth was in mind for being replaced but it had taken around two months for a bargain piece of plastic to be found. No new table cloth, a sheet of plastic that would be turned into a tablecloth with a bit of sizing and cutting. This is a habit that stands out in Bulgaria, their one minded resourcefulness to get something replace at the cheapest possible price, yet still let it do the job very well.
We now have a new table cloth, but that's not the end of it. What happened to the old tablecloth? Simple it was cut up, the holey bits were thrown away and smaller table clothes were made for other tables that plants were placed on. These will now last at least another 30 years, possibly forever.
It hasn't taken me long to catch up on to this habit of finding the cheapest and recycling the old, it was always in my blood, which has a green streak in it anyway.
Czechs are similar to Bulgarians in this matter of recycling everything and anything! They have a saying that a housewife will go across the fence to pick up a feather--that she will, in turn, add to other such feathers to make a comforter or pillow! :0)
ReplyDeleteI've began to get into this mindset, though it's something very new...in the States, we throw everything away...which is really a shame!
Have a great day there!
Sher :0)
Wow! It's amazing that a plastic tablecloth has lasted for 30 years and will probably go on for another 30 in a different form! It's great that Bulgarians are like this. I read at the weekend that the Australians are the second biggest producers of waste worldwide (after the Americans) and I'm not surprised when I see all the good, still working stuff that is thrown out into the streets every day - it is really shameful and terrible for the environment. If I see something I can use, I pick it up and take it home but I often get looks from people, who obviously think I am strange for doing this, but I really don't care!
ReplyDeleteRoz
http://lifeinaustralia.today.com
Martin, since I have been here I have started to be less materialistic. My wardrobe contains shorts, t-shirts and a couple of slightly smarter outfits if I want to go out.
ReplyDeleteGone is my designer gear and some of the unnecessary trimmings of a western lifestyle.
Can't say I really miss them.
The waste in this world is criminal we all know this. Things have to change, but that is near on impossible with the tide of a throw away society.
ReplyDeleteHello Martin, Ciejay is forever trying to get me to throw away all my favorite shirts and shorts , and buy new ones , when we get ready to go somewhere she will say "you wearing that ole thing" I reply , "I'm not going to visit the King , just to the market" to which, she just rolls her eyes as only she can do . ha ha.Also I still have lots of old stuff ( not to old , we came to Thailand with eleven suitcases full only) around , but the moment it quits working and I cannot repair , IT'S OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW . all to Ciejay's delight
ReplyDeleteMalcolm
Martin,
ReplyDeleteI just read Kristies Interview. You brought back memories from when I spent 2 weeks there in Bulgaria. I comment a lot about it in a comment on your interview, so I will not repeat it here.
I promise to come back and visit and keep up on your life there.
Becareful with the white plum liquir, it is a killer.
A lot of your experiences reminds me of what I found in the Philippines where I now live.
Gosh - I use Tupperware that my Mum bought the year I was born. We don't throw away anything. But then we don't buy in new stuff when we already have old stuff.
ReplyDeleteI would think that the recycling mentality comes from a more practical mindset. Also, it has to do with one's purchasing power.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, my parents will 'recycle' everything possible. Newspapers ended up as temporary tablecloth, clothes and toys were invariably hand-me-downs. The list just goes on.
I can assure you that being 'green' is the last thing on my parents' mind.
As a society gets more affluent, it's only human to acquire more material possessions. However, at a certain point, people will start to examine the need vs want dilemma and thus contributing to the green movement.
Cheers,
C K
I have to agree with you CK in so much as the richer you are the more wasteful you are regardless of green motives. In Bulgaria it is very much a case of having to make things last and repair rather than wanting to.
ReplyDeleteBruce: Rakia is now a way of life with me rather than a killer. Can easily be with excess and lack of respect though.
Malcom: You have someone who cares for you and how you look, you lucky man. Most men tend to wear clothes that just hang on them, I'm no exception either and Galia does the same to me.
Martin I must admit I'm very much the same as Malcolm, out with the old and in with the new. The concept of repairing and extending the life span of items is indeed a very good one, after all us humans are rushed into hospitals for that very purpose. Your post has made me realize that I do need to change my philosophy on waste and recycling especially as my plans are to one day settle in a Thai village.
ReplyDeleteCertainly results in a more ecological effect, whether intended or not. Even when I was in the US I knew a couple of people who had parents who grew up during the Great Depression and they had less of the throw-away mentality than the average. Duct tape, anyone?
ReplyDeleteWe can all take some lessons from this type of behavior. The only thing I would add that would complete the whole better-for-the-environment thing is if the objects are manufactured 'sustainably' and 'fairly' in the first place. Those are loaded words I know, but short of writing a thesis here, they'll have to do.
Thanks for your visits and comments on my Villigen blog. See you!
Yeah, it's kinda common sense, or at least it should be.
ReplyDeleteWhy buy something to replace something that's perfectly good? Why buy something when you can make it yourself?
The Bulgarians have a lot more 'sustainable' lifestyle.