As the nation goes on its mad Christmas spending spree, Rebecca Barry meets a group of New Zealanders for whom life means much more than material possessions.
Greed is good, said Gordon Gekko. It's a sentiment that could just as easily be applied to Christmas: traditionally a time of giving, realistically a time of spending. But in the wake of the recession, splurging on material possessions is no longer an option for many. And as we head toward an uncertain financial and environmental future, it makes sense to look at how we might curb our consumption, or at least question our intentions behind acquiring more stuff.
The digital age has already revolutionised our attachment to objects. Who knows what our grandchildren will think of our dusty old bookshelves and LP collections, when it's just as easy to keep our "possessions" in cyberspace?
The web has also helped to promote the ideology of minimalism, through popular blogs such as The 100 Thing Challenge, Zenhabits.net, mnmlist.com and thesimpledollar.com. These sites suggest it's not only possible to be just as happy with fewer things, it's actually a stepping stone to greater fulfillment.
The following New Zealanders can attest to that. Whether their reasons are environmental, personal, social or spiritual, they choose to live with as few possessions as possible. Why? They say it makes them healthier, happier and the world a better place.
AMANDA JUDD
Amanda Judd has tried her hand at many things: rhythmic gymnastics, fashion design and paper recycling. But when it comes to her day-to-day life, she's a minimalist. The bubbly 25-year-old North Shore resident made a decision a year ago to commit herself to a life of frugality. She barely owns any possessions - a car, a bed, a vacuum cleaner - and goes out of her way to avoid buying things she doesn't truly need.
"The only way to grow the economy is to consume more and most of us are a product of our environment," she says. "The way I'm living is a creative response to that. It's about stopping and considering why we buy. We live with so much greed and over-indulgence. So many people are working so much they don't find the time to feel fulfilled or look after the planet."
Judd says she was forced to re-evaluate her life when she became overworked last year. The more she worked, the more stressed she felt and the more she consumed, especially when it came to food.
With little energy to cook in the evenings, she spent money on "bad food", which left her feeling disconnected.
At the time she was working as director of YouthWorX, a youth-driven social networking organisation, and had just set up a paper recycling company. She has since pared back her hours, allowing her more free time to do the things she believes give her greater connection to herself, the earth (she plants trees) and those around her. When she does shop, it's to buy good quality items that will last. Common sense?
Yes, but it's all a world away from her upbringing in what Judd calls a typical North Shore family. She's living back at home temporarily until she and her partner move into their new place in January, so is having to adjust to being back in a house that is "still full of so much crap".
"My mother doesn't like waste, so she actually has a similar mindset to me. Whereas I would not want to purchase anything in the first place, she won't throw anything out, she hoards stuff." Judd isn't fazed by the prospect of the economy collapsing should we all one day decide to stop spending.
"Something new always arises. If economies are key to our living harmoniously, we don't need to worry. New things may pop up that don't rely on the consumption of natural resources, but instead give something back. Entertainment, for instance."
That's the philosophy behind her company, Lovenotes.co.nz, which offers local businesses a paper recycling service, whereby they pay for the drop-off and pick-up and in return get free stationery.
It might be challenging to consider how Judd might contribute more to society by working less but she argues that by increasing her leisure time, she's happier, meaning she has more time for people. As a result, she has taken on more unpaid work.
"Because I've got less stuff, I've got more time and energy to put into valuing the things that I have. I actually find that I get so much more enjoyment out of having few things. I find more aesthetic pleasure in the natural environment. I get a lot of enjoyment out of being with people, experiences versus looking at things."
JIM O'GORMAN
Jim O'Gorman, 60, lives on a valuable North Otago property but for the last 17 years has chosen to live "like a pauper". Home is a 10sq m shed in Kakanui with no electricity or running water. Solar panels help to keep his house cosy in the winter, and it's the sun, rather than an alarm clock, that gets him out of bed in the morning.
Mostly though, it's O'Gorman's passion for his work as the "Dirt Doctor" that has led to his austere lifestyle. Over the years he has experimented, using micro-organisms rather than fertiliser or machinery, to regenerate damaged soil, the idea being that developing countries that rely on hand tools and human labour can benefit from his findings.
The fruit and vegetables he grows are sold to local restaurants, and bartered for wild game and fish. His fishermen mates regularly drop by with blue cod and whitebait in exchange for his tomatoes and new potatoes. Even his wine comes from a mate who he helps to pick and press the grapes. O'Gorman reckons he spends $50 a week in the supermarket on essentials.
His work has so absorbed him, possessions have come to have little value. "I don't lack for anything," he says. "I'm growing and eating some of the best food on the planet.
"People say to me, 'mate, why don't you sell your land and buy a house? You could really live well. What do I do then with the money? Go and buy myself a seaside section somewhere? Why would I do that when I've already got one? It doesn't bother me living in the shack. But what am I going to be when they put me into a retirement home? I'm going to be living in a tiny cupboard before they put me in a box. That's where we go in the end, when we're 70 or 80."
It's fear, says O'Gorman, who used to work in marketing, that sends most of us into a cycle of consumerism. "Fear of not having enough, of what the Joneses have. We do get overwhelmed with the message that we absolutely must have or we are nothing. That's not where it's at."
O'Gorman, who lost everything when his organic shop in Dunedin went bust, says he's no different from most people when it comes to wanting his produce to be the most valuable commodity it can be. But money has come to take on a different value. It's the outcome of his passion rather than the reason for it.
"Apart from not having a partner in my life, I'm having an absolutely fantastic time."
He threw his watch away a long time ago and instead of watching television he watches the sky. Although he does miss catching a good rugby game on the box - it beats listening to it on the radio.
"My day changed from having a timepiece direct everything to whatever I was doing commanding my attention. And having my attention, things just unfold and are done. It's not a drudgery. I really love what I'm doing - at the first crack of day, I'm ready to have a fantastic day, working really hard."
WILL AND HEIDI SCHMIDT
Aspiring minimalists Will and Heidi Schmidt take every opportunity to get rid of things. This weekend, it was clothes. One look around their modest Northcote home, it's hard to believe they used to have what they now call the "junk room". Upstairs in the bedroom they've kept it literal: just a bed. In the bathroom, one vase. And in the kitchen, nothing on the bench that needn't be there, save for a couple of eggs from the chooks that roam the backyard, and some lettuce from their vege garden.
Aside from a couch and Heidi's piano, there's not much else in the lounge for their buoyant and curious 1-year-old son Archie to climb on. Not that he minds. With no TV, he gets his parents' undivided attention and more opportunities to head to the park.
The couple adopted their newfound minimalist lifestyle two years ago, and have been on a path to declutter ever since. Anything that doesn't fall under the umbrella of food, shelter or essential clothing is likely to get the heave-ho.
Heidi, 22, a school teacher and musician who teaches from home, is pregnant with their second child so eventually they will have to rely on Will's income as a freelance web designer. But the pair insist their lifestyle is less about saving money and more about simplifying, of separating their wants from their needs, and getting rid of the wants.
"It's so easy to buy things, even with the house you think, I want this, I want that and there's this mentality that you have to have everything now," says Will, 26. "You think you need a new couch or a new whatever, but you don't."
It might strike some as an artless, perhaps unnecessarily ascetic way to live but the Schmidts say they're relieved they're no longer caught up chasing after material possessions.
Physically, their home is decluttered, so mentally they are too; there's less "stuff" to think about. That leaves them with more time to pursue the things they really want to. Like having their friends around for dinner. Or playing music. Or spending time with Archie, whose arrival helped to facilitate their change in mindset, one Heidi says she was indoctrinated with in childhood.
"My parents worked really hard to buy a house and then they lived like misers for years and worked their way up. Twenty-five years later they've got there. They've worked hard for their toys. You see that with other people as well. Their kids move out, they think, well Mum and Dad have got that, so we should have it."
As Archie grows up, the couple want to teach him what it means to be a consumer as he grows up and starts wanting the latest toys. "And being able to entertain and enjoy life without things. Without a PS3 you can still kick a ball around the yard or go on a run or go to a local playground. On the North Shore, [there are] tons of free activities you can do."
"As far as wanting stuff goes, it's not inherently wrong but a lot of people just aren't happy," says Will. "I see it a lot with friends. They'll say, 'ooh, I'll learn the guitar', so they'll buy an electric guitar, buy an amp, muck around a little bit then move on to something else. If you clear your mind and just focus on one thing, simplify your life, I think you get a lot more enjoyment out of it."
Although Will is the first to admit he would love an iPad.
NICK POTTER
Nick Potter lives a life of luxury - at least that's how he sees it having recently been to India.
"When you see what some people live on you have to wonder where to draw those comparisons."
The Wellington resident says he purposefully downsized his possessions so he earns only what he needs to lead a fulfilling lifestyle. Potter, 34, who writes a blog, says he's happiest sharing, whether it's the Wellington flat he co-habits with four others or the car he co-owns with three people.
For many of us our own space is worth paying extra for, but Potter insists he'd rather have the company of his flatmates, and loves that they all take turns cooking. He reckons he spends a maximum of $50 on food per week. His room or "modern cave" triples as his office and yoga studio and houses not much more than a bed, a desk with a laptop and a set of drawers. His own art decorates the walls.
Life wasn't always this simple. His family came from more of a "consumptive" mindset and Potter found himself caught up in the nine-to-five routine, working as a researcher in sustainability and environmental areas, first for the parliamentary commissioner for the environment and later for Landcare Research. That got him thinking about why people consume, and threw up the possibility that we consume to make ourselves happy.
"That started a conversation: why are people unhappy? That led to a question for myself: what do I need to do in my own life to feel fulfilled?
"I realised that if I'm going to have integrity with what I'm writing and advising on then I've got to have a good look at my own life as well."
With no mortgage, debt or children to provide for, he took the leap and decided to work for himself - and others. He set up the sponsorship-funded social networking site Intersect and his lifestyle blog called re-be.com and he took on consulting work, "inspiring people to improve their environmental footprint". He is also training to become a yoga teacher.
While many of us would worry about where the next pay cheque is coming from, Potter says his cheaper lifestyle means he can afford not to chase the high-paying gigs.
Although his income has decreased by about 60 per cent in the last 18 months, he says his quality of life has increased by 200 per cent.
"Suddenly I'm really thoroughly enjoying life and having a great time. It's amazing how little I can actually live on. It is a process of [identifying] what's the life I want to lead and minimising costs so I live simply. My health is a lot better, I have a lot more energy. I'm less stressed, I do a lot more unpaid work. Though doing the work I want to do increasingly leads to more paid work and my income going up again, which is nice. Because I don't have the pressure of looking for high-paid work I can look for the work that is most fulfilling and rewarding."
SATYADEVI
Once upon a time, Verne Barrett was married to an airline director. She loved him and lived a luxurious lifestyle: free travel, a lovely home. She had everything she could possibly want. Yet something was missing.
"It was a burden in the end," she says, sipping a juice at her favourite Northcote cafe. "It's just not me, spending my life drinking gin by the pool and buying the latest silks around the Orient. It had ceased to be meaningful."
Life is different now.
A Buddhist for 30 years, Barrett goes by her Buddhist name, Satyadevi. A softly-spoken and gentle woman of 64, she calls herself an anigarika, or "homeless one". She does have a caravan in Waihi but enjoys travelling the country to host Buddhist retreats and workshops in Auckland, staying with friends along the way. Also an Alexander Technique teacher, Satyadevi says her caravan is a place to store her books and most treasured items but most of her life has little to do with possessions and more to do with reflecting and writing - she has written a book manuscript on meditation.
Most of her precious things come with her on the road anyway: books, photographs of her grandchildren.
She is a reluctant consumer, buying only what she needs. She takes pride in her appearance but won't spend more than $10 on earrings.
"I just don't think they're worth it. I don't value them but it's nice to look decent. I do public classes a lot in the community so I do care how I look, though I find that I can look decent spending much less than I used to in my 20s and 30s."
It's deep within the Buddhist tradition not to take from the environment any more than is needed. Satyadevi prefers to buy second hand clothes and shop at local charity shops.
She still buys gifts for her family and is particularly chuffed with a recent thrifty find, a $5 antique bar set for her her son. She'd much rather do that than find something for $100 in a store.
As a member of the Triratna Buddhist order, she strives to lead an ethical existence, giving what she can and remembering the impermanence of all things.
"Impermanence flies in the face of materialism. Which is the more true? Which is going to give you the more lasting satisfaction, your material benefits or looking at life as it really is and coming to terms with it? Nothing's going to last and there's a joyful way of looking at that, that's by enjoying things on the wing, as it were. In some ways you can reap more enjoyment from that than by actually possessing a lot of things."
Earning as little as she needs to live and giving much of it to the Sudarshanaloka retreat centre near Thames, Satyadevi finds the simpler her life, the better. She has also noticed that since she has started to give more, she's more likely to have things given to her too, a prospect she compares with Maori koha or the Navaho Indian philosophy.
"You can enjoy more when you have less. It's an attitudinal thing."
