To Buy or Not to Buy this Double 11? The Fine Art of Resistance!

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.

I think minimalists may do the best at spending less (or no) money on Double 11.
As for minimalism, you may have some misconceptions:Misconception: Minimalism promotes the idea of owning nothing.Instead: Minimalism is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.
Misconception: your home should be plain and free from sentimental items.Instead: your home should be intentional and deliberate, all items should have a purpose and create value in your life. Sentimental items shouldn't be packed into a box, they should be out on display as daily reminders of the good things in life.Do you remember (or did you know) that double eleven was originally a day to celebrate being single? It originated at Nanjing University in 1993.
But a popular event without the potential for some fat cats to earn money isn't a very fun event for fat cats. So the event slowly became the biggest sales day in the world.11.11What pleasure am I pursuing?
Double 11 (or 11.11) as a festival does seem to cause a lot of excitement for a lot of people.In 2009, Taobao's first Double 11 sales surpassed 50 million RMBIn 2018, the sales through Alibaba alone (the world's largest e-commerce platform), hit a new record with sales of 30.8 billion USD in just 24 hours, in Chinese money that is:217,535,197,094.60 RMB(its a long number)That number can be roughly translated into English as:
"catastrophic destruction to the planet and the deadening of brain cells to the people who have been tricked into buying more things."It has become increasingly easy to get people to not only buy more during this "festival", but also to have people spending hours every day in the weeks leading up to Double 11 finding more things to buy that they didn't even realise they "needed".
Double 11 hobbies include:

• Opening multiple websites and apps (the page is made into an endless scroll, by a person some may deem as very smart indeed).
• Opening more tabs than your device can handle.
• Watching the product shows.
• Coming across new "KOLs" and wishing your life was just like their's.
• Thanking Taobao for suggesting "items you might like"
• Comparing original prices to the new, special, amazing, life-changing, FOMO price for the Double 11 sale.

11.11The business practices to make you buy moreThe common promotional methods used by merchants are:

• When you spend a certain amount, you will get a gift.
• Flash sale! Best be quick!
• Pay in advance and you'll get a discount
• Did someone say "Coupons!"
• Half price off your second purchase.
• and many many more

11.11The Double 11 Festival is Beyond Reckless!
The festival makes people anxious about missing out and then it makes people even more anxious when they see their next credit card bill following the festival.

• It's gone completely mad. There's no balance any more.

You can read online about people buying a large amount of toilet paper online because it was on discount during 11.11 and saying that they still have some left from 3 years ago.
Do we really need to become hoarders just to save a little bit of money per toilet roll? Isn't there more value in having an uncluttered home?Leading up to 11.11, people are reading more product recommendations than they do in an entire year.
Most of our needs are created by the advertising companies who are paid millions by popular online stores.

• Waste
  

Unnecessary packaging using up more of the planet's resources and turning to waste the moment the product is removed from the packaging.Excessive consumption of goods.Double 11, I now crown you the "Festival of Waste!"

• Psychological burden

Anxiety before purchasing, guilt and regret after purchasing. Ah, It's just money. Why am I so tired? I best get to bed! I have to be up to early tomorrow to work a job I don't like to earn more money to buy things online. That's okay, I will earn more money in the future and then I can work less or find a job I like more, with more money I can buy more things that I like. That idea makes me feel better. 1:30am now? Okay, 1 more scroll down this e-commerce app then I will get some sleep.

• space
  

The things bought not only occupy the space of the room, but also the space of our hearts. This invisible garbage brings us more burdens.11.11Before shopping，Ask yourself these 5 questions
1. Would you buy the item without the discount?Discounts are there to save you money, but if you buy something you don't need, then you haven't saved any money, all you have done is spent more money and thus wasted money.
2. Do I already have a similar item to the one I am thinking of buying?How many shirts do I already have? Do I need another?Do I have sweaters to keep me comfortable and warm throughout the colder months?When you see the black ankle-high boots recommended by a fashion blogger, who is...
... "super excited to tell you about how awesome these new boots are and why you should totally buy them"...
.... stop and think for a moment.That fashion blogger has trained hard to make you buy more for his/her gain, not yours. He/she isn't your friend. Your friends are your friends. And, if your friends don't like you because of how you dress and how you look, look elsewhere now for new friends, because they should like you for who you are, not what you wear.3. Will I still be using this item in 2 years?
Let's work to avoid fast fashion. Save your pocket and you save the planet. You can either choose one of those to focus on or both, whatever you choose, you win.
There is a concept in minimalism: cost per wear/cost per use. That is, the unit price for each use.
Imagine you buy a dress for 1,000 RMB.The 1st time you wear it, it has cost you 1,000 RMB per use.The 2nd time, it has cost you 500 RMB per use (and you can get 500 RMB back from the first day you wore it)On the 20th occasion, it has cost you 50 RMB.Look at items in the world through this lense and you will buy smart, be smart and live better.
[I have a coat I bought during the final year of university, It cost me £70 and I have been wearing it every winter since I bought it, that was 9 years ago. I think I "spend" around 0.09 RMB every time I wear it now.]
If the unit price is more expensive, but the frequency of use is high and the quality is very good, it can be used for a long time, this is probably a product worth investing in.Of course, if the price of a thing is relatively expensive and the frequency of its use is not high, we should think a little more about it.





4. Do I definitely like it? (100% sure?)From my own experiences and from talking to friends, a lot of things bought during the Double 11 turned out to be items I and my friends quickly didn't like anymore. But we got a discount! Hooray!
Master your own life, let the purchased items meet your life needs, rather than let the purchase of an item become your sign of membership to fit into a club.

5. Will the new item bring additional value to my life that is not already there? How will I interact with this new item on a day-to-day basis?We need to consider the real cost of owning something, which is far more than the price on the label.Considering more than the cost of the item means you also consider:

• the resources used in production,
• where to store the item,
• cleaning the item,
• charging the item,
• refuelling it,
• replacing parts,
• repairing,
• caring for it,
• could it be stolen,
• etc.

We need to be more careful about what we bring into our lives.If you buy an item that is so expensive to you, meaning the cost is disproportionately high compared to your savings and earnings, and the thought of breaking that item, losing that item or having that item stolen would cause extreme discomfort in your life, then, you perhaps you need to think a lot more before purchasing it.11.115 Tips to save money
1. Sort out existing itemsThere is a zero-waste blogger with 288 items in total, and someone commented "So many!"If you do a count, you will find that you have much more than you think. According to the Los Angeles Times:
The average American family owns more than 300,000 items.

Whenever I have the desire to buy clothes online, I will try the clothes I have in my wardrobe first.
After sorting out existing items, I'm sure you will find many items that you no longer use.
Please don't throw any away! We will write a series of articles to share with you how to deal with used clothes/books/electronic products and so on.
You can also bring them to our swap event! (see poster below)How to organize your existing items, please refer to this article: Mastering Minimalism2. Do not pay attention to discount informationDiscount information, more beauty products and recommended items will not bring you happiness.Your happiness is determined by your relationship with some of the closest people around you.
People on the Internet who are more beautiful/talented/successful/travel around the world often bring more anxiety than happiness to others surfing the World Wide Web.
You can turn off these apps (or delete them entirely), look up, look around and spend time with people who can give you real happiness.

3. Packing Party

How to

1) Pack ALL your things in boxes, as if you were moving2) Over the following days and weeks (up to 21 days) only take out from the boxes what you need.3) After 21 days, look at what's left in the box.Most people who do this find that 80% of their things are still boxed up.
Maybe we only need 20% of what we currently own?

4. 10 vs 10 possession theory

How important are the things you have in your life?How much value do those things you bought by working hard 40, 50, 60 hours a week actually add to your life?


Make a quick 10 vs 10 comparison:Write down the 10 most expensive things you've bought in ten years, such as cars, real estate, jewelry, home furnishings, Apple computers, etc. Next to this list, list 10 other things that add the most value to your life: watching the sunset with your family, having dinner with your friends, adopting a dog, etc
Finally, be honest with yourself, there may not be any overlap between the two lists. Was owning a 10,000 RMB watch on both lists?

5. Change your thinking

This one has helped me the most!

Convert the price of something into the number of hours you have had or will have to work for it.

Think of a 100 RMB note as a freedom note.

How many of your freedom notes will you need to use to buy the new item?

In this way, you can clearly hear from your heart whether or not the product is worth buying or not.

"What? This hair dryer will take 2 weeks of my freedom notes!?" Hell no!

I will dry my hair with my towel + run around my room + shake my head back and forth. Good exercise + money saved.

The advantage is that almost every conversion is not worth it.

Anti 11.11 campaign

THE BULK HOUSE 零浪费生活

Zero Waste Campaign

*** ONE ***

1. Support the Anti 11.11 Campaign!How to participate: use this picture as your WeChat profile picture to tell more people about the problems with this year's Double 11.The Chinese says:我拒绝冲动消费 (wǒ jù jué chōng dòng xiāo)Which can be translated in a few ways, but the main message we want to put out is:
"I reject irresponsible consumption."
*** TWO ***
If you do decide you need to buy some products, for any you do receive...... please take pictures of the packaging and send it to us via WeChat, Douban or on Weibo (or messenger pigeon).
What are you going to buy this year's double eleven?
We'd like to see the packaging waste (because we are weird)Weibo: @THE BULK HOUSE 零浪费无包装商店Douban: @THE BULK HOUSE 零浪费无包装商店WeChat Account: TheBulkHouse_China*** THREE ****Share this articleThe questions and methods in this article are worth thinking about before making a purchase.
We can all be more rational consumers. Create more, consume less. Make life richer through being rather than owning more stuff.

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.

Share your opinion🌱

1.

This year's 11.11

Have you decided on what you will buy?

2.

Deleting Taobao during this time

Is that something you could realistically do？

3.

Take part in the activities to win a prize

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跟朋友们分享一个重磅大好消息！我们新开了一家线下体验店升级版 2.0 THE BULK HOUSE 零浪费无包装商店。我们重新回归线下，回到了你们最熟悉的胡同里。新店址位于北京市东城区北锣鼓巷70号。如上图所示，🌳两棵树🌳之间的绿门，那便是我们啦!虽然体验店还没安全准备好，但是它100%具备了满足你所有的好奇心和零浪费意念的期望值。目前我们正处于 “试营业暖巢阶段”。正式开业派对将会在近期公布，敬请关注我们的公众平台，满心期待中！

Hey friends!We have opened a new offline store! An upgraded version, THE BULK HOUSE 零浪费无包装商店 2.0 The new store is located at No. 70, Beiluo Guxiang, Dongcheng District, Beijing.北京市东城区北锣鼓巷70号We are the green door between the 🌳 Two trees 🌳 It isn't fully ready yet, but, it is functional, we are in the "extra soft opening stage" Come along to check it out and say "Hi!" or "Knee How!"
⏰ 营业时间TBH线下体验店的营业时暂未完全确定。周二到周日上午10点至下午19点
⏰ Business HoursWe don't have the opening hours set in stone just yet.At present we are opening Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays) and we are open from 10 am to 7 pm.

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