Reduce, Reuse, Recycle doesn’t seem to keep pace with a modern world. Atleast not with the pace with which we’re currently consuming.

I propose an alternative:

Stop, Repair, and Wear-Out.

Stop – as in “Stop Consuming”. Similar to ‘reduce’ – but taken further. Stop consuming. Now. You’re drowning in a sea of waste, lies, and faulty ‘american dreams’ foisted upon you incessantly by hucksters and con-men. Stop consuming. Dont reduce, dont ‘cut down’ – Stop.

Repair – Learn to repair what you own. Whether its learning to sew (a $3 sewing kit and some googling added 6+ months of wear to my ‘work pants’), learning to repair electronics, or simply learning to performs routine maintenance on your PC or car. Learn it, do it. Check out the Owners Manifesto

Finally, I bring you to:

Wear Out – Once you’ve stopped consuming and have learned to repair what you already own, this one will happen automatically. Take what you’ve got and wear it out completely. Drive your vehicle until the wheels fall off, wear and repair your clothing until you cant wear them anymore. Keeping that old PC around even 10% longer will save money, save headaches, save shelf space, and save our environment.

Sidenote, the vast majority of people have no idea when they ‘need’ a new PC – Remove the viruses and crapware from your current box and it’ll do facebook and email just as well as any new PC out there.