Good For a Chat with Sally Flower
Our Good For a Chat series continued in April as co-founder Jo Taranto was joined by KonMari Method trained organiser and sustainable speaker, Sally Flower, to discuss the ins and outs of sustainable living, and how we can mobilise the decisions we make at home for broader impact.
How she "stumbled into this world of tidy"
Talking about the start of her simplicity journey, Sally reflected on her beginnings in business and corporate finance; describing her time working in New York City as a 'trigger point' that made her rethink consumerism and our lifestyles.
"The social norms of having everything as disposable and throw away was something that really didn't set well with me".
At the same time, she was fascinated by Marie Kondo's book and found herself at one of her events; after which it 'snowballed' and eventually, using her business background, Sally created Home Sanctuary to help people get organised and live tidy.
But the whole time, something didn't feel right.
"A doctor who was treating a symptom and not the problem"
Helping people throw out bags and bags of products just didn't feel like something to celebrate.
For Sally, the question became less about tidying by throwing things out, and more about living a life where we're happy while also reducing the amount of waste we make. With this passion and purpose, Home Sanctuary developed to "change the way we view decluttering and organising".
So, what actually is the key to changing behaviours and mindsets?
It's about changing the narrative surrounding consumerism
Sally talks about how the narrative needs to shift away from buying and needing more by elevating our response to advertising; saying the key is to buy less and make saying no to products the natural choice. By changing the way we respond to this message of consumerism, we can influence producers to rethink and improve their product development.
Reflecting on the challenges associated with this, she discusses how it's unfair to simply place the onus on the consumer to buy less when we're 'bombarded' by products and media advertisements that encourage consumerism.
Instead, she suggests that rewriting our narrative is a collective responsibility that requires action not only on a community and individual level, but also on a broader policy level.
Speaking of this broader context of rethinking consumerism, Sally discusses Australia's climate change action and how Australians "don't tend to see ourselves as big players in the world" and often don't realise that "we are consuming so much carbon per person, we can make a big difference".
Individual and collective action, whether through policies or communities, are equally important to change our consumer mindset.
It can feel isolating
Sally also looks at the ups and downs of the simplicity journey; talking about how it can feel isolating when thinking about 'buying new or needing more'. But actually, with millions of people worldwide onboard the simplicity journey, the shift towards lowering consumption can help us create happy, healthy, and more connected 'hoods.
We had some great questions from our own 'hood of Good Doers, asking about tackling consumerism when it comes to children, dealing with 'chronic dumping' and behaviour change, the Hedonic effect, and everything in between.
Good For a Chat with Sally Flower
was a real insight into consumer culture and sustainable living, and the broader impact our decisions at home can have on a global scale when it comes to inspiring change and rewriting the consumerism narrative. Stay tuned for more inspiring and enlightening talks.
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