Hey Everyone!
Welcome to the final video in the Shame series! The videos aren’t exactly sequential, but it’s a good idea to see the first two parts before this one.
Since the dawn of capitalism, there have been people trying to sell us stuff, and trying to advertise using various methods. Nothing wrong with this, just a fact. Print, town crier, radio, TV, internet.
The best advertising tries to get an emotional response out of us. That’s how we connect to the thing that’s trying to be sold to us (if you think about your favorite commercial, more often than not, it’s going to be a funny one.)
Capitalism + Advertising + Emotional Response = How you remember it
There were lots of interruptions in this video because I am a dumbass who parked near the airport.
SO: Capitalism and Organizing.
At least 2x daily I get articles in my news feed about organizing. Now, maybe that's me more me than you, because of "the listening phone" curating our news feeds. A lot of these articles are framed positively, like “40 Great Products to Organize Your Kitchen!” or “Parents Love These Toys Organizers!”
Sometimes, though, the titles are kind of...asshole-ish. Capitalism + Shame subtly words things to imply that you’re not an adult if you don’t own these. Or that you need/must have them. Or that there is a “right” way to organize things.
I will be the first to admit that I own products that I gladly paid money for (that cannot be DIY’d) that I freaking love! I may say that they changed my life, and that might be embarrassing, but it will not be false! There are also only two products that fall into that category. (I will make a post about them in the future, it's already planned.)
If you ever see an article that says “40 Products That You Need…” you don’t need forty! You probably don’t need any! Maybe you only need one! Or, (since it’s me we’re talking to) maybe you just need something to perform a function and you have something already in your home that can suffice.
If capitalism’s tools ever start to make you feel down on yourself, it may help to think of them like a person. The tools of capitalism, I mean.
Ask them why they’re trying to make you feel bad about yourself. When a person does that, you realize that it says more about them than it does about you.
Own your physical space. Own your home space. Own your head space.
I needed water it was 90 freaking degrees in my car.
DISCLAIMER:
Organizing is not the only job I have.
I have been assuming people already know that, but as more people come to my site through the socials, there will be people who don't know.
I also work part-time in retail. It’s flexible, and the store gives me discounts on the organizing products that I do need to buy.
I realize that may seem hypocritical as I rail against buying stuff, but we’re living in late-stage capitalism, and until S!WK can meet all of my financial goals for contributing to my family finances, I need something else to make up the difference. It’s not *evil* as far as large corporations go.
I'm not going to name the store. I will say that, while I am not thrilled with recent decisions by the corporation, I love my coworkers at my individual location, and I have a great deal of fun there.
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