Skip the middle man.

Skip the middle man. An article in CNN suggests that big box stores are so overwhelmed with returned merchandise that in some cases they're telling shoppers to "just keep it." The cost of returns and the processing and storage of all that junk has become too much. 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/26/business/retail-returns/index.html

So how about this idea? Let's make the things we need or buy things of extraordinary beauty that thus offer deeper meaning.  We can avoid time wandering isles to buy things we really don't need and invest that time in making our lives more meaningful. 

I've written before about the half life of objects. Their time between manufacturing and deposit in landfills is brief. Their cost to the environment is enormous. And while the making and distribution of meaningless stuff keeps folks busy and employed we would find deeper meaning if we were to follow these simple rules: 

If you buy something, be sure it's worth the time someone spent to make it. If you can make it yourself and learn from the process, do so. 

There will be a temporary loss of meaningless employment while we move incrementally toward a sound relationship with the environment. But think of the amount of gas we'll save by not making so many trips to the store.

The jig shown is for making drawer pulls for a jewelry chest. It pivots to guide a rectangular piece of wood through the cut on the bandsaw. The same simple jig is also used with a disc sander to finish shaping the curved form.

Make, fix and create...