Waste

It seems that we've become the country of super-size, everything from food, toys, gadgets, computers, and cars, to homes have become super-sized. Everything has to be bigger and faster, and once something is faster or bigger, we throw out the old and get the new. In today's world not only is that not needed, but it can cause huge amounts of waste. Where does the problem come from? Well I think it comes from our need as a society to compete and how winners are so richly rewarded, I fall victim to this also, and I'm chastising myself.

Food

I've grown tired of eating out, the portions are just too big and eating out is too expensive. Think about it, for me to take my family of 3 out to Ruby Tuesday's, I'm looking at $40-$60 with tip for dinner, that's half our weekly food bill, I went to Uno's yesterday, two bad salads and a appetizer for my daughter cost us $45.00. We have all fallen for the bigger is better deal, we get more food for our money, we see it as being frugal (wow look at all this food), when in fact it's a complete waste of money and food.

Gadgets/Toys

OK, I can't find a great argument hear, I love toys and gadgets, but I think that people need to really research the gadget before they get it. There are way too many unused gadgets (for example I don't really need my iTouch, but it's fun to play with).

Computers

I hate to say it, mainly because I love getting new hardware, but the average user doesn't need to upgrade their computer every year, in the business world they say every three years. I believe that computers are powerful enough now that the average user could easily stretch the lifespan of a computer to over 6 years (my daughter is working on a 10 year old computer now, and it's working fine for her, 2 of my workstations are over 4 years old, my laptop is only 2.5 years old, but unless it dies horribly, it's good for another 3-4 years).

Who needs new machines? Well I can see gamers needing new boxes as new games come out, but I also think that if they build their initial machine right, then they should be set for many years. Networks always need bigger and faster machines, but I think in their cases, if they spend $10k on a killer machine they can then use it to virtualize many smaller machines (Computer virtualization is KEY for networks, this should be critical for all companies, it lowers power and space usage, which means a reduced need for AC and generators, which could also mean a reduced need for people, I could see a big company saving millions by the virtualization of smaller servers and requiring a waiver for a physical machine).

Cars

Don't get me started here, well I guess it's too late now. People have been buying cars that are way too big for them and their requirements. Think of a car as a tool, you don't get an SUV unless you need to go off-road, and don't use the, "but what about snow?", get a Subaru, they are killer in the snow and will go almost anyplace an Avalanche will go (it will probably go more places than an Avalanche will go). I think there should be a law against people getting SUVs, shoving 27" rims and summer sport tires on it. At that point the vehicle should be taxed and treated as a gas-guzzling car, since it's no longer an SUV.

Houses

There is a lot of hidden issues with houses. The biggest is people buying these very large houses and they only have 2-3 people living in them. Most of the big names in the world are guilty of this, I think if they want to have a 5-6,000 SQF house they need to make sure it uses the average energy of a 2-3,000 SQF house. Instead of doing this though, they are going out and getting a Prius and then patting themselves on the back for being green :(.

Conclusion

Over all I think we just need to reconsider our purchases, purchase wisely and with thought to what we really need. Remove waste, don't purchase items that aren't built well or don't work well. I'm guilty, I admit it, but I'm slowly trying to change my ways (it won't be so easy for me to change my wife and daughter).