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Weekly diary #66: a black weekend due to Black Friday

Posted on November 29, 2018January 24, 2023

Hi there! Welcome back to my weekly diary, in which I want to show you how I live with as little negative impact as possible and as big a positive impact as possible! Eco-postive living, what does it look like and what do I do? The past week I sold something instead of throwing it away, I picked up some ‘trash’ and worked at the Food Bank. Want to read along? Here’s weekly diary #66.

Thursday

When I step into the train, I see a newspaper lying on the seat. So, I take it and read it. And what’s the highlight? Black Friday. The past weeks it’s been black Friday, Black Friday, Black Friday. And I agree. It is a black day, a really dark, dark day. I hate it for two reasons. 1. It makes people think they need things even though they don’t. Just because something is on sale, people all of a sudden want it. So, on Black Friday, the whole country massively buys things they don’t need. That causes climate change and we all know we should not want that. Second, it puts pressure on workers even more, especially in fashion. We now know (if you’ve looked into the subject) that cheap fashion does come at a price, the price of someone’s life on the other side of the world. And that is on a ‘normal’ day. So, when black Friday comes, the pressure is even higher because of the high demand. So, that’s why I hate black Friday. I am disgusted by the footage of people pushing over other people and fighting just to get items that are on sale. Stuff is just stuff. You can live without 90% of it. And if you really need something and then wait for Black Friday to buy it (and so you’ve thought about it very well), I get it. If you really need it. We should really focus more on relationships and experiences, not on stuff. Stuff costs you money, and money is time (because you work for it). So, when you buy a cheap t-shirt you don’t really need you give up free time for a t-shirt. Now, let that sink in.

Friday

So, I don’t think I have to tell you I did not buy anything on Black Friday. That’s a 100% discount, you know. Instead, I worked the full day at the Food Bank and did something for the less fortunate people among us. Fuck you, Black Friday.

Saturday

And so, the shitshow goes on. They’ve extended the whole Black Friday thing till Monday, so I won’t go near the city center these days. It bothers me to see these kinds of practices. I worked the full day, for 10 hours. Now, that’s a 100% discount again (and I gained money). At night I watched some Youtube video’s and went to be early.

Sunday

Today a handball match was scheduled. We lost the game unfortunately, with 20-24. Not that big of a difference, but losing is never really fun. At noon, someone from Marktplaats (similar to Ebay) came to my house, because I sold a painting that was hanging up my room. I did not like it anymore for a long time, so I decided to get rid of it. The man told me his daughter really loved London (the painting is a photo from London) and so would be very happy with it. Now, that’s all I wanted. All I wanted is for this piece not to go to the trash. The money usually does not even matter to me, I got 11 euros for it. I now have a huge blank space on the wall, but I’ll see what I’ll do with that. I pay regular visits to thrift shops, so maybe I’ll find something soon. But, maybe I’ll leave the space blank, it does not really bother me. At night I watched Tegenlicht (a Dutch program which addresses important issues in society) and it was about the unconditional basic income as they call it. I’ve been a fan for a while now, and it really bothers me that we don’t have a system like that. Since so many people work too much and hate their job (or think it is useless), if we had it I think society would be so much more beautiful. People should love every day of their lives, and not live for a holiday or their retirement. When I see people in the train in the morning I sometimes wonder who is really (and I mean really) exited for that day, and who would like to work less or other work. I bet you the number is high.

Weekly diary #66
Weekly diary #66
Weekly diary #66

Monday

Starting the week at the gym, that’s always a good feeling. I also mended some of my clothing today! Because clothing is so cheap these days, we usually throw something away when it is broken or torn. Today I repaired a piece of clothing, so I can wear it again. Zero waste! It also makes you crafty, you know. I am building up some skills, and I really love that too. At night, I went to my boyfriend. And I have a confession to make! I did buy something today, on ‘cyber monday’. I’ve wanted it for a long time, and I discovered that they had sale today too. Which I did not expect because it is a fair fashion brand. And so, I ordered something and I’ll let you know soon enough what it is! I do feel kind of hypocrite because I bought something after all.

Weekly diary #66
Weekly diary #66

Tuesday

My handball is broken, I think I’ve mentioned it a while ago. It has a leak and nobody knows how to repair that (which is quite weird actually, now that I think of it). Fortunately, a team member of mine had two. One she always uses, and the other one was an old one she did not use anymore. Great! She gave it to me and now I can use it. I offered her money, but she did not want to take it. So, I now got a very good handball for free. What secondhand stuff can do for you!

Wednesday

I found another hair tie in the train today. I pick those up regularly, when I see them lying around. It saves me money, ánd another piece of ‘trash’ is not on the streets any longer. I never buy hair ties anymore. I pick them up, wash them by hand or put them in the pocket of jeans and put them into the laundry. Et voilá, perfect hairties.

Weekly diary #66
Weekly diary #66

Yours sincerely,
Romee 

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ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Here’s what I posted most recently

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Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) naar Bratislava (🇸🇰) reisde. Dit was reisdag 3/6 van onze duurzame interrail reis. Ik ben vandaag 25 jaar geworden 🥳. Ik hoop heel hard dat dat betekent dat ik ongeveer op een kwart van mijn leven ben. En wat een verjaardag is dit! Ik mag het vieren in Kopenhagen met mijn favoriete persoon @casperchristiaanse , terwijl ik met de trein door Europa reis 🚃. Ik ben een gelukkig mens. Op naar de 50! Dit is hoe ik van Dresden (🇩🇪) naar Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) reisde. Niet een bijster lange, maar wel een prachtige treinreis, omdat je door het nationaal park Boheems Zwitserland gaat. Dit was de tweede reisdag van onze interrail (2/6). We zijn op de helft van de interrail. Terwijl ik dit typ zijn we onderweg naar Warschau (8,5 uur vanaf Bratislava). Nog twee bestemmingen te ontdekken, maar wat hebben we nu al veel genoten. Elke dag goed en lang slapen, nieuw vegan eten proberen, bijzonder lang wandelen, spelletjes spelen, weinig schermtijd, genieten van de mooie uitzichten en zon: deze reis is genieten 💜. Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Amsterdam naar Dresden reisde 🚃. De interrail is officieel begonnen! (1/6) Vandaag verschijnt er geen artikel op mijn blog. En de komende twee weken hierna ook niet. Dat is voor het eerst, in de 7 jaar dat ik schrijf. Een heel leuk onderdeel van duurzaam leven is tweedehands kleding. Hier zijn 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in augustus 2023 🌞. Je zag het al in de reel van vorige week: ik ben op vakantie geweest naar Gent, in België. Het was een ontzettende aanrader, en daarom verscheen er vandaag een artikel op mijn blog over de leukste en duurzaamste hotspots in Gent 🌆. Check it out via de link in mijn bio Gent, wat was je prachtig 🌆. Dit is absolute een duurzame vakantietip (oh, maar wees niet zo naïef als ik en ga lekker met de trein 🚃). Binnenkort is op Youtube de gehele vakantievlog te bekijken.

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  • Interrailing through Europe
  • Sustainable and fun hotspots in Ghent, Belgium
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