To take in as food; eat or drink up. To expend; use up To purchase (goods or services) for direct use or ownership. To waste; squander. To destroy totally; ravage: To absorb; engross Prioritize absolute needs over wants The world does not possess infinite resources, so we must be wise in how we use them. Focus on your true necessities and not temporary solutions to happiness and comfort. The price to pay for the depletion of the planet's resources is far too great Question your wants See beyond the price tag. Environmental and human costs are often left out of the equation. That new pair of jeans may only cost $85 but they took 15 litres of toxic chemicals to produce and likely contributed to fuelling slave-wage labour at home and abroad. Fix stuff up Much of what we see as garbage is far from being beyond repair. Use your creativity and ingenuity to rework and repair worn objects. It can be fun, rewarding, and greatly reduces your impact on the planet. As with most of these recommendations, repairing and reusing will help you to spend less. Downsize your life What you own starts owning you. Clean out your life and your garage from all burdensome junk. Live in the present and not through the mountains of material stuff that only traps you into working longer hours. Give what you don't need to those who do. Live simply Simply live. More happiness is often found in values of community, participation, equality, self-expression, and love. Material possessions may provide short term fixes, but ultimately they result in dependency on commodities and in destructive consequences for people and living things all over the planet. Barter Break free from the exploitative capitalist economy. It’s as easy as trading things of no use-value to you for other things you are in need of. Don't waste Twenty-seven percent of all food produced in North America is wasted. This happens while many people continue to die from malnutrition and starvation. Use what you need and find a good pair of hands for the things that you have no need of. One person's trash is another person's treasure.