Why stick with what you know?

There's little doubt things move fast nowadays. No sooner have we got used to something than we're swept on to the next and newest thing that's out. DVDs, CDs, books - new releases hit the shops on a daily basis; over 100,000 new books alone are published in the UK every year.

It's a strain on our purse and our time trying to keep up with it all. Not to mention our environment. The millions of CDs, books, films, computer games etc, all use up valuable raw materials and are responsible for carbon emissions during their manufacture and distribution. Based on a range of data, we've calculated that the carbon embedded within an average product is approximately 9.73 kg per item. See here for the methodology behind this figure.

So, rather than overloading our brains and our homes with the latest releases, take some time out from it all. Reacquaint yourself with things you already know, and perhaps forgotten how much you loved. How about spending an evening re-watching a favourite film, a classic series or comedy hiding away at the bottom of your video or DVD collection? Or go through some old albums, listen to some classic tracks. Or perhaps you have a favourite book, a much-loved author or poet or artist, someone or something that fired your imagination and opened up a whole new world for you. As well saving on buying new things, it'll deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of things you have already.