Reuse that teabag! Ignore that special offer! It’s time to join the underconsumer revolution | Emma Beddington

Most of us already have more than enough stuff. No wonder so many young people are turning their backs on the marketers and influencers

I never want to own anything again," messaged my son, packing up after a year abroad. He was experiencing the self-loathing rite of passage that is confronting your acquisitive tendencies; next year, he vowed, he will live like a spartan".

I know how he feels. I tell myself I don't buy much, but as I tidied for a houseguest recently, the bathroom told a different story. How many nail varnishes (I never varnish my nails), micellar waters (my face doesn't need watering) and oils promising sleep (lies) have I accumulated over the past decade, then dumped in a drawer? Most of us succumb to the unconscious - sometimes wilfully ignored - creep of stuff, only realising how grossly unnecessary it all is when forced to tackle it.