People Used to Make Stuff

About the book featured above -

 

''When you’re young, broke, and in search of a life of adventure, Making Stuff and Doing Things is the most useful book on the planet. It’s been called “more important than the Bible.” It’s an indispensable handbook full of basic life skills for the young punk or activist, or for anyone who’s trying to get by, get stuff done, and live life to the fullest without a lot of money. The book started as a series of zines, with dozens of contributors setting down the most important skills they knew in concise, often hand-written pages. If you want to do it yourself or do it together, this book has it all, from making your own tooth paste to making your own art and media, feeding, clothing, cleaning, and entertaining yourself, surviving on little, living on less, and staying healthy on all your life’s adventures. You’ll never be bored again.''

People used to want to make things, now they just want to buy things. We’re drowning in a sea of easy, and it’s turning us into soft, soulless drones.

You want a burger? Tap an app, and it’s at your door before you can say “diabetes.” Need a shirt? Amazon’s got 12 of ‘em on your porch by noon, made by some kid in a sweatshop you’ll never think about.

We’ve traded our hands, our grit, our life for a shiny cage of convenience. And guess what? It’s killing us—body, mind, and that squishy thing formerly known as a soul.

Once upon a time, we made stuff. Grew carrots. Sewed pants. Fixed the roof when it leaked. Now? We’re tethered to a consumer machine that feeds us, clothes us, and wipes our butts while whispering, “You don’t need to do jack. Just click ‘buy.’” 

And we obey, because who’s got time to churn butter when you can buy it for a measly nine bucks a pound?

But here’s the kicker: this ease is starving what makes us human. Positive psychology says we’re wired for creating over consuming. 

Kneading dough, planting seeds, building a wobbly table that’s uniquely yours. It’s called “getting into flow,” and it’s better than any dopamine hit from an Amazon Prime delivery. 

Studies show hands-on work lights up your brain, cuts stress, and makes you feel like you’re not just a cog in the Bezos empire. 

Yet we’re swapping that for screens—7 hours a day on average, staring at pixels while our souls scream, “Please, let me make something!”

Don’t get me wrong, the system’s rigged. Convenience is a drug, and Big Tech’s the dealer. Try opting out when every ad’s yelling, “Faster! Easier! Now!” 

But here’s where we flip the script. People are waking up. They’re homesteading, knitting, welding—grabbing life with their own two bare hands.

 

You don’t need a farm; start small. Plant a tomato. Fix a chair. Bake a loaf of bread and feel like a wizard. It’s not about ditching modern life; it’s about reclaiming the part of you that creates rather than consumes.

So, what’s it gonna be? Another night of scrolling, or a step toward getting your hands dirty? 

Your soul may be on life support, but it isn't dead yet. Rip out the IV of “easy” and start living better by making things again. 

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What are you making with your own two lightly calloused hands in order to save money, reclaim your creativity, and/or refurbish your soul? Let us know in a comment below.