The author connects wasting goods to living a wasted life. He believes that people are stuck on what Positive Psychologists called a “hedonistic treadmill”(26) and that they work all the time just to afford goods, which cause waste. In wasting resources, they are also wasting their lives by working all the time so that they can avoid what matters in life. He connects living an environmentally friendly life with living a life of purpose and a life in which he can enjoy things. He recalls his frugal grandparents from Westport, Massachusetts, who did not waste anything and who seemed to savor their lives, including long meals and the natural world.

The author’s quest, therefore, is not just a physical one but also a spiritual one. He is constantly citing religious sources, including Zen koans and wisdom from his rabbi friend, in an effort to find out how to get to the marrow of life. He believes that by jettisoning the excess in his life and reducing his family’s waste, they will be able to live more purposeful, fulfilling, and meaningful lives. The author writes about Americans’ love affair with the car but wonders if it is instead a “forced marriage” (95).