Throw away everything not vegan?

When I went vegan, and everything in my brain clicked, I immediately freaked out, and pitched all the nonvegan food items that I had bought before. I then took inventory of my stuff, and started culling out the leather and wool. It was an arduous process, but because I've always had good fashion sense, I found new homes for most of those clothes. Finally, I got to the shoes.

I used to have a LOT of shoes. Many of them were hard to find, and fairly unique. For me, it was a complete freak out thing to wear those leather shoes. Every time I'd slip on a pair, I'd hear calves screaming for their mothers. It was a visceral thing for me. I couldn't escape from the knowledge. Because of that deep, emotional reaction to the situation, I got rid of the leather shoes as well. I physically was incapable of wearing something that came at the cost of such cruelty.

Meanwhile, like I said, I had (and still have) a lot of shoes, clothes, bags, etc. I'd built up my wardrobe over many years, and still had plenty of things to fall back on. I didn't need to replace very much, because I still had more than enough to work with. Remember this as you read the rest of the entry, because I'm about to get to the important part now.

GOING VEGAN DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO SUPPORT CAPITALISM.

Just because you're a vegan doesn't mean that you have to run out and spend a lot of money. Frankly, not everyone can afford to buy these things. Because I had a good foundation for my wardrobe, I was able to pitch pretty close to everything nonvegan within a month, tops. If you can't afford it, deal with what you have, and use it up. Frankly, if other people have something snarky to say about it, you let them know that they're more than welcome to replace it for you. :)

Becoming Vegan: Throw away everything not vegan?

I can distinctly remember the very day I realized I wanted to be Vegan; I got up from my computer chair, stomped to my kitchen, and threw away my milk, creams, cheeses, eggs, mayo, ice cream, canned broth, cereals, marshmallows, beef bullion - everything I knew was an animal product. Within half an hour my refrigerator and cabinets went from "well stocked" to "sad".
(This scene was very familiar, because I did the same thing when I decided to become Vegetarian the week before.)

After dragging the trash outside, I felt relieved. I won, I am vegan!

Unfortunatly, for the first few weeks of being "vegan", I didn't realize that I owned a leather wallet, belts, sandals, a suede purse, that my makeup was not animal friendly (or animal free! Dead stuff in my lipstick? Ew...), that I owned a pearl necklace and that nearly all my moisturizers, lip-balms, and even my soap was tarnished with products or pieces of someone!
It wasn't even until a few days ago that I noticed a few pair of pants had REAL leather logos on them, my toothpaste has what in it? And don't even mention the glue used in my all-time favorite brand of sneakers.
I stood back and said "Holy shit, I can't throw out all my stuff!"


...
So, should you throw away everything not vegan?

If you truly feel uncomfortable (or disgusted!) with items you own that are not vegan, like I felt with my food, then by all means don't keep it!

(But be intelligent about this, don't put emotions over your wellbeing: if it's your only wool sweater and that damned sweater is the difference between hypothermia and keeping adequately warm, I'd say calm the heck down and save up a little money before you dispose of it! A dead vegan isn't helpful, you know. )

If you're totally not in a position to do so, then don't worry, as long as your intent is to replace the item.

If you feel like a hypocrite, that's one thing, but it's different if you're worried someone else will think you're a hypocrite.

There are going to be people who "call you out" on this if they notice you wearing not-vegan items. Be calm dude, just tell them you understand you're wearing this-n-that and you're looking/saving up for a compassionate alternative before you get rid of it. If they still wont let you down, say you'll be glad to get rid of the item up their ass if they wanted to be helpful. (Would work best if the items were heavy boots.)


...
It's been about 5 months since the day I rampaged my kitchen, and during that time I've veganized almost all of my make-up and bathroom-type products (there are still a couple of elusive- and expensive- items that I need to replace). I saved up to purchased new pillows, belts and a decent pair of sandals, and I donated my leather, silk, wool and suede clothing.

It's a slow process, and well worth the wait for the day when you know you're truly making a difference.