Too much stuff.
You ever feel like you have too much stuff?
When we had to move from our home in San Bernardino (where we had lived for fourteen years) with three kids to Oklahoma in six weeks, I felt that way. Definitely.
We never intended on moving. My husband was transferred, and it was either that or another job, and he had 23 years with the company, so that wasn’t going to happen.
His company was moving us, but we had a limit to what they would pay to move, and we had a LOT of stuff that we had to get rid of NOW. We were practically giving stuff away. We made $300 one weekend at a yard sale, selling things we hadn’t used in years, for a fraction of their costs. Finally, we put up a ‘quarter each’ sign and left out a pan for the money, we were so sick of the stuff.
The whole time we asked each other, “Why did we buy all this stuff?” Half the time, we couldn’t even remember.
Why do we collect stuff we don’t use, wear, or in some cases, want? There are so many kinds of things. Stuff from Christmases past that you didn’t like and couldn’t figure out how to regift, things you bought and didn’t fit (and you lost the receipt), a shoe you keep meaning to get fixed.
Grandma dies and leaves you stuff, and you feel guilty at getting rid of it. Toys the kids never played with, or that broke after one game. Stuff that was ON SALE! that you didn’t need and never used. Stuff from old hobbies. Stuff belonging to people who used to live with you that have moved on.
Worst of all is the stuff you hang on to because “you might need it someday”. Unless it’s the thing to repair something you already have, use, and need … why?
There’s a whole lot of people who’d be glad to have all that stuff you got sitting in the attic or garage, cluttering up your home. Charities. Homeless shelters. Thrift shops. Nieces and nephews who’d get a kick out of Grandma’s old gadgets, or her ‘retro’ outfits.
I like our big, mostly-empty garage. But even after getting rid of all that stuff, I’m still (a year and a half later) finding stuff we paid to have moved (because, yanno, we ran out of time) that we didn’t need.
It makes me a lot less likely to buy something. Now I examine it while I’m standing in the store. Do I really love this thing enough to bring it into my house, clean it, dust it, live with it? Is it something that’s going to last, or will I be buying another one a year from now?
Take it from me, you might need to move in a hurry like we did. Don’t weigh yourself down with a lot of stuff.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
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July 16th, 2007 at 3:45 am
Great entry. Definitely gives me something to think about.