As I prepare to move again, I look around and wonder… how much of this stuff is actually adding to my quality of life and how much is detracting from it? I pack, and pack and pack some more. It’s exhausting. And I’m moving into a tiny cabin, so I’m not sure where it’s all going to go.
I go to my “misc. electronics” bins (I have two of them in my office supplies cabinet) and I wonder if I really need all these adapters, power cords, extra USB cords and hubs. I think not, but every time I’m ready to get rid of something from these bins, I end up needing it.
I look at my DVD collection — as I packed it last week — and I wonder how many movies a single person needs to own. I sorted out and pared down recently — removing over 400 disks from my DVD collection alone. I’ve sold a few of them, but still have more I need to handle. The ones I’ve pulled didn’t even make a dent in the collection.
I briefly considered consolidating my library into those huge 300-disk notebooks. But, good sense got the better of me. I did that with my CDs (before I ripped them all to MP3 formats) and I found that they got scratched inside the non-standard sleeves.
I think going with a desktop computer will eliminate much of my “extra” stuff and my peripheral devices — but I’m not quite ready to retire my Tablet PC yet. Ironically, I’m currently salivating over a mini-computer that I saw (a custom build) in Popular Mechanics along with a 2 terabyte drive. I think I’m hopeless.
Granted, as a matter of course I have fewer “things” than most people — but it’s still too much to juggle and far too much to pack, yet again, for a move. I know that I’m happier when there is less. I know that, and yet I still buy “stuff.” It seems to be a self-defeating behavior and it seems to be habitual.
I’d like to free myself of all the stuff I juggle, without diminishing my enjoyment. I’d like to have less and enjoy more… now all I need to do is figure out how to accomplish that. (Any suggestions are welcome!)
4 Comments
Become a Freegan. Seriously. The less material stuff I own, the happier I am.
Give that stuff away to people who will use it. By joining a Freegan network, you give stuff you are not using to people who CAN use it. Stuff goes into another person’s life(they come and pick it up), instead of the land fill.
I always feel good when I lose weight. Doing something good for the environment is an added bonus.
Honestly, I have given away a turntable, video camera, cell phone, dehydrator and all kinds of useful space hogs.
I’ve also received EXACTLY what I need for what it costs in time and gas to pick up.
When I’m done with it, I pass it on.
I hope to reduce my personal belongings down to a backpack (not book bag) one day.
Moving is a blessing and a curse. I let go my entire LP collection, including my imported copy of ELECTRIC LADYLAND. Books and videos I dearly love found new homes, too.
I can access most of that material at the library. It’s not gone forever, it’s just not cluttering my closets and shelves.
I always liked the Native American attitude toward wealth. The more you can give away, the wealthier you are.
Ah, if only our clown politicians embraced that philosophy.
Happy Trails (or is that Trials?),
JJ
I agree with you, JJ. I’ve often said I think I was a turtle in a previous life. I prefer things that are portable (even if I don’t go anywhere). In my ideal world, I’ll have much less stuff.
I feel lighter, happier and better when I have fewer things (yes, including personal physical weight). I hope to pare down even more when I arrive at the cabin and complete the work there. My mother says she can’t believe I have anything else to donate (since that’s always been my chosen method of stuff distribution and since I “pare down” so extremely and so often.)
At that point, I’ll know what space I have and what I’ll need to finish the work. Here, I need different things than I will there.
Once my house is complete, I truly believe I’ll be able to pare down to a minuscule number of personal items and be both lighter and happier.
Thanks for telling me about freegans, I’ve looked up their website now: (http://www.freegan.info/). It looks like a really extreme version of the steps advocated in “Your Money or Your Life” — one of my favorite books.
Oooh. Another book to add to my reading list.
Had I mentioned how much I adore my public library? I love how I can request books online.
I can’t wait to read “Seeing with the Mind’s Eye: the History, Techniques and Uses of Visualization.”
BTW someone is coming by to pick up the extra plastic coat hangers I have now that I got rid of clothing I no longer wear, saving me a trip to the thrift store.
You are a riot, JJ. You will love “Your Money or Your Life” and I plan to re-read it when I get back to the farm and have a bit of time. It’s the only book I’ve ever purchased in duplicate so I’ll always have one to lend and always have one on my own shelf. I like it that much.
Now, I’m off to the Habitat for Humanity “Restore” to pick up the Corian countertop that I purchased this last weekend to build my kitchen island. The beast is 6′ 8″ across and will dominate the downstairs of the cabin — but it will solidify the “gathering place” and will make the old-fashioned idea of the kitchen as the heart of the home come true at my house.
(I buy as much as I can at the Restore because it benefits Habitat, it recycles used products and it saves me a fortune.)