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The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#51

Post by neverm0re »

will_work4tears wrote: post #27
jaggederest wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good bed? I'm not aware of any that you can pack in a car that won't give you back problems in the long term.

A sleeping bag and a foam roll. Seriously. I did this for years and was fine. Probably just an IME, but I've found that back problems are an issue of being out of shape (low muscle mass) or over usage (bad job, poor ergonomics, etc) and never caused from not sleeping on a bed. If I lift weights or otherwise in shape I can sleep on anything. When I'm out of shape I tend to get back pains from just about anything that…

That's exactly my situation yes. I also never had an issue when I had to share a bed with someone, in fact several people I used to see found it novel. Sometimes I do discard things between moves, selling them off or gifting them and repurchasing them after moves. I could easily do the same with beds if I wanted to.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#52

Post by jaggederest »

will_work4tears wrote: post #27
jaggederest wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good bed? I'm not aware of any that you can pack in a car that won't give you back problems in the long term.

A sleeping bag and a foam roll. Seriously. I did this for years and was fine. Probably just an IME, but I've found that back problems are an issue of being out of shape (low muscle mass) or over usage (bad job, poor ergonomics, etc) and never caused from not sleeping on a bed. If I lift weights or otherwise in shape I can sleep on anything. When I'm out of shape I tend to get back pains from just about anything that…

How old are you? I'm pretty sure that it'll take a toll long term, but maybe that's me.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#53

Post by jaggederest »

throwaway1979 wrote: post #44
chrisaycock wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ikea furniture sucks. Screenwriter John August says that Ikea's motto should be, "for now, it'll do".

I've owned Ikea or similar grade furniture for most of my life. It actually bothers me that I have to keep re-buying the same things over and over again. It just seems very wasteful. Non-Ikea furniture often seems horribly overpriced. I think there is a furniture store in Mountain View that sells $1000+ shelves or coffee tables. You'd think there is a middle ground.

Go to estate sales, buy excellent furniture for 10¢ on the dollar.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#54

Post by deltaqueue »

sliverstorm wrote: post #36
cletus wrote: post #10

This resonates with me. Frankly I'm tired of owning "stuff". All I really need is a place to sleep, a laptop, a tablet, a phone and clothes. I'll get limited furniture but it'll be cheap Ikea stuff that I'll simply dispose of when I move. I don't own a TV. In fact I doubt I'll ever own a TV again. Nor do I own a big sound system. I do own a table and chairs, a sofa and a desk. All but the desk I regret. One thing tha…

Ikea furniture sucks. If it's what you can afford, well, it's still functional- but if you can afford better, I've come to feel like good furniture is worth some extra stress.

Ikea wasn't always so bad; consumers just never changed buying habits when their quality went down, and when Ikea realized they didn't have many competitors in the "low to medium quality" space.

Exhibit A: 6-10 year old Jerker desk (no idea of age, bought 4 years ago on CL) is one of the solidest pieces of furniture I've ever purchased.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#55

Post by will_work4tears »

jaggederest wrote: post #52
will_work4tears wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A sleeping bag and a foam roll. Seriously. I did this for years and was fine. Probably just an IME, but I've found that back problems are an issue of being out of shape (low muscle mass) or over usage (bad job, poor ergonomics, etc) and never caused from not sleeping on a bed. If I lift weights or otherwise in shape I can sleep on anything. When I'm out of shape I tend to get back pains from just about anything that…

How old are you? I'm pretty sure that it'll take a toll long term, but maybe that's me.

I'm only 35, but it could I guess, further down the road. Not sure from a historical standpoint how many older guys that slept on the ground (think cavemen) had back problems, but it could be something (like temperature) that one acclimates to.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#56

Post by neverm0re »

jaggederest wrote: post #52
will_work4tears wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A sleeping bag and a foam roll. Seriously. I did this for years and was fine. Probably just an IME, but I've found that back problems are an issue of being out of shape (low muscle mass) or over usage (bad job, poor ergonomics, etc) and never caused from not sleeping on a bed. If I lift weights or otherwise in shape I can sleep on anything. When I'm out of shape I tend to get back pains from just about anything that…

How old are you? I'm pretty sure that it'll take a toll long term, but maybe that's me.

I'm thirty and I actually began sleeping on a proper Japanese futon mattress specifically because of back issues that were then cleared up. Millions of people sleep on essentially a pad on the floor just fine.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#57

Post by jaggederest »

neverm0re wrote: post #56
jaggederest wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How old are you? I'm pretty sure that it'll take a toll long term, but maybe that's me.

I'm thirty and I actually began sleeping on a proper Japanese futon mattress specifically because of back issues that were then cleared up. Millions of people sleep on essentially a pad on the floor just fine.

Millions of people also have back problems, anecdote is not evidence :P

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#59

Post by sopooneo »

jseliger wrote: post #2

Compare this to pg's essay "Stuff": http://paulgraham.com/stuff.html : I have too much stuff. Most people in America do. In fact, the poorer people are, the more stuff they seem to have. Hardly anyone is so poor that they can't afford a front yard full of old cars.

I grew up in a poor rural area where lots of people (including lots of wonderful families) had broken cars in their yards. In case anyone is baffled by this, the main reason is that they can be mined for spare parts--for you or your neighbor. It's about holding onto a hundred things because you don't know which one is going to be useful and the storage cost is essentially zero. If you are well off then the price of spare parts isn't a concern, so it's worth it to you to have a clean yard.

Re: The Untouchable Economy: Why Americans Are Turning Against 'Stuff'

#60

Post by axcdnt »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #25

I like having stuff, stuff can be important, and enabling. The trick is having a good filter. If you just collect crap, or status items, or knick knacks, you're just going to be stressed trying to keep track of it all. If you build up a collection of stuff that lets you do things, then that's very different. I have stuff that enables me to cook delicious meals. And I have stuff that enables me to travel. And stuff th…

I think you got the point! I truly agree. Hobbies are for life, for self-esteem and usually allow us to make some money. One point I'd like to emphasize is: Having stuffs and spending some time looking for it, enables you to create some expertise knowledge and make "business", why not?
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