Kissing Your Socks Goodbye • Hacker News Board

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#51

Post by justincormack » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 1:30 PM UTC

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #31

dionidium wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

33, never been very sentimental and I don't own much stuff, but there are those weird little things. Sitting here in my office is the manual film camera I used during photography class in college. I've been meaning to put on eBay. It hasn't been used in many years and I could always get another camera, if I wanted one. And I wouldn't even want this model again, if I were starting from scratch. But once it's gone, I'l…

Camera gear is the only part of my collection of stuff that is growing, but—on the plus side of things—I actually make use of all five cameras that I own: * Fuji medium format film rangefinder * Leica M6 35mm film rangefinder * Hasselblad 501CM medium format film SLR * Fuji X-T1 SLR-style digital mirrorless * Fuji X100s digital rangefinder I can't imagine needing or wanting to buy another camera without paring down o…

Hmm, yes, have a Mamiya medium format SLR, M6, X100s, but 4x5 is a bit small, have a 5x7. Film cameras are much more interesting, you can have more - borrowing a Hasselblad Xpan at the minute.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#52

Post by R_Edward » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 1:41 PM UTC

collinvandyck76 wrote: post #5

doshi wrote: post #2

I clean out my belongings at the end of every month, and it is surprisingly refreshing to see how much unused stuff has been cleared out of my home. But I guess it's easier to live a lifestyle as a 24-year-old where I can pack up and move to a new location easily... I imagine it's more difficult for older people that have more items of sentimental value.

As I've gotten older I've come to realize that very few of my own posessions actually mean anything. In my twenties the things I owned had a very strong sentimental value. In my late thirties I can't think of very many things that fall into that category.

The stuff that means the most to me would look like junk to anyone else: an origami crane, inexpertly folded; a used sock with buttons sewn on it; a styrofoam heart with tissue paper and googly eyes glued to it; a few really bad pencil drawings... Handmade by my children, and given to me with love. I'll never part with them.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#53

Post by sikosmurf » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 2:15 PM UTC

justincormack wrote: post #50

petercooper wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this with Amazon wishlists. The side benefit is that often things from that list end up as Christmas or birthday presents so I get to both stop buying so much myself, but receive some of them anyway.

Stop doing presents for christmas and birthdays too then, and make it clear you dont want them.

I've been trying to convince my wife's family that I don't want birthday or Christmas presents for years. No such luck... I end up having to put a bunch of useless crap on my amazon wishlist just to keep them happy.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#54

Post by danielweber » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 2:24 PM UTC

obviouslygreen wrote: post #44

This is crap. It's also not very Japanese... the assertion that your apartment already has all the organizational equipment you need is utter bullshit if you've ever visited or lived in an apartment in Tokyo (that costs less than 5k USD a month). Even in less crowded places, there's usually a practical need for extra shelving, hanging space, etc. in order to keep enough clothes and related items around unless you liv…

I've seen people who's idea of "organizing" is to Buy More Things. That advice, in my head, was trying to stop those people from Buying More Things in order to unclutter the house.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#55

Post by danielweber » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 2:31 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #13

wvenable wrote: post #3

My wife and I do a full clean out every year. Our key phrase is "Be ruthless". Some things are obvious tossers, some are obvious keepers, and if it comes to a discussion usually just saying "be ruthless" to the other is enough to force the decision. It's frightening how much stuff you can collect over the year but also how much stuff you kept last year that you no longer care about.

On the other hand, if it's my closet or the landfill (as opposed to reselling, and the associated depreciation and opportunity costs) I'm not in a rush to toss things. Unless there are circumstances like an impending move, or I am running out of space in the closet. It's kind of a difficult line to walk. I used to keep way too much stuff. But just yesterday I pulled equipment (tools, a VGA cable, a prototyping board)…

I hear this. Oh, do I hear this.

First, you can donate many things to other people who will get use out of it. My house has two recycling bins: one for the traditional recyclables, and one for the stuff to donate to AmVets or Goodwill or the Salvation Army or whatever.

Second, I also feel the tremendous amount of waste going on with so many things that have piled up in my house (against my will in the first place). And many of them would not survive a trip through the Goodwill.

One reason I want to go live on Mars is that I'll never come in from working on the fields to find a bunch of new junk in my hab.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#56

Post by danielweber » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 2:34 PM UTC

obviouslygreen wrote: post #45

danielweber wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Older, and I want to get rid of everything.

Do it. I got rid of everything but a suitcase full of clothes, a couple laptops, and some books (less than a dozen). It's incredibly liberating.

I have a family. Most things cluttering my life are things I did not acquire.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#57

Post by danielweber » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 2:38 PM UTC

ebt wrote: post #19

If you have a compulsive reading disorder[1] and need to shed books, consider http://www.books4cause.com/ -- they will pick up your books and provide a tax deduction receipt. The last time I dealt with them was 176 books, no problem. My local (Queens, NY) libraries weren't so friendly. [1] http://bit.ly/1w1NT64

The median value of a used book is $0. Most people don't want your book at all. The only way bookstores make money is by having exactly the book you want when you want it.

Libraries have a hard enough time getting rid of yesterday's books; they don't want yours to add to their problems. Libraries are places of learning, not museums for books.

I just chuck most books to the Goodwill or Amvets.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#58

Post by driverdan » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 3:06 PM UTC

rtpg wrote: post #7

slightly OT, but I remember seeing the blog of some guy who got rid of everything he owned except for a laptop, a kindle, and some clothes, does anybody remember this person? I've always been fascinated at having as little junk as possible, especially since I've been moving very often recently.

I did this but didn't blog about it. I got rid of everything that didn't fit in my backpack and traveled for six months.

This is a very practical way of traveling or moving but not something I'd do long term. You sacrifice efficiency (eg doing laundry every few days vs once every 1-2 weeks) and ability. There are just some things you can't fit into a backpack, eg tools, kitchenware and appliances, and furniture.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#59

Post by micro-ram » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 3:09 PM UTC

petercooper wrote: post #41

toomuchtodo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Want something? Bookmark it in a folder in your browser. Forget about it. Come back a couple weeks later. Still want it? Get it.

I do this with Amazon wishlists. The side benefit is that often things from that list end up as Christmas or birthday presents so I get to both stop buying so much myself, but receive some of them anyway.

I do this for all my old technology books. Like most of you I was sure there was a nugget of knowledge I could still extract from some old book so I kept them for a long time. In one day I bar-code scanned in all of the UPCs and saved them in a wish list. If the book was available cheap then it went in the paper recycling bin. I told myself that if I really want that OLD book back it is available for $1+s&h used. I cleaned up a lot of shelf space and still have my books available on a few days notice.

PS-I have never needed to buy anything back from my old book wish list.

Re: Kissing Your Socks Goodbye

#60

Post by driverdan » Sat, Oct 25, 2014, 3:10 PM UTC

state wrote: post #10

Wouldn't it be incredible if this was the attitude of your average American?

I disagree. You shouldn't be tying your emotions to physical objects. That's the very pro-consumer approach that leads to us accumulating junk. You need to be far more practical about it, such as "If I haven't used something within X months I get rid of it" and "Before buying something wait a week and see if I still want it"