21–30 of 59 posts
In fact, I've been pretty happy with this arrangement, so I don't really feel the need for anything more. It was easy to commit to, since I had deployed in the military with far less and when I would return, I would see a big pile of stuff that I didn't even miss.
If you have a problem with stuff you could do worse than reading up on Mari Kondo - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-a... Never did I think I would be interesting in house tidying, but her techniques are effective.
Others will suggest attacking the problem with logic: “Do you need this now? No? Get rid of it.” But stuffocation is as much a problem with our emotional attachment to things as it is to our evolutionary hardwiring. In my case I was finding it easier to find reasons not to keep something by doing what Mari suggests: take items into your hands and ask yourself if it actually brings you joy.
Also worth reading: http://www.paulgraham.com/stuff.html
Also worth reading: http://www.paulgraham.com/stuff.html
The only part I disagree with a bit is the one where he exempts books. I think it is possible to buy too many. I've probably engaged in this behavior myself. I find it hard to resist buying a good book, but I have a bunch of them now piling up physically and electronically which I find it hard to find time for. Books piling up exert pressure to be read, but simply succumbing to the pressure to read them all might res…
Dumb stuffoholic examples. I hate that I can't have more than 2 pairs of shoes. I need one dress pair for when I go to a wedding etc and I need one pair I can hike in, exercise in etc. I'd really prefer 2 or 3 more but there's no room.
I can't buy anything without throwing something away except software, ebooks... I'd prefer more computers (had 6 before this episode) all of which I used (Windows, OSX, & Linux). I run VMs on my laptop but the perf isn't there to be able to run various apps I'd like to run (games and other graphically intensive apps). Similarly I can't own an XBoxOne or PS4 as much as I would like to play.
Another interesting thing when preparing to do this and getting rid of lots of my stuff was just how much stuff is probably actually useful but only seldomly. An obvious sample might be a winter coat. You only need it in winter so it stays in storage for 9 months of the year. But, there's plenty of things I use less often. A paper cutter. A mac screw driver. A drill. An xacto knife. A hole punch. A pizza stone. A casserole dish. A printer. A scanner. I could list 1000s things. I don't know if having them is really having too much stuff. It seems rather it's semi freeing. If I want to make some crafts today I don't need several days of running around acquiring the stuff as I have it and can start immediately. If I want to cook something I most likely have all the utensils even if I only use them a couple of times a year. If I want to make something or repair something I have several drawers of tools.
So sure, we can have too much stuff (I had 44 pair of shoes of which I only ever used 5 or 6) but it's hard to say where the balance is.
If you have a problem with stuff you could do worse than reading up on Mari Kondo - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-a... Never did I think I would be interesting in house tidying, but her techniques are effective.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Amazon has been working on it: http://www.amazon.com/b/?&node=5521637011 Alas, they don't always get it right: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1d3il7/so_i_ordered_a_...
Large cardboard boxes don't especially bother me - they're generally useful to have around and cardboard can be repurposed in a number of ways anyway. More annoying are multiple layers of completely wasted plastic wrap. Or the notorious blister pack which is essentially designed to be _useless_ once opened.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the future depends on whether energy continues to get cheaper or not (cheaper energy probably leads to increased consumption, but it also makes it cheaper to clean stuff up, and gives people more time to worry about cleaning up, etc.). I also think that one of the many factors involved with the fall off of crime is that (the typical) stuff (found in a house) isn't worth as much anymore. In 1990, a "nice" TV m…
In 1990, a $1000 TV was much higher end, relative to the market as a whole, than a $400 TV now. The idea that $400 today is a fantastic TV is, well, not well-grounded in reality. The fall of crime is probably more about age demographics than anything else.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the future depends on whether energy continues to get cheaper or not (cheaper energy probably leads to increased consumption, but it also makes it cheaper to clean stuff up, and gives people more time to worry about cleaning up, etc.). I also think that one of the many factors involved with the fall off of crime is that (the typical) stuff (found in a house) isn't worth as much anymore. In 1990, a "nice" TV m…
I feel bad for criminals who had to team up to haul 36" televisions out of a house during a burglary. These days one robber could haul out a pair of 60" thin LED televisions by themselves.
Why? So when you have something you don't want to get rid of for one sentimental reason or another, you can just take a few pictures of it for archival purposes, then toss it. Years later you can still look through the photos for a trip down memory lane.