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Ever feel like you have too much stuff?

3K views 35 replies 29 participants last post by  triplestrength 
#1 ·
This could be a thread about how our material possessions must make us appear gluttonous and obscenely wealthy to the average desert nomad, but it's not. I do think about this once in a while, but mostly I just feel sometimes like having lots of stuff kind of weighs me down, like a figurative ball-and-chain.

The thing is, I like my stuff, but sometimes I look back with nostalgia to the day I moved out of my mother's house at 18-years old, and I fit everything I owned into my Fiat. Of course, as soon as I moved into my apartment, I realized I needed dishes, a mop, a toaster, etc., etc... However, I felt like I had everything I needed (until I got my Triumph, but that's another story).

I look around my house sometimes and, as a mind experiment I imagine what I could let go of if I lived on a sailboat, or in a motorhome, or even a campground. It's not easy. If I really give it some serious thought, I can arrive at a set of criteria to test whether I really "need" something or not: Do I use it? Will I use it? Does it have sentimental value? Would the sentiment be enough without the thing that represents it? Would I miss it if I didn't have it? Does it improve my quality of life? What does stuff even have to do with quality of life? Etc...

I've known a few people who have done these exact things; they sold their homes and sold or gave away absolutely everything they owned to live simply—one couple from a 3-story Victorian house to a sailboat. If it didn't fit on the boat, they didn't need it.

Right now, I'm looking at the USB hub on my desk that looks like a Triumph 650 engine and makes an engine sound when you crank the little kick-starter. You've probably seen one of these. Well, I have one. It's amusing, but I don't need the stupid thing, and it just sits there. That is just one of literally thousands of things I have that range from objets-d'art to furniture to tools to books and CDs, to gadgets, and on and on...

Do you ever feel like you're piled up with more possessions than you need? Do you sometimes crave a simpler existence? Do you already live simply and wouldn't have it any other way? I know some of you will answer that you like your stuff and want more, which I'm not being critical of. I'm just wondering who else besides me sometimes feels like whittling down, and to what extent. Where would you draw the line between keeping and jettisoning something?
 
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#29 ·
Yak, had you but waited another 10 days this thread would have been revived on it's 1 year birthday!

But as long as we're here...

Michele and I have had this discussion time and again. We know we have too much stuff, and it's largely my fault. Wasn't always this way - for several years when I first moved to California we lived aboard a 36' powerboat. My 'garage' was an old utility van that I used when I moved out from Indiana. But my desire for a real garage (to put more stuff in) overwhelmed us eventually and here we are.

Currently we're day-dreaming about selling this place and building what amounts to a huge garage with a small apartment attached. Say 2500 sq ft of garage space and 1000 of living space. We describe it as a 'base camp' - a place to keep our stuff while we 'go and do' things.
 
#30 ·
I have too much stuff and now am at the point of downsizing...built a huge home in 1997 and now 2 kids are off at college and the last one is in high school. So it will go on the market this coming Spring....I have been slowly selling off most of my big things...boat, vacation home, etc.

Now bought my FL retirement home and will rent it for 2-3 years then move there when the youngest heads off to college. When I look at what we have acquired over the past 25 years it is hard to believe.
 
#33 ·
I try to maintain a balance point between my mom, who could be a hoarder, and my dad, who doesn't have much 'stuff' at all.

I don't have a lot, but I have noticed lately that my bookshelves are collecting things. Time to do a clean out.
 
#34 · (Edited)
We live pretty non cluttered lives. We can park 2 vehicles in our 2 car garage. We have no basement and nothing in the attic. If we ever have duplicates, we give one away. FreeCycle is a great place to go to rid yourself of things that other frugal folks may want. I am in the process of consolidating my large Craftsman rolling tool chest, it again is just impractical to a point. Id rather have a nice mechanics tool set to carry to any job, instead of running back to the chest all the time. Insider our home, horizontal surfaces are not to be used for storage, only tasteful decoration. We don't collect things. If we don't use it in 12 months, it typically goes. However, it is easier for us now because we committed ourselves to living debt free, so we typically don't buy something if it isn't going to have a specific and necessary purpose. If I bought all of the cool trinkets that I used to, we wouldn't be able to be debt free in our early 30s. Yet, every 6 months we go through the house and do some decluttering. Things will weigh you down, financially and emotionally. Less, IMHO, is more.

Yes, I have a motorcycle... we also have a 2 car household. I know A LOT of couples who own one car, so you COULD argue that with proper planning you COULD live with one car, and 2 is gluttonous. But, really... these are singular items. My take on the OPs message, derived from the USB cable comment, is STUFF... not something large like a vehicle. Now, I think it is ridiculous to own any vehicle that is less then 5 years old considering the depreciation during that time and how reliable they REALLY are. I mean, the argument that you buy a new car to have the warranty and avoid repair costs is a little funny. If you spend $15k more for the new car, and finance it, you are actually saying that you beleive you may have to do more than $18k in repairs to the used car? That is illogical.

The reality is, most people know thay have too much stuff collecting dust. They own it because they want to, and there is nothing wrong with that. They dont de-clutter because they dont want to, not that they couldnt, they just dont want to. I am with the OP though, I go through phases where I NEED to de-clutter and simplify! Speaking of which, I still have a freshly powdercoated MX bike frame and a set of new pipes in my guest closet that I need to list for sale.

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#35 ·
Love this revival.

Roxy for the record; guitar equipment doesn't count.

Quite a few years ago when the Star Wars revival started, I got into toy collecting. First it was Star Wars, but it morphed into many weird sub collections. When Episode 1 came out, I snapped and stopped cold turkey, could not keep up.

A few months ago looked up all my stuff on Amazon and sold the stuff that had value; which unfortunately was the minority of my collection. Have the bug to donate the whole lot to a local "toys for tots" run, if I can get a tax deductible receipt it would probably put me in a good spot come tax time, but with Disney purchasing Star Wars, some of my stuff may go up in value. Do I hold or do I dump?

Since my "snap" I see alot of cool looking toys and then think "dust collectors" and promptly put back.
 
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