Philosophy of Stuff

An important step in the evolution of my thoughts on stuff will take place in the next week - I will finally have 0 not-in-use computers in the house.

Up to this point I've been too focused on utilizing space as a resource - more space means more room for projects in process. These projects, whether they be home improvement, cars, computers, are never 100% efficient and result in accumulations of stuff - random computer parts, cables, cans of paint that are 80% used, tools, random car parts, so on. And since I now had a way too large house my parents finally dumped my random collections of stuff from my kid years as well - baseball/basketball cards, old textbooks, yearbooks, my old electric trainset even.  So now I have all the stuff I could possibly claim ownership of, all in one place.

I suddenly realized that I'm getting close to being one of those people that requires more than a couple of friends and a pickup truck or U-Haul to move. Basically, I had too much not-in-use stuff. Furniture, cds, a TV, Stereo, a single computer... they're all part of everyday life and will always have a place - they may be upgraded or updated, but are essential (not life sustaining essential, but life enriching essential)... a closet full of rubbermaid bins of stuff - not part of everyday life.

But what to get rid of, and how to get rid of it. Throwing stuff away (or recycling even) is the easy answer, though it is wasteful - while I may not be using boxes of old textbooks or baseball cards or computer parts - they do have some value, to someone, somewhere. Even if the monetary value is small, an enormous amount of energy went into making, distributing, moving and simply storing all this stuff. As such it should not be wasted.

This aversion to outright waste makes stuff-reduction a very long process for me. I've spent a couple weekends sorting out stuff that simply has no value and reduced the rubbermaid bin count by 1 (of 7) through recycling/throwing stuff away. The next step is to sort and sell or donate the stuff that people may want or use. I only hope to complete this task before the next move in a couple years, and try very hard not to accumulate any more stuff in the same time period.

The next move will be to a smaller (or simply small) place - mainly due to the economic realities of living in a city - but it is a good reason to try to distill what is required for a good quality life at home - a comfortable bed and sofa and chair, a nice sounding stereo, a single computer, some clothes and books, two pots, two pans, two knives to cook with... that's about all I want to have in a house. Anything else just takes up space and detracts from what's important.