Too Much Stuff

We moved recently. For some reason we seem to pack everything and change residences every five years or so. It is odd because both my wife and I can’t stand moving.

That said, a benefit of moving periodically is that you have to see and touch all that you own. When we move we take the opportunity to declutter and get rid of things that we don’t need, don’t use and don’t care about. We give some away and sell some. It’s a great regenerating process. Because of this I like to think that we do pretty well at not over-accumulating stuff.

We know many people who do not subscribe to a decluttering mentality. More and more is purchased and acquired each year. What is not consumed finds a home in a box or on a shelf who knows when to be seen again. I don’t know that they necessarily want to have all of that stuff. The problem is that the accumulation is a slow creep. One thing here, one thing there. It adds up.

Much of the reading that I’ve done this year has had an underlying theme of reduction. The bloggers Mister Money Mustache and The Happy Philosopher and the book Antifragile that I’m currently reading all have frequent discourses on the benefits of reduction. Mister Money Mustache likens Craigslist to a medium to long term rental or storage. Buy something, use it until you no longer need it, then sell it. If you want another one later, then buy it again on Craigslist, often for a similar price.

We’ve been in our new house for about five weeks now. Storage spaces are different. Room placement and size are different, which means that what belonged in a certain room at the old house will not necessarily go in the same room in the new house.

As the unpacking occurs, we keep an open box for Goodwill. We’ve made several trips since moving. I guess we didn’t get rid of enough before the move. Clothing, kitchen gadgets and a broad category of items I refer to as trinkets commonly make it to the Goodwill box.

So far, I haven’t missed anything that I gave away or sold. I haven’t heard anyone else in the house lament the loss of a prized possession.

It seems that the more stuff we have, the more stress we have. I find the act of reduction to be good for my head, heart and soul. I’ve heard of people who get rid of something every time they get something new. It was in the context of clothing, but I think that it can be applied more generally as well. I think I’m going to practice some form of that for 2019. As I develop the system, I’ll make sure to post about it here.

In the meantime, I bought a new pair of winter gloves today. I know exactly which pair I will get rid of to make room.

Have you ever had a de-cluttering moment? Tell us about it in the comments.