You owning stuff Vs Stuff Owning You.

[TeeDee]

I probably could do with a bigger shed and undoubtedly a system... there have been times in the past where I KNOW i own a certain tool but i know its in the shed somewhere.... and that means i end up buy a new Tool ( or rather another tool ) because I can't be arsed to try and find it.

I genuinely have tools and items that I have forgotten that I own , I come across them and its like a small revelation - too much stuff.



#1stworld issues? Raises hand.


I think there is something carthartic with having a clear out and owning 'less' but I couldn't really describe what that feeling is??? how can inanimate objects sap your mental energy and feel like they have a part of you?? I've no idea but i do think its a real feeling for some.

The fictional character of Jack Reacher is an ex-army M.P major who lives off his pension whilst travelling the US , buying clothes when needed , renting motel rooms and moving on without ties or connections - whilst a fictional character I wonder if that life is possible for Humans without the spiritual tethering to a single place or thing. I know we have some road tramps, van dwellers and sea gypsies on the forum so do you make your world small and fill it as much as possible?

I think Humans need at their base core 'some' underpinning elements to make them feel secure. It seems i could vary greatly from one person to another however.

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

I grew up abroad, but we always had a base in the UK to return to. In my pea brained youth I never knew any different and had this sort of view that the UK home was forever.

I was wrong... we moved...

Then recently muvver has moved again.. I now have no bricks and mortar connection to my past, but I'm OK with that.

I've always been on the move through being abroad I attended multiple primary schools, a few secondary schools and so on... whilst I'm not completely untethered from the past and sentimentality, I am also more finely tuned to understand that memories mean far more than the physical buildings/objects.. Could go even deeper and say that my folks had always enjoyed travel and "foreign worlds" - maybe its in my blood.

I think everyone is different though. I once told the above to someone and was taken aback when they asked whether I felt lost or like I had no place, the answer is a definite no, I feel liberated that I'm able to find comfort in movement and memories.

That all being said and sentimentality aside, I also own a ton of s___ which will likely remain in under my "care" until sometime that I move and realise I don't have the space for it...

I can definitely relate @TeeDee with the tools... I really need to get rid of a load, but the thought of actually organising it all horrifies me...

 

[Duggie Bravo]

I have way too much stuff, moving every year or so when I was in the Army meant I cleared stuff out, having been in the same place for nearly 20 years means I haven’t I need a large skip and a week off to empty the loft. I know my sons pram is up there, he’s 22 and we wanted something different when our daughter was born 12 years later.
I recently got a small container to put stuff in to give me some room in my garage.
My plan is to wait 6 months and apart from occasional use items, eg decorating stuff, clear out what hasn’t been used.
I’ll then move stuff down to it and start again.
It’s a plan, but a lot of the stuff isn’t mine, so I need people to forget about the boxes of yarn.


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[ghostc]

i had a huge clear out myself over the last month i have sold nearly 800 items on ebay, it feels so great. some of the items i sold i got more than i paid for them, especially vintage clothing

 

[Great egret]

i had a huge clear out myself over the last month i have sold nearly 800 items on ebay, it feels so great. some of the items i sold i got more than i paid for them, especially vintage clothing

If i'd sell 800 items i would have an empty house and no clothes

 

[Tengu]

I am asking myself;

Is it possible to have too many hobbies?

 

[mikehill]

Absolutely .. I get like that. Don’t spend enough time on one to get really good at because theres only so much spare time available. I’m considering cutting down on hobbies too !

 

[Tony]

every day at the moment I'm trying to shed possessions, yesterday it was thumb drives out of my office draw, day before that was some clothes I've not worn for an age and shoes that I never got on with etc.

I have too much stuff, but when I sort it a wave of attachment rolls over me and it's hard to get rid of it.

I also know that a lot of stuff I have has value, but I'm not good at putting things up for sale, so I leave them alone, selling those 800 items @ghostc is inspiring, I could do with the money that's for sure!

There's something very powerful in a life that's simplified, both activities and possessions, a freedom that comes with it, taking that further, if it's combined with integrity we can reduce the mental clutter as well (over simplified I know).

Maybe we should have a thread, 'What I got rid of today!'

 

[Scottieoutdoors]

I also know that a lot of stuff I have has value, but I'm not good at putting things up for sale, so I leave them alone,

Sometimes the valuable/semi valuable stuff is the worst because a lot of the time you won't get the price you paid, and then if you do decide that actually in the future you want another one, you'll pay over the odds for it...

 

[Wander]

My attitude to selling stuff, whether valuable or not, is that whilst it's sitting in a box unused, it is absolutely worthless. Worse, the money I originally spent on it is completely wasted because the object isn't being used.
So my take is that it's better to sell it on, at whatever price (usually cheap just so I can move it on), so it has value - I've got a bit of money for it (whereas before it was sitting there with no value), it's now being used (as it should be), and any money I spent on it is no longer wasted because at least the item is being used for what it was designed for (even if I'm not the one using it).
Just sitting there, unused, it is worth nothing. So move it on for a good price and then at least the object suddenly has purpose and is not being wasted, and your money meant something.

Best of all, of course, is not to go spending for the sake of it. When I want something, I let it rest for a week or so, and if I still feel I need then I might buy it.

 

[mikehill]

Exactly my feelings now. If it doesn’t get used it goes!

 

[SCOMAN]

I am very guilty of this I'm afraid. Something I've challenged myself on a number of times and I've taken action disposing of things but there is always a draw back. I do understand some of the reasoning that goes on and whilst I've not exactly come to terms with it I do understand it better. Guilty of having knives, rucksacks, jackets (yeah haven't quite got my head around the jacket thing tbh).

 

[Woody girl]

I've had a pine double bed frame I've been trying to get rid of for months. It's in realy good condition and would do stirling service for someone. Can I even give it away? Can I heck!
It would be a shame to use it for firewood, but if I can't get rid of it soon, that will be its sad fate.
I had to get a bed that was higher as it was too low for me, as I get older and creakier!

 

[Tony]

My attitude to selling stuff, whether valuable or not, is that whilst it's sitting in a box unused, it is absolutely worthless. Worse, the money I originally spent on it is completely wasted because the object isn't being used.
So my take is that it's better to sell it on, at whatever price (usually cheap just so I can move it on), so it has value - I've got a bit of money for it (whereas before it was sitting there with no value), it's now being used (as it should be), and any money I spent on it is no longer wasted because at least the item is being used for what it was designed for (even if I'm not the one using it).

I completely agree with this, it's not that I hold out for a good price, I seem to have a throw it away, give it away if it's convenient or sell it if the opportunity comes to me, I struggle to go through the process of actually selling an item for whatever price!

But saying all that, this thread acts as a reminder and a prompt, I'll endeavour to do better

 

[Tengu]

I picked up some Swedish snow boots and a Canadian parka, this was about a decade ago.

Less than a tenner for both?

This week I have been warm as toast outside....

 

[Kadushu]

Interesting thread! My parents are complete opposites in this regard. My dad has kept everything 'just in case' and it amounts to hoarding. Aside from essentials like clothing and cookware, I doubt my mother could fill the boot of a car with what she owns. I feel that neither extreme is particularly good for mental health so I try to find a happy medium. Certainly if you own a lot of kit for multiple hobbies then it helps to keep it organised, easy to find and in good condition. I'm definitely guilty of owning 3 broken things rather than 1 good one.

My shed had become a dumping ground and it had become disfunctional as a woodworking shop so last Christmas I had a really good tidy, made more shelving and gave lots of tools a permanent place to live. The next part of that equation was to have the discipline to put everything away after using it; not after completing a job because that could take days, weeks or years! It's a permanent battle to keep worktops clear of clutter so that they are actually useable when next needed. Then I went and bought some more tools...

It's a slippery slope when an area becomes a dumping ground because really you've lost interest in upkeeping that space so it just becomes dumped in more and more. You become blind to the clutter, whereas in an immaculate space a single item can stand out. In that respect the stuff does own you, in a kind of pavlovian way, as the arrangement of stuff is triggering a certain psychological reaction. Likewise for the strong compulsion to either keep things or get rid of them. It would be nice to be able to make Vulcan-like logical decisions and also to know whether certain things really will come in handy one day!