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Our relationship with Stuff

Monday 30 June 2014
stuff

We humans have a symbiotic relationship with our stuff. We collect stuff. We keep adding more stuff to our growing pile of stuff. We spend hours online and offline hunting for our holy grail stuff. We finally track it down only to lose interest in a few short months and then we're off on our next expedition to locate the next stuff. We even organize events to swap stuff.

The burgeoning pile of stuff forces us to spend more money to buy a bigger house to store our stuff. We spend hours trying to edit our closet in order to make way for more stuff. We fill empty spaces in our house with stuff but only special stuff that classify as mementos.

There are even large storage units that we can hire to store our stuff if we move overseas and didn't want to take them. We dutifully pay hefty fees to store stuff that we forget as soon as we arrive in our new destination. We fork out extra dough to lug heavy suitcases only to wear half of what we brought. Not to mention that using public transportation to and from the airport is out of the question, thanks to our stuff.

The more stuff we own, the more it costs to insure them. We hold on to stuff for sentimental reasons including ones that look pukeworthy like the hideous giant glass vase (mine) that's too big to put flowers in and too small to fit a human body. And when we're dead, our grieving kids collapse with exhaustion just trying to get rid of our stuff.


22 comments:

  1. Amen, I have been spending the last 2 years going through my stuff, and either selling or disposing of it in another way. I am still not finished. I have sold a lot of furniture. I only want to have things that are comfortable to sit on, and I am now more interested in mid century 'stuff' than I was before.

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  2. Fortunately not all of us participate in this madness:-)

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  3. Ha ha! A good declutter does us the world of good! My stuff is definitely clothes - far too many :-( Lynne xx

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  4. Thanks Marlene! You just stopped me in my tracks! I was just about to checkout on an item I don't really need. You made me think twice which can only be a good thing!

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  5. Thank you. I love my stuff, but does it love me?

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  6. i think its just part of us, especially women/girls/ladies.. we just love collecting stuff and beautiful things eventhough we knew we already have it ;)

    xoxo,Meg
    Sweet Gala's

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  7. Yes >holds hand up in a feeble manner< I have lots of stuff! xx

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  8. I became aware of this in 2008 when i was moving from the UK to Australia and almost paid hefty shipping fees for my architectural book collection. Luckily common sense prevailed and i gave away the books. The stuff i can't let go of for now are stamps and cute kawaii stationeries from China Town

    xo Stephanie

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  9. God completely agree. Especially with the leaving stuff in storage part - although for us, ours was caught in a fire so we ended up with an insurance payout, which actually has worked for the best for us.

    I've been trying to cut down and not shop - it's been working, especially since I'm wearing the same things over and over, although a little sad to be getting rid of things I just bought a few short months earlier.

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  10. Great post. I'm trying so hard to stop over buying. I have so much stuff that I never use, it's just crazy.

    Best, Mree

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  11. Ppl earn a living to make and sell this stuff. You yourself sell other ppls old stuff & blog about stuff in posts with - I assume - affiliate links.

    Complicated it is.

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    1. Sade, this is not meant to be accusatory. It's written in a tongue in cheek humor which I hope you see as such. I'm just as guilty of the same stuff hoarding habit.

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  12. Marlene _ I loved that photo of you in a frock on facebook today - you looked corker! I am wary of frocks these days as it means shaving my legs (could I be any lazier? i don't think so) and here the weather spins on a dime. 110 degrees on Sunday chilly on Monday. re stuff - I fool myself by constantly giving stuff away and keeping all surfaces clear but in fact I'm just giving away stuff that I never should never have bought

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    1. Thanks so much, Jody. That was in fact, an old photo. Haha....I'm just as lazy so amen, sister. I'm trying to make more of an effort. Funnily enough, my friends here all responded so positively. I even brush my hair more often now :P

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  13. 'Stuff' concerns me, genuinely, I do think we have too much, particularily my kids...too much plastic stuff taking up containers and containers in our garage and everywhere in the house. Completely my fault I have bought half of it but I am angry with myself for falling in that trap. My husband keeps banging on about the need for a circular economy, that would make me happier but we are a long way off...till then I have to stop buying myself and my kids stuff!!

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    1. The toys are the worst. I cringe every time the birthday and Christmas roll around. I think I've trained Lil L's friends' parents very well now. Something consumable, nothing big and preferably nothing at all. They take up so much space.

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  14. I recently moved and I always thought I already "de-clutter" a lot throughout the years. But when I saw how our stuff filled two small car (making use of every single space!) with multiple trips, I wish I didn't hoard so much stuff (kitchen wares, books, kid's toys, kid's school book and love letters...oops)! Hopefully staying in a walk-up apartment helps. ^ ^ - I Ying

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  15. True story! The market encourages us (especially women) to buy ourselves a new, perfect 'self', over and over again.
    Tadeja

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  16. Sadly you expressed one of the reasons I fear the deaths of my parents': having to deal with their rooms and rooms of useless stuff.
    Not to say that I am not guilty of storing stuff myself. One of the reasons I look forward to your visit is that I am planning of getting rid of all the useless things before your arrival so you will stay in a nice, rubbish-free flat ;-)

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