Getting rid of "stuff"

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

The funniest part to me is that I'm surrounded by neighbours who can't park in their garages due to their "stuff". Day after day, year after year, their stuff just sits there doing nothing and forcing them to clean the ice and snow off their cars every winter.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

One of the most wasteful things in my opinion, is corporate junk. Everybody has closets full of crappy jackets, shirts and bags that you never wear yet the company insists on always giving them out.

I went to a conference in Las Vegas. I brought home three t-shirts that I got from the exhibitors. I left 11 t-shirts hanging in the closet of the hotel room as I knew I wasn't going to wear them.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

One of the most wasteful things in my opinion, is corporate junk. Everybody has closets full of crappy jackets, shirts and bags that you never wear yet the company insists on always giving them out.

easy now..... you know how much $$ my biz makes annually on 'corporate junk'

i totally get what you're saying. i try to encourage my customers that if they are going to insist on putting their logo on a garment to make it subtle!! try to do tone on tone (black or really dark grey embroidery on a black jacket) - at least that way it will look classy and their employees will be more willing to wear it.... which is the whole point of doing that kind of 'write-off'


on the topic of "stuff" - i'm thankful that both my wife and i aren't really pack-rats... we're more than happy to get rid of stuff we don't use. we usually just donate it to thrift stores (or throw it out if it junk)

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by username

Like seriously, you're keeping 15 dollars worth of thin set around for 4 years instead of just buying a new bag????

Doesn't cost you anything to store a bag of tiles in your basement. It's $15 more that you'll have in your pocket 4 years later. That's how I see things.

[username]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Doesn't cost you anything to store a bag of tiles in your basement. It's $15 more that you'll have in your pocket 4 years later. That's how I see things.

See I see it differently. It's using up storage space and it clutters up a room that could be used for something else.

One other thing to remember is most people that keep junk around for ages don't even remember they have it stored away somewhere. When they do eventually need it again they forget and buy a new one haha.

[red sky]

Try watching an episode of Hoarders and you will be decluttering like no ones business.

[Sliver]

I'd happily pay $15 to not have a pile of junk in the corner of my basement for four years.

[Hack&Lube]

I guess $15 is worth more to some people than others. I am more frugal than most. If you are space conscious, then maybe it's more important to you. I have a lot of storage space and penny pinch like I'm homeless. I won't even go grocery shopping until my cupboards and fridge are almost totally bare and I've eaten every last thing I can find.

There are so many times I have been glad I didn't throw something away because I remembered I had it and I was able to re-use it, fix it, or improvise with it a few years down the line. It gives me a good sense of satisfaction. Spending money on new stuff makes me feel guilty and I avoid it when possible.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by red sky

Try watching an episode of Hoarders and you will be decluttering like no ones business.

Whenever I watch that show, I think to myself. . . man, those guys have a lot of nice stuff.

[DownhillGoat]

And here I came into the thread thinking it was a buy & sell.

Originally Posted by bc-chris

i totally get what you're saying. i try to encourage my customers that if they are going to insist on putting their logo on a garment to make it subtle!! try to do tone on tone (black or really dark grey embroidery on a black jacket) - at least that way it will look classy and their employees will be more willing to wear it.... which is the whole point of doing that kind of 'write-off'

I actually don't mind the corporate gear. It helps if you like where you work, mind you. And like bc-chris said, the tone/tone stuff is great. I've got a few soft shells that I wear quite often. They're either charcoal on back, blue on blue, etc. Makes it much more wearable than having a multicoloured logo emblazoned on the back. Unless you're in a motorcycle club, I guess.

I've found my house to be a lot less cluttered once I finally started donating stuff to shelters etc. A lot of 'stuff' I had was too good to throw out, and garage sales are way too much work for the return. Time to go through the house again now that I'm doing some renovating.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by bc-chris

easy now..... you know how much $$ my biz makes annually on 'corporate junk'

i totally get what you're saying. i try to encourage my customers that if they are going to insist on putting their logo on a garment to make it subtle!! try to do tone on tone (black or really dark grey embroidery on a black jacket) - at least that way it will look classy and their employees will be more willing to wear it.... which is the whole point of doing that kind of 'write-off'


on the topic of "stuff" - i'm thankful that both my wife and i aren't really pack-rats... we're more than happy to get rid of stuff we don't use. we usually just donate it to thrift stores (or throw it out if it junk)

It's tough because there are things that I genuinely would like but company windbreakers and fleece sweaters are not among them. Besides, I'll be damned if I wear my company logo on my own time.

[tvp2003]

Wow, thanks for the replies. For me, it's a little bit of a psychological thing -- trying not to get attached to every little thing, and really minimizing what I need to live and be happy. I had a lightbulb moment last weekend when I realized I "needed" to spend my day off cleaning up/organizing all of our "stuff", when I could have been relaxing or doing something better. Now that we've cleaned out a few rooms, I know I enjoy the space rather than having a bunch of stuff all over the place, but it's definitely a work in progress.

It doesn't help that I developed the frugal gene growing up (trying to keep things that I might use later, or don't want to give up because it seems wasteful). However, trying to change my perspective on things (i.e. charity and donating to goodwill) and realizing the value of my time is definitely helping.

Next step is to tackle the basement, and to a lesser extent, the garage (as someone posted above, it always cracks me up to see people with a double garage but both cars are parked outside because of all the junk being stored in there).

Oh, I did come across three good rules in order to decrease the amount of stuff we accumulate:

1) The next time you buy something (i.e. a piece of clothing), you have to get rid of two items in return that you don't use.

2) Before buying something, waiting 30 days and deciding if you still want/need it.

3) Emphasizing experiences (i.e. trips, visits, etc.) over possessions.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

2) Before buying something, waiting 30 days and deciding if you still want/need it.

This is the biggest thing. Anytime you have the urge to buy something right away, just don't do it unless it's an essential item. Think about it for a few weeks, usually after that time, you realize you never actually needed it at all in the first place or you forget about it.

Stop buying stuff = stop accumulating stuff.

That doesn't help if you are a dumpster diver though <==

[tvp2003]

Here we go, found the article: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Calgari...889/story.html

Even in big-living, big-consuming Calgary there are minimalists in our midst.

Take Jay Baydala: Once upon a time, he worked in corporate information technology, earning big bucks. Between contracts he travelled to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Latin America.

"I found myself drawn to the people in those developing nations. They had something - this joy, this lightness - even though in our Western eyes they have nothing," says the 41-yearold Calgarian. "But they had everything: they were so happy, so playful and connected."

After each of his trips, Baydala would return to Calgary where he owned a downtown condo, some investment property, a couple of vehicles, electronics, closets full of clothes - all the accoutrements of an affluent, First World life.

"But I felt empty. I didn't have what they had. I wondered, 'What is that about?'"

He realized the happiest times of his life were when he was an student and had less stuff.

"It was before I got locked in the trap of accumulating stuff and having to stay in a job because you'd accumulated stuff -the selfpropagating cycle of staying at jobs that you hate to make lots of money to pay for stuff you don't really need or want.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by fotze

Having a kid increases the amount of crap tenfold. Nesting mothers sure l ike to buy crap. So do grandparents. Look at the crap birds stuff in their nest, I bet the male bird is thinking quietly "Jesus Christ, quit bringing home so many sticks and paper."

If I see another useless toy/stuffed animal, etc brought into our house... I could open up a carnival with all that we have laying around.

[Sliver]

He realized the happiest times of his life were when he was an student and had less stuff.

"It was before I got locked in the trap of accumulating stuff and having to stay in a job because you'd accumulated stuff -the self-propagating cycle of staying at jobs that you hate to make lots of money to pay for stuff you don't really need or want.

I doubt he was happy because he had less stuff when he was in school - he was probably happier because he had less responsibility. As you get older you become more responsible for your parents instead of the other way around, you have kids (and need to raise them, feed them, put a roof over their head), you become more important in your vocation, there are more demands on your time, etc. I don't see "things" as causing problems, but if you're a dependable and valuable person, people start to depend on your value. That can result in stress.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I doubt he was happy because he had less stuff when he was in school - he was probably happier because he had less responsibility. As you get older you become more responsible for your parents instead of the other way around, you have kids (and need to raise them, feed them, put a roof over their head), you become more important in your vocation, there are more demands on your time, etc. I don't see "things" as causing problems, but if you're a dependable and valuable person, people start to depend on your value. That can result in stress.

I don't know, having fewer possessions and less ability to buy the things you want makes you work harder for the few things you are able to buy and you appreciate them more.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I guess $15 is worth more to some people than others. I am more frugal than most. If you are space conscious, then maybe it's more important to you. I have a lot of storage space and penny pinch like I'm homeless. I won't even go grocery shopping until my cupboards and fridge are almost totally bare and I've eaten every last thing I can find.

There are so many times I have been glad I didn't throw something away because I remembered I had it and I was able to re-use it, fix it, or improvise with it a few years down the line. It gives me a good sense of satisfaction. Spending money on new stuff makes me feel guilty and I avoid it when possible.

Are you perhaps a middle aged asian?

[Super_Jason]

I can speak for the Chinese being hoardy... just look at my basement! I think my family is too attached to keeping everything and it drives me crazy.

Again, I think it is a psychological thing. I notice that when people declutter, it makes them feel relieved and teaches them to be able to let go of certain things in life.

Some people hold onto a lot of sentimental things which I understand, but it's not necessary to hold onto EVERYTHING - there's always the memories

[banffavenue]

Hoarding's bad mkay...