How much ‘Stuff’ do you own? If you had to move house tomorrow how long would it take you to pack? How many car/van loads would it take? How many storage containers or cardboard boxes or black bags would it take for you transport your life from one place to another.
For anyone who has seen the latest Jason Reitman movie, Up in the Air, starring George Clooney you may already know the answer to these questions. You’ve probably thought about it just recently. In the movie Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham is a sometime motivational speaker who likens a rucksack to life and the stuff we pack into life to baggage. He encourages his audience to think about all they own. And all the people they know.
He beseeches to those in attendance, that the less they have to pack into their rucksack, the easier life is.
Of course it’s a movie, and that’s a bit bleak for Little Tommy Popcorn. And while the ending is somewhat ambiguous, I think its clear that Bingham comes to realise that life is more important than travelling light and keeping it simple. We get from life what we put into it and sometimes all we have to carry are our happy memories…or something like that.
And that’s great. We do need to search out happiness and we only get back what we are willing to put into it. Our connections and relationships with those around are what define us.
That said, there is a case to be made about the amount of clutter we bring into our lives.
Have you figured out how long it would take to pack your stuff yet?
I have moved a lot. If I exclude the first two times I tried to move out but quickly made my way back to buxom of the family home, I have moved seven and a half times. (I’ll get to the half in a minute). I have also helped friends move on multiple occasions. And let me tell you, in case you didn’t know, it’s a giant pain in the bottom.
The amount of times I have lumped boxes up and down stairs would but Jack, Jill and the Grand ol Duke of York’s ten thousand men to shame. Piles of books, cds, DVDs, stereo speakers, black sacks of pornography (not mine, I swear) have all at one stage been moved into or out of mine or friends houses.
And I have to be honest. It all seems a little pointless to me now. All that sweat and energy, wasted. Not because helping out a friend or moving house was pointless. But all that stuff. It just weighs us down.
I recently moved for the 7th and half time. And by that I mean I moved room in the same house. Not necessarily as big a deal as moving house, but it still meant moving all my stuff from my first floor up to the 2nd floor attic conversion. It’s still a flight of stairs. I was not looking forward to it.
When you house share with relative strangers, you tend to fit most of your stuff into your room. Of course there are the communal areas but the majority of stuff you don’t want to get mixed in with others or lost in a pile you keep in your own space.
I’ve tended to need more personal space because over the years I have hoarded a lot of stuff. 300 dvds 300 cads, around 200 or so books. On top of that I also have storage to hold all these nick knacks. I have so many pieces of crappy pine flat pack furniture that I have picked up in Argos, that it looks like Richard E Grant and Julia Sawalha are my interior designers.
Then there is the problem that I am loathe to throw anything away. I’ve never done it. I’m always able to justify that I might need it at some stage. That nuts and bolts statue of a stick figure couple of having sex over a garden fence? A birthday gift from Donal and Martina ( you’d imagine Donal was the dominant voice in that purchase, that said Martina was the soul buyer of the penguin posing pouch…hmmm ). Who knows when that will come in handy. The WWE Dudley Boyz t-shirt? I could wear it painting…or gardening.
Enough. When do I ever paint or garden. I have to draw the line. I have too much stuff which is essentially just useless shit. And I don’t mean to offend anyone who bought me these really nice gifts. I really appreciate them. But what I appreciate more is that you thought enough of me to buy if for me. In this case…it really is the thought that counts.
So that’s it. The De Clutter starts here and now.
CD‘s? Gone. My music listening these days is done through Windows Media Player or my MP3 player in the car. If I buy a CD these days I open it once, pop it in my laptops disc drive and rip. Boxed up and stored in the attic, so if anyone wants some quality music come take a look.
DVDs? Some people have collections of DVDs and have no interest in movies. I’m not one of those people. Movies are something that are very important to me but they are just taking up too much John Space. So. Lets reduce the amount of space they take. All I really need is the Disc. So lets file the disc in those disc storage cases that people use for bringing just the disc in their car or wherever.
The boxes I just advertised for free on boards and people with more space and a better use for them took them away. So right there I have gone from eight shelves of DVD’s to two.
Books? Half of them I’ve no interest in ever reading , and frankly are kind of embarrassing, (where did I get Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes?) The local Scout Hall does a book drive for a sale of work every month so they get all the literature (and I use that word very loosely in some cases) that I now no longer want
Clothes? No one needs 79 tee shirts. I live in Ireland for Christ sake. Its rare that I don’t need gloves never mind have the luxury of going sleeveless. And no one should have clothes that are older than his now teenage brother. Clothing recycling bin, here I come.
And I have to say. I feels great. I’m not surrounded by so much clutter. I think sometimes people are stressed by the weight of the things they have and the things they own and want to own. And if you are carrying a weight and you get rid of some of the burden… it feels good.
I don’t to come over all preachy and anti materialism. That’s not who I am…yet. But I could see myself becoming that guy one day. I feel liberated by having less stuff. Simple, clutter free living is the way forward for me.
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