I find myself challenged to let go of things.
One of the realities I am forced to face is that - like it or not - I am reaching the point in the program where many of the things I currently own have a limited use or even no use by me at this point. That perhaps seems a bit hyperbolic, but in point of fact it is also true: while the end is not nigh, it is definitely in the far horizon. Add to that a double reality of small living space of an unknown duration and two locations besides that where things are stored, and suddenly one has a lot of things that one needs to address.
I am at least grateful for the stopping point of an apartment rather than a house, because that meant that I could not just move all my problems from one place to another without thinking about them. And with the impending sale of The Ranch and the wholesale removal of items that I might have dithered about, I am not confronted by another huge hoard of items that need assessing. For better or worse, our current "store" is determined.
That said, it is likely still too much. Which means I get to ask questions like "How likely is it I will ever use this again?" and "Would I miss this if I let it go?"
Yesterday's example was a simple one, sorting T-shirts.
This is the second go I have had at this, as I already did this once during my move last year and donated a pile. They are all in a single drawer, but my semi-organized system was breaking down, so it was time to reorganize and reduce again.
Again, everything came out. Again, I looked through it all and asked "What will I never wear again?"
A few are a victim of a "sizing difference" from which I first bought them. But others? I have not worn them in years; the likelihood I will wear them in the next twenty or thirty years is almost nil. And so, into the donate pile they will go.
I need to get better and more active about these kinds of activities.
This always raises an interesting and secondary question in my mind, of course: as we are society of retail and services and, as I go on, I and a great many people like me require less and less (or like some younger generations, are actively choosing less and less), where does leave an economy that is largely dependent on such things?
It remains secondary, of course. I should not keep buying that which I neither need nor will use. And I certainly can benefit from subtracting from that which I own instead of adding to it.
The new job/moving process does force one to winnow down possessions as you discovered TB, needs vs wants. One must be ruthless in this process and get the selected items out of the household ASAP. With where you're currently residing what do you REALLY need? This is a process I need to do myself with cold season wear.
ReplyDeleteYes, Nylon12. This was a needed wakeup call in that direction. And your call to ruthlessness is very apt - sadly I am not a very "ruthless" person. I am trying to start at "I am not going to bring more things in" and try and work backwards from there.
DeleteIn my younger days, I used to go to storage unit auctions and was always amazed at the amount of stuff people PAID to store and never use. At least in this part of the world, the units weren't conditioned so fluctuated in temperature and humidity until nearly everything in them was destroyed soon after. Had they known that someone like me might by the contents for a few dollars with most of it going directly into a trash bin, perhaps they would have thought differently about getting it in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI have found a solution for the closet full of t-shirts that have memories but will never be worn again. I put them in a sack and give them to the wife of a friend of mine who then cuts out the best parts and turns them into a blanket. I can admire all those concerts of yore while keeping my toes warm on a chilly winter evening.
I had to rent a storage unit for one month due to some unreasonable stipulations concerning moving out of one military house into another. The guy who rented me the unit said roughly the same thing you did. He remembered one unit in particular, rented out by an old lady. She never missed a payment until she died several years later. Her relatives came to empty out the unit she's paid several thousands of dollars to rent and found only an old washer and drier that was worth essentially NOTHING. The manager of the units said this was the case with MOST of the rentals! Storage units are one of the biggest SCAMS out there; one that MILLIONS play into!
DeleteEd - The storage lockers are a short term solution at best (and, for better or worse, climate controlled). I need to not be in them more that a year or two, which is all dependent on finding a more permanent living situation.
DeleteWe recently pulled the last of Uisdean Ruadh's possessions from storage - stacks and stacks of books, which he has sense started going through and getting rid of. Arguably given his timing, this was not something he could have done earlier, but the pulling things out to get rid of them has stuck with me.
Like you, I know of folks that have made quilts of throwing shirts. For better or worse, I have more than enough blankets or quilts and so this has never been a real need.
Pete - That is a sad case indeed. Storage units should only be short term items to transition to other places, not long term investments in a covered space.
DeleteThe Swedes have a practice called Döstädning. Literally, it means "Death Cleaning." They sort through their stuff, knowing that if they don't, their relatives will need to, and that there will be an emotional attachment to almost everything. Döstädning removes that burden. It also releases you from the entanglement of "stuff." It's okay to throw away!...
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions about how unburdening yourself from your "stuff" will affect an economy based on retail and services, this doomed economic system is bigger than we are, and shouldn't be our concern. It's not our patriotic duty to keep it going!
Pete - That practice was the very thing that I was introduced to several months ago that started me on this journey. I am certainly not there yet, but starting to ask "Will my children even want this?" has certainly put a spin on what I choose to keep and give away.
DeleteAgreed on the economy. It is not more my patriotic duty to keep the economy going. It does make wonder, though, with an economy so based on people buying things.
Daughter is pack rat and will take all the stuff. Son has said he wants nothing as he's not at all sentimental. I have a storage unit but it's filled with basically furniture worth lots of dollars so not pitch able and certainly not saleable in very small town I live in. Going in next week for pic's and sending them antique dealer a couple hours from here.
ReplyDeleteAnon - I think my sister and I were exactly the opposite: she took a very little, I took much more because I am sentimental.
DeleteI have a fair amount of furniture from my parents' house - now that we are not staying there, I am rethinking the decision to take it.
I admire your willingness to take care of it now. I am trying to be more disciplined about this.
I agree with the goal but confess I'm terribly slow at going through and sorting things and then sending them elsewhere (either my kids or a thrift shop). Really though, living more simply gets easier as I get used to it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what happens to an economy that is dependent on consumerism and economic growth, I honestly think they've done it to themselves. Part of our choosing not to buy or do without is because things are poorer in quality and higher in price. I don't want to have to replace tools and small appliances every year or two. I just learn to live with low tech alternatives or even without.
Leigh, I am slow too. At this point, even just slowing the accumulation feels like a victory.
DeleteI agree that most companies have done it to themselves. That said, I always feel bad when there companies that build great products and I simply do not need more of what they sell because they make such good products. I sometimes buy things I maybe do not need right away because those are precisely the sorts of companies that deserve my support.