This past weekend I made my monthly trek back to The Ranch for a house check in and stopping in to various people. My Aunt continues to do well for someone who is undergoing chemo and almost died last year, which is encouraging (and honestly, a major reason for me to continue to go back). I pulled down a couple of hanging signs The Ravishing Mrs. TB had indicated we should keep. And stopped by to see Uisdean Ruadh.
Over an Angry Orchard Cider (pretty good stuff!), we chatted about this and that - one of the "this and that" things being, of course, the eventual sale of The Ranch and the high likelihood that the Cabin may no longer be for rent. He has been working on alternatives and as we discussed those alternatives, he mentioned that he was in the process of organizing and in some cases getting rid of things like books which, although he enjoyed (and has a large collection of paperbacks dating to the 1960's from his father), he simply is not likely to get back to look at again.
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I have written before on the challenge that I have found and am finding with my relationship with "stuff" in my life, especially after relocating to a small current living arrangement. 1.5 years into that arrangement, I do not know how much "better" I have gotten with it.
Arguably I have managed to "slow down" the incoming amount of things, handy in an era where the cost of things continues to increase, and driven mostly by a combination of time (I really do not have the time of pick up more than I have going on now) and the space to put or do them in.
But "not bringing more in" does not change the fact of "the amount of things I still currently have".
Part of this as a driving factor is simply the experience with my parents' house, where in the end we essentially had to outsource the getting rid of stuff (after we took what we wanted), partially due to the sheer overwhelming nature of the amount of stuff. That is not something I would like my heirs to have to deal with. The other thing - frustrating to me who likes a level of order in things - is simply that I do not like piles and stacks (almost as much as I loathe the idea of too many drawers or closets: they are just places to put things out of the way to forget them).
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At some point, assuming all things remain equal and things do not completely fall apart economically, the apartment is a temporary place and we will have a more permanent home somewhere. And hopefully that home will effectively be "the home" until such a time as I do not need one at all. I would dearly like that relocation to not be a "dumping all the things from here into there" without some kind of forethought as to what stays and what goes.
If the example of my elders is any indication, there is less and less need for "things" beyond the basics of living as one goes. Things tend to remain because they either have nostalgia value or they are simply not thought of anymore. My goal is to try to do something a little more than ridding myself of things via inertia.
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It occurs to me that it might be worth making a goal out of seeing how much I can unburden myself of in a year. That is not a strong commitment, but it is something worth considering: what if I made a solid commitment to a combination of "Buy Nothing January" for the whole year (or as near as I could) and "Get Rid of as much as I can" over the same period of time?
There are only three questions needed: Do I use it now? Will I ever use it?
And the most challenging of all, Am I strong enough to let it go?
Over the course of a year one does not have to be draconian TB yet there is need to declutter something on a regular basis. Set that goal every week? Twice a month? If you're capable of venturing into the Grand Canyon you're capable or removing STUFF from your life....:)
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - Indeed Draconian might be a bit of overkill, but it is probably fair to say I could do a better job than I am doing now. I can control the intake of new items pretty well now; it is the outflow that is a challenge.
DeleteThe Grand Canyon is actually a great example - you really only take what you need, not what you like. My one "extravagance" was taking a paperback book and journal in.
Maybe I'd add the question who-why did it get in my life in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAnd them reflecting on Senaca's musing about silver dollars am I saving for the future when perhaps such books are banned?
That fourth question is a good one, Michael. There are great many things that likely I will never get rid of because they hold sentimental value to me.
DeleteIn terms of books, there are two sorts: those that I will likely read again (and again) and those that were "purpose" bought, often business related texts. One set of those matters, the other will be inevitably eclipsed by new authors.
For me, harder than deciding the value of something and whether or not to keep it is how to dispose of the things I no longer wish to keep. I can try selling them but that is a huge hassle these days and I would almost rather pull my own teeth with pliers than attempt that. I can give a certain amount of things away to charities. I am loathe to add to the landfill especially since it required a 15 mile trip and costs me $15 to use each and every time unless it will fit in with my normal garbage stream. All these things require time I would rather spend doing other things and so I generally just live with things until I get a huge load and then take them to the dump and cringe at my addition to our environmental problems.
ReplyDeleteEd, I am comfortable with giving away 90% of the things that fall into this category as I, too, dread trying to sell anything. I also try to minimize the waste stream, although it can sometimes be difficult with larger items.
DeleteThe only thing in the past I have regularly tried to sell are books at a used book store that buys them; inevitably the price I get is so much less than what I paid for everything (not their fault; some things have value and some do not) that I would just rather give them away and not worry about how much money I "lost".