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Stuff - why on earth do we have so much stuff?

The ‘stuff’ purge isn’t going well. This morning I’ve just ordered a new ride on mower. The upside is that it will force me to clear out the garage of other junk to make room for it!
 
Now, if you've got a concrete base you could build a drive in shed for the nice new ride on mower!...

This could then become strictly the "garden tools shed" and then you'd have even more space to fill with even more 'stuff' Bliss. :D
 
Ponty said:
I’ve just ordered a new ride on mower.
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I speak from experience...........

Unless you have over something like 0.3-0.4 acres to mow and the mown area is bordered by very straight lines and/or broad sweeping curves, a ride-on is more trouble than it is worth, not least storage once you get beyond the dimensions/geometry of what is to be mown.

I used to work with a fellah who had a fair bit of mown area - back in the 70's-80's - and he was dumb-founded at near neighbours with similar or less who owned ride-ons and either did no exercise or jogged. Read into that what you will.

Personally. I have had no less than an acre plot for well over 30 years and would not have had a ride-on if you had paid me.................

Back to "stuff". The house here is reasonably free except for books about anything and everything that I am interested in - there must be well over quarter of a tonne of those, plus hard copy music, plus just about anything and everything that could be called DIY raw materials - an offcut, for instance, has to be pretty damned small to be an ACTUAL offcut (i.e. bin fodder).
 
Unused rolls of wallpaper!!! Haha. Nice one. I cleared out the bulkhead wall storage area behind our bed today.

2 rolls of brand new wallpaper from when we did the lounge - 16 years ago. Plus 2 new rolls of lining paper, 2 spare rolls for the hallway and 1 for the other one , the spare bedroom etc etc.

Man. Why do I keep all this stuff?

Never mind all the redundant work / educational coursework files and folders we've been hoarding since like forever.

Big fire coming up in the next few days. Lot's of garden waste to burn and now have a whole load of fuel to get it going.

You can't take it with you.....
 
Aethelist said:
Boxes. I keep boxes. For everything I buy. Drives my wife nuts.

In the loft are boxes for 5 x Naim Fraims ,2 x SBL boxes , a 32 inch monitor, a 65 inch TV , a 55 inch TV , a Gibson Les Paul (lovely artwork - far too good to chuck) Apple boxes iPod / iPads / Mac mini , Linn LP12 / Lingo etc etc.

Never mind the Lego - which is stuffed into every available space.

You can't have too many boxes (plus it helps on resale if you ever decide to get rid)
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Too right. The oldest box I have is for my LP12. It's nearly 35 years old, and getting a bit tatty. But, that is what I use to transport my deck when we move. I wish I kept some of the earlier Lego boxes.
 
I have a pair of very rare subwoofers, boxed.

Sold them to a friend and regretted it.

Bought them back and went back to collect them :D

His dog had chewed the box to bits - I was
Gutted.

I too have too much ‘stuff’ - I pity my kids having to sort it all out!! I’m sadly not going to leave a legacy, or a wing of a hospital or university, so the least I can leave them is all my ‘stuff’ - going through it will make em smile.
 
Yeah. If we had "kids" things might be different. But we don't.

So to the fire it goes (can't help feeling I don't have much time left on this mortal coil anyways)
 
James said:
Too right. The oldest box I have is for my LP12. It's nearly 35 years old, and getting a bit tatty. But, that is what I use to transport my deck when we move. I wish I kept some of the earlier Lego boxes.
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James, I can beat you on that, I have my LP12 box from 1983 (38 years), its got more original parts than the LP12 itself now! :D
 
Very good thread. I also have great difficulty reconciling my desire for minimalism with my desire not to
a) throw stuff out that will end up getting buried in a landfill
b) Waste something that might be useful 5 minutes after I've discarded it.
c) Deal with the hassle of selling low $ items.

Freecycle is quite useful, but only goes so far.
 
MartinC said:
James, I can beat you on that, I have my LP12 box from 1983 (38 years), its got more original parts than the LP12 itself now! :D
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I think we should treat ourselves to a brand new LP12 box. Apparently Linn sells them for £85. I'm pretty sure some of the original polystyrene packing are in several pieces.
 
I'm not looking forward to cleaning out my parents' house. My mum has boxes of toys that got broken 40 years ago because "they can be fixed".

I don't know what it is in the human condition that makes us want more. I used to shoot target air rifle and small bore. I recently got back into shooting and bought an air rifle. I don't need another air rifle, so why do I want at least a couple more?
 
cubastreet said:
I don't know what it is in the human condition that makes us want more.
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Not just humans. All mammals I suspect and certainly dogs. I used to play with the neighbours dog over the fence. He would bring toys to me, we would play pulling and fetch games. After a while he would assemble the toys in a row, out of my reach, and sit behind them all, looking at me with a satisfied air.

The psychology is simple enough. You like your object, you have lost them in the past and you fear that it may happen again, so having another protects you against that.
 
Vinny said:
I speak from experience...........

Unless you have over something like 0.3-0.4 acres to mow and the mown area is bordered by very straight lines and/or broad sweeping curves, a ride-on is more trouble than it is worth, not least storage once you get beyond the dimensions/geometry of what is to be mown.

I used to work with a fellah who had a fair bit of mown area - back in the 70's-80's - and he was dumb-founded at near neighbours with similar or less who owned ride-ons and either did no exercise or jogged. Read into that what you will.

Personally. I have had no leass than an acre plot for well over 30 years and would not have had a ride-on if you had paid me.................
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you’re saying. I’ve been debating it for years. The lawns in the garden are about an acre. There are some smaller areas where I’ll still use a self propelled walk behind (53cm Husqvarna and Snapper) and strimmer. However, there are enough larger areas to justify (more stuff...). I’ve also got paddocks of 1 acre and 3 acres. I have these topped by a mate with his tractor a couple of times a year but I could do more regularly in between to improve them. I’ve gone for a mulcher (which I do anyway with the other mowers), I find this far better and easier than collecting. In terms of ‘stuff’, this will bring the mower count to 4...
 
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