How much STUFF do we need?

[limewave]

Not a 'stuff' person at all. I'm actually the polar opposite and would be happy living in an efficiency sized place. My honey, not so much.

This is my dream house, but I don't think it would hold her clothes and shoes.

I could live there too. I had this wonderful tiny apartment when I was single. The kitchen was actually quite big (comparatively) but the bedroom was so small that the bed went from wall to wall to wall--same thing with the couch in the living room. But the apartment was downtown. I spent most of my time walking around the neighborhood, visiting the library, coffee shops, etc. It was a nice, simple life.

[Pax]

I could live there too. I had this wonderful tiny apartment when I was single. The kitchen was actually quite big (comparatively) but the bedroom was so small that the bed went from wall to wall to wall--same thing with the couch in the living room. But the apartment was downtown. I spent most of my time walking around the neighborhood, visiting the library, coffee shops, etc. It was a nice, simple life.

I lived in a wonderful little efficiency in an old house before moving in with my honey, it had a walk-in closet, the living/sleeping room had a huge bay window, and the kitchen was separated by a four foot wall that I topped with loads of plants. I adored my perfect little space!

[Melalvai]

This article on NPR is relevant to this topic: "Pepper-Spraying the Holidays: Time and the Ethic of Consumption"

In addition to addressing how the time & efficiency movement in industry spread to stores and even to our lives at home, he suggests buying half the number of gifts and sending cards to the people not receiving gifts telling them how important they were to you this year.

We only give to immediate family and that wouldn't work for us, but maybe it's a good idea for someone else.

[ny biker]

This article on NPR is relevant to this topic: "Pepper-Spraying the Holidays: Time and the Ethic of Consumption"

In addition to addressing how the time & efficiency movement in industry spread to stores and even to our lives at home, he suggests buying half the number of gifts and sending cards to the people not receiving gifts telling them how important they were to you this year.

We only give to immediate family and that wouldn't work for us, but maybe it's a good idea for someone else.

If I was one of the people who received a card, I would think that if I was really important to you I would have made the gift list...


I do not have too much stuff. Although some of my stuff needs to be replaced with better stuff.

[SadieKate]

I think George Carlin has the answer.

http://youtu.be/MvgN5gCuLac

If you feel the need to give a gift that isn't "stuff," try Kiva or Heifer International.

I was so relieved when our families on both sides decided to stop with the gifts. Nobody needed more stuff and a lot of it was s##t.*

*You have to watch this video to get the "stuff vs s##t" joke.

[amb]

My husband and I are buying a house so we're busy packing up and cleaning out.....so much STUFF! We have already taken several loads to the local thrift store. So much junk we don't need!

[shootingstar]

I am not going to pretend that I would enjoy living in super tiny space. However those little wee houses, Pax, are perfect, when I get old, frail and unable to move alot but would still want my independence.

My partner's mother had a newish tiny apartment of 400 sq. ft. for a few years and meant for the elderly, before she had to transfer to a nursing home. It was nice because it was bright and new.

Here, the only thing extra since photo is a couch and a huge box of more art supplies which I haven't gotten around to buying a piece of furniture to store it. It's a money thing... (Far away in orange dot, was Maidei on the mantlepiece. )

I don't plan to get a tv. But if I have some artwork that I made, a computer to find info. /create stuff, etc. it's fine. I essentially moved only enough posessions to fill 8 large (4 ft. tall) boxes and 4 suitcase equivalents plus a bike. This would not be unusual for a young student bound for college/university. But I'm over half a century old.

75% of my stuff is still in another province. Do I miss it? Well every time I go back, I bring back stuff....usually clothing, books, etc. I have more artwork that I treasure which is somewhere else. Unfortunately I left behind my Christmas tree and all the decorations for now.. So when I go back to rummage for more stuff, I will be discarding some stuff too....alot of paper files, deconstruct photo albums. I had to accept a job and get myself over to another province, within a strict timeline. Relocation did not include employer covering any moving nor flight expenses. I really wanted a job. But yes, it is a job with solid reliable benefits.

[Crankin]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't like "stuff." But, I don't have any clutter or junk. I am not a saver and I've moved a fair amount of times, so I've always thrown out things that aren't used. Do 2 people need a 3,000 sq. foot house? No. But, I love my house, which took 5 years to remodel/make my own and I don't plan to move soon. My stuff is furniture, nice housewares, a lot of which are from my mom, my clothes, and my bikes. I don't have fancy, expensive art work, but some prints that I really like. DH is a gadget freak. He has a lot of tools and electronics, but the upside is that he does most of the fixing himself, because he enjoys it.
We don't have a traditional basement in this house; in fact, my last house was the only house I've had with a basement. We accumulated a lot of stuff in the basement over 9 years and it was a very big clean out job before moving last time. Our lower level here is my family room and guest room, but I have 3 big storage closets. None of them are really filled too much, but we have a storage space above the garage that has all of our kids' old toys, etc. I refuse to throw out some of this. DH still has not forgiven his parents for throwing away some of his childhood things without telling him! Even if I never have grandchildren, I will give them this stuff when I leave this house. I don't want to be blamed for giving away their things.
I like clean, modern lines, and I dislike "collectibles," or other tchochkes. It took me 20 years to buy any new furniture that was not Danish modern, and even that stuff is pretty minimalist. Every time I've gone house hunting, I am amazed at the amount of junk people have in their homes.

[shootingstar]

2 wks. ago there was a United WAy fundraiser where employees donated and sold their artwork.

I had to walk by and buy nothing, no matter how low cost.

And I was ACUTELY reminded of my own artwork that I created, still alot left behind in another province.

[emily_in_nc]

We used to live in a 2000+ square foot house with three car garage and garden shed. We had lots and lots of stuff. Over a few years, we downsized to an apartment and now to the 1BR condo we live in in Belize. We have no car, just bicycles. The condo is still on the large size for the two of us plus our little dog (~980 sq ft). We visited friends here today who live in a much smaller 1BR condo and realized that we could easily live in their space...no problem. The only thing we'd miss is our washer-dryer. We have our own, and they have a shared laundry facility for the eight units in the complex.

We do have a small area of "stuff" stored at my Mom's back in the US, but it's not a lot. I'm very happy that we were able to downsize the way we did. Only a few things have been missed -- mostly recreational gear that we weren't able to keep, like our kayaks, and a couple of extra bikes!