Trappings

If we do move to another house, one of the things on the to do list is to declutter. I have entirely too much stuff. I know the general rule is that you get rid of something every time you buy something new, but I don’t. I still like some of the old stuff. I might still wear it, or need it someday. That’s the worst kind of thinking. You get into remembering what you spent on something, and whether you might use it again over recognizing that the few times you do use it aren’t worth the space that it takes up to store when it’s not being used.

How do you weigh what you need against what you want? How you weigh what you actually need over what you think you need? People are so spoiled sometimes. In almost every house I have seen online, the master bedroom includes a massive corner soaking tub. It’s like a requirement now. How many people actually use those to take a bath? How many people like that tub because they like the thought that they can fill it up and soak if they want to, even if they actually hop into the shower every day instead? I would rather have a bigger shower (or his and hers toilets) than a whopping corner tub, but apparently it’s become a standard.

I was going through my jewelry box the other day. I used to wear necklaces a lot more than I do now. I still kept the ones I had. I still like them. I have shoes I don’t wear but keep because I like them. It’s silly. I should have a room just to display the things I like but never wear. I have a few phones that I switched out before they died. Some of them probably still work. I should probably sell these things on eBay and make some of the money back, but that becomes another task. Every time you get something new, it incurs an obligation of maintenance and storage. Even my daughter is going through this. I don’t want her to start off with the same bad habits, but every time she has a birthday or Christmas comes around, everyone is very generous.

I saw a slideshow of a man who lives in a small apartment. He actually had several items he didn’t use, but kept for aesthetic appeal. The entire space under his bed was used for storage. Every inch of the space was packed, but organized in a way that it looked interesting and not cluttered. From that show I clicked on another one featuring a family that lived in a yurt. They had internet access but used an outhouse. I like the idea, but no thanks. For most of my time in Korea, the work sites only had portapotties and if I never have to use that or something like that again, it will be a-okay with me. Aside from the plumbing issue, I wonder what it must be like to carefully choose the things you need, get rid of the things they replace, and skip buying most of what you want in the interest of space, time and money.