Studies show that a third of the possessions in a typical UK home aren't used. Not only that but many people have forgotten they owned the items in the first place.
Garages are used more and more not for housing cars but storing all those items we can't fit into the house.
Jenny and I are pretty ruthless about getting rid of unwanted items, but even so there are still a few surplus items that could swiftly be disposed of. But it's easy to find bogus reasons for hanging onto things.
When I met Jenny I was living in a tiny bedsit, and I simply couldn't buy very much because there was absolutely no storage space. As we moved up the property ladder to bigger flats and then bigger houses, of course we acquired lots of bits and pieces to fill the extra room. So if we got rid of too much there would just be a lot of strange empty spaces.
Our biggest possession is books. We must have at least a thousand but we chuck our very few because we fully intend to re-read most of them. In reality most of them don't get re-read, they just sit there gathering dust or sometimes they're so old they simply fall to pieces.
Some of you will recall that my mother was a chronic hoarder. Luckily I haven't inherited that particular trait.
When my RN daughter did home health, it was common for her to go to hoarder houses. One patient was even featured on a national TV show. According to her, there is usually a loss that accompanies the hoarding, such as a parent who has lost a child.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Well, the only loss my mother could have been experiencing is the "loss" of her daughter to MND. Possibly also losing my father, but that was many years ago in 1988.
DeleteWhen we lived in a motorhome with limited carrying capacity we quickly learned what we did not need. We still donate things often as our lives change. For instance, most cooking gadgets are now gone--no more sous vide cooker or crockpot.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: How come you've disposed of your cooking gadgets. Do you not cook? Or do you just cook simpler meals?
DeleteWe now live in a facility that has three, soon to be four, dining venues with part of our rent going to the cost of eating there. So, we seldom cook anything besides breakfast anymore.
DeleteLinda
Linda: That's very handy. However much you enjoy cooking, it's still a bit of a chore!
DeleteI live in a 650 square foot 1 bedroom apartment. I don't have room for clutter. I have one hall closet and my bedroom closet and that's it for closet space. When I get something new, I find something old that I don't use to get rid of.
ReplyDeleteMary: So you don't have a de-cluttering problem! You have no alternative but to severely limit your possessions. All very simple.
DeleteAs you said, Nick, getting rid of things is an ongoing problem. Like yourself, we keep many books, perhaps not as many as yourself and Jenny. The ones that Patrick keeps are related to his interests and we share a cookbook collection, which thankfully does get whittled down every so often.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question on my recent blog post about the chairs sculpture, I don't have a clue as to why the piece and the "chairs." However, the next time we are on the river walk, I'll try and see if the piece has an identifying name. Nashua hosts an annual symposium sculpture and the resulting works are placed around the city and this may have been a prior year's work.
Beatrice: Looks like you keep your tally of possessions as frugal as possible. Yes, an identifying name might supply more information about the sculpture and chairs.
DeleteYou have to be honest and brutal with yourself. Do you really intend to read a book, or is it done now? Best give it to charity shop. I've gotten rid of boxes of books, and always felt a bit sad at first and then relieved afterwards.
ReplyDeleteLiam: Most of the books are ones Jenny acquired. If I suggest dumping any, she's horrified!
ReplyDeleteI doubt I use a fifth of my possessions - it makes me cross with myself. I'd like to throw more away - but then I sometimes regret the things I do chuck.
ReplyDeleteReally, we should move to a smaller property and sort it out.
Sx
Ms Scarlet: We could move to a smaller house, but we just like all the space we have in our present house.
DeleteI like my clutter.
ReplyDelete