Ever think you have too much crap?

[GeneralElectric]

Ever think you have too much stuff?

I was doing my laundry and I've got about 15 pairs of pants. This extends to all my other crap as well.

Any tips on cutting down on all the stuff you own but could do without? The pants are a bad example, but it lets me go about 2-3 weeks without doing laundry.

Next up, I'll be clearing out my bass collection...


Clutter is still clutter even if you use it all.

[Jim Nazium]

Definitely. Clothes are an obvious example. Every now and then I'll go through my closet and get rid of a bunch of stuff that's either worn out, stained, doesn't fit, or I haven't worn in the last 2 or 3 years. And I still have a lot of freakin' clothes. Then there's books ... someday I'm going to work through all these bass books. No, really, I am. And little electronic gadgets, adapters, cords, etc. ... you never know when you'll need one of those!

I could probably fill a pickup truck bed with stuff I don't need, throw it all out, and my life would not be any less happy or fulfilled. And I'd have more space.

I think that despite all the encouragement we get from advertising and other sources to spend more and buy more, most of us would probably be happier with less...

[Stanley Design]

No. The only thing I have in excess is music gear.

I have around 3 outfits as far as clothes go, with an abundance of socks and underwear.
I'll wear the same pair of jeans every day until the crotch gets tattered (I don't know why but that's always where the holes start) and wash them probably once a week or once every couple weeks. They never smell or get dirty so they're fine.

I don't own any cd's
I don't own any movies
I don't own much of anything other than music gear and my computer.

[Joe Gress]

Nope. I keep **** to a if I don't need it or use it almost every day, I don't have it.

[geeza]

I don't have too much crap, but I certainly get too much crap from my wife!

[hover]

My Wife and I do the "big purge" every 6 months or so, be it useless crap, kid's clothes, etc...in an effort to keep things under control. We sort through, see what can be goodwill-ed (get receipts for it, you write it off on taxes as charitable donations) or craigslist the rest....the total crap goes in the trash.

It's the only way to keep the toy-count to a reasonable level, and my son outgrows stuff like crazy, so there's always an abundance of clothes (as he gets nice stuff from his older cousin too, so it helps keep the $pending down.)

What I don't get is all these "hoarder" shows where people keep pizza boxes and crap. empty cans. bags of trash. It amazes me. Does it REALLY qualify as a sickness...or just rampant, unchecked laziness?

[boing]

I used to move every two or three years, and that always served as a regular Crap Cleansing. I'm moving again after 10 years in the same place, but for once most of the crap I have is actually of value to me.

My ex is always willing to take my extra crap and make use of it. That helps.

Spring cleaning is a good time to de-crapify. It comes every year, and you're already in the mood to make order of things, and probably in the right frame of mind to decide what stays and what must painfully go.

[Sandvich Hero]

Originally Posted by hover

What I don't get is all these "hoarder" shows where people keep pizza boxes and crap. empty cans. bags of trash. It amazes me. Does it REALLY qualify as a sickness...or just rampant, unchecked laziness?

Just to answer this, I never watched that show but I worked a bit with some of those people, and it has nothing to do about laziness. They really believe all of this is useful and they must keep it all. In fact, some actually go out of their way to find new stuff to stash and then separate everything into categories etc. It is quite weird and sad to see them cry when you remove their beloved chicken bones or used diaper (yes yes, bad memories). Actually, what I remember the most is the smell ... just ... the smell :-/

As for myself, I live in a small apartment, so I can't keep too much stuff anyways, and it forces me to purge from time to time. But the best way to do it is of course to ask yourself before purchasing if it is something you really need, and then sleep on it for a couple days, even if it's something you really want. After a while, that's a bunch of money you save and can spend on traveling, bass gear, etc.

[Jazz Ad]

Do the year thing.
Any piece of clothing you haven't worn for a year goes to charity.
Any random item you haven't seen for a year goes to Craiglist.
Any music tool you haven't used for a year will make another musician happy and fund new gear.
Using this rule will quickly clean the house.

[Stanley Design]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Do the year thing.
Any piece of clothing you haven't worn for a year goes to charity.
Any random item you haven't seen for a year goes to Craiglist.
Any music tool you haven't used for a year will make another musician happy and fund new gear.
Using this rule will quickly clean the house.

I don't like that rule. I have some handmade band shirts of local bands that don't fit me anymore that I hang onto. And some music gear I rarely use but is really rare. And most of my work tools I haven't used for over a year because I changed career paths.

[Jazz Ad]

So why do you keep all this useless stuff?
If it's rare it should be put in the hands of somebody who will use it rather than hang on to it.
If you have changed career path you don't need your tools anymore.
Possessions don't a man make.

[Stanley Design]

A career that I could jump back into at any moment and instantly need all those tools again. I'd estimate about 1000 dollars worth in my toolbox that haven't been used in over a year. They would be difficult to sell unless it was to coworkers and they aren't really taking up space. I already made the investment and it would just lose me money to make it a second time. Plus with manufacturing of tools moving to china so much I'd be hard pressed to get the same quality.

T shirts would only be going to the garbage because they have holes in them and such. I fluctuate in body size so often that I could be wearing them again within 6 months and enjoying them again. Or girlfriends can wear them as they often do.

My guitar is important to me and when I found it I sold everything I owned to pay for it. I haven't been performing acoustic for a couple years so when I'm playing at home I have a beater that I keep close to the bed while my "good" guitar stays in it's case unless I'm recording.

Useless right now, but important to me and would cost me way too much to replace if I ever wanted/needed them again.

[Stempelloos]

Advice from an ever moving friend, "throw anything that doesn't fit in your suitcase away".

[ADbassman]

Originally Posted by Stempelloos

Advice from an ever moving friend, "throw anything that doesn't fit in your suitcase away".

I would have to do away with a lot of instruments if that were the case. That is to say, all of them.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Possessions don't a man make.

Perhaps not, but whoever has the biggest pile in the end wins.

An oh boy have I tried my darnest to live up to that mantra.
(About 400 m3 of heavy stuff to be moved within two months )


But then again: "Robes don't have pockets" either so I don't care that much about money.

Regards
Sam

[thefruitfarmer]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

Ever think you have too much stuff?

They don't call them "trappings" for nothing.

Too much stuff means you have to spend time organising your stuff rather than using it.

The consumption thing of pleasure from purchase is rubbish IMO.

At the moment I have too much stuff. I have moved house relatively recently and I have boxes full of stuff still. It has reached the point where making space for the boxes has become an issue - much of it I don't use.

I really must go through each box and have some trips to the dump and an ebay sale of unwanted music kit !

[machine gewehr]

Last month I made a purge,I don't remember how many plastic bags I needed to put the crap in...

[bassybill]

This reminds me of the stand-up routine where George Carlin talks about "stuff".

Very, very funny.

[JimB52]

I have way too much stuff, but when I start to get rid of it, the sheer amount of crap overwhelms me and I wind up doing nothing.

[Webtroll]

Originally Posted by JimB52

I have way too much stuff, but when I start to get rid of it, the sheer amount of crap overwhelms me and I wind up doing nothing.

+1