Having too much 'stuff'

We are in a new build and storage is severely lacking which helps in part to keep the "stuff" down.
the problem however is that the bit of storage we do have is too full.

When we first moved in I boarded the loft and added some shelving, and every time i go up there the missus has got something else up there grrr.

I gave her a rule, that she isn't allowed to buy anything unless there is somewhere for it to go (isn't this normally the women who stop us buying stuff for this reason :()

And I think any person that likes a bit of tech has at least one of those boxes of cables somewhere in their house, I know I do.
SCART, defo dead but I can guarantee there is one in my house somewhere.
 
I have very very VERY little 'stuff'. I'm moving cities next month and at age 36 I've accumulated just enough gear to fill up a small hatchback. If it weren't for my TVs, PC and monitor, I could've moved by just packing a suitcase.

Obviously I have a bed, sofas, PC desk and some other bits and pieces furniture, but as I buy everything like that 2nd hand, I'm selling it on and just buying it again when I get there. 2nd hand furniture are ridiculously cheap in NZ and if you're patient enough, you can get stuff that's near enough brand new for 50-70% off retail. Idiots tend to buy things, decide they don't like it after 3 days and sell it on for a massive loss. I'll make about 2k selling my gear here and use that as a budget. Stuff like kitchen utensils I just bin. For 20-30 bucks I can style out an entire kitchen (electrical appliances aside of course).

I prefer a minimalist lifestyle with as little as possible around me. Too much stuff makes me feel trapped - as a manner of speaking. Want to be able to pack up within a day and move on if the time comes. Not anchor myself down with tons of rubbish.
 
I don't do "stuff". Clutters the mind and is supremely unnecessary.

Maybe one day when I have a mansion and a library I'll give myself the guilty pleasures of stacking up on books and obviously wine/whiskey/cigars. But for now minimalist.
 
RoboCod said:
We have SO MUCH STUFF. Unfortunately a lot of it isn't even particularly good stuff. It's worthless junk that she likes. Stuff that litters the mantle piece, the window sills and our cupboard spaces. It drives me nuts. I'm completely of the mind set that if we haven't used it in a while we should just get rid. She hordes and can't let go of anything, even if it hasn't seen the light of day for years! She spent years filling her dad's double garage with stuff she liked well before she moved out of her parents and into our own place! Her poor dad had a mountain of her belongings stored in there and now it's all transported to here! I had to line my whole garage with shelving just to store as much as we could have it. She doesn't understand that relinquishing herself of stuff makes it all much less of a burden
.

:(
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Did she grow up poor?

You'll find that a lot of people that grew up in poverty, tend to hoard. A good analogy I once read from a person that admitted she hoards crap cause of a poor childhood, is that she sees Poverty as a monster that keeps chasing her. She says that all her crap she keeps are weapons used to fight the monster. Many other hoarders agreed with her. Not sure how they came to that conclusion since she would've wasted 1000s buying all that crap in the first place, but hey, people and their reasoning huh :p
 
Im not too bad actually,i have the odd few pc components that would still easily featch a good £30-50 each and a PS4 thats majorly underused but i just cant bring myself to sell the PS4 because now you can get them for what...£299?

I paid nearly £500 for the PS4 when i got it as a bundle with its games and all,too much of a loss so i just keep it for "one of those days" where i just want to chill on the bed and play GTA 5. :p
 
regulus said:
Did she grow up poor?

You'll find that a lot of people that grew up in poverty, tend to hoard. A good analogy I once read from a person that admitted she hoards crap cause of a poor childhood, is that she sees Poverty as a monster that keeps chasing her. She says that all her crap she keeps are weapons used to fight the monster. Many other hoarders agreed with her. Not sure how they came to that conclusion since she would've wasted 1000s buying all that crap in the first place, but hey, people and their reasoning huh :p
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Well she grew up in London, so by default I think you're poor due to the cost of living :p She used to work in a furniture shop and would always buy stuff heavily discounted or end of line stock. I find the whole thing a bit unsettling though because she did that years before she even had sight of living in her own home. She thinks it is totally normal but I think it's mad that she was building a nest before she had a tree to place it in!
 
RoboCod said:
Well she grew up in London, so by default I think you're poor due to the cost of living :p She used to work in a furniture shop and would always buy stuff heavily discounted or end of line stock. I find the whole thing a bit unsettling though because she did that years before she even had sight of living in her own home. She thinks it is totally normal but I think it's mad that she was building a nest before she had a tree to place it in!
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My sister done the same. Had a whole shed of crap ready for when she finally had her own home one day. Got the house, got married, unhappy the whole time, divorced, sold everything and now she's living a minimalist lifestyle and feels ten times happier.

Perhaps it's one of those things where 'reason' is best left out of the equation :p
 
I have an entire wardrobe of clothes, sat on my bedroom floor waiting to be ironed.

They have dust on them now.........:p lol

I just wear scruffs and work clothes. I have really smart stuff but just need some reason to bother.
 
Had a huge huge clear out of stuff last year before emigrating and going travelling. It was incredibly liberating. We sold stuff, gave stuff to charity, gave to friends etc... It was great. We had half a car off stuff each with a few bits left in the UK that we wanted to keep as we knew we would want it again at some point but didn't have the space to take it.

Rather than going full on minimalist we go on the approach of it it isn't going to be a waste and it's something that will be used and enjoyed then we can have it.

So now we have an apartment with a fair amount of stuff but almost all of it gets used or enjoyed regularly.

My gf is one to hoard though...she is a nightmare with clothes. Although she is getting better at the whole "it it goes unworn or doesn't fit then get rid" approach.

I enjoy spending money on my hobbies. But it's the same approach as the above...it gets used and enjoyed so it's not a waste.
 
helpimcrap said:
I have an entire wardrobe of clothes, sat on my bedroom floor waiting to be ironed.

They have dust on them now.........:p lol

I just wear scruffs and work clothes. I have really smart stuff but just need some reason to bother.
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I'm guilty of this sometimes. Having a "floordrobe", that is. :o
 
Threw a lot of old legacy hardware and cables out last week. This week I got a new printer and it didn't come with the needed USB cable! :p :o
 
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