Stuff Management

It isn't easy living with a wannabe minimalist, even for someone who has similar values. Just ask my wife, Rooty.  Last February, I turned 50 and Rooty wanted to buy me something nice to mark the occasion.  But I couldn't think of anything I wanted, much less needed.

"What about an iPad?  I could have it engraved on the back."

"Mmmm...no.  I really don't think I would use it much."

"A flat screen t.v.?"

"Maybe when our current t.v. blows its tube."

"A new desk?"

"I've been using my desk since I was four.  Why would I want a new one now?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because it's a child's desk and you barely fit?!"

"It keeps me svelte."

We went on and on.  She was getting exasperated with me and told me to think of something on my own.  It took a couple of weeks, but I finally did come up with an idea to appease her.

"Okay, Rooty, I thought of something.  What about a bucket?"

"...what?"

"A bucket.  I keep my baseballs in a broken paint bucket.  All the other coaches have real baseball buckets with padded lids, cool logos and everything.  I guess you could get me one of those."

I could see the frustration on her face. (Believe me, I know the look. Yep, I see it quite a bit.) 

"(Sigh)  A bucket.  You want a bucket for your fiftieth birthday present?!"

"No, I don't want anything.  But you wanted me to think of something, so I did."

And Rooty's like:

"..."

And I'm like:

"..."

Although it's over 45 years old, our couch is surprisingly comfortable to sleep on.

---

"Yo, Drabwonk, I need some help."

Sure, Slash, seeing how you ask me so affectionately.

"You know I'm just kidding, Dunkwart.  I'm a kidder.  But say, Cutter and I trying to minimize our stuff.  We're getting sick of all the junk around our house and tired of spending money on more stuff."

Hey, that's great, Slash!  You know I'm supportive of that.  But what do you need help with?

"We're having trouble getting started.  It's hard to get rid of stuff.  Any advice?"

Well, why is it hard, Slash?

"What if we might need it someday?  Don't you ever get rid of something only to regret it later?"

Occasionally, I could use something I got rid of, but I don't feel any regret.  Like, the other day, I was cleaning out Sprout's ant farm and I thought I could use a few of those long medical cotton swabs.  And I remembered that I had a bag of those back in the fifth grade.  (I don't know why.)  But did I regret not keeping that bag for forty more years "just in case?"  No.  Because to hold onto that, I would have had to hold onto tons of other "just in case" stuff, too.  And then I would never find it among all the junk, anyway.

"But doesn't it feel wasteful?"

No, because we don't throw much of anything in the trash.  We donate most stuff, so it still gets used.

"Well, the other thing about getting rid of stuff is the sentimental value.  It's just hard to part with stuff that brings back memories."

Take pictures.  You can remember it that way.  This works great with kids, by the way.  They find it much easier to part with old school assignments and toys if you take a picture first.  Of course, sometimes it gets out of hand.  Like, if Sprout finds two Cheerios stuck together in his cereal bowl, he'll make us take a picture before he eats it.

"Okay, maybe I'll try taking pictures.  But how do you keep from accumulating?  Cutter and I find that even when we do manage to get rid of stuff, it accumulates even faster."

Well, we're not so good at following this anymore, but Rooty and I used to have a house rule: Stuff In, Stuff Out.  Meaning, if we wanted to buy something new, we had to get rid of something old.  Buy a new shirt, get rid of an old one.  Buy a mixer, get rid of a waffle maker.  Not only did it keep stuff from accumulating, it saved us money - something new needed to be worth both the money and the loss of something else.

"What else you got?"

Avoid commercials.  For instance, you can watch soccer instead of football.  In football, every few downs there's a commercial break.  Commercials relentlessly try to convince you that you'll be happier with more stuff.  Soccer only has commercials at the half.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, Dinkwink.  I'm an American."

Then do what we do.  We turn off the t.v. during commercial breaks.  At least, when the kids are around.  They don't need to see the violence and sexist imagery in commercials, anyway.

"Go on."

Substitute.  Golf, skiing and tennis are fun.  But so are disc golf, walking and basketball.  And they are much cheaper and require much less gear.

Share.  Rooty and I share a car.  We have for almost twenty years, including three years in Silicon Valley.  It's not always easy, and once in awhile we have to rent a second car, but we make it work.  We also share a computer, a t.v., an umbrella, snow pants, etc.

Borrow.  You don't need to go out and buy a new tool every time you undertake a project.  Borrow from your neighbors.  They are typically happy that their old stuff gets some use.  I borrowed my neighbor's wheelbarrow to lay down some bark a couple years ago.  He's an older man, so I shovel his sidewalk when it snows, in return.

"Okay.  Those are some good ideas.  Any parting words?"

Just get going.  Like anything else, getting rid of stuff gets easier with practice.