How Much Stuff Do We Really Need?

Have you ever watched a show on A&E called “Hoarders?” There is a similar show on the Discovery Channel too. The people on these shows are compulsive hoarders. Maybe they started out “collecting” certain objects; but at some point it just turned into a mental compulsion to surround them with “stuff.”

Some of the houses are so stuffed that ceilings are caving in and mold has developed to a toxic level. Children have been taken away from parents because of the unhealthy condition of their living space.

What mindset is it that values “stuff” more than your own children? The answers given have never satisfied me. The only thing I’ve come to understand is that these people are truly mentally ill and may never be cured of their hoarding tendencies.

If I have any tendencies, it is to throw stuff away, not keep it. After I see one of these shows I want to clean my house and throw stuff out. Nancy and I remark that we know of a good way to get rid of unneeded “stuff” that is cluttering up your house…it’s called a FLOOD. That cleaned stuff out for us in a hurry.

The only thing I really hoard are letters. I wrote a blog about them before. I found from the flood experience that I keep too much paper; and therefore have rethought my system of paper saving such as bill receipts. I only keep about 2 or 3 months worth now instead of the boxes of paper I had before.

I also have opted in some cases to receive digital statements which are now stored on my computer, saving space that the paper took up before. They are there whenever I want to look at them.

I don’t collect things anymore because I know this apartment is not going to be a permanent living space for us. I don’t want to have to move all that “stuff” when I leave this place. Some of the stuff I saved is stored in closets to be used when I have the room to use them again.

I have moved quite a lot in the 30 years I’ve lived here in Georgia and even before up in Connecticut. Every time I moved I set up a throw box while I was packing. For everything I packed, I tried to throw something into the throw box. Some of that box went to Goodwill and some into the trash.

Yesterday I gave a whole box of diabetic testing supplies to my doctor. He will give them to patients in need. My supplier always sends me too much stuff and it was cluttering up my space for medical things, so rather than throw them out I gave them to him. You always feel better when you can do something like that. Try it.

I blame the American obsession with collecting more and more stuff on the advertising companies and the fact that there are so many places now to buy “stuff.”

Catalogs. How many do you get in the mail with “stuff” you don’t really need, but they still pull you in somehow? If you google “gadget catalogs” you’ll get hooked up with anything you could ever want to buy. Add to that sites like EBay and Amazon and you can see how easy it is for hoarders to add to their piles.

In a Miles Kimball catalog I came upon this turkey hat. Don’t you just have to have this hat for the holiday? In the same catalog there are decorations for every conceivable holiday and special day: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, July 4^th.

I had a friend in Georgia who must have purchased holiday stuff from several catalogs. You could not get through her living room without stepping over some holiday decoration. I don’t think she ever actually displayed the correct decoration on the specific holiday it was intended for. They just all sat there together.

These catalogs are a hoot just to look through. One catalog I got recently actually had a Mr. Potato Head made like Elvis in his white stage outfit. Miles Kimball covers every category you can think of: Home & Pets; Office & Books; Gardening & Outdoor; Automotive; Apparel/Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Children’s’ Entertainment & Leisure.” You never have to leave your home. If you can find a place to sit down in your “hoarded” house, and if you can find a place to set up a computer; you’re all set. They even have personal “toys” if you know what I mean.

Here’s another product maybe you cannot live without:

These machines create a "soothing whooshing sound" which induces sleep presumably.

If it is too noisy where you live, you need to move. On second thought, maybe I do need one here in this noisy apartment complex. Hmmm.

Please don’t become a hoarder. Your health depends on it. The relations you have with your spouse and children may also suffer. I’ve seen some spouses on the hoarder shows leave because they couldn’t stand to live in the mess anymore. No singular item in the world is worth the loss of a loved one that way.

Thanks for listening.