New Posts  All Forums:
 

How much stuff do we really need?

post #1 of 42
6/10/05 at 12:16am
Thread Starter 
DH and I are having our house remodelled and all our stuff is squished in to a couple rooms so it is super noticeable.
Compared to most of America we have way less stuff for a family of four. We have a small house with no closets (until this remodel is over anyways) so all our stuff is out in the open.

We spent time in Mexico this summer and had no toys with us and actually only had 2 suitcases for all 4 of us. It was so wild living with less. We also just recently lived in a bus with only our necessities and it was great.

I wonder about throwing away all the toys sometimes and forcing my kids to play with sticks and rocks and get creative. I wonder why I have 5 coats for each of my kids, it's crazy! In the shed today I found dog medication from a dog my husband had before we met, 6 years ago! We're cleaning out in a major way.

I find it interesting how much crap we accumulate and how I'm so fearful of not having very much. I imagine it would be very freeing to have less.
Sponsored Links

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
post #2 of 42
6/10/05 at 12:30am
My life over the last 3 years has sort of forced the need to scale back. After my divorce, I went from a 1800 sq.ft home to an 1100 sq ft apt then to military housing that was 1000 sq ft. Each time we moved we found that we could deal with less and less. We're now in bigger housing and we have already started to see the "stuff" begin creeping back in, so it's time to stem the tide again.
post #3 of 42
6/10/05 at 12:31am
stretchmark, your username cracks me right up.

ikwym about getting rid of it all and giving them sticks. their toys are going untouched more and more these days...
post #4 of 42
6/22/05 at 10:20am
Love the name btw- stretchmark.

I agree- do we really need that much stuff. We have also gone thru a decluttering organizing phase and it has made life so much better and more simple. Because of this we are able to save time, money, have more room and more of a healthy lifestyle.

One thing we have done to help with stuff creeping back into the house is if one comes, in- a similar one goes out the door.

Example- DH was in dire need of dress shirts for work. Well with all the clearance going on, he has found 5 new shirts. He is now going thru the process of weeding out 5 of the worn out shirts. Also he bought two new pair of pants, so he will get rid of 2. We do buy the higher quality expensive brands when they mark them down because we find they stick around longer. Such as a pair of Polo dress pants he bought 8 years ago. They are still perfect and they were made in the USA. We bought 2 more pairs yesterday for $39 each. So 8 years plus- its less than $5 a year to own them.
post #5 of 42
6/22/05 at 11:50am
We have gotten rid of so much stuff and I love living with less. We recently spent 3 1/2 months living in our travel trailer while we moved cross country, found a house, waited for it to close, etc. We had almost nothing with us (everything was in storage)and it was great. The only thing that got to us was that after a while we really just wanted to get away from each other. :LOL My DH and I didn't miss our stuff. Our kids did miss some of their toys.

We had done major decluttering before the move, and yet we are still finding things as we unpack that we don't really need or love.
post #6 of 42
6/22/05 at 1:17pm
I'm feeling the same way lately. The toys are getting on my last nerve! Two weeks ago I bought one of those jumbo sized rubbermaid totes with a hinged lid at the hardware store and put about half of ds' toys in it. The funny thing is they haven't even missed them at all. I feel guilty for giving away their toys, but they really don't need them. There is no way they can play with them all.

I've also been decluttering a lot of my things, clothes, linens, etc. It is freeing to have less. It is so much easier to put things away when there is actually room for them in the closet! DH cleaned out our garage last weekend and it looks great! We got rid of everything we haven't used in the past year. Boy, there was a LOT of junk in there! It looks so much nicer now. I actually smile when I pull the car in!

It is a little scary to get rid of things I think I *might* need someday... I'm slowly starting to get over it though.
post #7 of 42
6/22/05 at 1:21pm
:
post #8 of 42
6/22/05 at 2:25pm
This has been stressing me out a bit lately. We went through a big decluttering this spring (and made $400+ at our garage sale last weekend). This was after having a huge sale last year (my husband never thought we'd have enough for one this year).

I know there's a lot more stuff that can go. So far, we've really mainstreamed kitchen stuff, my husband's clothes (we're holding onto mine for when I go back to work), and decorative things (so we have kept only what we use and really like). We have a bunch of stuff that my husband inherited, and a little I've gotten, but I don't think DH is ready to get rid of any of that stuff yet. He will be in a year or two.

Our big thing is toy storage. We have a decent toy stash that is neatly in the basement, but now that we've decided that my son will go to preschool a couple days a week, I feel like we don't need some of that stuff because he'll be able to use it at school.

Uggh. It gives me an icky feeling having all this stuff around. I've finally talked DH into moving, but we have to decide where and decide if it's really feasible. If we do, we'll get rid of a ton!
post #9 of 42
6/22/05 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarasprings
I know there's a lot more stuff that can go. So far, we've really mainstreamed kitchen stuff, my husband's clothes (we're holding onto mine for when I go back to work), and decorative things (so we have kept only what we use and really like).
You might want to rethink holding on to work clothes. If you plan on going back in the next 6-12 mos and just left within 12 mos, its worth it. But if its going to be a long while, clothes get dated looking real fast.
post #10 of 42
6/22/05 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaraMama
...It is a little scary to get rid of things I think I *might* need someday... I'm slowly starting to get over it though.
This is my problem too. I have such a hard time getting rid of stuff - what if I need it, could I reuse it for something, etc.

I found a *box*of glass vases that you get with a flower delivery at my mother's house yesterday - I haven't used them in over 3 years but I can't seem to throw them away because they're still usable. BTW-we also have probably 6 crystal vases that we got as wedding gifts that I use a couple of times a years. I drive myself nuts!
post #11 of 42
6/22/05 at 3:52pm
I am thinking more and more about how much "stuff" we need. For years now I have been trying to get stuff out, but somehow other things walk right back in.

The toy thing was driving me nuts as well. About three months ago I took al my DS's toysa and put them in the hall closet. I figure once he dosn't ask for certain things for awhile, i will weed them out. He only really plays with a select few things.

Another thing is my clothing situation. I am pregnant right now. Looking forward to getting rid of these maternity clothes once and for all (last babe) and slowly getting rid of the things that go with all that. Once I am back in real clothers again, I have this dream of having a "uniform" of sorts. Choosing a few colors and styles and going with them. I mean I really only look really good in a few things, so why not go for that all the time! The idea of looking into my closet and having it be bare, excites me, so I am planning on culling many clothes!

My kitchen is a whole other thing? Why do we need so many dishes? I mean there are only three of us (will be four) and why do I have crazy amounts of dishes? That is another place where I would love to stream line...

Well I have gone on and on...

Kathleen
post #12 of 42
6/22/05 at 4:25pm
I'm anticipating a relocation next year. So I'm starting that process of "do I wanna move it" as I walk around the house. Often, the answer is no. I've donated a good bit and have a yard sale scheduled with a buddy. Wish me luck.


Beautiful or useful? Or am I just used to it all? Very cool to sort through all your stuff this way.
post #13 of 42
6/22/05 at 5:47pm
I am constantly weeding out stuff,and then go to a thrift store and buy more. : I have sooo many books,I can't see getting rid of very many of them though. I really do use them. I think the thing that REALLY gets on my nerves are toys. I have one ds who doesn't play with toys at all,then another ds who collects EVERYTHING. I truly know for a fact that the more space you have in your home,the more stuff you acquire.
I was at our local thrift store the other day and couldnt believe my eyes as I drove away and saw at least 10 HUGE trash bins full of stuff. Not trash,perfectly usable items. I was ashamed of our society,ashamed of myself.
post #14 of 42
6/22/05 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amys1st
You might want to rethink holding on to work clothes. If you plan on going back in the next 6-12 mos and just left within 12 mos, its worth it. But if its going to be a long while, clothes get dated looking real fast.
That is a good point. I got rid of a few trendier things already, but after 3 years, I would still wear all that's left. I was very careful when I bought things (I teach) and my wardrobe is almost exclusively very classic Talbots (thanks to an outlet -- most of it was 50-75% off 70%). I'll have to sass my wardrobe up a little when the time comes, but I have the basics.

ETA: correct spelling, mostly
post #15 of 42
6/22/05 at 6:52pm
On our last move I gave away over 200 books to the friends of the library. The scary part was seeing how many I had left when I packed!!!!

I still haven't unpacked them. There are only a few that I miss -- I'm going to have to sort through a pile of boxes to find a book on nutrition by Dr Sears
.

I think that I will give more away to the library here in our new city. It's annoying that I can't find the book that I want because it is lost in a pile of boxes of books that I don't have any desire to look at.
post #16 of 42
6/23/05 at 9:37am
We are starting the moving process, and I am going through this right now. There is so much crap in our basement that has not been used in at least a year........I want to just get rid of it all cause I know we don't need any of it. Dh is with me on the decluttering but is also reluctant. He grew up in a house in which his mother never threw away anything (his mother sent us a box of his things and in it was the crepe paper from his graduation party ). He is doing good, though. Anyway, I really like this thread
post #17 of 42
6/23/05 at 11:22am
We're moving on July 12th to a house about half the size of this one (sorry I don't know the actual square footage.)

A few months ago, my Mom suggested I start packing up the stuff I could live without for a few months. My response was that, with the exception of winter clothes, if I can live without it for a few months why bother moving with it at all??

I've already given away tons of stuff. My Mom had collected outside toys from garage sales and stuff like that- I Freecycled most of them, all we have left now are a Little Tykes picnic table, a Little Tykes barbeque, and a Little Tykes Cozy Coupe- plus Hannah's outgrown bicycle (white and pink, with a doll seat on the back, but ds doesn't care so I have no plans to buy him a "boys' bike.") His "inside toys" can almost all fit inside this toy wagon he has- it's basically like a rubbermaid bin on wheels, with a handle and without a lid.

Unfortunately, the girls' stuff is another story!! We have SO MUCH packing left to do!! At least we've already given away the outgrown clothes and the stuff that may fit but they won't wear.
post #18 of 42
7/4/05 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
Wow, I haven't checked this thread in a while.

Thanks for the name liking to those of you who mentioned it.

I just took an entire van-load of stuff to our local free-box and it was great. We probably have way less than most people do but it still iritates me how much there is. DH built 2 closets and things are finally getting organized.

Since the big declutter (which is still going on) my house stays cleaner for longer periods of time, I have more time to do things like read and garden and be with my family.
I NEVER thought it would make such a huge difference as it has.
We've downsized on everything:clothes, dishes, plastic storage, blankets, toys, movies, furniture, etc.
We have what we need and are being very careful to make sure the things we bring home are necessary.

I'm loving it!
post #19 of 42
7/7/05 at 8:20pm
I really dislike clutter and apparently (according to my husband) I give stuff away that I really shouldn't. My thinking is that if I haven't used it in a year then we don't need it. For example, we don't have a single bed so I gave away the sheets for a single bed. I thought someone could put them to good use. But just the other day I was looking for single sheets b/c I was going away and needed to bring my own bed linen. Oh no! I was resourceful and just brought double sheets and tucked them in nice and tight. I still think that we need to declutter our lives. If you bring something into the house (like a new toy) then yes, you should look around and see what you can put away or give away.
post #20 of 42
7/7/05 at 11:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bu's mama
I found a *box*of glass vases that you get with a flower delivery at my mother's house yesterday - I haven't used them in over 3 years but I can't seem to throw them away because they're still usable.
www.Freecycle.org is great for things like that. Charities, where I live at least, are getting quite picky and won't accept many things as donations. But it just kills me to throw anything away so I end up keeping things I don't want or use. Freecycle is terrific because somebody can always use whatever it is you don't need/want anymore. I actually had several people that wanted a shopping bag full of fabric scraps! How great!

Great thread btw