espadrille Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 I am always giving fiction away, I store it on a shelf near the door so I remember as people leave. Like a good bye present? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Like a good bye present? mmm, probably like my Mum and her mince pies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinac Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Some things enable experiences. Without having my snowboard and the rest of the equipment I wouldn't experience an annual holiday in the mountains with a group of friends and I wouldn't have learnt the skill and seen some amazing scenery. A volvo is unlikely to do more than get you from A to B, but if you need a means of transport you might as well choose one that you enjoy driving hadn't you? The problem is when the possessions act as a substitute for experience rather than something that enables it. My skis in the loft, my mountain bike and golf clubs in the garage? Definitely not clutter (even though the skis haven't been used in a couple of years!) The car you choose? Of course you want to feel good about what you drive. It's the increasing use of "life" messages when advertising products that gets to me. How will a volvo help me to "live together" better than say a Ford? And sofa adverts! Yes a little comfort is nice and I do own a decent sofa. But when they say things like "new sofa, new life" ... well you might think that if you don't have the imagination to create an experience without going to the shops. You can have a better life with fewer possessions! Decluttering is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Does anyone actually care about that nonsense. I buy a car after identifying how many seats I want, whether the roof comes off, which end is driven and what a bunch of group tests say about how it drives (and after a test drive). I don't really care what they say in an advert on channel four. Some of the posts would suggest that you're skis should have been passed along due to lack of use, and that buying a car at all is an exercise in consumerism. Not being surrounded by clutter is good, but that doesn't have to mean not owning anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espadrille Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Does anyone actually care about that nonsense. I buy a car after identifying how many seats I want, whether the roof comes off, which end is driven and what a bunch of group tests say about how it drives (and after a test drive). I don't really care what they say in an advert on channel four. Some of the posts would suggest that you're skis should have been passed along due to lack of use, and that buying a car at all is an exercise in consumerism. Not being surrounded by clutter is good, but that doesn't have to mean not owning anything! The problem is that people hang on to things as the thing 'means something to them' They have a memory that is evoked by looking at an object and it is powerful. I am like that with old photographs, being a visual person, but I dont see that as clutter as the photos are in an album and in some order of chronology. A car gets you from A to B and as you said it needs to meet your individual/family need.Some would never contemplate owning a car. Some dont own TVs. I have lived without a car and for a small amount of time without a TV.I adapt but these things make my life easier and harmony is very important to me.I dont like gadgets as when they go wrong I dont know how to fix them. Now take away my freedom to go out in the great outdoors and that would be upsetting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espadrille Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 mmm, probably like my Mum and her mince pies... Yes. Thats definitely a Mum thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danot Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 I've totally de-cluttered my life, either give away or sold nearly more than half of all my possessions, I've even cut off contact from people whom i feel are nothing but trouble, whether they be family or not, I've just give away my last Rockport hooded top I hardly ever wore to some alcoholic dude with a loadsa bags near Cathedral, it feels like I've had a massive tumour removed and I can start life properly all over again. I now feel free and happier with much fewer possessions, I can breathe and now start to focus on what is really important in life, which is fun, education, enlightenment, sex, travel, helping true friends and good health. It is experiences that life is worth living for, not possessions So my question is has anyone else considered or even done a total breakaway from consumerism? if so how has this made you into the person you are today, or if not, has it ever crossed your mind that a happy life is a simple life!? Your thoughts, criticism, hippy bashing and general cynicism welcomed.... You wouldn't happen to have a 42" plasma you don't want do you? Id be happey to give you nowt for it:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Yes. Thats definitely a Mum thing! As you said in another post, I use certain possessions (clutter) as memory objects I use as associations to things I may have otherwise forgotten. Some, like the mince pies will always be associated with my Mum, because they have been lovingly reinforced so often and associated with so good yumminess! And they will always crop up in my life and remind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinac Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Not being surrounded by clutter is good, but that doesn't have to mean not owning anything! I'm agreeing with that! quote = me: ... The problem is when the possessions act as a substitute for experience rather than something that enables it. I think that unless we're very careful we can fall into over-consuming and focusing on possessions - because we're inundated with advertising messages and social pressures. I'd never give up useful possessions (even if I'd not used them in a year), but there's plenty of scope to de-clutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky B Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 My house is very cluttered, but it's a consequence of too many hobbies! I look at things and think it would be very hard to part with them because they enable me to have experiences, as people have said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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