Time to move again. Time to get rid of stuff . Yuck. Why is it hard to face the junk drawer? I’m a low clutter person. I can fit all my stuff into one small room and dance a jig in it. But each time I move, I manage to fill a bag and head to Goodwill. Where did I get this stuff, and why is this process so uncomfortable? Spring cleaning sounds sweet, but feels subtly stifling.
Some psychologists say that we have an irrational conviction that our stuff has a potential future value, which we’re somehow losing. I suppose some of my stuff might have a value, but I don’t really need a Marilyn Monroe costume and a platinum blond wig, and I probably don’t need the Chiquita banana hat either.
Apparently, super hoarders feel empathy with everything around them; they believe stuff has feelings that can be hurt. But I have another theory; maybe, we’re simply misplacing our love of this world, with the love of stuff, which doesn’t translate well. Surrounding yourself with innocuous gadgets does more harm than good. Even a messy desk can make you feel disorganized, anxious and even helpless. (Hear what George Carlin has to say about stuff.)
And what happens when you get rid of the excess? I couldn’t find a legitimate scientific study that articulated the joy of de-cluttering, but there are eight separate studies, which show that experience-related buys lead to more happiness, as opposed to buying stuff. Why? Experiences grow larger in the brain over time. We savor them. We remember our best moments and relive them again and again. Less stuff = a more enriching life (more or actually less).
I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.—Joseph Campbell
it’s always enjoyable to lift the fog with my morning coffee and a little moxie, when it’s available to provoke thought. i consciously give experiences as gifts for the reasons you wrote (and because mr. campbell instructed me to). when i go indoor skydiving with simon (14), i know he’ll keep that gift with him forever, while the useless thing i might have bought will collect dust in a corner (of his room and his mind). i suspect the defect in the human brain that gathers stuff is the place where certainty resides, predicting and planning for the future. i imagine we have to be mindful to fight our natural tendencies to collect. thanks for clearing out your closet and sharing what you found there.
Thanks so much for your comment, Joe. It’s a funny thing, our stuff, I really think we are misplacing our love of the natural world (and each other), with an overload of objects. Maybe, we’re just confused. Anyway, I’m clearing out my closet, once again, making way for more life!