OK, so the schedule slipped on us a little bit and we're not leaving until tomorrow (actually, it's already today since it's now 1 am) morning for the big move.
Packing up all our stuff has been a good exercise for our family and has forced us to get rid of a lot of junk, although it makes me sick how much stuff we waste and hoard. I watched this thing on the Story of Stuff and originally I was kind of annoyed by the presentation.
[quickrant] I wasn't even so much irked by the message (everyone has too much stuff), but really it was the messenger that I wasn't feeling. It was just so typical; an over-educated academic that's been at leisure to navel gaze on the topic of "stuff" is now going to put up a website to preach to the world. Bollocks! [/quickrant]
But after throwing away so many pens, hair clips, food, clothes, shoes, etc. I can't help but think that I buy entirely too much shit. I'm not even talking about the environment or anything, I'm just talking about how much of my money I waste on things that I eventually just throw away. I gave away five pairs of perfectly good (at least wearable and functional) shoes that I probably spent close to $500 on when they were new, that's some seriously wasteful shit. The plan is that rather than using this as a pre-text to buy the next pair of kicks that catch my eye, I'm really going to make an effort to wait until I really need a new pair of shoes.
Then there's the stuff that you have, don't have room for, but want to keep anyway, so you end up on the storage area merry go 'round. Yes, I actually pay to keep stuff that I don't really have access to; it's a nightmare and it is my penance for being an over-consuming dickhead. Seriously, the more I think about this, the more I hate myself.
I have to stop and go to bed now.
Tom Lehrer, 1928-2025
4 weeks ago
