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Everybody on this site is always attacking stuff. I'd like to write in defence of stuff. Stuff is awesome. Four years ago when I moved to the US I went from th

by hugh3 17y ago

Everybody on this site is always attacking stuff. I'd like to write in defence of stuff. Stuff is awesome. Four years ago when I moved to the US I went from the situation of having an apartment full of stuff to having two suitcases full of stuff. I acquired an apartment where the old tenants were happy to leave behind a crummy couch and a mattress on the floor, did a quick run to Walmart to pick up a minimalist set of kitchenware and bedding, bought a bike to get around town, and I was pretty much in the supposedly-blessed state of having the mininal possible amount of stuff. It wasn't that great. It was just limiting and depressing. Four years of stuff-acquisition later I now have just about the right amount of stuff. Some stuff (like half the stuff in my kitchen) I seldom use, but it's there in case I need it. Other stuff is completely useless, but I like having it around because it looks nice. I own four frypans, which is probably at least twice as many as I need, but y'know what? Contrary to what you read in many of these articles, having the extra two frypans doesn't cause me any distress. So while I'd never advocate anyone buying stuff just for the sake of buying stuff, nor buying stuff that they can't afford, I really don't see any problem with having some stuff, nor any great advantage to getting rid of stuff. Three cheers for stuff, and its nonzero ability to enhance your life!

gte910h 17y ago
I'd say most people on this site are on the "I've got too much stuff" still area of the meter. There is definitely a "I don't have enough stuff" part of the meter as well, I just doubt most people here have ever been in it.
Qz 17y ago
I'll bet that you have a job that you really love. In this case stuff is a win-win scenario -- you earn money by doing something you enjoy, and you use that money to buy stuff that you enjoy. Most people are not in this situation. They have a job that they either put up with, or in many cases actively dislike, and they have a lot of stuff that requires a continuous money flow to sustain. They're convinced the stuff is 'necessary', and therefore it is necessary for them to continue slaving away at the job that they hate so that they can enjoy the stuff they think they need. In that cases, it's not a case of net postive or negative for stuff, but cost-benefit analysis. Is the stuff that you have worth the cost of working for it? But like I said, if you enjoy your work, then stuff is basically free.
- hugh3 17y ago
  Thanks, that's a good way of putting it. "If you enjoy your work, then stuff is basically free." I'm off to enjoy my free stuff.
sliverstorm 17y ago
It's definitely not bad to have stuff. Owning what you can carry on your back is not for everyone. I'd say this kind of minimalism is more aligned with optimization- realizing that you have a lot of stuff you truly don't need, and getting rid of it. You sound like you're in the middle of the curve; you have no stuff, then you have some stuff and then more stuff. Eventually you'll discover you have 9 frying pans, and say 'man when I had 2 extra frying pans that was ok, but this is just annoying' and then you will go through a reduction cycle. It's natural, imho.
lsc 17y ago
Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about it. Of course, most of my 'stuff' consists of computer parts, so it's while it's pretty important for me to periodically go through and throw out stuff that is beyond a certain age, having this stuff around saves me quite a bit of money/time when assembling or repairing servers. more, usually than throwing out or giving away the stuff that has become garbage in the last 6 months costs me. I think all problems with having too much 'stuff' stem from this idea that you need to take care of this stuff as if it were a family member. If you are skipping opportunities because you are unwilling to get rid of your stuff, or if you end up spending time that would be better spent on other things dealing with your stuff, if you avoid taking risks because you are afraid of damaging your stuff, then yeah, you have a problem. All my stuff (aside from production servers) is essentially disposable. you could take everything I personally own, and eh, really, I wouldn't cry. I'd have to replace much of it, granted, but hell, most of my stuff is cheap. I make it a rule not to own a car that costs more than a month's pay. Yeah, I like having nice tools. But I don't like it enough to spend more than a few days pay on something that becomes obsolete as fast as a laptop. (I'm typing this on a thinkpad x60S. I got it used for $400 a little under two years ago) The drive is encrypted, so really if it gets lost or stolen, I shrug, change my login keys, and get a new one. The idea is that stuff is... stuff. It exists for your convenience. When it stops being convenient, it should be promptly removed from your life. Be vary careful about owning stuff that is so expensive that worrying about losing it causes you stress. That is the 'stuff' that will tie you down, and that should be avoided, I think. Really, I think the comments about 'stuff owning you' are wise, in a way- You need to be very careful about what things you allow to have a claim over you. Relationships with other people, yeah, those have a certain claim on you, but like most people, I think that's worth it. My production servers; my business- that has a claim on me, but again, I think that's worth it. Allowing 'stuff' to have a claim on me? emphatically not worth it. But, as 'stuff' is inanimate, I can easily have a claim on 'stuff' without allowing it to have a claim on me.

by hugh3 17y ago

gte910h 17y ago

I'd say most people on this site are on the "I've got too much stuff" still area of the meter. There is definitely a "I don't have enough stuff" part of the meter as well, I just doubt most people here have ever been in it.

Qz 17y ago

I'll bet that you have a job that you really love. In this case stuff is a win-win scenario -- you earn money by doing something you enjoy, and you use that money to buy stuff that you enjoy. Most people are not in this situation. They have a job that they either put up with, or in many cases actively dislike, and they have a lot of stuff that requires a continuous money flow to sustain. They're convinced the stuff is 'necessary', and therefore it is necessary for them to continue slaving away at the job that they hate so that they can enjoy the stuff they think they need. In that cases, it's not a case of net postive or negative for stuff, but cost-benefit analysis. Is the stuff that you have worth the cost of working for it? But like I said, if you enjoy your work, then stuff is basically free.

hugh3 17y ago
Thanks, that's a good way of putting it. "If you enjoy your work, then stuff is basically free." I'm off to enjoy my free stuff.

sliverstorm 17y ago

It's definitely not bad to have stuff. Owning what you can carry on your back is not for everyone. I'd say this kind of minimalism is more aligned with optimization- realizing that you have a lot of stuff you truly don't need, and getting rid of it. You sound like you're in the middle of the curve; you have no stuff, then you have some stuff and then more stuff. Eventually you'll discover you have 9 frying pans, and say 'man when I had 2 extra frying pans that was ok, but this is just annoying' and then you will go through a reduction cycle. It's natural, imho.

lsc 17y ago

Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about it. Of course, most of my 'stuff' consists of computer parts, so it's while it's pretty important for me to periodically go through and throw out stuff that is beyond a certain age, having this stuff around saves me quite a bit of money/time when assembling or repairing servers. more, usually than throwing out or giving away the stuff that has become garbage in the last 6 months costs me. I think all problems with having too much 'stuff' stem from this idea that you need to take care of this stuff as if it were a family member. If you are skipping opportunities because you are unwilling to get rid of your stuff, or if you end up spending time that would be better spent on other things dealing with your stuff, if you avoid taking risks because you are afraid of damaging your stuff, then yeah, you have a problem. All my stuff (aside from production servers) is essentially disposable. you could take everything I personally own, and eh, really, I wouldn't cry. I'd have to replace much of it, granted, but hell, most of my stuff is cheap. I make it a rule not to own a car that costs more than a month's pay. Yeah, I like having nice tools. But I don't like it enough to spend more than a few days pay on something that becomes obsolete as fast as a laptop. (I'm typing this on a thinkpad x60S. I got it used for $400 a little under two years ago) The drive is encrypted, so really if it gets lost or stolen, I shrug, change my login keys, and get a new one. The idea is that stuff is... stuff. It exists for your convenience. When it stops being convenient, it should be promptly removed from your life. Be vary careful about owning stuff that is so expensive that worrying about losing it causes you stress. That is the 'stuff' that will tie you down, and that should be avoided, I think. Really, I think the comments about 'stuff owning you' are wise, in a way- You need to be very careful about what things you allow to have a claim over you. Relationships with other people, yeah, those have a certain claim on you, but like most people, I think that's worth it. My production servers; my business- that has a claim on me, but again, I think that's worth it. Allowing 'stuff' to have a claim on me? emphatically not worth it. But, as 'stuff' is inanimate, I can easily have a claim on 'stuff' without allowing it to have a claim on me.