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I found moving to be a good declutterring method. It’s a definite event to clean up most things in life. The difficulties in moving will make you think twice ab

• snarf21 2y ago
  Agreed. I think most people would be a lot happier if they got rid of half their stuff. Then, next year, get rid of half again. We all keep so much and acquire so much that brings stress not joy.
  • 0_____0 2y ago
    The only thing I regret getting rid of is books. I've moved many times and thinned my shelves severely each time. In retrospect I realize that I often want to refer back to them or show someone else something I had read. That being said I'd be lying if I said the value wasn't mostly sentimental.
    • ghaff 2y ago
      Books can become this really religious thing for a lot of people. I take stuff down for the annual library book sale fairly regularly--and I've intensified over the past year or two. I know that a lot will end up pulped anyway but I'm at the point where I know a lot of what I still own won't be re-read or consulted. Still have way too much.
    • neilv 2y ago
      I was a books person, and got rid of all of my books. Maybe all is easier than some? Only on rare occasions do I miss any of them, and that's not enough to make carting them around and storing them worthwhile. Also, having the the books go to good homes makes a difference in regrets. My sf collection, for example, got more use in its public library home, than I ever could've given it. And this one book that I think was inscribed by a famous writer (not their own book, but a gift to a friend of theirs), and which had randomly come into my hands, I in turn randomly gave to an ER nurse who'd had asked about it. The only books I really should've kept were the two that friends had inscribed to me, but those were lost in a tricky move.
    • snarf21 2y ago
      I got rid of all my books a while ago and it was freeing. No more Tsondoku for me :) Previously, I always gave away books to friends after reading. Knowing someone else will enjoy them mitigates any loss aversion emotions (for me at least).
    • hinkley 2y ago
      I only kept books I would read again. But at some point I realized that was getting away from me, and I had all of these books I had in fact read twice but ten-plus years ago. The question was if I would read them a third or fourth time. New books keep coming out, and this might be the last time in your life you read this book, and then you give it away. That statement is pretty straightforward when you’re young. When you get older it takes on a different meaning. I won’t have time for this. So far it’s only been a couple of series. I’ve had a lot of free time this year and I’ve read 3 times as many books as I have in my next best year in the last decade, so I may be able to revise that down, however I’ve also added a lot of authors in that process, which just puts more pressure on award winning books from thirty, sixty years ago.
• bigstrat2003 2y ago
  Moving is awesome for that reason. You are forced to really reckon with "do I care enough about this to put effort into moving it", and most times the answer will be no. Moving is a pain for other reasons though.
  • hinkley 2y ago
    “I have moved this stupid thing twice already and almost never use it. I should borrow one instead.” It’s funny how items that are easy to pack survive a lot longer than ones that are awkward.
  • ghaff 2y ago
    I just had a kitchen fire which also dumped smoke throughout the house and a big cleaning operation is going on. I've resolved that a lot of the stuff that is in the process of being removed from shelves, cabinets, closets, etc. won't go back. I had already pruned a fair bit, especially over the last year, but this will be a real forcing function.
  • Ferret7446 2y ago
    This is true for all "life changing" events, which for some people can be as simple as changing jobs or even stepping outside. Getting forced out of your comfort zone helps change your perspective on things. Similarly, if you somehow get used to moving, then moving will no longer elicit that perspective change.
• neilv 2y ago
  After moving every 1-2 years, many times -- and eventually getting all my belongings down to literally a few boxes, 2 suitcases, and a futon -- it bothered me to own things. The next apartment I moved into was a dump. I promised myself it was only for a year, and I wasn't even going to buy a dresser for my clothes. I simply used said 2 suitcases, slid under said futon's frame. A few years later, I was still in the same place, still "living out of a suitcase", still averse to owning things that would make leaving more difficult. My current place, I go through cycles of acquiring comforts and conveniences, and then culling things I don't really need in the near term, repeat.
  • hinkley 2y ago
    Buying my first bed was a weird experience. Every time I move from now on, I’ll need a truck to do so, not just family and friends. At that point a couch instead of chairs is a “might as well” moment.
    • neilv 2y ago
      Yep, I remember that. Before getting one, I slept on the carpet with a sheet in a couple apartments. And mattresses and sofas indeed are what complicates a lot of moving logistics, IME. Everything else I could move myself, even cross-town on a cart, without renting a van. I'm thinking, my next move, it might be easier/cheaper just to give them away, and buy new ones on the other side.
      • hinkley 2y ago
        If you only moved every six or so years that’s not actually a terrible plan. Most of us keep out mattresses too long. I hesitate to think how old mine is.
        • neilv 2y ago
          I don't know whether it helps mattress longevity, but mine has been in an allergy encasement since I bought it, with a foam topper inside. My IKEA sofa is visibly ready for new slipcovers, though.
• m463 2y ago
  A friend of mine said something like that. He said something like move three times to solve your clutter problems. On the other hand, some people keep moving to bigger places...