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By choice I've been living out of a suitcase for 19 months now. As a stuffoholic and someone that kind of likes fashion it's been an interesting experience. Du

By choice I've been living out of a suitcase for 19 months now. As a stuffoholic and someone that kind of likes fashion it's been an interesting experience. Dumb stuffoholic examples. I hate that I can't have more than 2 pairs of shoes. I need one dress pair for when I go to a wedding etc and I need one pair I can hike in, exercise in etc. I'd really prefer 2 or 3 more but there's no room. I can't buy anything without throwing something away except software, ebooks... I'd prefer more computers (had 6 before this episode) all of which I used (Windows, OSX, & Linux). I run VMs on my laptop but the perf isn't there to be able to run various apps I'd like to run (games and other graphically intensive apps). Similarly I can't own an XBoxOne or PS4 as much as I would like to play. Another interesting thing when preparing to do this and getting rid of lots of my stuff was just how much stuff is probably actually useful but only seldomly. An obvious sample might be a winter coat. You only need it in winter so it stays in storage for 9 months of the year. But, there's plenty of things I use less often. A paper cutter. A mac screw driver. A drill. An xacto knife. A hole punch. A pizza stone. A casserole dish. A printer. A scanner. I could list 1000s things. I don't know if having them is really having too much stuff. It seems rather it's semi freeing. If I want to make some crafts today I don't need several days of running around acquiring the stuff as I have it and can start immediately. If I want to cook something I most likely have all the utensils even if I only use them a couple of times a year. If I want to make something or repair something I have several drawers of tools. So sure, we can have too much stuff (I had 44 pair of shoes of which I only ever used 5 or 6) but it's hard to say where the balance is.

lugg 12y ago
Somewhere between 5 or 6 and 44 I'm guessing. I find I very rarely mind not having lots of things. I moved country a year or so ago, planned to spend around 10k at IKEA, ended up getting tired and leaving after spending 3. Planned to get all those little things I "need" on another big trip. I never went back. Apparently I didn't need that pizza cutter after all. I suspect most of us have much more than we really need. I suspect most of us do just fine with that. Some people it can be an improvement to remove some clutter, others it doesn't really matter. I'd love to live out of a suitcase again, it really sets your priorities straight when you have to choose what to remove when you "need" something new. Out of curiosity, what do you do in winter? Follow summer? or simply get a larger suitcase? (re the jacket conundrum)
- greggman 12y ago
  I moved countries a couple of times too and it was educational how much stuff I didn't miss, all my books for example, all my memorabilia as well. At the same time over time I did replace tons of stuff. Examples: Had to buy scissors, a tape dispenser, knives, pots and pans, lots of tools, serving dishes, cupcake sheets, cookie sheets, craft utensils, etc... All stuff I already had before I moved. As for the jacket I've just been carrying it the last 19 months.
- paganel 12y ago
  > Apparently I didn't need that pizza cutter after all A plain old knife would be enough for cutting pizza, wouldn't it? But then again, I've used the same knife for unscrewing screws, with a 50/50 success rate.
mathgeek 12y ago
> So sure, we can have too much stuff (I had 44 pair of shoes of which I only ever used 5 or 6) but it's hard to say where the balance is. I'm pretty sure the balance is 5 or 6, for the shoes anyway.

lugg 12y ago

Somewhere between 5 or 6 and 44 I'm guessing. I find I very rarely mind not having lots of things. I moved country a year or so ago, planned to spend around 10k at IKEA, ended up getting tired and leaving after spending 3. Planned to get all those little things I "need" on another big trip. I never went back. Apparently I didn't need that pizza cutter after all. I suspect most of us have much more than we really need. I suspect most of us do just fine with that. Some people it can be an improvement to remove some clutter, others it doesn't really matter. I'd love to live out of a suitcase again, it really sets your priorities straight when you have to choose what to remove when you "need" something new. Out of curiosity, what do you do in winter? Follow summer? or simply get a larger suitcase? (re the jacket conundrum)

greggman 12y ago
I moved countries a couple of times too and it was educational how much stuff I didn't miss, all my books for example, all my memorabilia as well. At the same time over time I did replace tons of stuff. Examples: Had to buy scissors, a tape dispenser, knives, pots and pans, lots of tools, serving dishes, cupcake sheets, cookie sheets, craft utensils, etc... All stuff I already had before I moved. As for the jacket I've just been carrying it the last 19 months.
paganel 12y ago
> Apparently I didn't need that pizza cutter after all A plain old knife would be enough for cutting pizza, wouldn't it? But then again, I've used the same knife for unscrewing screws, with a 50/50 success rate.

mathgeek 12y ago

> So sure, we can have too much stuff (I had 44 pair of shoes of which I only ever used 5 or 6) but it's hard to say where the balance is. I'm pretty sure the balance is 5 or 6, for the shoes anyway.