stuckinstuff

Update #7 100 Thing Challenge Considering Intervention

Crazy!  I just noticed that there has been no 100 Thing Challenge Update since January!  Absolutely no excuse.  My apologies, Sam.

Ok, so image yourself in your chair with your clipboard in hand and I’m on the couch - the therapist’s couch that is.  Our conversation goes something like this:

Doctor, we have piles of stuff all around our house.  We don’t use it.  We’re not sure how most of it got here.  It just is.  Like an ontological theory for consumerism.
If you don’t use it, why don’t you just get rid of it?
We try.  I’m not sure.  Maybe I just dream that we try.  Maybe I’m delusional.  But I think we try... (dreamily) I think we try.
Perhaps you need an intervention?
(Softly) Yes.  Yeah, doc, perhaps we do.

There it is.  We’re considering a stuff intervention.   A running idea is a massive garage sale where everything is priced $1 - from junky toys to broken vacuums (why do we have 2 in the garage?) to clothes to unneeded furniture.  AMVETS has been good to pick lots of stuff up this year.  But we still have too much.  And honestly eBay really only works on an occasional basis.  It’s not the best place to unload hundreds of unnecessary items.

Any other ideas for a massive stuff intervention?

Update #6 - 100 Thing Challenge

It has been some time since I've posted on the 100 Thing Challenge.  I thought a quick update might be in order.

When I first started the 100 Thing Challenge, I did not want to just get rid of a bunch of stuff  in order to check off the 100 Thing Challenge as if it were some task on a to do list.  For me, the 100 Thing Challenge is much more about a lifestyle change.  My goal has been to sustain the efforts I'm putting into the 100 Thing Challenge for at least a year.  But since I'm a theoretical kind of guy, I also did not want to simply think about the 100 Thing Challenge and never do anything.  So early on I forced myself to purge.  As I've mentioned, the hardest part of the 100 Thing Challenge so far has been getting rid of stuff.  I feel like I can honestly say that I only use about 70-80% of the roughly 100 things on my list of personal items I'm keeping.  But getting rid of the stuff that did not make the list is not easy.

Also there has been a lot of things happening in the background recently.  I have a new job, and that always takes time away from other activities.  Moreover, the new job requires some new clothes, so I'm in the process of modifying my 100 thing list.  I still "use" less than 100 things on a day-to-week-to-month basis, but unfortunately I "have" more than 100 things in my closet now.  Not a lot more.  But too much given my commitment to purge and simplify.

In addition, I've been working on a more positive statement of Stuck In Stuff.  I like the web site StuckInStuff.com.  It says in a catchy phrase what so many of us feel as we live day-to-day in our consumer culture.  But hey, I'm entrepreneurial and kind of restless.  I don't like being "stuck" in anything.  So without giving anything away, I'll let you know that some of my StuckInStuff.com energy and time has been going toward a more positive reaction against consumerism that I hope to have online by the middle of the year.

That's where things stand.  I'll try to give an update to my 100 thing list soon.  Keep up your good work. I've seriously been so amazed at how many of you are moving in positive directions to not let stuff rule your lives.  Way to go!

100 Thing "Encouragement" - Thank You!

This is just a quick call-out to all the great people who have commented on the 100 Thing Challenge.  I appreciate all the blog post comments and emails.  Seriously, you all are inspiring.  Well, most of you anyway.  A few people said some odd things.  Overall the feedback has been great, though.

It is really nice to have other people come along side me to participate and share in our endeavor.  I'm grateful to have some "blog friends" who share the desire to be less self-focused in consumption and materialism.  Keep up the good work!

Also, I've been meaning for like ages to expand my blog roll.  Motivate me to get your blog added with an email.  I'll try to start adding those of you who seem to share my stuffy concerns.

Update #5 - 100 Thing Challenge Gets Practical

If you've heard me say it once, you've heard me say it - oh, I don't know - two times?  Getting rid of stuff is the hardest part of the 100 Thing Challenge.  I'm estimating I've been living weekly on only about 60-63 of the 100 personal items I'm keeping.  You'd think getting rid of that huge list of stuff I'm, er, getting rid of would be a snap.  Not so.

When I first started the 100 Thing Challenge I had noble ideas that went way beyond the practical.  Not only would I get rid of the dozens and hundreds of unnecessary things I've accumulated over the years, but I'd get rid of all of it in style.  My plan was to pull in extra family income through eBay and garage sales.  And what I donated was going to go to specific charities - the shoes to a shoe charity, the clothes to a clothes charity, the toys to a toy charity, the electronic gadgets to an electronic gadgets charity.

Um, can you say AMVETS?  Today the AMVETS truck is suppose to drive up to our house and haul a huge load of stuff away.  We like AMVETS.  In addition to being what appears to be a good charity, they also come by the house and pick stuff up.  They drive BIG trucks.  So they can pick up our BIG pile of cra stuff.

So today the 100 Thing Challenge lost a little bit of its innocence.  Pragmatism beat out ideology.  But let me assure you that once I don't have so much stuff interfering with my life, I plan to jump headlong into the theoretical.

Shakespearean Gambit

Over the years I've enjoyed chess.  Some years more than others.  I've owned and read Modern Chess Openings 13, though I cannot find it now.  And once I was an moderately good unrated player.  (Chess Tip: don't stop, you lose it fast.)

Anyway, recently I've gotten back into chess.  It happened when I tried to sell my chess pieces and board on SIS as part of my reduce efforts for the 100 Thing Challenge.  My wife said I shouldn't.  Since wife's know best, I listened.  And now I'm staying up late working on odd defenses for black.  My wife is kicking herself.

Speaking of men and women and chess... I was browsing the U.S. Chess website when I came across this, uh, encouragement to young male chess players:

I'm a single guy in college, and I heard chess is nerdy and devoid of womenfolk. Why should I play?

Chess is a great game that can lull its devotees to trance like states of concentration. Finding a wonderful and surprising move can fill you up with aesthetic joy and the pride of discovery. A game of chess or a tournament can test your will power, discipline and sportsmanship, resulting in intense situations that draw many to the game. In the chess world, race, gender and class are invisible. It's inspiring to see eight-year-olds competing with senior citizens, and Gucci-clad investment bankers fighting it out with high-school janitors.

Chess is not nerdy at all. We've come a long way since the days of cheap "chess is nerdy" jokes in Saved by the Bell! Celebrities who are crazy about chess include supermodel Carmen Kass, pop star Madonna, actor Will Smith, magician David Blaine and boxer Lennox Lewis. International chess superstar Garry Kasparov has been interviewed in every place from Charlie Rose to Playboy, and starred in a Pepsi commercial. Alexandra Kosteniuk, a Grandmaster from Russia has done modeling shoots for Vogue, Elle and Mademoiselle. If you still think chess is nerdy, browse through our U.S. player galleries for more evidence to the contrary.

 

The lack of female participation is a serious problem in chess. I hope that doesn't cause you to leave chess, but rather to think about changing chess. Do you have a female friends or sister who is sharp witted and confident? Teach her chess and bring her to a tournament. The male-dominated atmosphere scares many women at first, but many warm up to the attention they get at tournaments. Now there is usually a critical mass of girls and young women at tournaments. Often, these female participants meet and bond together, making the environment less alienating.

Update #4 - Feeling A Bit Discouraged

In some ways I've made some good progress on my 100 Thing Challenge.  For example, in the area of clothing, I've separated my closet into a side of stuff I'll keep and a side of stuff I'll get rid of.  I have not touched the get rid of side except one weak moment several days ago when I slipped on an old ragged pair of jeans to work in the garage.  (They were really cozy, but they are still going to go.)  And I've managed to sell some stuff on Ebay.  And overall, I have to say that the effort I'm putting forth to reduce, refuse, and rejigger my stuff has led to a more pleasant couple of months.  Finally, the extra space in my mind and life have come in handy, as the last couple of weeks have been very tough on a personal level.  So mostly things are good.  And as I write this it becomes harder to complain.  But hey, does that stop you?

Tonight I'm feeling a bit discouraged.  Will I ever not be stuck in stuff?!  Tell me, am I schizophrenic or does it seem like the world will not rest unless I am ever overwhelmed in a heap of unnecessary stuff?  Really it should not astonish me, but it always does.  It always baffles me when I think of how much other people seem interested in having me acquire stuff.  And it is tiring to me to realize how difficult it is to get rid of stuff.  Easy to acquire.  Hard to reduce.

Anyway, that's my complaint for the night.  But things are not too bad.  If all goes well I'll be spending some time in the wilderness soon.  The Padres are whipping the Dodgers' butts right now.  My super secret rejigger project is coming along nicely.  And my wife just got a cute haircut today.

Is Making Stuff Better?

I’ve been a little distracted recently.  The kids started school.  Business is thriving and full of interesting opportunities.  It’s been hotter than [fill in the hyperbole].  Oh, and I got on a kick.

It’s sort of a secret project.  So I’m not going to say much about it right now.  It’s mostly about rejiggering.  It involves IKEA.  And it’s in celebration of my two oldest daughters new school year.  I’m thinking the full post on this secret project is about 3-5 weeks away.  But it did involve acquiring some stuff.  Here’s what happened.

Over the past few weeks I’ve begun to reduce my stuff.  Ebay is currently my preferred tool for stuff reduction, because people tend to lose their mind and moral compass on Ebay.  That means I normally get crazy amounts of money for the things I sell there.  Which, when I don’t lose my mind and moral compass, I try to use for the good of our family and the world.  Recently I’ve sold some books, a retractable fountain pen, an iPod, some coins, and a stuffed animal.  The proceeds for everything but the stuffed animal are in the bank.  They will be divided between paying some bills, putting some money toward the young boy we support in the Dominican Republic, and other causes.  With the proceeds from the stuffed animal (I know this sounds utterly strange), I was able to buy a router and a router table and two router bits.  Yes, you read that right.  I sold a stuffed animal and bought the wood working tools needed to create my secret project.

For the past five years I’ve considered what would be the most versatile, cost-effective tool I can add to my small workspace to do the wood projects I’d like to do.  About two years ago I decided a router and router table would do the trick.  This past week, I pulled the trigger and bought both (with the money I made selling a stuffed animal on Ebay).

I got the Triton 2 1/4 horsepower plunge router.  The Aussies know how to make a great router.  This thing is amazing!  I’ve already used it to create modified window brace for our portable AC unit.  And in the next few days I’ll start my secret rejigger project with it.  I also got the basic Rockler router table package.  It’s a great deal!  The best part of it for me is that it comes with a free router that I don’t need.  You guessed it, that router is now on Ebay and going to fetch me 1/3 the cost of the whole package.  I’ll have money for shellac, stain, some brass screws, and some doe to spare for the bank or some charity.

Anyway, I’ve been a bit distracted.  I’m kind of on a “making kick” right now.  I suppose I could have used some of the money I got from my Ebay entrepreneurialism to just buy what I am making for my secret project.  But I sort of think that making is better than buying.

What do you think?

Update #3 - The Challenge’s First Hurdle: Sentimentality and Stuff

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve taken up the 100 Thing Challenge.  I’m hopeful.  I think it might just be possible to reduce my personal stuff to 100 things, allowing for the few inconsistencies in the way I count.  It has taken me a few weeks of trying to reduce my personal belongings for me to identify some of the burdens of the 100 Thing Challenge.  The last few days I’ve been struggling with sentimentality.

I will tell you a little about myself.  I am not a pack rat.  I’m pretty much anti-pack rat.  It is very difficult for me to keep stuff around.  Even the stuff I should keep I often throw away, like the love-letters my wife (then girl friend) wrote to me in college.  I chucked them all back when I was stupid.  But what would I do now if I still had them?  Would I reduce them to make room on my list of 100 things?  Sentimentality is a pitfall for those interesting in living a life of simplicity.

Now the trouble caused by sentimentality is particularly acute for many of us living in the western world.  For generations the western world has prioritized stuff.  And it still does.  That means that our birthday and graduation and anniversary gifts are often things.  (When was the last time you gave someone you cared about a present that you could not wrap?)  And often the most valuable inheritance from a loved one is some thing.  We hand stuff down from generation-to-generation because it has “sentimental value.”  Stuff is often the catalyst for meaningful sentiment.

So I’m struggling a bit with sentimentality.  Where do I draw the line?  Do I keep the Father’s Day gifts my daughters give me for one, two, five years and then reduce?  I just remembered that out in the garage on my workbench is a small New Testament KJV Bible.  I never read it and rarely touch it.  It’s the Bible my grandfather carried with him when he fought in WWII.  And I’m pretty sure my father carried it with him in Vietnam.  Neither my grandfather nor my father talked much about their experiences in war.  And I was not in the military.  Honestly I’m not even sure why this Bible should be sentimental to me.  But it is.  And so I need to figure out what to do with it.

I’ll keep you informed.

Thinking Out Loud

Someone sent me an email recently asking a few challenging questions about my 100 Thing Challenge.  There are some good points here, so I thought I’d publish a bit of the email and make a little (?) response:

1. 2 Bibles? If you have a good reason for it, then certainly, but duplication seems anti-thematic at the moment.
2. Speaking of duplications, 2 belts and 2 pairs of dress shoes (black and brown). I would suggest pick a color and eliminate the other.
3. Regular journal and a hiking journal? Why two separate?
4. Can one or the other backpack (work and weekend) handle both jobs?
5. I am assuming that "watch" is in the tools category. I don't know the accuracy you need in a compass, but any Boy Scout will remember how to turn an analog watch into "Where's North?" indicator on a sunny day.

There is a small theme of redundancy in the 100 thing list of stuff I’m planning on keeping.  (In fact, I just remembered that I forgot to add another knife.  A really amazing knife my folks brought back from some mountain village in Europe.  So two knives.)  I guess the question would be, Is there room for redundancy in a concerted effort to reduce, refuse, and rejigger?  As the 100 Thing Challenge gets under way, it is mostly about reducing.  Refusing and rejiggering will come once I’m down to 100 things.  So put another way the question is, Does redundancy and reduction make for contradiction?

Honestly, that is a good question.  I’m not sure I know the answer.  StuckInStuff’s tag line of sorts is “positively cautious about stuff.”  In my writing, I’ve tried to emphasize that some stuff is good.  And the “goodness” of some stuff is not only an attribute of its unique place in my collection of possessions.  That said, clearly I’m also suggesting that abundance is risky.  Too much of a good thing, as they say, is bad.  So just running down the list:

About to Fall Off the Wagon!

Yikes, Patagonia is having an amazing sale!  Looks like my list of stuff to get rid of might need to grow by a few items...