# How Much Excess Furniture do you Have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877 "2009-07-22T17:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/1 "2009-07-22T17:32:02Z")
I have no furniture. A few months ago I cleared out the storage locker and gave it all away. But I have noticed everyone I know has too much furniture. In closets, storage places, in basements and sheds. Come clean how much excess stuff do you have? Anyone know why we accumulate all this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/2 "2009-07-22T19:18:50Z")
Depends on who you ask. Ask me, and I say I have way more stuff than I need. Ask my mother, and she’ll tell you I live like a hermit with no possessions. I live alone and don’t need much stuff. Somehow that offends my mother’s sensibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/3 "2009-07-22T19:21:26Z")
Well, we just bought furniture, so we still have a spare couch, coffee table, TV stand, and end tables. The plan is to give it to my brother, if we ever get around to it. As for too much stuff in the house, we do have some things I could do without (a china cabinet, a broken grandfather clock, a cabinet with a door hinged at the bottom that is good only for holding record albums, a set of little tray tables). But that stuff belonged to my husband’s mom, so I wouldn’t ask him to get rid of it. Some crappy furniture migrated out to the porch and was recycled as plant tables and kitty perches. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/4 "2009-07-22T19:56:05Z")
I’ve got a spare coffee table for sale on craigslist right now. That’s about it. Oh there’s an old metal computer desk in our little side yard area that I use to store planting supplies. I always think about getting rid of it, but it’s actually pretty handy to have around. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/5 "2009-07-22T20:19:32Z")
All I have is an easy chair and a couch. My air mattress popped a week ago so I don’t have a bed. I would have to say I have no extra furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/6 "2009-07-22T20:20:40Z")
A spare desk and a conference table. That’s about it for excess furniture. Excess stuff? That we still have and are working on eliminating. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/7 "2009-07-22T20:22:08Z")
::looks around:: Three rocking chairs could go. One is a folding rocker with a rattan seat (very cool), another is that heavy mission-style oak rocker that our grandpas liked, and the third is a neat little grandma rocker. I got them at estate auctions when I lived in a bigger house. As long as I’ve owned them, they’ve never been used. Oh, and a small desk in a spare bedroom. And a nightstand by the bed in that bedroom. Wait, make that two nightstands. Plus one in hubby’s bedroom. And an upholstered chair in my bedroom. Dang. I didn’t think I had excess furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/8 "2009-07-22T20:32:38Z")
I’ve always had sparse furniture, even when I could afford what I wanted. I finally owned more than one living room chair after about twenty years. I got out the folding chairs if I had someone over. I didn’t want the clutter if I didn’t need the furniture. I did own hundreds of glasses at one point, because I won them by the case for almost a whole year at work. I finally gave most of them away. You need glasses, have a case, only one broken in the set. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/9 "2009-07-22T20:41:11Z")
About the only furniture we have that I’d call excess is a rocker stored in the basement. My goal is to reduce the amount of stuff we keep to match the furniture we have. It’s a long term goal… There are 5 bookcases in the apartment. (in 3 different rooms) I don’t feel that’s too many, but we do have more books than will fit in them. Furniture is definitely not what I have in excess. That said, I an absolutely dead set against bringing in more furniture in which to store stuff. Now, my grandparents’ house burned down several years ago. If it hadn’t I imagine I’d have some family heirloom type pieces that I’d be reluctant to let go that would certainly amount to excess in our apartment. My sister’s M-I-L just moved into assisted living. Now she and her husband have excess furniture in their 2 BR apartment. Our mom, we’re grateful, retired and moved from a 2BR condo to a 3 BR house, with an attic and basement. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/10 "2009-07-22T21:23:57Z")
None. We recently moved into a larger house and we actually need furniture. We tend to prefer the minimalist, uncluttered look though. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/11 "2009-07-22T21:28:40Z")
My mom died in February and I inherited some of her stuff. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. At some point I have to decide what stays and what goes, and in the past month or so I’ve finally felt up to facing the stack of stuff. I don’t have excess furniture so much as I have excess _stuff_ - too many hobbies, too many books, too hard to throw stuff out. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/12 "2009-07-22T22:37:21Z")
I could certainly do without some of my furniture, but I wouldn’t count it as excess because I use it all regularly. There’s nothing stored away in a closet except the folding chairs, which come out approximately weekly. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/13 "2009-07-22T22:39:39Z")
None. I use all the furniture that I have, and there’s nothing in storage anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/14 "2009-07-22T23:57:51Z")
We’re about to move cross-country, so we’ve unloaded just about every last thing we can. So far, we’ve sold several bookcases, night stands, coffee and end tables, and the dining room table and chairs. We’re down to our bed, a dresser, a TV stand, two chairs to sit in while we watch TV, a small table between those two chairs and a china cabinet, plus my desk and desk chair. Ultimately, we only want to take the bed and the small table as it’s hand-made by a relative. Everything else is generic stuff that’s easily replaced and probably cheaper to replace than ship around. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/15 "2009-07-23T00:43:28Z")
Bentwood wicker rocking chair, another ordinary rocking chair, coffee table, end tables. The Salvation Army took the rocking chairs. The coffee table and end tables have migrated to the basement and a knotty pine coffee table (25 years old and nothing but a nuisance since we got it with a furniture set) is living out its last years on the deck as a plant stand. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/16 "2009-07-23T00:59:06Z")
We don’t have a lot of excess furniture, we live in a New York apartment. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/17 "2009-07-23T16:21:55Z")
Holy cow, where do I begin? We have a small room off of the living room in which we have our computer (in a computer cabinet) which we use frequently. But, in that room, there are two upholstered chairs, one loveseat, two end tables and an old dresser which holds our games. Technically, that’s excess. There’s also the guest room, with one bed, a nightstand cabinet and a dresser, plus another upholstered chair that was my great grandmothers. All is rarely used, except when we have guests. In the basement is my dining room table and four chairs (and two leaves), my dining room buffet, two wooden shelving units, one card table, a small side table, and two metal storage shelves (not counting the three that are in use). That’s just the furniture we don’t use on a regular basis. It doesn’t include the stuff in my room, Hallboy’s room, the living room or the kitchen that we use nearly every day (beds, TV cabinets, sofa, recliner, kitchen table, end tables, etc.) A bit over a year ago, I downsized from a five bedroom, three story with basement AND attic and full dining room, to a much smaller, two story, three tiny bedrooms, basement only, no dining room house. And, I got rid of a lot of stuff once we moved, but apparently, I still have a lot left. I’m hesitant to get rid of stuff like my dining room table and chairs because I’ve had them forever, really like them, and if it happens that I should move again (into a house with a dining room), then I’d like to be able to use them again. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/18 "2009-07-23T16:26:35Z")
My storage room in my basement is filled with junk the wife and I desperately need to go through and sort. And a lot of that junk is our old furniture that got replaced with newer furniture when we moved into our house in late 2007. God, has that stuff been down there for almost two years now? Damn. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/19 "2009-07-23T17:02:35Z")
I have just enough. However, my dining set is oversized for my kitchen and two chairs end up in the bedroom, but it’s not excess. I’m a regular purger so I have just enough of everything but not too much. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877/20 "2009-07-23T17:04:35Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > We don’t have a lot of excess furniture, we live in a New York apartment. Hee. This reminds me of that ridiculous “Mad About You” when they decide to have a baby and realize this means they have to convert their “spare room”. And they show this whole other bedroom they **never use** , it just seems to have some furniture and boxes in it. Like you would ever pay for a whole other bedroom just to leave some stuff in it and never use it???!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-excess-furniture-do-you-have/503877.md?page=2)