# Too much stuff **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374 "2009-03-22T20:10:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/1 "2009-03-22T20:10:16Z")
Do you feel you have too much stuff? I feel weighed down by all my crap even though I don’t really have that much. I live in a one bedroom apartment. My furniture is ancient, but I have a good computer and some nice instruments. I also bought a bicycle, and a treadmill, and a new car. I feel like I’m realizing I feel more free with less things around. How much do you have and do you feel like it’s too much, not enough, or just right? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/2 "2009-03-22T20:21:34Z")
I have too many books. I love to read, but am running out of places to store them. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/3 "2009-03-22T20:41:54Z")
I have WAY too much stuff. LOTS of books, lots of things that I, for whatever reason, never throw out because I MIGHT use it someday, even though a lot of this stuff is over a decade old. Like, I’ve got a stereo system that I bought in 1997, and although I have it set up, I haven’t turned it on since 2001. I should have pitched it a long time ago. I need to do a serious junk purge soon, especially since it’s going to be very likely that I’ll have to move in the next few months. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/4 "2009-03-22T21:13:39Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I have too many books. I love to read, but am running out of places to store them. Donate the hard copies to the library and visit them whenever you want. recycle your soft covers at a used book store. I personally would like more room for my stuff. I’d like a similar size house with the addition of a 500 sq ft office/library/media room. ---
**Author:** ![Aithele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Aithele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aithele)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/5 "2009-03-22T21:51:14Z")
I feel that way. I’m cleaning out my entire house, putting everything I don’t want in storage until I’m done, then having a huge yard sale. What doesn’t sale I’m donating to charity. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/6 "2009-03-22T21:54:12Z")
I have lots of stuff…not just books. I collected rocks (Lake Superior agates mostly, plus other pretty rocks I’d pick up) THEN I went to school for geology and collected a ton more rocks, plus assorted fossils. I don’t know what to do with all my rocks. If I put them out in my yard it will be very confusing for any future geologists who find them (what is this late Cretaceous ammonite doing here in this Ordovician limestone? And why is there any metamorphic rocks here?!?). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/7 "2009-03-22T21:59:40Z")
I go through my house regularly (every few months) to see what I haven’t used and can give away. So I don’t feel too loaded down. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/8 "2009-03-22T22:05:20Z")
Much less than we had. We’re moving out of the state, and every pound has to be paid for. So we’ve donated about 20 boxes of books, shredded at least 10 30-gallon bags of paper and recycled another 20. We’re also selling off furniture, stereo stuff, donating kitchen crap, clothing, etc. It’s been a major effort over the past two months. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/9 "2009-03-23T20:47:09Z")
I feel like I have too much stuff right now. It’s probably not that drastic but it is definitely time for spring cleaning (and purging). ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/10 "2009-03-23T21:25:46Z")
We’ve been getting rid of tons of stuff. Mostly because once we consolidated our households, we had two of everything. So there was an initial purge. Then we realized we still seemed to have a lot of stuff. Stuff that we didn’t use and that did not contribute in any meaningful way. That was the second purge. Then we started house painting and we had to move a ton of stuff aorund so we could access the walls and we realized we still had all sorts of _stuff_!.. and it just sits there! At this rate, by next year our place will be completely empty, except for bikes. We have nine. We throw out stuff to bring in more bikes. It’s an addiction. We need help. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/11 "2009-03-23T22:17:57Z")
I don’t keep much stuff; everything I own could fit in a tiny studio apartment. My wife, though…man, it’s like living with Fred Sanford. My son must have inherited his mother’s pack rat gene; like her, he refuses to get rid of anything. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/12 "2009-03-23T22:21:22Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Donate the hard copies to the library and visit them whenever you want. recycle your soft covers at a used book store. That’s a pretty theory. Around here, the libraries sell any donated books to raise money. Apparently it takes way too much time for the librarians to actually process incoming books to add to the collection. sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/13 "2009-03-23T22:47:37Z")
Too many musical instruments **Quasimodal**. I am primarily a drummer/guitarist, but if you walked in here right now, we’d have a band.😃 My latest passion is Beethoven, and I am working on “Für Elise” on the Yahama keyborad. Other stuff? Too many clothes!:smack: Seems like I am ALWAYS going to GOODWILL to return stuff I may have worn once or twice, if at all! Also, I STILL have a bunch of cassettes which need uploading to my computer… I THINK it is called “organized chaos!” :D:D:D Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/14 "2009-03-23T22:55:42Z")
My entire perspective on “how much stuff I really need” dramatically changed after I spent a month hiking on the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. Everything I needed was in my pack, which weighed 18 pounds. Ever since I got home from that trip I have systematically reduced my possessions. While most folks my age (mid-40’s) have a house and garage full of stuff, everything I own fits in (or on, in the case of my kayak) my small SUV. Of course, it helps that I rent a house that came mostly furnished. It’s a great feeling! ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/15 "2009-03-23T22:59:53Z")
I always have too much stuff and it makes my living spaces feel crowded and cluttered. But I’m something of a pack-rat and have trouble getting rid of stuff. Right now I’m preparing to graduate from medical school and move across country to start my residency. I’m purging my textbooks and I keep having these little battles with myself about whether I’ll really go back and study X as I keep intending to or whether I should sell the book to another student. Next I need to work on purging everything else or my moving costs are going to be astronomical. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/16 "2009-03-24T00:32:34Z")
For those with too much stuff, George Carlin nicely sums up your situation [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac). A tad long -maybe- but the nail is hit squarely on the head. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-much-stuff/490374/17 "2009-03-24T11:05:52Z")
I have too much stuff per available space, but little of anything I didn’t use (including books) and even from that I’ve downsized quite a bit. It’s just that we have next to no storage space and one whole room too few. Compared to my hoarder friends with three or four times the stuff I have, most of it unnceccessary, I feel like a monk.