Some Stuff I've Learned About Stuff

19th September 2010

Post with 16 notes

Some Stuff I’ve Learned About Stuff

This will not be one of those posts about how I only own 30 things, and by 30 I mean 61. This will also not be one of those posts about how Zenimal (I think I just made that up) I am. This is simply what I’ve learned explicitly over the past few days (implicitly over a much longer period of time).

I’ve been selling a ton of stuff on eBay lately. Some stuff, like my bike, I’d like to have the time to use, but I simply don’t, and I’m not likely to for another 3-4 years (I’m a planner, leave me alone). But, most of this stuff is crap that I liked only as long as it took to click ‘submit order’ - and not much longer. Stuff I never even learned how to use. And now, here I am giving eBay and PayPal a ton of money to carry out transactions for stuff that I’m taking a loss on to begin with. At one point this weekend, I was rather pleased with myself as I saw the money adding up - and then I got embarrassed. I should never have bought most of this stuff in the first place. It took up time, attention, space, and a lot of money.

I’m turning 40 in the spring. I never thought much about what the later years of my life would be like, and I realize they’re still a long way off. That said, all this time and effort put into selling things I should never have owned has made me think a lot about how I’ll live and handle my money in the future. There’s a lot of junk I just don’t need; more to the point, I just don’t want - if I give myself a couple of minutes to let the impulse pass. I like being able to live comfortably in a small space. I like that I’ll be able to move easily (and I plan to, within the next 3-4 years). More than anything, I like the idea that the major stuff I’ll acquire from now on might last most or all of the rest of my life.

Repose.

Some Stuff I’ve Learned About Stuff