Skip to main content

5 Reasons why we hoard - and they're wrong

"Less is More" is one of the catch-cries of downsizing. Often the fewer things we have the more we value them.

So it's a great title for a book that's basically a manual for how to de-clutter your home.

The introductory chapter of Less is More: How to De-clutter Your Life gives some great insights into why we find it so hard to reduce our stuff. Here are 5 of them - the last one is one of the biggest for me.

1. The cost of holding on.

We were raised by our parents and grandparents and in their day items were expensive and space was cheap. It made sense in those days to hold onto stuff just in case you ever needed it. But today housing is expensive and items are cheap. It's hard to change a habit, but now we save much more by downsizing.

2. Keeping it in the family.

For some reason we prefer to give things to those close to us. Again this was viable in the days of big families and lots of children to receive hand-me-downs. But these days we have smaller families and there are plenty of others to give (or sell) items to.

3. On sale.

Often when things are reduced we think it's a bargain. If we don't need it, it's still not a bargain.

4. Advertising.

I've blogged about this before. Advertisers' lives are about getting us to to buy things we wouldn't otherwise get. They try to convince us that our life will be better with more stuff. Often they succeed. But deep down we know we'd be happier with less.

5. Green reasons.

This one is particularly big for me. It seems such a waste to throw something away, especially if I haven't used it. But really, the environmental footprint from making it has already been made; and storing it in the garage forever is basically the same as landfill. The best thing we can do environmentally is to get it into the hands of someone who'll use it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Are you missing out on your $5,200

According to research by Gumtree, the average Australian household has $5,200 of unwanted goods sitting around the home. Why not cash it in? I'm sure we'd all much prefer to have a few thousand dollars rather than all that clutter we no longer use. So far we've made over $1,630 We didn't have many valuable items - just a fridge and a lounge suite. Most of the cash came from lots of little items (around 170 of them) for 2, 5 or 10 dollars. It all adds up - to a surprisingly high amount.

Inheriting Clutter

This book stood out on the library shelf. Massive clutter can create anxiety at any time, let alone when it has to be dealt with during one of the toughest points of life. Author Julie Hall deals with estates for a living. Her book covers the nitty-gritty of dealing with all that stuff. It also covers caring for parents while they are here and what to do to make life easier for them, your siblings and you. Parent Logic We may wonder why parents keep so much stuff. Julie explains that our parents (having grown up in a different time) have their reasons. Often they had to 'go without' as kids and so don't want to 'go without' again. Sometimes they think items will become valuable with age.  Also there's the thought "the more I leave the kids the more they will have" . This is obviously mathematically true - but whether that's a good thing is questionable. Ironically, this admirable quality of aversion to waste often ends up causing waste. Items get s...

Monopoly, money and you

One of the most well-known board games can also be a great way to learn about money and investing - according to this book. Perhaps one way to teach kids (and maybe ourselves) about finance is to play a board game. In so many ways, the game parallels our own financial life - and we can practice financial decision-making without losing any real money. Is monopoly like life? Yes and no. We manage our cash, negotiate, make deals, make choices, go through tough times, make investments, pay tax and reap rewards. To do well we have to make investments. It's very hard to win just by collecting $200 each time you pass go. There are rules, and wise moves. The better we know them, the better we do. However, in real life, you can win without forcing others into bankruptcy. Principles that work in the game and life Diversify. You might have hotels on the two most expensive properties on the board, but if no-one lands on them, you still might lose. Investments have a price and a value. They are...