Junk drawerOne of these days, you’re going to start to hate me. First, I tell you that your clutter hates you, and now I’m trying to make the case that your Stuff is screwing you over.

Of course, there’s stuff, and then there’s Stuff. Stuff is useful, and it’s pretty hard to get anywhere in life without a bit of it. Stuff, with the capital S on the other hand, is the pile of junk that you don’t need, use, care about, or even remember why you bought. It’s this Stuff that weighs on your mind and gets in your way. It’s the garage sale find that was too good a deal to leave behind, and it’s the status item that you don’t actually like. Either way, we’ve all got some of it. If you’ve been unable to break away from the Stuff that’s mucking up your life, here’s a few good reasons to give the heave-ho.

You have to store it.

You have to clean it.

You have to pick it up every time you clean. Or, you don’t clean because of it and develop allergies.

You have to rent a bigger moving truck.

You pay insurance costs to cover it.

You use everything a little bit, but nothing reaches its full capacity for usage.

You have increased heating and cooling costs for a larger house.

You alienate other people who are intimidated by your stuff.

You add to landfills.

Your kid makes you store all the stuff you bought them until they can afford a house big enough to hold all their unused Stuff.

You pay interest on the Stuff you charged.

You fight with your spouse about the interest on the Stuff you charged.

You have to figure out new ways of arranging your Stuff so that you don’t get sick of it. (If it weren’t for that difficult ottoman placement, you could’ve figured out cold fusion by now!)

It ages faster than you.

It wears out at exactly the wrong time.

It loses value over time (typically), leaving you with less and less each year.

It gives your mom a chance to nag you.

It sucks up money that could be going to an incredible vacation or early retirement.

It makes you feel guilty that you don’t love it as much as you’re supposed to.

You risk becoming the Joneses. And lets face it, nobody likes the Joneses.

(Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to imply that your friends hate you because you have a set of golf clubs and a quesadilla maker. But I’d also wager they don’t love you more for it.)

Can you come up with more ways that your Stuff screws you over?  Are they any major exceptions? Drop your thoughts in the comments and add to the conversation!

Creative Commons License photo credit: bethography - melting mama

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