Stuff

There is a huge black hole not just in my house, but more than likely yours too, it sucks out time and energy and leaves nothing but hard work in its wake. And the black hole is stuff.

Yesterday, the man and me spent the entire day on stuff management, having got totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that seems to have taken over our house. A year ago we moved from a 2 bedroom flat with no garden to a 3 bed house with a large garden, so excited were we at the space we would have. We bemoaned that we had nothing to put in our garden, yet a year on it looks positively white trash. Discarded toys and tools litter the patio because they won’t fit in one of our two (yes, two) sheds. And the loft which we had been so wide-eyed about is already a disorganised jumble of stuff, there may be the odd useful item up there but mostly, it’s just crap. I ended the day with a bank statement bonfire, over ten years worth of bank statements that I had been saving, it created quite a blaze. Why save them? Would I have spent time in the future wistfully recollecting my irresponsible spending habits?

It has been drummed into me since I was a child that you do not throw things away in case they come in handy later on. Any packaging receptacle must be fully examined and potential alternative uses considered before it is allowed to go into recycling.

I’ve always had a problem with stuff. I come from a family of hoarders and despite feeling like I’m constantly chucking stuff out, this other person, who looks suspiciously like me, keeps on bringing stuff back in. There are clothes dribbling out of drawers onto the floor and peeping out of half closed wardrobe drawers. Our bedroom looks like a Dali landscape. There are health and safety issues too. My Tupperware cupboard is frankly dangerous, old ice cream tubs catapult themselves out making a bid for freedom, before I spend ten minutes looking for the one thing I needed, then wrestling them all back in, skinning my knuckles in the process. But I have so much that I can’t find what I need, so I buy new stuff. Essential purchasing.

They say you should only keep stuff you really need, really love or are seriously sentimental about. But how do you define need? We might not need it now but possibly will in the future. Some of the stuff serves a purpose too. I have a pair of jeans which I wore comfortably ten years ago, when I can fit them comfortably again I will know I am at a point where I can be happy about my body. Not to actually be able to wear them you understand (they are not nice), they’re just for gauging purposes.

I absolutely adore those articles in magazines where they take one pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and show you how you can create 100 different outfits from them, including something for the opera and a formal work outfit. My ultimate goal in life would be having something that could be described as a capsule wardrobe.

But being disorganised but also a (albeit genetically and against my better judgement) hoarder, susceptible to every new craze going AND a shopaholic, is not a good combo for harmonious living.

Imagine how easy life would be if you only had one of everything. One glass that had to be washed before someone else could use it. One book, one DVD, one CD… everyone could have something different and could practise compulsory swapping. I think it sounds blissful. And I know the kids would be fine, they insist on watching the same film over and over and OVER again, until even I am absentmindedly mouthing the words along to it. I just need to get the man on board (after this weekend I think he could be convinced).

It’s not just the hard stuff. It’s the perishables too. I blame my mother. When I was growing up her cupboards were always busting full, but she would still find little crevices where she could just squeeze in another tin of peaches, or different shape of pasta to add to her collection. And I am now exactly the same. If we had a nuclear war I would be able to feed my entire family (and probably a few neighbours too) for at least one month. My freezer, fridge and cupboards are positively groaning under the weight of food, yet I still manage to find a reason to go to the supermarket almost every other day (usually to get random ingredients for a recipe which I will never use again). I get kind of panicky if I can shut a cupboard door without difficulty. I tell you, I think it’s an illness.

We’re in the midst of the worst recession ever, yet consumer culture has never been so huge. So despite being skint, we’re told we need more stuff. The acquisition of stuff has become something we do for fun, not necessity. And I know that all this stuff is yet another thing that is sapping my ever precious time and energy.

I have to wean myself off this stuff obsession, starting with a food thrift week. I am going to attempt to avoid the supermarket and just use up what I’ve got. It might make for some rather strange dinners but I am creative. Now, what can I make with soy flour, corn oil and tinned peaches?