Stuff

While packing for an upcoming vacation I was reminded of George Carlin's classic routine about stuff.  Do you remember it?  You can easily find it on YouTube (be forewarned, it's George Carlin so there's some language).  It's hilarious and so true. What to bring on the journey and what to leave behind?

The last vacation I took I planned for sunny skies and little rain and packed accordingly.  When it rained the WHOLE TIME I ended up wearing the same clothes for 4 days in a row.  Why on earth did I worry about packing a different outfit for every day?  I am keeping this in mind as I pack my suitcase. Who cares if I wear the same thing for days?  I'm never going to see these people again, or even be in the same city for more than 2 days.

Anyone moving into student housing or a first apartment has to figure out what stuff to bring and what stuff to leave, too.  Sometimes Mom and Dad give you the stuff they were saving for you, but maybe you don't like that stuff.  Or maybe your roommates don't like your stuff.  They have their own stuff.  Stuff gets to be a problem.

We all know Americans are the largest consumers on the planet.  According to internationalbusinessguide.org,  the American consumer market is 29% of the world market, followed distantly by Japan with 8.51%.  There are 300,000 items in the average American home (LA Times), and 25% of people with a two car garage can't fit two cars inside of it! (US Department of Energy).  The average American woman owns 30 outfits (that sounds about right for me, and I got rid of a lot of clothes this summer).  In 1930, she owned 9 (Forbes). I found these fun facts on http://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/ and I must say I was astounded by some of them. 300,000?  Surely not I.

But then I figured all my silverware (2 sets at least), dishes (ditto), pens, cooking utensils, shoes, books (of course!), the kids' stuff that I'm "saving" for them, inherited pieces that I feel too guilty to give away but never use or even like, and what exactly is stored in my two cedar chests? 300,000 is totally possible.

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of librarians like to keep stuff.  I look around the library and I see we all have a lot of stuff.  Perhaps it's just that people who like to keep stuff tend to go into the Library Science field, which after all involves cataloging and organizing stuff- mostly books, but other stuff too.

                          Librarian Stuff

Anyway, sometimes we can feel overwhelmed with stuff. If you need help paring down or organizing your stuff we can help.  Whether you want to build some shelves, organize a closet, or pare down,  the library has materials to help you get started.  And when you are done you will feel a new lightness.  And have room for more stuff.