STUFF!
Even now in my 40's I fear the ever growing pile of stuff I own.

I bought a leather pouff last night and afterwards I nearly had a panic attack.

What happens if I want to up sticks and run away? (Not really something I would do but what if?) What do I do with my stuff?

I feel trapped by my belongings. Anyone else have this problem?
( girlinthehole, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:43, 18 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

What's a leather pouff?

(Bert's other profile wants to wear your balls on a necklace, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:44, Reply)

Blousey
I feel the same way, and like you I keep adding to the pile of stuff that I really don't know what I'll do with.
(Herr Doktor Lemminge Is bored, so cheer me up!, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:50, Reply)

yes.
Up until the last couple of years I owned nothing apart from a pile of books and CD's and far too many shoes for a man - I could up sticks with a couple of holdalls, ditch most of the aforementioned in the old pairs' house and be gone.

Nowadays one car load wouldnt cut it - I have foolishly nested with heaps of electronic trappings, household furnishings and plants and it's started to bother me.

I would actually like to be able to run away at least once more before I settle down to die.

rafter
baz
(bazmorningstar efil4nat3b, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:51, Reply)

@Bert
It's like a round leather bean bag that you sit on.
( girlinthehole, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:51, Reply)

Is it Kaol in a gimp mask?
How much would something like that set you back?

EDIT Oh, I see. Why didn't you just say beanbag? Were you making a joke about the homosexuals? Are you a bigot?
(Bert's other profile wants to wear your balls on a necklace, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:51, Reply)

You can't call them pouffs any more
It's "alternative lifestyle". We had a tweed alternative lifestyle for years... I think we burnt it in the end...

Yes, BGB, I too am trapped by stuff. But I am beginning to deal with it. I need money extremely desperately and so am intending to go to Car Boot Sales. I was going to do one a few weeks ago and couldn't find one, so instead I painted a big sign saying "YARD SALE" and humped all my stuff outside. One person came. And didn't buy anything...

But I digest.

I used to be over-attached to my stuff. It was a symptom of what was wrong in my life. IT was comfort and security... except now I realised I have become imprisoned by it. My house is full of things I haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of for one reason or another, and eventually the onyl reason is because I've had them so long... which is self perpetuating.

Now my Fella has moved to Ireland, without me, and if I want to go with him I have to get rid of a mountain of stuff. It brings the point home that what's more important to me is the freedom not the stuff.
( warmfuzzies Isn't here, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:53, Reply)

I owned lots of stuff
and then split with my partner and took nothing but my pc. It was a wrench, but incredibly liberating.
( DarkSon a time and date will follow this username on, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:54, Reply)

I didn't say a bean bag because it's not a bean bag ......it's a pouff.
Actually it's pouffe. Has an e on the end.
( girlinthehole, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:57, Reply)

I had lots of stuff
but I split from my ex of 5 years and left only with my cats, dvd's and clothes. Best thing I ever did.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 10:59, Reply)

I dont own anything that I would miss
but who would look after Charlotte and Lucy? (My chickens).
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:01, Reply)

The only (material) thing I truely fear losing
Is my external hard-drive backup thingy majigger which holds all my music.

Apart from that, the PC would be a hefty blow, my Xbox likewise, my main Bass and main Guitar would be pretty heart-breaking...

Apart from that I don't get too attached to anything
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:03, Reply)

Oh yes
When I first moved out of my parent's place, I managed to get everything I owned into a Mark 1 Ford Fiesta, including my hamster and cage on the front seat (twee, I know). Now, I live in a three-bedroom house with my family (four of us all told) and the amount of shit we have is incredible. Granted, my books and PC stuff take up some (I have a laser printer) but the missus *collects* tat :-S

I mean, can anyone think of a more useless item to have in your home than a washing-up bowl? (I mean, we have a dishwasher for god's sake)

If we ever split, I'm taking my car, my laptop and my favourite hat. And that is all.
(hangableautobulb is an anagram of the best album ever, on, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:07, Reply)

My Lord I fucking do
I have well over 3000 vinyl records - a wall of MDF crates full of the buggers - and more magazines, books and DVDs/videos than you could shake a stick at. Then there's the clothes....and the weapons....the guitars.......

I have a mania for acquiring stuff that began with toy soldiers in the 70s and has never ended. My brother's the same - an obsessive collector, but of even weirder shit like Victorian midget postcards.

Between my detritus and my cat, a 'quick getaway' for me would take a minimum of a month.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:14, Reply)

Yeah I keep
having massive clear outs but there is still loads of shit. I think my Marina and a "mastermind" chair I have are the only things I'd take. Although the chair probably wouldn't fit in the car...
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:18, Reply)

What you do is...
You go through all your stuff chucking out AT LEAST ONE ITEM from each drawer.

And you put things in three piles -

1) stuff for the skip (put straight into bin bags)

2) stuff for the charity shop (again, straight into bin bags so you don't feel tempted to retrieve anything)

3) stuff to give to mates/colleagues who are worse off than you - they might have a use for your old desktop PC, coz it still works, even if it's a bit old, so you wouldn't want to chuck it, right?...

Yes, that's practical advice, and no, it won't mean that you can pack all your stuff into a suitcase from it filling a house, but you'll feel better that the van you pack will at least only be full of stuff you either need or want.

And you'd be amazed at how much stuff fits in those vans.

And don't be so deluded as to think you can get money for all the stuff you want rid of (as I did once). I had a record collection of my late dad's of over 350 records, some classics, some just junk. Must have cost him a couple of grand to amass. Worth? £150. And TBH I feel lucky I got that for it as it was before the ol' crunch.

But get rid!! You'll feel better. And then you can get more crap to fill the spaces!
(Psyche finishes work at the end of June! Yay!!!, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 11:35, Reply)

I have very few posessions
I've adopted the lyrics of "I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left" by Seasick Steve as my personal anthem.

Especially the first two lines.

"I can't lose what I never had. You can't take what I ain't got"
"When I'm happy, you won't make me sad. Dependin' on y'all I am not"

Wise words.
(Captain Placid 24/7 ball gags, brownie mix and clown porn, Wed 29 Apr 2009, 17:38, Reply)

.
I have the habit of uprooting myself every couple of years and moving off. I often rely on my friends or my parents to look after my stuff during my travels. I've only recently heard of Freecycle, so I might make use of them the next time I uproot and also when I settle down again.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Thu 30 Apr 2009, 0:00, Reply)