Feb. 29th, 2008 10:14 pm
Need it, use it, or flaunt it.
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chezmaxThis was advice I saw somewhere regarding the Tyranny Of Stuff. I've been becoming less tolerant of clutter as I get older, and thus am somewhat stressed by having an abundance of stuff. Now and then I get the cleaning urge, and go into an into an old box, and end up throwing half of it out (by throwing out, I often mean recycling or giving away, but the end result is the same: removing it from my life and abdicating responsibility for it.
Like many people in this day and age, I have been prone to bouts of shopping, when I see something that could be conceivably useful or nice or fun or a good deal. My particular weakness is usually somewhat more benign: I want media. I have hundreds upon hundreds of cds; and dozens of dvds, games, and books. (I realize there are people with media hording tendencies much worse than me).
And so, recently I have been (lightly) purging things. I got rid of some old obsolete computer equipment, donated a surplus computer to my sister, recycled or shredded hundreds of papers, got rid of no-longer-relevant boxes (I keep boxes in the event of needing to return something). It's very liberating.
So this particular advice spoke to me. Need it, use it, or flaunt it. The implied ending is "or lose it".
Need it is for things we require, but possibly don't necessarily like. A lot of household things fall in here: a vacuum cleaner, a lawn mower, a microwave, furniture, clothing, formal wear, a telephone, etc. ("Need" is somewhat subjective for these devices, but it serves the point)
Use it is for things that are somewhat more elective, but that we use on a regular basis: a computer, a tv, an instrument, a game console, cds that you listen to, board games, barbecue, and the like.
Flaunt it is for things of a more asthetic or sentimental value: Awards, artwork, houseplants, jewelry, heirlooms, etc. Flaunt is not being used in the pejorative sense here, but just for things you want to see or to show others. You could be flaunting things towards yourself.
The last bit in particular, flaunt it, made me think some. I have a box of stuffed toys and ornaments and such that have remained in the closet packed since I moved. Each of these has sentimental value because they were given to me by certain people at certain times, and I would be very unhappy to part with them. But they're not doing any good in the closet. If I want to keep them, I really should be able to see them. Flaunt them.
I think maybe I'll need to find room on the top of my dresser.
Like many people in this day and age, I have been prone to bouts of shopping, when I see something that could be conceivably useful or nice or fun or a good deal. My particular weakness is usually somewhat more benign: I want media. I have hundreds upon hundreds of cds; and dozens of dvds, games, and books. (I realize there are people with media hording tendencies much worse than me).
And so, recently I have been (lightly) purging things. I got rid of some old obsolete computer equipment, donated a surplus computer to my sister, recycled or shredded hundreds of papers, got rid of no-longer-relevant boxes (I keep boxes in the event of needing to return something). It's very liberating.
So this particular advice spoke to me. Need it, use it, or flaunt it. The implied ending is "or lose it".
Need it is for things we require, but possibly don't necessarily like. A lot of household things fall in here: a vacuum cleaner, a lawn mower, a microwave, furniture, clothing, formal wear, a telephone, etc. ("Need" is somewhat subjective for these devices, but it serves the point)
Use it is for things that are somewhat more elective, but that we use on a regular basis: a computer, a tv, an instrument, a game console, cds that you listen to, board games, barbecue, and the like.
Flaunt it is for things of a more asthetic or sentimental value: Awards, artwork, houseplants, jewelry, heirlooms, etc. Flaunt is not being used in the pejorative sense here, but just for things you want to see or to show others. You could be flaunting things towards yourself.
The last bit in particular, flaunt it, made me think some. I have a box of stuffed toys and ornaments and such that have remained in the closet packed since I moved. Each of these has sentimental value because they were given to me by certain people at certain times, and I would be very unhappy to part with them. But they're not doing any good in the closet. If I want to keep them, I really should be able to see them. Flaunt them.
I think maybe I'll need to find room on the top of my dresser.
