Comment by Powerofmene | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Powerofmene | Hacker News Reader

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It is true that culling the volume of things owned by parents can be a nightmare. I had to do this for my grandmother years ago and am starting to help parents with the same. It is amazing to me the volume of things they have held onto all these years for no discernible reason.

Years ago I committed to reducing the clutter in my life. It was such a pivotal moment. It was no longer necessary to move things from here to there in order to put up Christmas decorations, etc. I do think that overall we see value in things that truly have no monetary value all while keeping this item of "value" in the attic or in a box without seeing the light of day for decades. Things take a great deal of time and energy and for me personally, there seemed to be a connection between a disorganized living space with a disorganized mind/life. I cleaned all of that up and found I had better health, had time for the things I enjoy most in life, and was far happier than I would have imagined by having "less."

>there seemed to be a connection between a disorganized living space with a disorganized mind/life. I cleaned all of that up and found I had better health, had time for the things I enjoy most in life, and was far happier than I would have imagined by having "less."

I agree and think this concept is ancient, evidenced by the concept of spring cleaning and the idea of-not necessarily the quote - "cleanliness is next to godliness".

If we're going to put this kind of stock in cultural perceptions we should consider also the converse: the long-standing association of disorderliness with inspiration, creativity, and genius.

I think we can both agree genius is the exception to the rule, not all geniuses are disorderly and rather geniuses can function highly or even thrive in environments where people of average ability can not, but in no way does disorderliness create geniuses.

OK, exclude genius from my statement. Let just limit it to creativity and inspiration. Messy business.

Of course, my real point is that both connections are tenuous and reductive. It's a fun bit of pop psychology, but I doubt either is actually true in general.

Came to a similar epiphany when I had to move out on short notice. Since then I follow what I call the "1 suit case philosophy" - If I can't fit all my stuff into one standard size suit case and fly, then I have too much stuff.

That's fine if you don't have any interests that involve the physical world.

My tool cabinet has about $4000 in tools at this point, many motorcycle-specific ordered from abroad and not easily borrowed or bought at short notice.

It's nice to see I'm not the only person in the thread thinking this. I have an unwieldy subset of items that belong in the "do this often enough that renting is cost prohibitive, and you can't digitize Physical Hobby X."

Board games my wife and I enjoy sharing; my archery equipment; snorkel and dry bag; guitar, etc. As it is, it's a good thing my dad was a tool junky (and master craftsman), so he didn't mind my storing all my woodworking and hobby electronics gear in his garage.

Yeah, if my only occupations were programming and media consumption, it would be a lot easier to live out of a suitcase, but physical activities are kind of amazing.

Yes, none of my pinball machines will fit in a carry-on.

Perhaps we are dinosaurs who cannot understand this new world where everything is virtual.

so you're sleeping on the floor, do sports in your work clothing and always eat out? they'd sure as hell wouldn't allow you to back your kitchen knives after all. or any of your cooking utensils for that matter.

a tv for gaming/television is also out of the question, they'd never let you take that along in your suitcase.

doesn't sound like a life i'd like to be honest.

in all seriousness, its perfectly fine to have stuff. just ask yourself before you buy it, wherever you'll still be using it in ~12 month or so. otherwise, its probably just a fad you shouldn't spent money on.

I do the same as parent poster. Everything I own fits into a single large suitcase so I can just wake up one day and decide to buy a ticket to country X and fly.

I have always rented serviced apartments so the bed sheets, cutlery and other equipment is always in the flat I rent so I use that.

My sports clothes and other hobby equipment also fits into the single suitcase. I keep my clothes collection quite small, if I am not wearing something for a year I will throw it away or give to charity.

You'd be surprised how useful it is to have all your stuff fit into single big suitcase if you love traveling around the world. It's very easy for me to travel or to move around the world for work.

I had to help my sister move apartment recently and I was shocked by the massive amount of stuff she owns. So many suitcases and bags, we had to rent a big van to move it all. I don't get it.

To each their own. Some people want yards, pets, kids, and non-digital hobbies. All of these things lead to an accumulation of stuff and less flexibility in travel. I enjoy my cats, growing some of my own food, and hobbies with bulky items (snowboards, bikes, fishing poles, snowshoes).

Why does travel preclude accumulating stuff? Or do you mean changing your residence every X years?

Yes, let's say you change job every two years and each time it's in different state/country (sometimes across continents). Then you are better off if you are a minimalist and haven't accumulated much stuff.

I interpret it has fitting everything you want to take with you in a suitcase. Furniture, larger kitchen utensils etc. you can sell/donate/leave behind and get new when you arrive at your next place.

And why won't they let you take you kitchen knives on a plane? I fly with kitchen knives all the time.

As a carry-on? You'll never get past security with that.

Obviously not as a carry on, but most airlines won't let you carry on a medium sized suitcase no matter what its contents.

That's a philosophy that most musicians can't adhere to.

They should take up the flute, or singing. ;)

Damn, I played the flute, and switched to double bass. ;) The problem is that my town needs roughly 2 or 3 professional flutists, but every band needs a bassist.

Ironing board? Mattress? Lawn mower? Kitchen mixer? Washing machine? Laundry basket?

I suppose one could rent those sort of items as needed but for most of the nuclear family population it is financially more logical to own them.

> Ironing board? Mattress? Lawn mower? Kitchen mixer? Washing machine? Laundry basket?

Most serviced apartments have all of those (well except lawn mower obviously). So just rent serviced apartment wherever you are living/working at the moment and you can easily have all your stuff fit into one suitcase.

Where I am this has a significant price premium.

There's a premium, yes. But I think it's a good deal as you don't have to buy any of those things yourself (sunken cost) and you can keep a very high job mobility / flexibility.

This will help you move after better jobs easily and whatever premium you pay you will make back by having better jobs and higher salary imho.

Job mobility is very undervalued these days. I think it's a very strong job negotiation tactic to be so mobile as you have many options to choose from for work as it's so easy for you to move.

My job mobility is hampered anyway by having to pull my wife & kids from their own lives, when I was single I didn't own much more than that but still I think after a few years you'd recoup the expense of buying and selling furniture/appliances.

Most people don't move all that often after their 20s or early 30s (even without a family).

Oh yes I agree. Once you have wife & kids obviously you will settle down in one place and then it makes sense to buy your own appliances and furniture as it's better value long term.

But I am single and right now exactly in the 20s/early 30s part of my life so I find the mobility I gain from owning very minimal inventory of things great.

I have lived and worked in 4 different countries since 2010 and it was great to get to work in different places/cultures and experience life abroad. Obviously eventually I will settle down somewhere.

Most companies will pay relocation or moving fees. They factor the cost for this into the decision to hire.

Having nothing to move could actually indicate to an employer that you are not planning to stay very long.

That's true. Although if you are moving across continents I imagine moving all your furniture and appliances would be a major headache. If you can get all your stuff packed into a suitcase that process would be much simpler. Which means you are de facto more mobile.

for most of the nuclear family population it is financially more logical to own them.

Depends on how often you move. Are you moving once every other year or once every other decade?

That will last until you are married and have children.

I agree. But it's useful to adhere to this philosophy while single. It improves your job mobility a lot.

If you can tell your potential employer that you can fly to country X any time as you just put all your things into a single suitcase, it makes it much easier to relocate for jobs around the world.

Once you settle down and have family / children, obviously you will probably stop moving around and probably stay in a single place for a long time and only move once in a decade or so.

Is your job mobility not 'hampered' by having friends and a social circle that you don't want to leave behind at all?

Yes it is. But I think it's easier to do that while you are in your 20s. Older you get the more difficult it becomes to leave your social circle and friends behind.

You move to a 2 suitcase per person philosophy, but I think it’s still a valuable approach.

Even if you keep around some stuff that are not vital but ‘nice to have’, maintaining a restricted set of things that are enough to live your life if the whole family had to move without notice helps for peace of mind.

What if your wife does not agree with your philosophy? What if your children don't?

Of course, YMMV, but in my experience life is generally less simple once you share it with other people.

If you truly embrace that philosophy you will not be able to marry someone who does not also follow it. It's like a religion and your SO's things will be a daily affront to it.

In which case you risk spending as much on storage as you do on the things being stored.

I'm a minimalist, but my wife throws out more stuff than I do!

..."until"? Both of those are entirely optional.

I wish that's the case for me but can't with kids and wife. Looking around though, most of the stuff I use daily will fit in a suitcase, except for 2 monitors.

>I do think that overall we see value in things that truly have no monetary value all while keeping this item of "value" in the attic or in a box without seeing the light of day for decades. Things take a great deal of time and energy and for me personally, there seemed to be a connection between a disorganized living space with a disorganized mind/life. I cleaned all of that up and found I had better health, had time for the things I enjoy most in life, and was far happier than I would have imagined by having "less."

I don't quite see how an item lying in an attic would make you unhappy.

You are mentally holding on to those things in the attic, whether you consciously realize it or not. It occupies passing thoughts, and when you want to do something, it becomes one of the chains in a long chain of shit-that-needs-to-get-done. "I can't go an visit my mother because she'll want to go swimming, my bathing suit is in the attic under all my old hockey gear, and if I have to move the gear, then I'm just going to donate it. Well, donating it requires a trip to the thrift store, which is closed today. I guess I won't visit my mother". (In software development, we call this process "yak shaving").

An item lying in an attic saps energy from you, often when you least expect it. So yeah, it can make you unhappy.

> It is true that culling the volume of things owned by parents can be a nightmare.

I recommend giving everything to a charitable organisation. They'll know what to do with all the stuff. Where I live, they'd come with their truck and take everything.

Things that you own end up owning you.

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