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Comment by doshi | Hacker News Reader

I clean out my belongings at the end of every month, and it is surprisingly refreshing to see how much unused stuff has been cleared out of my home.

But I guess it's easier to live a lifestyle as a 24-year-old where I can pack up and move to a new location easily... I imagine it's more difficult for older people that have more items of sentimental value.

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I'm 32 and have become less sentimental over time. I went through an aggressive cleaning spree about six months ago, and gave away about 1/3 of my belongings.

Older, and I want to get rid of everything.

Do it. I got rid of everything but a suitcase full of clothes, a couple laptops, and some books (less than a dozen). It's incredibly liberating.

I have a family. Most things cluttering my life are things I did not acquire.

22, and remember being a kid and finding sentimental value in many, many more things than I do now. Part of it might be that the novelty of having things at all wears off over time.

Moving (and shipping) all of your belongings across country a few times will also kill the sentimentality, fast.

33, never been very sentimental and I don't own much stuff, but there are those weird little things. Sitting here in my office is the manual film camera I used during photography class in college. I've been meaning to put on eBay. It hasn't been used in many years and I could always get another camera, if I wanted one. And I wouldn't even want this model again, if I were starting from scratch. But once it's gone, I'll never have this camera again. I don't know why that matters, but it somehow does.

Camera gear is the only part of my collection of stuff that is growing, but—on the plus side of things—I actually make use of all five cameras that I own:

* Fuji medium format film rangefinder

* Leica M6 35mm film rangefinder

* Hasselblad 501CM medium format film SLR

* Fuji X-T1 SLR-style digital mirrorless

* Fuji X100s digital rangefinder

I can't imagine needing or wanting to buy another camera without paring down on my existing collection[1].

On another note, you should run a roll of film through it just for fun. I've been compiling a list of available types of film, along with darkrooms and film labs where you can have it developed here: http://www.ishootfilm.org

[1] Except for a 4x5 large format camera, which I've been drooling over for months. Still, they're sufficiently impractical that I've resisted the urge.

Hmm, yes, have a Mamiya medium format SLR, M6, X100s, but 4x5 is a bit small, have a 5x7. Film cameras are much more interesting, you can have more - borrowing a Hasselblad Xpan at the minute.

I'd definitely rather have a 5x7 or 8x10 than a 4x5, but film availability for 5x7 seems...limited. I only know of ten film stocks available in a 5x7 format[1] vs. 25 for 4x5[2] (including some C-41 and E-6) and 19 for 8x10[3] (again including C-41 and E-6).

And then, of course, 4x5 seems moderately impractical, and 8x10 only more so ;)

[1] http://www.ishootfilm.org/film?utf8=✓&film_size%5B%5D=size_5...

[2] http://www.ishootfilm.org/film?film_size%5B%5D=size_4x5&utf8...

[3] http://www.ishootfilm.org/film?utf8=✓&film_size%5B%5D=size_8...

There is more 5x7 than that - Fuji still make some http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/film-analog/film/sheet-fi... and Kodak Portra is available for special order, and thats just the colour ones. You used to get a bunch in half plate and European metric sizes too, although less now. (I also have an 8x8 back for my camera and cut down 8x10...)

Ah, I see, from Japan. Cool, thanks for the links. I'll add them.

edit: all of the 5x7 film listed there is out of stock :-\

Argh, wonder if it is discontinued. You can get Rollei Ortho 25 5x7 http://www.macodirect.de/films-blackwhite-films-sheet-films-...

Also Ilford do other films ie Delta 100 in any size in their annual ULF run http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/201457131359681.pdf (their Ortho is 13x18cm which needs different holders but they are fairly easy to get).

But yes its got much worse recently... I mostly stick to Ilford.

Those are some solid cameras.

As I've gotten older I've come to realize that very few of my own posessions actually mean anything. In my twenties the things I owned had a very strong sentimental value. In my late thirties I can't think of very many things that fall into that category.

The stuff that means the most to me would look like junk to anyone else: an origami crane, inexpertly folded; a used sock with buttons sewn on it; a styrofoam heart with tissue paper and googly eyes glued to it; a few really bad pencil drawings... Handmade by my children, and given to me with love. I'll never part with them.

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