Lots More Stuff

I admit it, I have a thing for stuff.

I had a guitar jones, (So now, instead of buying them, I make 'em...) And that leads to an excuse for tools, and I love tools. How easy it would be to sell tools, because every guy who walks in to Home Depot wants the stuff whether or not they use it or know what it is: "What's that thing?" "That's a cylinder puller, Sir, do you work on cars?" "No, but I gotta get me one of those for the garage wall, yeeeaaahhhhhhh...." How true it is. I had a gun jones for a long time, and I still own a bunch that I haven't shot in forever. There were more, too - Cowboy boot jones, tie jones, computer jones, stereo jones, kitchen stuff jones, and on and on...

How much stuff is enough? My stereo and my TV are eight years old, and that's ancient in the technology sense; I doubt they make 'em any more. If I went to a place that sells such things, and told them what I have, they'd laugh, they'd scoff, they'd look upon me with pity and disdain; "Dolby Surround 5.0? Really? Man, I was in grade school when that came out..." Should I care? People think we're weird because we only own 1 TV; like that's a bad thing...

I think I have too much stuff, but then I think we all do in this country. That's why every town is a giant strip mall now. Electronics, clothes, nails, fast food, stuff. Home Depot and Lowes sells stuff; neither of them has that much serious material any more, and they've driven off the real hardware stores that did. Nails come boxes of 50 and they're expensive - No more nails by the pound in a paper bag, I guess...

I want to make an effort to reduce my stuff. It's hard, 'cause even if I don't use it, I remember when I did and think, well what if... I haven't skied in years, and I live in Texas, but I still got all my stuff - Cross country and downhill. I built extra storage and insulated the crawlspace above the garage for stuff. There's a bunch of it up there now. The only things we go up there to get are Christmas decorations and suitcases. I don't know what the rest of it is, but we haven't touched it in 4+ years. Fishing, camping, hunting, skiing, biking, halloween decorations, 15 gallon water jugs, crap we didn't want to put in the house but didn't give away for some reason...

What do we need? What's the balance? Where is the line between ascetic-living-in-a-cave and the 21st Century shitstorm we live in? I don't know yet, but I want to find it. I mean, realistically, I'm not giving away my tools any time soon, but it's time to look over stuff I don't use ever and give it to somebody who will. I do it with clothes; if I haven't worn it in a year, it's out. I think the whole house, yard, storage shed, and crawl space would benefit from that.

I don't know why I feel the need to purge all of a sudden, it just seems dumb, wasteful, and selfish to have all this stuff that does nothing for anybody year after year... Am I nuts? Is this a mid-life crisis? Should I really foist all this crap on other people?

I don't know; I think it's just a bunch of stuff I'm going through...