Monday, May 13, 2019

On books and decluttering



I keep a photo in my  bedroom of my college dorm --  not for sentimental musings over my  halcyon college days,  but for the simplicity expressed.  The room is largely open, containing a twin bed,  an end table with a TV perched atop it, a computer table dominated by a hulking CRT monitor, and a single bookbag in the corner.  The room is utilitarian to the point of spartan; the same box that was used for my books and CD albums now  sits upturned, in used as a bedside table, while in the closet  my  jeans, t-shirts, and   laundry are simply stored  in the same boxes they arrived in.  

I keep the photo as a reminder that I have lived quite comfortably with very little at hand.  Ever since I  left college and began working,  “stuff” has accumulated – mostly books, DVDs, and game discs.   DVDs alone, for instance, run across three huge 500-disc albums and three smaller ones, plus series that wouldn’t fit in an album, like NCIS and The Office.  The books run across six bookcases and at one time, into several boxes. In recent years the sheer weight of all this stuff has stymied my ability to sort through it and find what I want when I need it, and the problem feels worse even amid efforts to organize things. (The albums exist to avoid case clutter, for instance).   Perhaps what makes it worse is the fact that I’m aware of and often advocate the virtues of a simple life. 

 In the last year, my efforts to conquer clutter have ratcheted up, as I increasingly take advantage of digital services like Kindle,  Steam, and Netflix to diminish my ‘need’ for physical media.  The last time I bought a game on discs,  I believe, was in early 2018 – for my Windows 98 PC.   I’ve also donated nearly twenty boxes of books to thrift stores and reduced my clothing to just one closet and one dresser’s worth. I have now created enough space that  I can neatly store what’s left.  

It wasn’t easy to get rid of these things, especially the books. Some may remember my ill-fated “Warp Speed Discard Challenge”,   in which, faced with boxes of Star Trek paperbacks I’d purchased on the cheap at ebay and not touched in six years, I resolved to read and discard them.  Within three months I’d decided to go through the piles and get rid of the ones which were formulaic or unoriginal (based on their plot descriptions – the numbered Trek novels could be absolute dreck in the 90s), and on the year anniversary I just abandoned the whole kit and kaboodle to Goodwill.  I’ve since further reduced my Trek collection, so that ironically it contains only 20 more books than it did ten years ago.   It was though to get to where I wanted to go,  I had to progress through stages of de-attaching myself to the books.  When I moved on to other collections,  I had to reflect on why I wanted to hold on to items that, rationally, I knew I’d never re-read.    One tactic I found which was helpful was to put books into a lidded box, and place them in the closet for a  few months: when I took them out for evaluation, I found it was much easier to discard most of them. (About 30% of a given load would return to the shelves, and I’d load  up the probation box with more.)  




As of yesterday,  I think I’ve turned a corner with all the stuff, which is why I’m writing this now, as a kind of reflection.   I think the reason I keep holding on to things is because I haven’t, or hadn’t, adjusted to the cheap affluence of modern life.  When I was growing up,  the money I made from odd jobs and got from allowance was precious, and so were the items it purchased. My books were read and re-read.    These days, however,   my access to entertainment is less like wandering in a desert and finding oases periodically, and more like living next to a river. The reason I’m not continually re-reading admittedly great novels or fascinating books,  or re-watching favorites like Boy Meets World, is because there’s always more stuff.  The torrent of cheap books and DVDs has been growing by the year, and I think I’m finally realizing that I can just fish from the stream at my leisure instead of holding on to every little thing I can.  

7 comments:

  1. i applaud your courage... i once got rid of 12 large garbage bags of books and have regretted it ever since. i think older people tend to hold on to things more... or maybe not, maybe it's just me. mrs. m goes through a pruning down mania occasionally, but so far i've managed to hold on the mere 2500 books i have, but as i become more enfeebled i'll probably have to give them up... hope i croak first, tho...

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    1. I suppose it depends on the books? I still have all of my bookcases, but the ones I've kept are the ones I really like. One of my professor-friends has a house full of books, and a garage that is...a book warehouse.

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  2. I can certainly relate to this. I used to not have much spending money, so each year I would get a few books (and CDs :)) as gifts and treasure them. These days, I can buy all the books I want, which means they all lose value.

    About 4 years ago, though, it was discovered my room had a terrible mildew problem (risk of living in a rainy climate). My room had to be nearly gutted and re-finished, and in the process I had to suddenly let go of a lot of stuff that had been affected, including books and sentimental items. It was rather disturbing, but it really drove home the meaning behind "where moths and rust destroy."

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    1. OMG Marian!... i'd better check out the back room; never thought of that before!

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    2. It's good to check every so often! It can really sneak up on you. :( I also use disposable air de-humidifiers to collect moisture along the outside-facing walls.

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  3. I would be horrified if I were to see dollar amount of what I spent for all the things I’ve accumulated and tossed in my lifetime. I now have nothing from my earliest years except for a few old photos. I wish I had kept some of childhood possessions. Weird, huh? Of course, I remember only tiny, random snippets from the past. Even yesterday confuses me.

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    1. That's why I buy most of mine used -- it would still add up, though!

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