Comments on: Collections of Nothing

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:11:12 +0000

I recently relocated and used it as an opprotunity to take stock of my posessions. We went from an 2100 sq ft to 1500 sq ft with room to spare.

It was great to see all of our item fit into a small room and packed into a box truck. Nothing we sold or gave away has been missed in the past seven months since the move.

It was even more amazing to me that my family could easily live out of one suite case per person for about a month (two for me) during the relocation process.

This really give perspective on what is important in life.

By: Dean

Dean — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:50:06 +0000

William Davies King certainly knows all one would care to know about organizing clutter into a collection. An excerpt from his book Collections of Nothing is available on the University of Chicago Press website. Also an essay titled "Nothing to Speak About."

By: Vic

Vic — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:12:56 +0000

I just saw this today and it looks like it might be of interest to your readers:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/002926.php

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:29:54 +0000

very sad way to finally see your stuff and life

By: Ann - One Bag Nation

Ann - One Bag Nation — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:34:55 +0000

That is beautiful, touching writing and speaks to me about much more than the stuff itself.

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:29:48 +0000

What’s lost is nothing to what’s found, and all the death that ever was, set next to life, would scarcely fill a cup.
-Frederick Buechner, From Godric

By: Ida

Ida — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:14:32 +0000

I stopped collecting ‘little things’ quite awhile ago. I now only have about 2 large plastic containers of home decor items that I circulate in-out of my house, this forces me to continually re-evaluate what I have and appreciate the ‘new’ items when I exchange them for the ‘old’.

Next project is to scan my son’s school important papers, drawings etc. onto a disc.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:35:19 +0000

My husband and I have been going through the process of cleaning out closets in order for construction to be done. We’ve been trying to keep eachother in check and remind ourselves that if we haven’t used something in so long, we don’t need to keep it. Lots of stuff in trash, recycle and donate piles. But the sentimental stuff is the hardest… I still have boxes of old birthday cards, letters, etc. I’ve read all the Unclutterer advice, but just can’t bear to part with it!

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:54:12 +0000

@Marie — Stay tuned … this week we run the first entry in a series about fire.

By: Marie

Marie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:14:50 +0000

This reminds me of accounts I read in college from people who lost their homes in a fire. They were simultaneously completely disoriented and entirely liberated. Such interesting food for thought.

By: Suzyn

Suzyn — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:08:47 +0000

I didn’t realize how much stuff we had crammed into every corner of our NYC apartment until we moved to a suburban house with three times the square footage – I could finally spread it all out, and SEE it all. And I’ve been (trying to) purge ever since. Wish I could move back to that apartment (if only it could magically sprout another room for our kids!)

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:22:31 +0000

@Pam — The book has just been released, so you may want to go back and check with your library.

By: Pam

Pam — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:56:34 +0000

What a poignant and lovely piece of writing. Now I’m going to have to buy it (thereby adding to my book collection) since I checked and my library doesn’t have it. Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention.