Just my $0.02. Or what would have been $0.02 until the market got hold of it.

(Not saying that attachment to stuff *in general* is irrational. I love my stuff — even more than they do, cuz I have so little of it! I try to make it so that I only own things I love, so on average my attachment to any given object I own is quite high! I mean attachment to orphaned socks and never-used kitchen appliances, all the “loose bits of string” of life.)

You’re right on every point up there, I think. I’ve always thought you advocated a very smart consumerism, but I think it’s a subtle one that sometimes people miss because they’re assuming this is an anti-consumerist blog or a consumerist blog or an environmentalist blog, or something else that this isn’t.

I’m moving toward surrounding myself with only the things that I need, and valuing the things that I have that make me truly happy. There’s a garbage can and a donation box for the rest of it.

I actually do hang on to my orphan socks. I wear though my socks pretty fast (since i don’t wear shoes at home). I just put the good half of the pair into the same small drawer my hankies are in, and when i have another orphan sock, match them up. nothing weird about that.

@ Erin:
Thank you so much for putting up with jerks & a-holes. I think the studies are on your side when it comes to the better living/saving money through owning what you need/want, not what you want/need owning you.

Each and every one of us has limited resources: limited money, limited time, etc. We try to manage this scarce resources the best we can. We also have to predict the future: is this iPod now worth more or less than my future retirement? Whatever, think it through. Maybe it is, maybe it’s not.

Always remember, that there’s no one size that fits all. Your personal preferences and choices are yours only. Other people might value certain decisions differently.

People hear all kind of advice: Buy cool iPhones! Live frugally! Limit green house gas emission! Invest in Vanguard index funds! That’s confusing, if you can’t tell an advice from an order. I believe that this confusion is the real source of anger mentioned in this blog article.

I don’t know if uncluttering helps economy, or not. But I’m pretty sure that general thoughtfulness helps a lot.

“You can’t have it all
Don’t blame politicians and bankers. The real cause of the credit crisis is a society that wants everything now”

From the National Post Sep23/08
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=814048

“Those of us with a sense of history, or whose personal memories go back to the 1940s and ’50s, remember some of the maxims of the old society — values forged during many generations when good times inevitably gave way to hard ones. Our parents told us stories of the wrenching effects of the Great Depression and how it caused them never to feel right about spending lavishly or going into debt. It was important to save money in advance to pay for the things a person wanted — education, a household, a home.”

“The left had always been utopian and narcissistic, but the abandonment of thrift and prudence even by conservatives signalled a great social change. Everyone had bought into the culture of having it all.”

I fight the following daily..

If you dont drive the biggest SUV you can find, you are unamerican.(in regards to my trading in two cars to get a smartcar)

If you dont have lots of credit card debt you are unamerican. (seriously, I was told this!)

if you dont buy lots of stuff then you are unamerican.

I laugh, and say, “well then you need to double up and make up for me!”

Just smile and know that that person has their head in a cloud and can only be happy that way.

If we are headed into another depression, I think a lot of people are going to find out the hard way that large amounts of stuff require a lot of money to maintain. Living lightly is the only way to go.

What I found was, I didn’t miss television at all, and my possessions in the darkened rooms pretty much ceased to exist. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I spent 25 years in the same house, accumulating “stuff” that was attractive in the light, but pretty much served no purpose. I really didn’t even miss being able to cook, and am going to be slow to fill my lovely clean and empty refrigerator.

If you’re busy “curating” your stuff, you’ll miss out on living your life. Of course, that’s also true when everything is looking rosy!

However, people who have “issues” with acquisition such that they feel that they are worth more if they HAVE more often feel that they are worth less (read “worthless”) if they have less. A smaller sub-set of those people cannot be satisfied with feeling they’ve made the right decision for themselves; they can only feel “right” if they think they will make you feel “wrong”.

As you noted, there’s a distinct difference between prudent purchases and clutter, and clutter needs to be maintained with greater financial expenditures for rent/mortgage for larger or additional storage space and greater expenditures of energy…especially in terms of having to DUST all of it.

And if we are heading towards another Great Depression, a maternity dress that hasn’t been worn (and hasn’t been in style) since the 1980s isn’t suddenly going to replace hard currency. A sofa with broken springs that takes up half your garage (forcing you to park your vehicle outside) isn’t suddenly going to make you financially secure. Not previously acting upon the inherent difference between clutter and items of value is a main reason people call on professional organizers, and the act of getting organized saves them time and money…and gives them confidence in facing an uncertain future with a sense of control over their lives and surroundings.

While I’m glad you shared this version of the kind of comments you receive, I hope you will declutter your inbox by purging the negativity that comes your way.