We are almost settled here in our new place, except that I feel a deep need to clean the apartment and get rid of someone else's "dirt" so my own "dirt" has somewhere to go.
Some initial thoughts about living in Brookline:
--DJ is *elated* that we have ESPN in HD.
--Vinny T's (a Buca diBeppo-like restaurant right next door) cooks garlic-y seafood dishes every night.
--Walking from our door to the T stop in 30 seconds is way cool.
--Old buildings are quaint but have thin floors and maybe other living things that I don't want to think about right now lest they become a reality.
--Our dear Tivo is back in busineses after a one-year hiatus because we didn't want to pay for a landline in the Quincy apartment.
--I am going to eat out way too much. In our first week here, we ate Thai, Mexican (x2), Malaysian, Korean, BBQ, and Indian.
--We have a lot of stuff. I wish we could live life more simply but in reality it's hard to implement.
Does anyone struggle with the feeling that having a lot of *stuff* is something rather unhealthy and to be avoided? I feel like I want to simplify but it's easier said than done. Should I expect to amass more stuff as we get older, have more money, possibly add more numbers to our family? How do we live in this society and fight the urge to buy every little gadget from the BedBathandBeyonds of this world? How did I collect so much stuff that I need to buy new stuff to hold my existing stuff?? And is this all really making our lives easier?
The idea of consumerism having a negative impact on our minds, culture, even spiritual walk is quite interesting. Can anyone recommend a good book on the topic?
7 comments:
I'm envious of you guys: you live very close to one of my favorite places--The Publick House. Been there?
The book is called "Stop Spending My Money" by Daniel Jeong.
For me too much stuff is unhealthy just because it feeds into that feeling of "needing more," yet I feel like no matter how much stuff I give away, get rid of or throw away, it seems to continue to multiply on its own. Good luck on trying to simplify. If you ever figure out how, please let me know too.
What about the three month rule- toss whatever hasn't been touched in three months.
There's another way that works better for me is comparing the 'storage value', e.g. if an old fish tank that you've been hanging on to because it's still worth $30, toss it if you'd pay $31 to have the clutter go away.
Have you ever read Ordering Your Private World? I heard it was interesting. Not exactly about simplicity but kind of management of time and priorities, I think.
I don't have a book to reccommend but www.flylady.com is a great website about decluttering your life. I personally haven't become a FLYlady, as you can tell from looking around our apartment, but I just might in the next few months as the babies are on the way. Good luck!
Hey I just picked up Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. I haven't cracked it open yet, but it's next.
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