apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I try to avoid places of temptation such as Target because I know I will invariably like a ton of stuff. Right now I'm trying to clean out and sell or give away a lot of useless stuff that I have collected this way. Besides being eco-minded I just don't have room for the stuff. If you stick with buying at places like thrift stores you will save stuff from a landfill and be more cautious and aware of what you are purchasing and what purpose you are putting it to.

N.

http://badhuman.wordpress.com

How funny! I had just written a post about putting both my house, and myself on a diet this week! http://aimeeroo.com/2008/03/09/the-house-and-i-need-to-lose-some-pounds/

It seems that the best way to avoid clutter is not to purchase things you don't need in the first place. My theme for the year has been "use what you have", and often I find that we already have things we can use for what we need without running out and buying anything new. Now, "inherited" clutter is a tad harder to deal with, but that's when a great clear out is just what the doc ordered!

I feel like I should be able to craft something snappy and slightly gross about the need for apartments to "eliminate," in much the same way that I want to snark on all the probiotic foods that say everything about "losing weight" and "feeling regular" and never once mention pooping. Don't buy up junk you don't need - your apartment will get constipated!

It's time for some apartment fiber!

If you feel like eliminating those Nelson lamps, give me a call. I'd throw out several old Ikea ones to trade for those!

You are so right on! Why do we have this need of wanting and wanting more and more! When will we ever get enough?
I'm more like that when it comes to clothes, is there help for this kind of behavior? :(

I did something similar on my blog at the beginning of the year.

http://designformula.blogspot.com/2008/01/out-with-old-and-in-with-new.html

what's with all this self-promotion, you guys? three out of five posts up there.

Interesting method that I might have to try. One other idea is to avoid purchasing "placeholder" items. That is, things you buy because they are cheaper and/or close enough to the thing you really want just to tide you over until you save enough dough/find the perfect thing. I know I end up being dissatisfied with such purchases and they end up in the garbage or storage (aka place things go to die).

re: 2lastnames

That is a great tip. When I first moved into my apartment, I made a lot of "placeholder" purchases that I now regret. I've been slowly selling them off on craigslist/ebay.

I don't mind the self-promotion, aka links to other people's blogs. I never know what I might find there.

I agree with 2lastnames about the placeholder items. They're sort of like junk food. Cheap, fast, immediate gratification, but without substance.

For pkswede, there are two paths to having enough. And neither has to do with having unlimited funds.

One is poverty. The other is self-examination.

Poverty, in that there is no extra money for trendy clothing, furniture that comes with a first and last name, and six dollar coffee drinks. Enough is when you can pay the bills, and have made efforts to save on those bills. When you have a roof over your head, and you are able to keep warm. Enough is when you have had something to eat today.

Self-examination and enough, that is when you have been poor for awhile, LOL, and realize that you, your inner you, is not "better" if it has trendy clothing. Your inner you is not "better" if you have more money, if you have furniture with names, if you have certain products around your home.

That is why we will all feel disappointed, uneasy, restless, because we look outside ourselves for satisfaction. We look outside ourselves for reward.

The advertisers know this and play on it, telling us, CONNING us into believing that we will be hip or cool or be part of the in-crowd if we would just buy their stuff.

Culture forms around these various in-groups, so that clothing in-groups will frown in disdain if you do not have the right clothing. And you will be ostracized. It's a group conformity thing.

You've seen it here. You've seen it everywhere. You have to buy your way into a group. By having knowledge. Possessions. "Good taste". A criminal record. LOL! Whatever is required for each specific group. And you have to keep proving yourself.

You have to prove you know Mid-C. You have to show that you have good taste in fashion. You have to compete.

Having "enough" means you don't compete. You don't buy into trends. You have your own style and level of comfort. You pick and choose things that you like, because you like them, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Remember in that show Frasier, where the father had that awful, duct-taped recliner? That is enough. Comfort chosen over exterior appearances is one quality of "enough".

Enough does not try to impress. Enough is contentment with what one has now, without longing for a completely different life.

If a lamp could make someone a better person, I think we need to start a program "Lamps for Prisoners". And outfit our prisons with furniture, lamps, trendy clothing and a Starbucks.

true blue -- you are coming at this from a very moralistic and North American perspective.

In Europe, in large measure (not all countries are the same), there is far less consumerism, but there is no shaming for appreciating or owning beautiful items.

Here, people tend to mix it up -- they may own several beautiful pieces, supplemented with inherited or flea market finds and IKEA. Such a range in styles helps short-circuit the short-lived trendiness that feeds the consumerist cycle.

I take issue with your definition of "enough" -- it doesn't have to be as ugly as that recliner.

Beauty is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing that needs to be apologized for, nor is it superfluous or unnecessary. Beauty feeds the soul and the spirit, it brings grace and contentment to our days, and helps us express our innermost selves -- it is a natural instinct for man to make his surroundings pleasing.

Even life behind the Iron Curtain (with few consumer goods) was not this grim...

Just throw it all away. Memories are in your head - not in your posessions and anything thats not a memory is just something else to clean or find room for.

Then when its all gone, resolve to only buy the very best of only what you need. Luxury is in the detail so save your pennies until you can afford that Frette bedlinen, Villeroy & Boch crockery, Hermes wine glasses or whatever takes your fancy. When your everyday necessities are exquisite the need for masses of junk just disappears.

Laure, is that a walker next to the cardboard box?

I could not agree more about the concept of "placeholder" items. Most of the apartments I lived in post-college were filled with (IKEA) placeholder items that were never replaced and which were thrown out every time I moved, because they fell apart when you tried to move them anywhere. In my current apartment, almost everything that's come in will be going out with me because it's stuff I waited for, hunted down/built/refurbished/saved for.

I agree with the "buy really good stuff and not 'placeholders.'" At the very least, buy things you _really_ like. I have a 1950s Formica table with a really unique design that I would not trade for anything...it wasn't very expensive, but I love it. Another thing that helps with the 'hunt for good stuff' is making friends with local antique / thrift stores. If they know what you're looking for, they'll often call you when something comes in. I got a beautiful dry sink (which I use as a buffet / sideboard) this way, along with a funky Victorian bookshelf and a really neat men's dresser. (For all the matchy matchy folk out there...it's true...stuff in my house doesn't match, but visitors point out that my house feels 'welcoming and comfortable,' and that's what I think a house should be...)

seeing the top photo gives me so much inspiration every time i see it! purge purge purge.. memories in head... items not needed must goooo.....

A corollary to the "placeholder" phenomenon is the "buy it coz it's cheap and OK" versus spending real money to get something perfect. I am re-training myself to resist a purchase because it's cheap and will do the job, when I should hold out, save money and get the perfect thing I really want (years of shopping at Marshall's will do that to you). It's the old quality over quantity argument. I used to think more quantity is better, but then I was left with a closet full of cheap, "just OK" clothes and a headboard that was nicely priced but tough to look at. Buy what you really want with careful consideration and don't be lured by cheap-o price. Ideal state: the perfect thing you want is discounted. Hot damn!

I like the European philosophy - don't have too much, but what you do have is very high quality. I feel that it really helps cut down on clutter and there is something very satisfying about using that wonderful object that you really treasure. That being said, I find that I tend to spend money on those things that I will use everyday - a nice table, chair, jeans - and then try to repurpose or borrow those things that I use more infrequently.

I just remember the Italian men that I met only having 2 or 3 suits, but they were Armani or some other exquisitely made item. Their homes would be simply furnished, but with items that were beautiful enough to stand on their own.

I also believe in buying items that fit your space, so I do have some issue with spending tons of money on an item that may not work in your next space.