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| Source: Anne Parker |
As I engaged in simple living, I started considering my material purchases more closely before handing over my carte bleue. I also started questioning my culling choices, as you may have read, and one of the elements I started pondering lately is the real cost of objects on our daily outcome, beyond their purchase price.
I believe one of the key elements of simple living is to spend less time, energy and money on material items. The time and energy part can be reduced by limiting shopping trips, wishlist creation and other similar activities, but the money part appears more tricky, as the stereotypical "buy less but better" reduces the amount of items purchased but doesn't change the overall budget much.
In that case, how can we reduce the outcome linked to material objects? I think one of the answers to this question is to consider the overall daily cost of maintaining our collection of objects. Let me explain.
When I started working in the video game industry, I remember being surprised by one fact: storing the games that haven't been sold costs an insane amount of money - in transport, storage etc. There was even a story, decades ago, of a publisher who buried tens of thousands of game cartridges in the desert, because discarding them was cheaper than owning them.
This little story made me think: is it possible that in our life too, it would cost us more to keep owning objects than it would to discard them? In that case, wouldn't the rationale "I don't need it but it cost me a lot when I purchased it" be moot?
Let's take a car: when you buy it, the cost of owning it goes beyond the purchase price; you have to pay for insurance, gas, reparations. Owning a car weighs on your budget, even if you don't use it. The car example is obvious, but this is also true for many other types of items - the regular dry cleaner fees for all the dry-clean only clothes, the extra storage (bookshelves etc) you have to buy for your collections of items like books or DVD, or even the higher rent or morgage you have to pay for this extra room that stores all of your stuff.
The business world even has a concept for it: the Total Cost of Ownership, which helps businesses determining the real costs of their purchases, to see if they can afford it, or the real value of an investment.
How can we apply this concept to our approach to material objects as individuals? I will probably give it more thought and write a post about reducing the overall weight of material items on your budget, but in the meantime, here are a few simple suggestions:
- When you buy a new item: When you plan for a new acquision, think about what additional costs it may bring beyond the purchase price. Will you need to buy new furniture or boxes because of it? Will you need to buy regular "ammo" for your item? (for example, Nespresso capsules). How much will it cost to maintain it? (for example, dry cleaning).
- When you edit your collection of items: Think about how much it costs you to keep owning them. How much does the storage space cost? Did you buy extra boxes to organize them? Could you live in a smaller home if you freed the space they are taking up? Could you repurpose some furniture or boxes, hence avoiding a new purchase for other items you are actually using? Do you still need to pay for regular maintenance?
- Additional tip: In order to avoid extra cost, I define a space for a certain collection of items, and stop buying any once it's filled. For example: one shelf for books, one shelf for video games. No extra storage cost. Once the space is full, it also forces me to carefully curate my collection, think of which ones I really want to keep.
What do you think? Have you already taken into consideration the "total cost of ownership" of an object before making a purchase? Do you take it into consideration when you sort your stuff? Any additional tips on the subject?
Not to forget those who have to deal with the mountains of stuff that belonged to you after you die. It cost me a lot of money and time dealing with my parents' stuff. It's been over 20 years since my mother passed away and it's only last year that I finally got rid of the last of it. I wouldn't want those who survive me to deal with that.
ReplyDeleteI admit I haven't consider that part - what we leave behind when we pass away. Maybe because I haven't been confronted with the passing of a close one yet. I do remember all the stuff that invaded our appartment when my grandmother passed though.
DeleteThe generation of my parents do consider this a lot, as in leaving a legacy to their children via real estate for example, but I wonder if they consider the mountain of stuff they filled their houses with. Now that I think about it, I definitely prefer to leave experiences to my children, spending my money of vacation trips, activities etc. rather than a collection of items they will probably not care about when I pass away.
Clara* :
DeleteI had to answer on that one... I heartily agree with nutrivore, even if I am still young. My parents and I are dealing with this situation at the moment and it is extremely painful : they have to throw away mountains of things without any kind of value, neither sentimental or financial, but the simple fact that they were stored away by loved ones still makes them so painful to discard ! Not to mention the sheer quantity of stuff. It's actually exhausting and nerve-wrecking. It's going to take many years to really "digest" this heritage and be able to make it bring something to our lives rather than enslave us with the moral obligation of having to spend our lives looking after some other person's stuff, however beloved the person. Honestly, I would be deeply ashamed and saddened to impose this on my children, and leave them with such heavy memories to deal with instead of doing it myself.
* I put my name here as apparently you either have to give an URL or be anonymous to publish a comment...?
Thanks for your own insight on the subject Clara! I think you can put your name without an url when you post a comment, you don't have to be anonymous if you don't have an url. I guess these stories of dealing with the possessions of a loved one that passed away shows the burden of possessions on the next of kin. Given how much more stuff we own now compared to 50 years ago, I wonder how this will turn out in the next few decades. The good thing is, maybe it will make our generation realize the burden of inherited possessions and we will make sure to avoid leaving too many objects to our loved ones when we pass away.
DeleteThis is something interesting to chew on. I don't think I've ever considered storage costs and how that affects additional purchases (like a shelf to store books, for example.) I'll just take my room. I bought a bed, a bookshelf, and a table when I moved in. The bookshelf doubles as my dresser and shoe storage and actually does not contain any books (my books are at my parents' house.) If I do buy things, it's usually clothes, shoes, and consumables like food and drink. Or the occasional tech item, which is usually camera related. The room is about 9 by 12 feet. I store shoeboxes and clothes under my bed and my entire closet is mostly clothes and two bins that house my documents and knick-knacks which I haven't unpacked.
ReplyDeleteThe layout of my room is not ideal. At the best, I can keep the clutter in their respective areas, but it is full to bursting (especially the closet.) I don't want to edit any more clothes at the moment, but it does make me reflect on how I might be able to optimize and reduce the amount of stuff in my room--there's a psychological effect of feeling stuck/burdened when there's so many things taking up valuable space.
The question of organization is also very important indeed, and items can not only cause extra expenses to organize and maintain, but also cause visual clutter that makes everyday life less pleasant and convenient. For example, my current appartment is 10m² smaller than the one before (and that's 30% less space so that's a lot) but it is so well organized (by the owner, not me, I just had to put my luggage down and add a bed here, a table there) that I find it much more pleasant to live in. I think it is an important factor to keep in mind when moving into a new space. And when we are not moving, there are still ways to make everyday life easier and more pleasant, and, in my experience, it often involves less stuff, to give more space to the objects we are actually using and admiring.
DeleteThis is really interesting, and something that most people don't think about. In America it's normal to have a huge house packed with stuff, and maybe a storage locker or 2 on top of that. I recently watched a documentary on "Tiny Houses", about people who live in incredibly small spaces. Not only the constructed 'tiny houses' but garages turned into houses, studio apartments like closets. One woman lived on a boat and it looked like the happiest and most well-curated place. She was so content. It got me thinking and I realized that I would prefer a smaller place, and owning less things, so that I have more freedom - money to travel, or donate, or save to retire early, etc. I've been culling my possessions and taking note of everything I own, making sure it's really something I'd want to take with me when I move out.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people aren't even considering the benefits of owning less. As you say, it is considered normal to have big houses filled with stuff. I think it is also considered normal, in time, to earn more and more money, and get more and more stuff as a proof of social success. I think that upgrading the material lifestyle as years pass is so deeply rooted in Western values that we automatically assume owning less means being poor, having failed, or being some marginal weirdo. It would probably take a lot of time to turn these deeply held conceptions around, but I feel there is a voice rising for the benefits of a simple life, like the documentary you mention. I'm hoping this kind of things will help people see alternatives to the regular consumerist lifestyle...
Delete'The total cost of ownership', I like that expression. Without naming it as such, I have applied the principle in the past. Not because I'm that clever, but out of pure necessity :-) . I share a two-bedroom apartment with my husband, and if we're not careful we'll be living amidst boxes and cupboards... Our second bedroom / office space already resembles a dump site more often than not. Anyhow our cupboards are always overflowing and we're coming to the limit of what looks passable with regard to storage systems (let alone 'zen'!). We also bought an expensive, nearly wall covering modular shelving system for books and cd's last year, with limited space for expansion. So that really makes you ponder extra purchases!
ReplyDeleteIt's true that we naturally start to feel limited by the space we have, once we start having a lot of items. What's too bad though, is that more often than not (and it is my case too!), when we realize it we already have too much stuff to deal with. The natural reaction to it tends to move into a bigger place, or rent a storage unit, or buy a new bookshelf, rather than editing our possessions by removing what we don't actually use. As a bookworm I admit that I'm still dreaming of that kind of wall covering shelving system though - and it can be perfectly adequate if it's not overflowing with stuff. A good way to carefully choose what we really want to have around :)
Deletethis makes me think of a friend of mine. her mother is sick and can do less and less things alone. they looked into assisted living apartments but the biggest ones where about 40 m^2. she lives alone in a flat with more than 70 m^2 and does not want to move to a smaller space because she couldnt keep all her furniture. my friend just became a mother herself and her mother feels like she becomes a burden.
ReplyDeleteits such a literal example for what all the minimalists keep on saying. your stuff ones you, holds you back and prevents you from living the best way you can.
i don't want to become like that.
i do my best to limit the space for stuff. for example i moved my nailpolishes from a basket which always allowed for one more bottle on top to a wooden box which will not expand. i now live for almost 9 month in my small flat and still enjoy the process of fine tuning everything and editing my possessions.
It is disheartenening when you realize these things isn't it? In the same vein, I read about unempolyment rates and poverty, and statistics showed that a lot of unemployed people are so because they have settled into a region and refuse to move to where jobs are.
DeleteI'm not saying we should bend our lives to the will of our employers and run around the world after jobs, but it is too bad to give up on interesting career or life opportunities just because we have bought a house and filled it with stuff and we want to stay here and not move away - or because there is so much stuff it would be a nightmare to move it all to a new region. As you say, material items become a burden and makes people less free in that situation.
I've often heard people from the minimalism movement say that objects cost time & money to maintain and keep, but I admit I've always been skeptical - I just don't see myself spending four hours a day maintaining anything and I haven't had to pay for extra storage etc.
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, though, what I do notice is that once you start buying something it's easy for that to lead to needing more. This is especially true with fashion, where you buy a skirt and suddenly you need a top to go with it, and oh, it would look so great with these boots, and... So I can definitely see that it can lead to more "needs" popping up than those you actually fulfill.
I think the burden of possessions on our time, energy and money takes a different form for each of us depending on our lifestyle. Like you, I don't spend 4 hours a day maintaining my stuff, but I think people tend to spend more and more time on their stuff as time passes. When you start paying for a morgage, and you can't travel or give up your job so easily because you have to keep paying it every month. When you have a big house with a garden, swimming pool etc and you spend hours every week-end mowing the lawn and cleaning the pool... Even if I don't own much, I have a cellar in my previous city, and it still takes me one day every six months to go through it and sort its content out.
DeleteI think your example is good too - sometimes, new items call for new purchases to complete them. The wardrobe example is a good one. Another example in the cultural field is when you buy books, comics or manga that come in several volumes. If you buy volume one, you kinda have to buy the rest of the volumes to get the full story. When you know that some manga have over 100 volumes, you can imagine the burden :/