'The Clutter Cure's Illusory Joy'

I want to hear how he managed that. Where did he live?

The metro line is slowly making inroads around LA city nowadays.

 

He lived in Los Feliz, Poin, about four blocks south of Griffith Park and about a half-mile walk to Hollywood Boulevard and the metro. He took the bus a lot, too. But his roommate and all his friends of course had cars, so he was often a passenger for social occasions.

 

We go through our house and get rid of *stuff* like twice a year. There are still at least a dozen boxes in our storage room that haven't been opened since our move in 2006. We barely have anything on our walls. Guns and electronics are about all a burglar would get from us. Easily replaceable.

 

When I got divorced four years ago, I left with basically nothing in terms of material possessions. (My choice; my ex offered to let me take anything in the house that I wanted, but I didn't want to leave big gaping holes in the furnishings of my children's house.) I took my clothes, my guitars, an old mattress that had been in the garage, and that was it. Living in an 800-square-foot apartment for a year certainly helps you assess your priorities.

Four years later, I live with my fiancee in a smallish 3-bedroom rental home. I've acquired sufficient furniture for my kids to have a place to sleep (thanks Ikea!), a work desk, and not much else. Her furniture is sufficient in both quality and quantity to take care of most of the space, and my interest in acquiring any new "stuff" is really, really low.

My 20-year-old daughter is my Millennial measuring stick, and she fits most of the stereotypes. She's anti-capitalist in just about every way. She's not interested actually owning anything. She has a car, but hates the fact that she works basically to take care of her car.

 

The author is writing from Paris and talking about New Yorkers as well. Given the tiny, tiny apartments most people can afford in those places, it's no wonder all she hears is talk about clutter. Seriously, you can't avoid it in those circumstances, especially if you live with someone else.

I cull pretty ruthlessly every year or so, books, clothes, etc. going to the local charity shop. But after six months, I'm seemingly surrounded by heaps of stuff.