'The Clutter Cure's Illusory Joy'

[poindexter]

I graduated college in 1987 and I've seen, way before the technology tether, certain co-workers who gave it their "all" to their jobs. I am going to make a sweeping generalization and say for the most part, these people were lacking in other aspects of their lives, and filled a void through work. Unless you are out there curing cancer, or doing some other such noble work, that all-work attitude is pretty sad.

 

[Iron_chet]

I graduated college in 1987 and I've seen, way before the technology tether, certain co-workers who gave it their "all" to their jobs. I am going to make a sweeping generalization and say for the most part, these people were lacking in other aspects of their lives, and filled a void through work. Unless you are out there curing cancer, or doing some other such noble work, that all-work attitude is pretty sad.

The generalization I would make now, and I know this is a broad brush, is that it is childless people who are answering e-mail at all hours of the day.

Before kids and family and some perspective on work/life balance I was available always and was probably a pain in the ass to some people. When you are building your career and rep it seems to be the way to go. A respected boss told me that what I was doing was not sustainable.

I have also had bosses who preached work/life balance but their actions did not support their words.

We had a tremendous EVP who quit sending and answering e-mail in the evening unless it was an emergency. This filtered down through the ranks and became the norm for a while, changed shortly after he left unfortunately.

 

[I Should Coco]

A lot of it - from what I've read and observed - is driven by milennials. They don't want stuff. They don't even buy cars. They spend a huge percentage of their disposable income on two things: (1) Travel; (2) Restaurants.

And (3) gadgets/access to the Internet.

But overall you're right. My 25 and younger coworkers — who, in theory, have money to spend on a decent used car or a leased car — avoid it like the plague. There's a definite aversion to being tied down by a car payment, and I agree 100 percent with that reasoning.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

My son lived a year in Los Angeles (!!!) with no car. He doesn't have one now in Boston, of course, and after this winter, he may have a lot of older Bostonians joining him in that decision.

 

[poindexter]

My son lived a year in Los Angeles (!!!) with no car. He doesn't have one now in Boston, of course, and after this winter, he may have a lot of older Bostonians joining him in that decision.

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

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

 

[Michael_ Gee]

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.

 

[JackReacher]

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.

 

[FileNotFound]

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.

 

[britwrit]

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.