Stuff

I'm having an issue with stuff. This time of year I'm reminded of how, generally, we have too much stuff.

I'm not saying it's just me...it's you too. We all have too much stuff. Do you know how I know this? Because of commercials for these...

Come on! You know there is not a single person in the world who needs one of these? What could possibly be the purpose? Yet Fred Meyer has a pallet of these things in every store. And people are buying them!

And why do we only see commercials for these things around Christmas? Because we all have so much stuff and people, who for some reason feel compelled to buy us gifts, can't think of a single thing we NEED so they get something we don't need...The Chia Pet.

The Clapper falls into the same category. OK, I admit The Clapper might actually be a product that someone needs. Maybe about .01% of the population really, really NEEDS The Clapper.

But the clapper now comes with a remote control so that if you don't want to clap to turn on your lights, you can simply push a button. (Wait...there's something familiar about this.)

You can even mount the clapper remote on the wall, so you always know where it is and can easily switch on a light when you come in a room. Just like a light switch, except $24.95.

I spent some time this morning listening to George Carlin's take on "stuff" but will not post the video here because this blog is rated PG.

To paraphrase, George says the meaning of life is to find a place to keep all our stuff and that our houses are really just places for us to keep our stuff. A house is like a pile of stuff with a cover on it. And when we leave the house, we lock it up to keep our stuff safe while we go out to get more stuff. (OK, it does sound a bit funnier when he says it...)

I've been thinking about all the stuff out there for us to buy. Most of us have what we need, but still want to acquire more stuff. Then when the stuff goes out of style, we throw the stuff out and it goes into a land fill. The stuff had to be manufactured and transported, which takes up energy and causes pollution.

But stuff also creates jobs. If we got rid of all the stuff, there would not be enough jobs for people, and then they wouldn't have enough money to buy their stuff.

I think we need less stuff, even if it does create unemployment and other problems with the economy. We can overcome those issues and reduce waste and pollution and debt.

I've been thinking about getting off the consumerism grid. I was inspired by this article I read several years ago and have been thinking about it ever since. I wanted to try it for 2009 but feel the second hand clothing issue would be an obstacle too hard for me to overcome.

So, instead, I'm going to more fully embrace and live by these words:

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do with out.