Refuse, Reuse, or make Refuse

Nine years ago, my wife and I packed all of our of worldly belongings into my Honda Civic and made for Charleston to start our lives together.  The Civic's four-cylinder engine begged for mercy from the immense weight of our stuff. The rear shocks sagged from the car's payload, which to my dismay, included a full-size ironing board.  The Honda dutifully made several more trips to Ohio and still sits in my driveway; the ironing board still hangs in my closet and sees little use.

A year later, we again packed up to move into our new house.  This time the Civic couldn't hold us and nothing less than a twenty foot U-haul would do. That day, with my father-in-law riding shotgun, I learned to drive a moving truck and a manual transmission.  I ground through the gears while he ground his teeth as 50-mph was all that truck could muster; it was a nervous time. Buying a home, moving, driving a big rig on South Carolina roadways; there was just cause for using the 'Oh shit!' handles in that van.

It only took us eight short years to outgrow our home and we find ourselves packing once more.  Having a family will do that for you, and packing this much stuff will let you know just how gluttonous we can be.  The movers have assured me that a twenty-six foot truck is all they will need.  But how? How is for them to figure out, but it has got me stressed.  Who needs this much stuff? In the course of packing I've found things I didn't even realize that I had, took three trunk loads to Goodwill, and put another three cubic yards in the local landfill.  Among the notable finds were 200 T-shirts, six bicycles, a preserved alligator head and a set of shark jaws that my dad gave me, and no less than 12 rolls of wrapping paper from Christmases past (no Christmas trees though, those are in the woods behind my house).

How does someone accumulate so much crap?  Clearly after living eight years without using any of it, I didn't need this stuff.  So why do we feel it necessary that each home in America have their own ________ (insert lawnmower, gas grill, nail gun, weed eater, or any other item currently taking up space in your garage here)?  Why not have a community shed of common items to be shared among neighbors?  Each household could have their particular day or week to use certain things.  Think of the money that could be saved; think of the fights that would ensue.  We are so accustomed to having what we want, when we want it, that we have completely abandoned our communal roots. We allow companies to profit from our wastefulness and unwillingness to share.

Next time, before you throw away that motorized tie rack from your closet, ask yourself: Can I use this for something else? Or can someone else use this? Better yet, before you buy that motorized tie rack, ask yourself: Do I really need this?  Until then, happy hoarding.