What Ownes You

I was at Costco recently and as I parked I saw someone placing some large boxes in the bed of their pick-up truck. One thing was a new TV and another box was a printer and there were some other things. As I watched the boxes go from the cart to the truck I has sympathetic buyers remorse for that family.

I used to live a very simple life where most of my possessions could be moved in two loads of a Subaru wagon, but in the last twenty years I too succumb to being a possessor of stuff. I’ve never gotten over my earlier ways to the point where I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I install something new into the house. It’s mostly the left over cardboard boxes that bother me because they show nearly the exact volume you are losing in your space.

There are so many space robbers. Think of how much counter space you lose if you have a microwave oven. I know that new HD TV is really cool, but if you need to get new furniture to accommodate you are losing some major space.

Yes I understand that there are some space savers, like people getting rid of their land line phones and going totally cellular, and that desk top computers are being replaced by lap tops and CD players are much smaller than turn tables and CDs take up less room than vinyl records, but we still have a lot of stuff that takes up way too much room. Most people don’t park in their garages because they already have too much stuff in their garages.

So to the family, I do feel for you. Though you think you’ve taken a step forward, you actually may not have when you find your possessions own you.