Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want to do this but I am worried the infrastructure will collapse, the shit will hit the fan, and I will wish I had all those old t shirts to make into reusable toilet paper. Have you read Lionel Shriver's new book, The Mandibles?

The key is to be resourceful and have social capital, because this releases a lot of the fear that lies behind hoarding. Become aware of how much abundance is in nature and in human communities, and how it doesn't require each person to own and hang on to so many things out of desperation and fear. For toilet paper, for example, learn which leaves are good for this, and you're set. In other cases, you can work on developing a practical skill that you can leverage to barter with people who have other things or knowledge you'll need. Besides, it is folly to think that we can each hoard enough to survive on our own for very long if the shit hits the fan.

I responded to the first pp before I saw your reasoned response. Thank you, this is great to keep in mind.

Anonymous wrote:I want to do this but I am worried the infrastructure will collapse, the shit will hit the fan, and I will wish I had all those old t shirts to make into reusable toilet paper. Have you read Lionel Shriver's new book, The Mandibles?

I haven't read that, but your main premise is what's holding me back from simplifying further. I did let go of most t shirts, though.

Anonymous wrote:I want to do this but I am worried the infrastructure will collapse, the shit will hit the fan, and I will wish I had all those old t shirts to make into reusable toilet paper. Have you read Lionel Shriver's new book, The Mandibles?

The key is to be resourceful and have social capital, because this releases a lot of the fear that lies behind hoarding. Become aware of how much abundance is in nature and in human communities, and how it doesn't require each person to own and hang on to so many things out of desperation and fear. For toilet paper, for example, learn which leaves are good for this, and you're set. In other cases, you can work on developing a practical skill that you can leverage to barter with people who have other things or knowledge you'll need. Besides, it is folly to think that we can each hoard enough to survive on our own for very long if the shit hits the fan.

doodlebug wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what to do with books? I have a hard time thinking of putting relatively recent hardcover books in recycling but I'm not sure any organizations take donated books other than children's books.

lots of places take books: you can donate to goodwill or similar, homeless shelters, women's shelters, libraries sometimes take them, you can look into selling them online to powells, amazon, half.com etc. You definitely don't need to recycle books! There's tons of homes for them. Post them on a neighborhood list serve, freecycle, craigslist etc.

There's also an organization that gives books to prisoners, but I forget its name.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know what to do with books? I have a hard time thinking of putting relatively recent hardcover books in recycling but I'm not sure any organizations take donated books other than children's books.

lots of places take books: you can donate to goodwill or similar, homeless shelters, women's shelters, libraries sometimes take them, you can look into selling them online to powells, amazon, half.com etc. You definitely don't need to recycle books! There's tons of homes for them. Post them on a neighborhood list serve, freecycle, craigslist etc.

I'm saving money to travel in a couple of years so I've been good about not buying anything new. I live in a smallish apartment and have a history or not getting rid of stuff, so the goal of long term travel has helped me be more ruthless in donating. I schedule a date for the VVA to pickup, and then fill boxes and bags accordingly. I'm having a hard time getting rid of *everything* I should because I keep thinking I'll have a yard sale closer to when I move and it would be good to have some stuff to sell, but I suppose that's foolish.

I have a friend who sold their house and most of their stuff, refurbished a trailer and toured the west before deciding where they wanted to settle. (They had a 4 yr old kid BTW.) I asked what they did with sentimental things that have no value to anyone else and she said she spend a ton of time scanning things like photos, school awards and random stuff like that that you'd want to remember and look at occasionally, but don't want to have taking up space in your home. So, the answer to the question about kids art, pictures etc etc is to scan them and then get rid of the actual item.

I'm on the fence about whether I'll rent a small storage unit when I go traveling and if so what I'll put in it...what would be worth the cost of storing vs selling or donating and replacing in the future. I suspect very few things are worth the cost of storing.