You might think it’s dumb that I write about things like pen caps and sock hangers — but that would mean you were missing my larger purpose. My assignment (call it a compulsion if you must) is to scrutinize each and every little item and ask the big questions — go all the way back […]
Entries Tagged as 'Trash Disposal'
Collectivitis combined with the ecological mindset
March 18th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Collecting, Consumer Issues, Disposability, Philosophy, The Packrat Mind, Trash Disposal
Tags:cheaply made goods·collecting·collectivitis·disposability·garbage problem·landfill·packrat mentality·throwing stuff out·too much stuff·waste·waste disposal
Sentenced to sort
February 9th, 2013 · 1 Comment · Decluttering, Passing it on, Recycling, Trash Disposal
A few days ago I took out all the pens I could find around the house and put them on the dining room table so I could sort them: “Pens to keep” and “Pens to get rid of.” But each of those categories has several subcategories, like Pens I love but need ink refills; Pens […]
Tags:clutter reduction·decluttering·despair·getting rid of stuff·pens·plastic·recycling·throwing stuff out·too much stuff·writing implements
Inching up to the new year
December 28th, 2012 · No Comments · Decluttering, Excess of Possessions, Trash Disposal
……and we all know that means: Time for “Throw out the old year, make way for the new!” In the 70s, in Naples, Italy — a city of three to four storey apartment buildings built up around the ancient villas and castles — throwing out the old year was taken as seriously as throwing that […]
Tags:getting rid of stuff·Italy·Naples·New Year·old furniture·ratty·safety·survival
Just Say NO to STUFF
December 10th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Decluttering, Trash Disposal
I used to blame myself for being a packrat, but I’ve noticed that every living person I know has this same clutter problem. A lot of dead people I’ve known have this problem too, and the living people around them aren’t at all happy about it. Wait. Maybe I shouldn’t blame myself. At least not […]
Tags:decluttering·excessive packaging·garbage problem·packrat mentality
Back to the Caves?
December 5th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, The Packrat Mind, Trash Disposal
The global garbage problem disturbs me horribly. The whole world is filling up with stuff just like our homes are. I don’t think going back to being cave people is the answer. My hope is that if we start from the microcosm of our own dwellings, word of our efforts, of our refusals to participate, […]
Tags:cave people·cheaply made goods·excessive packaging·garbage problem·packaging·planned obsolescence·start at home·wasteful packaging
More on Cave Dweller Life
December 4th, 2012 · No Comments · Consumer Issues, Excess of Possessions, Trash Disposal
In Paleolithic times, the nagging household question was “Honey, where’s my club?” That wasn’t a hard one, when you only had three or four possessions. Today the question is “Where’s my this, where’s my that!?” and on and on. A different question every time. Drives Honey crazy. Why can’t we find our stuff? Because, unlike […]
Tags:cave people·finding your things·getting rid of stuff·Paleolithic times·too much stuff