Stuff

Why do we like stuff so much? I was at my brother-in-law’s apartment recently, and this thought I have had before popped back in my head. He is 21. He is in college. And, his apartment is devoid of stuff. Yes, his roommate has the unnecessary 60″ flat screen television, but they have no pots and pans. They barely have any dishes. Decoration is sparse. And, they wash Solo cups to drink out of. Does this anger them? No. They just don’t care. It makes think of my days in college when I had limited things and I was perfectly content. Now…stuff…all over the place. Actually, I don’t think my wife and I have done terribly, but it just seems that as you get older, you want more stuff. It is like the stuff will make you happy when you know it won’t. It is not like I’m advising a return to college, but why was it alright back then and not now? Since I have money, am I supposed to spend it on stuff? You have to maintain it. You have to store it. You get mad if it doesn’t work or breaks. And eventually, you are going to get rid of it. I used to be a big collector when I was a kid, but not any more. I’m glad I have my collections, but I try to keep that to a minimum nowadays. The collections I have now or almost all digital. All the purchases I make are usually made on things I expect to use. Plus, I have found that if I wait to buy something and decide if I really want it, I end up liking the purchase more. I don’t need any more stuff.