stuff-n-things

last night, the boy and i, as well as a hoard of design geeks and like-minded individuals, went to the chicago screening of objectified, thanks to coudal partners. i enjoyed it, though, i’m told helvetica is better. (i should probably see it for myself then judge.)

my final takeaway from the movie was essentially my general feeling about “stuff,” whether well designed or not, and that is, we (meaning me personally and society at large) have too much of it.

as naz and i pare down our lives from about 1,300 sq. ft. of living space to that of only 850, i can’t tell you how elated i am. i look forward to having less possessions to move, to collect dust and to be, well, useless. the only reason we accumulated so many objects in the first place, namely furniture, is because we currently have the space for it. we’d buy random pieces that were cheap and that would loosely complement our aesthetic. but the truth is, a lot of it was never utilized or even noticed.

currently we have a second bedroom that serves as our office. as of late, when naz has deadlines to meet, he’ll use the office properly with headphones on, but i’ll take my laptop to the couch, turn on the tube and that’s where i remain for the rest of the night. the armchair and my desk chair as well as my desk are all just sitting there, not serving a purpose. so then, what’s the point?

our new place is a straight-up, one bedroom apartment where the living room will combine with naz’s workspace. at first, the idea of one area doing double duty didn’t sit well with me, but then when i realized that his computer monitor is bigger than our television anyway and has hulu, i instantly saw the advantages. besides, i like the idea that i can do crafting in the living room while the animals lounge on the couch and naz is designing away. oh, and 850 sq. ft. means a lot less cleaning time, which is icing on the cake.

i used to be extremely attached to things, whether they were simply mementos or practical items. but in the end, stuff is stuff, and most of it isn’t necessary. if i had ten minutes to evacuate before a hurricane what do i grab? the animals, some wool tops, my hard drive (i need some electronic data, i.e. memories), my wallet and my iphone. that list came together easy now, under no pressure, but i’m pretty sure the pickings would be more difficult as the eye of the storm approached. but it’s definitely interesting to think about.

29 April 2009