Summary of Paul Graham's Essay "Stuff"
Original essay here.
We have too much stuff.
Why?
A generation or two back, stuff used to be costly. As you can see from your grandparents’ photos, houses from half a century ago have few or no built-in cupboards. They look empty. This is because people had less stuff. Now, stuff is cheap, but we haven’t yet updated our attitudes towards it. We overvalue stuff. This is similar to how, as food became cheap, we want from undernutrition to overeating, because we didn’t realise that the game changed from finding enough food to survive to controlling how much we eat. We’re playing the old game in the new world. Same with stuff.
Especially those of us who have grown up in scarcity instinctively accumulate stuff. We tell ourselves it’s irresponsible and reckless to throw things away.
Some of us chase deals.
The people whose job is to sell you stuff are really, really good at it. The average consumer is no match for companies that have spent years figuring out how to get you to spend money on stuff. They make the experience of buying stuff so pleasant that "shopping" becomes a leisure activity.
This causes real problems:
When you get something, you're going to have to think about that thing for years—perhaps for the rest of your life. Every thing you own takes energy away from you.
A cluttered house is depressing to live in.
Once you've accumulated a certain amount of stuff, it starts to own you rather than the other way around. One couple couldn't retire to the town they preferred because they couldn't afford a place there big enough for all their stuff. Their house isn't theirs; it's their stuff's.
The worst is fragile stuff, like costly porcelain.
What do do about it?
If you find yourself saying, “I don’t want to throw it away because I might use it some day” respond with “If I’m not using it now, I won’t”.
If you want to spend money to treat yourself, buy a service (like a massage) rather than goods.
Don’t chase deals: if a ₹500 item is marked down to ₹400, you may think, “I’m saving ₹100!” but if you don’t use it, you’re actually wasting ₹400. Buy when you need it, not when it’s on sale.
Don’t make shopping a leisure activity. Find other leisure activities, like taking a walk around a lake, taking a drive, or playing tennis.
Before you buy something, ask yourself, “Will I learn how to use it to get the most out of it? Do I have room for it? Will I clean it? Maintain it? Repair it? If I run out of room to store it, will I buy a cupboard for it? When I move, am I ready to pay more rent than I otherwise would have?”
Remind yourself that stuff is just an aid to live your life, and not the purpose of your life.