Material man

3 minute read

Empty out the wardrobe

The worst feeling in the world, my room is a bombsite, why do I own all this shit.

Put it all back in

I was wrong, this is in fact the worst feeling in the world. Why do I own this shit, why can't I throw it out.

What to do about it

It took me all day, and I feel now an existential hate towards the material goods I've become a prisoner to. It would be good to find some writing on owning things and how to get around hating the experience. Marie Kondo whispering in my ear. I have a lot of small trinkets that I'm reluctant to throw away, as they carry some kind of sentimental value, but I don't like storing them, they just sit in silly little bowls and things I have sitting around.

Ive had some ideas

• I photograph them and print it into a little book, then maybe I've broken the spell of sentimentality? And those photos, if done nicely, maybe I could peddle the stuff off.

• Pick out the actually sentimental ones and frame them, with text about what they are about, then biff the rest

I also have some craft supplies, which aren't too burdensome, and a box of electronics, which I ought to sought through and catalogue.

I eschewed cataloging things yesterday, because it was hard enough just taking it all out and putting it back, but it did strike a tone in my mind about finding a way to do that. And why not? I'm not sure we should be so burdened by objects that we don't even know what we have. It could have ratings on objects:

• Expected frequency of use
• Actual frequency of use
• Cost of use in time/money (may be negative, time saving device)
• Necesity of object when needed (how important is it when you need it)
• Necesity of access when needed (how quickly do you need it, when you need it)
• Joy of object when used
• Cost of purchase
• Cost of upkeep / storage (money and/or time)

This could allow scores for when something should be tossed, or whether something should be bought at all.

Also, not all objects need to have all those scores. Some can just be there in name, or have other properties. I could segment my room up then type up each segment, maybe one a week.

apart from all that

I made a dahl curry, it's pretty liquid but nice enough. I bought a cauliflower today, I'll roast it as steaks then serve that with the dahl and maybe a little rice.

What of today?

I have portuguese class today so after writing this journal I'll be finishing my homework and doing some listening practice.

On the topic of languages, I've found a podcast recently I want to listen to a little more. I only found it after finding out it's being discontinued, but it's got a year of episodes to listen to.

It features an argentinian comedian I really like, Martin Garabal. I have to concentrate pretty hard to get some of it, but it's cool and short to listen to.

I've just planned a potential work date with Harry where we can body double. Body double, if you don't feel like clicking the link, is a method for working on things where people sit in the same space and work on different activities. It's often used by people with ADHD to help with tasks, but I think it can be useful for anyone. I'm going to try to work on conjugação.

Time to wrap up

Not only am I looking at getting work this coming month, I need to wrap up today's post. Recently I've been getting distracted during the writing, maybe I need to turn off my wifi while I write?

Questions

• Am I clenching my jaw, or tensed up right now?
• Do I need a drink of water?