THE TYRANNY OF THINGS

 

THE TYRANNY OF THINGS

becomes obvious, when even poor people have more stuff than they are able to move alone ...and for the most not even are able to account for…

Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the weight and burden of our clutter. We tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. Our toy rooms are messy, our drawers don’t close, and our closets are filled from top to bottom. The evidence of clutter is all around us.

Today, data is constantly being collected about our homes, our shopping habits, and our spending. The research is confirming our observation: we own too much stuff. And it is robbing us of life.

British research found that the average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily (The Telegraph).

Some reports indicate we consume twice as many material goods today as we did 50 years ago (The Story of Stuff).

Currently, the 12 percent of the world’s population that lives in North America and Western Europe account for 60 percent of private consumption spending, while the one-third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2 percent (Worldwatch Institute).

North America and Western Europe spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches than on higher education (Psychology Today).

93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite pastime (Affluenza).

The average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year (Huffington Post).

BUT: Nearly half of American households don’t save any money (Business Insider).

These numbers paint a jarring picture of excessive consumption and unnecessary accumulation. Clearly, many of us have far too much stuff.

Source: https://www.becomingminimalist.com/clutter-stats/