Stuff we collect

Hello to all!

Have you ever given any thought to how much stuff we buy, all in the name of improving our work? Or our lives? Or just because we can? I'm sure all of us have things scattered around, or gathering dust on the hard drive which we had big plans for and never even read fully through the course, used the gadget, or even looked at it again.

So why do we buy these things? The thought that they will help is genuinely there. Most times. But also so is the cunning of a very well-written sales page. Or even not so well written. It just pops up when we have been paid, or we think this is going to transform me from hopeless to the best thing since sliced bread.

Don't worry! I'm as guilty as the rest of you. I have stuff on my hard drive that is years old and has never seen the light of day, except when I bought it. I put a few on a USB the other day and, found, to my sneaky suspicions, 2 of them were exactly the same, just rewritten. Fair enough, they were not expensive ideas or programs, but it did annoy me.

I plan on going through ALL of the stuff sitting on my hard drive (early New Year's Resolution!!!) and cleaning it up. Not that I intend to bin it or delete it. I have a collection of USBs around the house :), so they can stop wasting space and become useful.

And I have a Tweet up at the moment from a very smart man who put together the list below on how to make our lives less full of clutter. It is true. The more simplistic your life is, the more enjoyable it is. You don't have to have the latest gadgets, if they are going to sit ignored on a shelf, on your hard drive, or making clutter when they really have no use to you.

Buy Less

Think carefully before every potential purchase. Before you buy, ask yourself these questions and carefully weigh your answers:

1. Will it save me time over the long run?
2. Will it make me happier over the long run?
3. Will it increase my productivity?
4. What effect will it have on the people in my life? Will it bring me closer to them, or will it distract me?
5.  What are the environmental costs of this product in terms of resources and energy used, and pollution created?
6. THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!