Tchotchkes

We’ve got so many tchotchkes

We’ve practically emptied the Louvre

In most of our palaces

There’s hardly room to manoeuvre

Zebra by The Magnetic Fields

I should start with saying a few things: my blog tagline was “cyber clutter” at some point in the past, in 2012 I downsized to around 200 personal possessions (although I have not kept track or kept up), and I’ve been a fan of Swedish Death Cleaning, The Minimalists, Afrominimalist, Zen Habits, Dave Fogler clearing out a cabin and making art from inherited tools, etc content for years. Which is all to say that I’m keenly aware - from reading, watching and experience - of the usefulness and burden of objects and not letting that which we own, own us. I’ve been thinking a lot about stuff. Not amorphous, airy “stuff”, but actual, concrete, physical things. Cory Doctorow that introduced me to the term “tchotchkes” and, with an impending round of family possession reduction, I use that term to define the category of items that I always find hardest to deal with, whether it be my loved possessions, or inherited items from the hoards of others that we don’t have a specific home for. I think those are the things other people find hardest to deal with too.

Downsizing starts with stopping. Stop buying more stuff, stop bringing more into the home. Every item that we purchase or are given becomes a burden in some way. It takes up space, it requires maintenance, it might not be useful to anyone were we to drop down dead right this moment and would thus be a burden at least thrice over (four if I was the one to buy as and you count that I hate shopping). They are all a form of long-term debt. Sometimes that debt that will not need to be dealt with for decades. But the burden of the items remains. (Obviously for many items that’s okay as long as the items are happy, useful, positive things worthy of keeping around).

I think the worst kinds of things are the things that burden us by hiding other things. A shed that houses garage overspill. Chests and plastic crates of inherited tools and hobby supplies. Attic hatches opened to pop stuff for the charity shop (but not yet sorted) or, indeed, attics full of stuff that just doesn’t fit in the house. Most isn’t needed at all. (I’m relieved not to own a storage unit).

The best kinds of things give up their meaning, memories or stories easily - remembering who painted a picture, remembering an item from a special holiday, a comfortable chair we always choose to read in, a novel that’s been read several times.

I have somehow permitted and amassed a bunch of things that require more effort to maintain than the alternative - a garden with a rat/fox/badger/cat problem, a cabin that is way way too prototype, and a house, garage and shed that are all at different points along a clear degradation trajectory. This year alone required resealing house cladding, stressing about garage water ingress, and repairing parts of the cabin where water was where water ought not to be. (The alternative being not having: not having a cabin, a garden, a garage, a shed. I’m not saying that not having it is better or something I’m moving to do, just that not having it is less maintenance. And time maintaining is being taken from a finite pot of time - clock’s a-ticking.)

Buildings, bikes, cars, pets, hobbies, etc. all require care. So the more you add outbuildings, mode of transport, hobbies to your life, the less time you will have to enjoy the buildings, or to travel, or to enjoy your hobbies.

Since “two is one and one is none”, a bunch of things have backups or older versions (sometimes several older versions) still hanging around, taking up more space and likely never being useful. (Ahem, box of broken mobile phones under my bed!)

A bunch of things are never where we need them (or, of course, we have 4 of the things in the same place).

I don’t need more things, or more hobbies, yet in the middle of writing this I got sucked into YouTube and ended up down a rabbit hole of wondering whether there are any Jehle Saphier cars available to buy anywhere… like I need to add learning to maintain (and paying to store and maintain, and maintain the store of) a classic car as a new outlet for stuff obsession! (Note that I cannot in any way afford a second car, let alone a classic, let alone one with super rare parts and a penchant for ending up beside the road with steam/fuel/oil pouring out!)

At some point I’m likely going to have to deal with my wife’s stuff, or her with mine. That’s just the probability of life. It’s anxiety-inducing for me thinking about her thinking about it. Much worse would be the kid having to deal with both our stuffs. Similarly, Mum’s going to have to deal with dad’s stuff, or him with hers… or (worst of all) me and my sister with both of their stuffs. I worry that the volume of stuff to be dealt with within either household (mine or my parents’) will overwhelm at an overwhelming time (probably something most people think, if they dare think about it). For anyone with an already full house, the thought of needing to make decisions about things whilst dealing with extreme change or grief is likely to result in a total barn-sale or skip to get rid of everything. And all of that makes me sad.

Knowing what is important - separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak - at anyone’s home would likely be something of a mission on any given day, never mind X years in the future dealing with the grief of needing to move house, or grief of the loss of loved ones. To an outsider, knowing which parts go with which non-functioning, in-progress project is an equal mission to which of the Terry Pratchett book on my bookcase are rare on my shelf. (Spoiler, none of them).

So I’m looking for ways to reduce my own future burden, whilst also thinking about helping others.

My regular hobbies are: things in the broad category of “social indulgence” (having friends for food and drinks, decadent cake buying and overeating, drinks, boardgame nights, cinema, gigs - these basically require kitchen, loose belt, sofa+tv+some kind of tv subscription, and/or money), going to the gym (subscription and swim or running gear), writing (a computer), reading (a couple of books at a time, which I read SLOWLY for about 6 months each… so I really don’t need that many books!), blogging (super occasionally - paid domain name but everything else is free and digital), woodwork/DIY (some tools in the garage, but actually not many), playing music (mostly on guitar, sometimes bass, sometimes recorder, but I don’t need any pocket synths or a trombone), camping (although I do this about two weekends annually so it’s hardly a hobby), making bread (Geoffrey the sourdough lives in my fridge - he says hi, by the way). I like to go on holiday too.

Hobbies that should or have already moved into my past-tense are: cycling (I think cycling is what was totally wrecking my back and hip but I’ll still hop on occasionally to save time), brewing (honestly I loved it but it was a time-sink and we’re never going to achieve quality without an industrial kitchen so we just brew at Stewart Brewing occasionally and it’s not as much fun as the two of us hanging out in the garage all night but the output quality is a smidge more consistent), cheesemaking (but I’d love to restart the manufacturing of Teviotdale Cheese from the valley I grew up in because it has protected status!… but I’ll have to let that go or get rid of a lot of projects first!), climbing.

But should I get rid of a bunch of books, my brewing gear, my bike, some junk in the kitchen cupboards from past cooking experiments, a bunch of musical instruments and my climbing harness so they aren’t a burden in the future? Probably should, that’s the caring thing to do.

‘Simplicity is the end result of long, hard work, not the starting point’

Frederick Maitland

Working rules:

Start now
If it’s broken, it goes
If it hasn’t been used in two years, it goes
If it isn’t functional and doesn’t spark joy, Marie Kondo that shit
If it’s an in-progress project, do I have the time to complete it in the next year? If not, it goes (sunk-cost fallacy and all that - just because it cost money/time doesn’t mean that it can’t go)
“Oh, I’ll just have my kids deal with it.” is not an option

So I’ve worked with Gemini on this little questionnaire to help me think about downsizing hobbies in particular:

Questionnaire

All hobbies

We are shaped by our experiences and passions, not the objects we accumulate to pursue them. Looking back, what are the hobbies you’ve put your time into over your life so far?
Are there passions from your past that you loved, but naturally moved on from as your life changed?
Looking strictly at the last year, which activities and hobbies have you actively spent time doing?

Exploring one hobby at a time

Memories

What is your favorite memory associated with this hobby?
What feeling or satisfaction do you get out of doing it today?
If you were to shade in a calendar, how many hours a week do you currently spend on this?

Tools

What is the core, essential equipment you actually need to enjoy this hobby right now?
How would you describe the physical footprint of the items you own for this hobby?
Looking at that space, how much time and energy is required just to maintain or store the equipment, even when it isn’t being used?

Evolution

How has your relationship with this hobby changed recently?
Do you spend more or less time on this hobby than in the past?
If your physical space or mobility were to change, how could your involvement with this hobby adapt?

Legacy

Are there duplicate items, or “just in case” equipment, that could be shared, sold, or passed on to someone just starting out?
If you were to pass the baton, what individual or community group would you want to inherit your equipment/tools?
For the things you’ve collected or created with this hobby, how would you like them handled to ensure they remain a happy legacy for your family, rather than an overwhelming puzzle to solve?

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