Stuff it

Stuff.

There's just so much of it. And I, for one, want less of it.

It started when I moved house about a year ago. I packed up all my stuff, stuffed it into a truck, unloaded it at my new flat and set about finding places in which to stuff all my stuff.

The whole experience was terrifying.

There were boxes of clothes I hadn't worn in years, books I'd never read, hundreds of CD and piles and piles of miscellaneous junk.

What was I doing with all this stuff? Why did I need it? Where was I going to put it all?

Living in a small space over the past year has made me radically re-think how I deal with stuff, why I accumulate it and what the actual value of it is.

Because often when you buy something, its monetary value becomes irrelevant. It becomes stuff, and the cost of it becomes what you spend thinking about it, storing it, owning it. And if you have too much stuff after a while you don't own it - your stuff owns you.

John Freyer realised this. In 1999 the media artist and author was living Iowa and he wasn't happy. He decided he would much rather be in New York, but all his stuff in his apartment in Iowa was tying him to that state.

So he decided to sell it. All of it. He set up a website called allmylifeforsale.com and auctioned off his excess stuff until he could fit all his worldly possession in the back of his car and drive to New York.

Ian Usher took Freyer's idea to the next level. The British immigrant sold his entire life in Perth in 2008. His house, car, motorbike, sporting equipment, circle of friends and his job in a rug shop. The lot went for $399,300. He was left with a wallet and a passport.

I don't think I could ever go that far, but having spent the past year ruthlessly culling my wardrobe, downsizing my book case and being a lot more careful about what I buy and how I consume, I think while I may not be close to winning the war against stuff, I'm a little closer in my battle to resist my natural inclination to be a hoarder.

But there is an exception.

I can let go of clothes, dump truck loads of books, kitchen equipment holds no meaning, but CDs? Can't do it. I give my inner hoarder free reign.

Because who wants to be a total minimalist? Stuff that.