Peak Stuff

Earlier this year, Ikea’s Chief Sustainability Officer made headlines for suggesting that the West has hit “peak stuff”—in other words, many of us in developed nations have all the consumer goods we need and are losing our appetite for more.

Well, hallelujah! I hope he’s right. How amazing would it be for society as a whole to realize we have enough—make that more than enough—and are better served by dialing down the consumption and pursuing other paths to happiness?

In fact, I think hitting peak stuff in our own lives is what motivates many of us on our minimalist journeys. One day we look in our cabinets, or in our closets, or around our homes, and suddenly feel somewhere from disenchanted to disgusted with the excess.

Marketing demographics say that, as a woman in the 35-50 age range, I should be in my prime consumer years (particularly given my status as a homeowner and mother). Advertisers and economists expect that I should be lining my nest with creature comforts for myself and my family, the more the better.

But personally, I hit peak stuff in my mid-twenties. I remember the moment clearly: I had just hauled home my third (yes, third) shabby-chic chandelier from a local antique store, and was standing in my apartment wondering where to put it. My lease forbade me from hanging it, and the other two I owned already adorned each side of our fireplace. Not to mention that in my young-and-out-on-my-own zeal, I’d already filled most of the space with furniture and other decorative items.

At that moment, my now-husband wandered into the room and asked, “What are you going to do with that thing?”

Exasperated, I sighed—this purchase I’d expected to bring me joy had done anything but—and responded, “Take it back to the store, I guess.”

Peak stuff.

I returned the chandelier. But what happened next was really amazing. Removing that one item was like pulling the plug on a giant sink of stuff. It opened my eyes to the excess in my closet, my kitchen, my desk—really, every part of my life—and from that moment on, I’ve found great happiness and freedom in letting it all drain away.

Here are some signs you may have reached peak stuff:

• You feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of items in your home.
• You have items still in the packaging or with tags on.
• You’ve run out of places to put things.
• You’re renting a storage unit to deal with the overflow.
• New acquisitions bring you no joy.

You may hit peak stuff in a certain category before you realize its larger implications (like me and my peak chandeliers). Say, for example, you love buying new shoes; and sure, three, four, or even half a dozen pairs may bring you more happiness than one. But at some point—maybe when you’re staring at a collection of twenty or more—you realize that each extra pair isn’t adding more value to your life. It may, in fact, be doing the opposite: taking up space, getting in the way, or emptying your wallet.

And that’s when it’s time to go for it: sell, consign, or give away a few pairs. See how it makes you feel. You may look around your home with new eyes, suddenly realizing that the cause of your stress or fatigue may be too much stuff. Taking those first baby steps to reverse the flow (from accumulation to de-cumulation) may very well be the turning point to a more mindful, serene, and uncluttered way of life.

It’s an extraordinary feeling when the balance in your life shifts from acquiring things to releasing them, and I’m wondering if others have experienced similar a-ha moments. Please share: when did you hit peak stuff? (Or peak shoes, peak bags, peak books, peak pans, etc.)? I’d love to hear your stories in the Comments!

{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider joining my email list or reading my book, The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify.}