Sometimes a phrase sticks in my head, popping up when my brain starts to fly off at the edges. Marginal utility is one of these. It hit me this morning that what I’ve been going through for the past week is the law of diminishing marginal utility. As I consume more, the utility of the items I consume diminishes.
It’s always nice to realize I’m clinging to a phrase because it has an actual significance.
My apartment is filled with things that have diminished marginal utility. There are only so many things you can use or look at or wear or play with. I think the most frustrating thing about the process of clearing things out has been that looking around, on the surface of things, it really hasn’t made much of a difference. I haven’t been getting rid of the right things.
The new plan is to only look at the crap that is atop other things and to get rid of that which is not being used or enjoyed. This includes magazines, decorative junk, books and toys. Wish me luck.
I hear you, sister. I am desperately trying to get rid of box upon box of “stuff,” and there’s still more stuff left… I don’t get it. The living areas now look relatively sparse–just how I like it these days–but the closets and garage and . . . ugh–overwhelming just to write about it.
We’ll both get there one of these days, though, right?
I yearn for sparse! Ache even!
Yeah, we’ll get there. Or die trying