Saturday, November 21, 2009

Nice Homes

I have spent a lot of time in some really ugly homes in my life and am starting to notice a trend. The difference between a nice house and an ugly house is not the construction, it is not how nice the furniture is, it is not even how much time the occupants spend cleaning(although that helps more than anything).

The big difference between a nice and an ugly home is that most ugly ones hold too much stuff. I used to think this was some defect of my family. There are a great many of these places among my relatives, places with junk crammed into every corner. As I have spent more time in the homes of other people though it has been made clear this is a common problem across many races and income levels. Some of the homes are full of stuff from Yard Sales and others with stuff from Luxury Stores but the result is the same, a home that would be really nice if someone would just throw away two or three tons of useless junk.

This is a trap I am trying really hard to not fall into. I start way too many hobbies. As long as it is a closet full of junk I feel like I am ok, but if any spills out I will be over the edge. Right now I have an exactly optimal amount of furniture though. Any more and things would start looking bad. I might be able to fit an aquarium, a TV, some kitchen equipment, and some pictures on my wall but that is about it.

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