People Explain Which Items They Own Far Too Many Of

People Explain Which Items They Own Far Too Many Of
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

For today's article we're going to talk about the concept of excess. Kind of.

Stop acting shocked, you know nothing here ever goes to plan. I'm decently certain that's why, like, 63% of you are here - specifically for the way it goes off the rails.

Reddit user LetsMeetNextTursday asked:

"What do you have too much of?"


Reddit answered in the most Reddit way possible - existential dread and gallows humor. The consistency with this site is just magnificent, honestly.

But then, something kind of magic started to kick in. That other dependable thing Reddit does - where complete strangers show up with insight and have your back ... it's so weird and so wonderful.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. First existential dread and gallows humor.

Having Multiple

selma blair what GIF by Team CocoGiphy

"Sclerosis. I have multiple." - BonnieZoom

"As a person who also has too many sclerosis this made me cackle" - rkspm

"Have you thought about exchanging them for a single large sclerosis?" - vandergrif

"My father always said, it's better to whole @ss one sclerosis than to half @ss multiple sclerosis" - confoundedvariable

Get On My Level

Shocked Squirrel GIFGiphy

"My gmail inbox currently has 99,491 unopened emails. I don't open them and don't delete them. It's been over 9 years. Get on my level." - Zachincool

"Are you gonna have a celebration for 100K?" - silent_thinker

"I apparently missed my own celebration, then. Currently sitting at 119,712. I just leave them unopened if it's an ad, and I have too many things where I've subscribed or ordered something and they keep sending offers…" - pokitgiraffe

"I have 500k 😳" - rareusernamebro

Too Much $h!t

Prepping Work From Home GIF by 60 Second DocsGiphy

"Unused Items and gifts that I have that take up space in my apartment. I just have too much sh*t." - LordOfDescension

"Yeah. And my family insists on giving me more on my birthday and at Christmas. Apparently, the fact that I live in a small apartment means nothing to them." - epsdelta74

"I think 95% of the items my mom gave us for Christmas went directly to the donation bin. I can't get her to understand that I don't need more stuff, but I don't have to fill my house with things I don't need and won't use." - sewmuchmorethanmom

"I Second And Third..."

homer simpson donuts GIFGiphy

"Fat" - Dapper_Interest_8914

"I 2nd and 3rd this." - JCrave321

"Seconds and thirds are how some of us got into this mess." - DerekWhatsHisName

"I know four fat people and I am three of them" - maddieforgotpassword

Gallows humor and commiserating are all well and good. But sometimes something a little different happens.

Sometimes we grow, and we are there for each other.

Sometimes Reddit is ... nice?

An Ode To The Unfinished

Season 3 Projects GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy

"I have way too many unfinished projects." - notz_zton

"I have thoughts about this."

"I'm in my 40s and for most of my life I had an unending series of unfinished projects that I felt guilty about. Today, I am able to finish some stuff, including some pretty large, hard projects. Better, I don't feel guilty about the stuff I don't finish."

"The trick for me is to be deliberate and mindful about why I'm embarking on a particular project."

"If it's because I want to feel good by:"

  • "Sharing something with others."
  • "Accomplishing a difficult, challenging task."
  • "Proving to myself that I can do something."
  • "Getting the social cachet of being a creative, productive person. (Maybe this is shallow, but who doesn't like to feel impressive in the eyes of their peers?)"

"Then the goal of the project is the product it and I focus my attention and discipline on it. I try to have as few of these as possible—like only one at a time—so that my willpower is not diluted."

"If it's because I want to feel good by:"

  • "Improving a skill."
  • "Exploring an unfamiliar domain or learning something new."
  • "Relaxing by tinkering on something I like."

"Then the goal of the project is the process and I don't feel bad about not finishing."

"The real treasure is all the stuff I learned and did along the way and there is no real destination. I can have as many of these as I want because there's no real failure mode here. They're all recreation."

"Once I got more honest and clear with myself about my goals for each project, I started to be able to finish the ones where that mattered and stopped feeling bad about the ones where it doesn't." - mumnificent

Regrets

Season 5 Ron GIF by Parks and RecreationGiphy

"Regrets" - IntoTheMystic1

"When I was 14 my friend's older sister told me never to have regrets because whatever decision you made (at the time) was for a reason. I f*cking live by that."

"The choice I make is done with a limited number of options and resources. Good or bad I accept them and the consequences."

"Except for whatever bs drunk me did - that b*tch can kick rocks. I accept no responsibility for whatever she did. Luckily I pumped the brakes on drinking and kicked drunk me to the curb."

"Anyway f*ck regrets (unless you're a murder or something crazy)." - 4550955

"I used to say the same thing. Then one day my dad called me out of the blue."

"I was busy, and didn't really feel like talking, so I just let the call go. He died later that week, and not a day goes by that I don't sincerely regret not taking that call. Now if family calls, I answer unless I literally can't." - Secret_Bees

"I know your feeling. The night before my brother killed himself 2 months ago I was moody from a rough day."

"My brother was talking on the phone and kept pacing back and forth in front of the TV. I became visibly upset and just gave him a cold look every time he passed by."

"The next morning at work I got the news that he had hanged myself. My brother was calling people to say goodbye in his own way."

"And my last interaction with him was me being upset that he was interfering with my TV time. It f*cking kills me every day." - RonanTheAccused

"I feel you."

"My dad popped by my bedroom to say goodnight (which he NEVER did), and I blew a raspberry at him. I guess because I was too cool to say anything kind back."

"I woke up the next morning to my mom screaming that my dad wasn't moving. He had a heart attack in his sleep."

"That was my goodbye to him. So much regret."

"I think we have to focus on the sum of our good interactions. I hope my dad knew how much I loved him." - ook_the_bla

Overall I think we've learned that Reddit, strangely, can be an amazing and supportive place full of humans who hate it here just as much as you do.

And who have too many sclerosis.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/


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