Moving is always a bit of a pain. I’m not exactly a minimalist, but I have always tried to be mindful of the things I buy and the items I accumulate. However, as is custom, whenever you need to pack for a move you realise you haven’t been as careful as you would’ve liked.

Most items I ran into have a specific purpose, so even though it was more than I had expected, it wasn’t too bad. I did however notice two curiosities between all the items.

The first was the amount of ‘useless’ items I had, the sort of stuff I bought because I unconsciously thought that would make me into something or someone – as if we can consume our way into identity.

The other was the amount of books, a significant portion unread. I will likely have to get rid of some books because of this move so I was going through them to see which ones I’d like to keep and which could find a better home elsewhere. As I flicked through them I was struck by how enamoured I was with my well-loved, and therefore virtually worthless, books. Often people discourage any kind of marking in books, going so far as to make it appear like the book has never been opened in the first place. (Exceptions being appropriate like old preserved works, etc.) Tying back into the other things we buy, it’s clear that we all want the appearance of a reader, without harming this perfectly produced item. In the end, we only want to accumulate appearances. As I stood, swarmed by my stuff, I couldn’t help but recall something I had read which perfectly encapsulated the thoughts drifting around my mind.

“The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorise, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save – the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour – your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, i.e., the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being.” (Karl Marx in Human Requirements and Division of Labour Under the Rule of Private Property)

I have bought frivolous things before, undoubtedly I’ll commit the cardinal sin of doing it again at some point. Nonetheless, the next time you’re looking at your cart, physical or virtual, it’s worth asking the question what exactly it is you’re buying.