Posted by Noa on January 18, 2003, at 10:19:37
In reply to Re: Why not try the library or even a 2nd hand shop? » Noa, posted by NikkiT2 on January 17, 2003, at 8:23:27
That is what I call "The Empty Room Theory". My sister has a similar theory about flat surfaces. The empty room theory says that no matter how many additional empty rooms you acquire, you will also acquire a corresponding amount of stuff to fill it up with.
I came up with this (and I'm sure I'm not the first to do so) because for a long time, I lived in a small studio apartment. I actually kept it quite tidy because there was no place to hide things, but also because back then I had so little stuff because I had so little money. So when I moved to a bigger apartment, I thought it would retain its spacious feel. But it didn't take long for it to start filling up with stuff. Now I have an additional room, and yep, it is full of stuff, too. Ad infinitum--is that the right term?
I discoverd last year in talking to my sister about messes, etc. that she had a similar theory of Flat Surfaces. She said that in her house, all the flat surfaces get covered with stuff. At one point, she thought about buying another table, but decided against it because she felt that it would not solve any problems--it would just accumulate more stuff!!
I've gone even beyond her flat surface issue because in my place, the flat surface rule doesn't just refer to all the tables and furniture tops that are covered with messy mounds of stuff, it also includes the floor, LOL!!
poster:Noa
thread:35327
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030111/msgs/35433.html