I was going to write about my weariness over owning three sets of plates (everyday set I bought in college, pottery from my wedding registry and my grandmother’s china), but then the husband turned on “Extreme Couponing” and I’m simply appalled by the vast amounts of food and household goods that these people are stockpiling in their homes.
How many bottles of mustard could one family possibly need? And, seriously, shelves of crackers and cereal in the bedroom? Not very relaxing.
I understand trying to save money, but I don’t get stockpiling way more items than you can possibly use. Which brings me back to plates. My goal is to one day move into a smaller place more suitable for two people. Owning three sets of plates is not suitable for two people. Really, owning three sets of plates is not suitable for most families with more than two people.
What to do? If I get the chance to downsize, at least one set of plates is going down. Maybe two. I don’t want to be tied down by things. And I certainly won’t be tied down by a bedroom filled with mustard.
Entirely Adequate 
Good job! i think the same thing when I see that show. How come hoarding is okay if it is stuff put neatly on shelves? The only time I thought it was good was a guy who donates the stuff to charities.
After watching the first woman check out, my husband said, “I guess they’re going to drop off stuff at the food bank now?” Nope.
I like empty space. A closet filled with cleaning supplies is not empty space; it’s a janitorial closet.
We joined Sam’s Club, and I’m fighting the urge to hoard food. Right now we’re only buying non-perishables in bulk, and none of it is being stored in the living areas. I’ll tell you what is being stored in the living areas: lots of recycling. We have stacks of cardboard and bags of plastic bottles waiting to be recycled.
I love myself some Costco! We get oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent and bath soap there. Again, the trick is to buy no more than you can eat before it goes bad.
I, too, have have faced the recycling storage problem. Luckily, our curbside truck just started accepting cardboard. We still have to drive glass to the recycling station, but we don’t use that much glass.