The hidden cost of too much stuff

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P43217.asp

Why do we have it, where do we get it and why do we keep accumulating more of it? And what is it costing us, not just in dollars, but in storage space and time spent buying and tending to our stuff?

[...] Gopal Ahluwalia, director of research for the National Association of Home Builders, says all this stuff is costing us quite a bit in storage alone. Since 1970, the size of the average house has increased nearly 40%, from about 1,500 square feet to 2,300 — and thats despite an overall decline in family size.

[...] Glink says that this is our downfall: When you buy a bigger home to accommodate your stuff, you pay higher taxes, higher heating bills, bigger cooling bills, a bigger mortgage, plus whatever the upkeep costs are for the stuff itself, she says.

Some people . . .

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/26/MNL151508.DTL

according to a SAFE KIDS survey of 700 people nationwide last year. It found that 10 percent of all parents said it is acceptable for young children to be left in a car unattended. Among young parents ages 18 to 24, that figure is double.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid