Australian Politics Forum

Australian families are no different to American families in this regard. The only thing that limits the accumulation of 'clutter' is the lack of space.

How many people do you know that can't park a car in their garage because it's full of other stuff?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/07/09/new-study-says-american-families-are-overwhelmed-clutter-rarely-eat-together-and-are-generally-stressed-out-about-all/G4VdOwzXNinxkMhKA1YtyO/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed

Quote:

Today’s families are prisoners of their own clutter

Jessica Pohl of Weston has kids who have largely outgrown their toys, but she can’t give them away. “I’m saving them for my grandchildren.”

By Beth Teitell GLOBE STAFF JULY 09, 2012
Tell me about it. That sums up Boston parents’ reaction to new research by UCLA-affiliated social scientists concluding that American families are overwhelmed by clutter, too busy to go in their own backyards, rarely eat dinner together even though they claim family meals as a goal, and can’t park their cars in the garage because they’re crammed with non-vehicular stuff.

The team of anthropologists and archeologists spent four years studying 32 middle-class Los Angeles families in their natural habitat — their toy-littered homes — and came to conclusions so grim that the lead researcher used the word “disheartening” to describe the situation we have gotten ourselves
into.

At first glance, the just-published, 171-page “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century” looks like a coffee table book. But it contains very real-life photos of pantries, offices, and backyards, and details a generally Zen-free existence. Architectural Digest or Real Simple this is not. Among the findings detailed within:

•PPU The rise of Costco and similar stores has prompted so much stockpiling — you never know when you’ll need 600 Dixie cups or a 50-pound bag of sugar — that three out of four garages are too full to hold cars.

Get The Weekender in your inbox:
The Globe's top picks for what to see and do each weekend, in Boston and beyond.

Enter email address
Sign Up
• Managing the volume of possessions is such a crushing problem in many homes that it elevates levels of stress hormones for mothers.

View Gallery
Photos: Families battle clutter
Opinion: Pinterest shows craving ‘stuff’ transcends generations

PEven families who invested in outdoor décor and improvements were too busy to go outside and enjoy their new decks.

Most families rely heavily on convenience foods even though all those frozen stir-frys and pot stickers saved them only about 11 minutes per meal.

A refrigerator door cluttered with magnets, calendars, family photos, phone numbers, and sports schedules generally indicates the rest of the home will be in a similarly chaotic state.

The scientists working with UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families studied the dual-income families the same way they would animal subjects. They videotaped the activities of family members, tracked their moves with position-locating devices, and documented their homes, yards, and activities with thousands of photographs. They even took saliva samples to measure stress hormones.

The goal, said Jeanne E. Arnold, lead author and a professor of anthropology at UCLA, was to document what is right in front of us, yet invisible.

“What we have is a time capsule of America,” she said. “No other study has been done like this. Imagine how exciting it would be if we could go back to 1912 and see how people were living in their homes. That’s the core of any society.”

Arnold said she admired the way the families coped with their busy lives, but even so, the $24.95 book (available on Amazon) presents a frightening picture of life in a consumer-driven society, with researchers documenting expensive but virtually unused “master suites,” children who rarely go outside, stacks of clutter, and entire walls devoted to displays of Beanie Babies and other toys.

Arnold said she was bothered most by the lack of time study subjects spent enjoying the outdoors.

“Something like 50 of the 64 parents in our study never stepped outside in the course of about a week,” she said. “When they gave us tours of their house they’d say, ‘Here’s the backyard, I don’t have time to go there.’ They were working a lot at home. Leisure time was spent in front of the TV or at the computer.”

Have you sorted out the clutter in your head yet?

There's not much room in there for anything sensible until you do a thorough Spring Clean of all that shít you keep storing in there like a homeless mad Bag Lady and her overloaded Supermarket trolley.

Call your local council, and the night before the collection put your head out on the Nature Strip for them to mulch in the back of the truck in the morning.

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 10:12am:

Herr Bert professes experience in having his head collected and mulched by the council?

Herr Bert's head has become a blowfly and maggot sanctuary.

Now you know what it's like to have idiots like you, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg arrive in threads with the intention of doing nothing more than shìt all over it.

Go on, start another thread.

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:01pm:

Now you know what it's like to have idiots like you, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg arrive in threads with the intention of doing nothing more than shìt all over it.

Go on, start another thread.

I am not in the least concerned Herr Bert. You are too sensitive and easily offended because you shrivel, fume, and fester when criticized.

Another thread, please.

I've enjoyed this one.

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:22pm:

Another thread, pleased.

I've enjoyed this one.

You have to wipe your anus first.

Unforgiven wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:25pm:

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:22pm:

Another thread, pleased.

I've enjoyed this one.

You have to wipe your anus first.

Is that like you dabbing your mouth at the table with a clean serviette?

You may now proceed to take the time and make the effort to construct a new thread on a perfectly reasonable topic for discussion. Do some cut-and-paste, and then add some worthy commentary of your own, and then sit back in anticipation that the membership here will pay you the respect of making sensible and relevant contributions for your mutual satisfaction.

(After you've made these efforts in the hope of being taken seriously, myself, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg will arrive to kick over your sand-castle and flick at your bum with a wet towel ... jolly, no?)

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 1:37pm:

Unforgiven wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:25pm:

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:22pm:

Another thread, pleased.

I've enjoyed this one.

You have to wipe your anus first.

I accept Herr Bert's groveling, unconditional surrender.

On yer bike Spike.

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:01pm:

Now you know what it's like to have idiots like you, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg arrive in threads with the intention of doing nothing more than shìt all over it.

Go on, start another thread.

you seem to mention us in every second thread. Then when we join in a give it back to you, you cry about it. No wonder everyone thinks you're a troll.

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 5:30pm:

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:01pm:

Now you know what it's like to have idiots like you, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg arrive in threads with the intention of doing nothing more than shìt all over it.

Go on, start another thread.

you seem to mention us in every second thread. Then when we join in a give it back to you, you cry about it. No wonder everyone thinks you're a troll.

Herr Bert's only friends are his mealworms.

Unforgiven wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 10:01am:

Here's one like mine.

Are you happy with your garage to gay steambath conversion?

5bff58efbedf5dfcd5a80082632d4ac4.jpg (29 KB | 36 )

Unforgiven wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:13pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 5:30pm:

Lord Herbert wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 12:01pm:

Now you know what it's like to have idiots like you, Karnal, John Smith, and Gregg arrive in threads with the intention of doing nothing more than shìt all over it.

Go on, start another thread.

you seem to mention us in every second thread. Then when we join in a give it back to you, you cry about it. No wonder everyone thinks you're a troll.

Herr Bert's only friends are his mealworms.

And Nicole ;)

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:55pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

I do so have a rake (and a blower vac) but it lives in the garden. I do all my own yard work! It's not like I can get a wetback to do it for $5/h like in USA.

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:01pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:55pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

I do so have a rake (and a blower vac) but it lives in the garden. I do all my own yard work! It's not like I can get a wetback to do it for $5/h like in USA.

yardwork? ;D ;D ;D ;D

my bathtub is bigger than your spot of lawn. You have no yardwork

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:02pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:01pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:55pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

I do so have a rake (and a blower vac) but it lives in the garden. I do all my own yard work! It's not like I can get a wetback to do it for $5/h like in USA.

yardwork? ;D ;D ;D ;D

my bathtub is bigger than your spot of lawn. You have no yardwork

About 100/m actually. That's considered a cattle station around here :)

Check this out, maybe I will move up there. Imagine the kettlebell gym I could have!!
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-acreage+semi+rural-qld-tallebudgera-124384490

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:07pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:02pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:01pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:55pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

I do so have a rake (and a blower vac) but it lives in the garden. I do all my own yard work! It's not like I can get a wetback to do it for $5/h like in USA.

yardwork? ;D ;D ;D ;D

my bathtub is bigger than your spot of lawn. You have no yardwork

Talle is gorgeous. Lots of nice places there. Just be sure you're on a hill, it's prone to flooding on the low lands

Delete this forum topic. The debate is not there. And I think that picture is enough to violate any community forum guidelines.

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:11pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:07pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:02pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:01pm:

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:55pm:

Gordon wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:45pm:

Here's one like mine.

bullsh1t .... no way would yours have a rake in it. That's to much hard work for you.

I do so have a rake (and a blower vac) but it lives in the garden. I do all my own yard work! It's not like I can get a wetback to do it for $5/h like in USA.

yardwork? ;D ;D ;D ;D

my bathtub is bigger than your spot of lawn. You have no yardwork

Talle is gorgeous. Lots of nice places there. Just be sure you're on a hill, it's prone to flooding on the low lands

And no Mosques, I hear. ;D ;D ;D

Mistress Nicole wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 6:48pm:

And Nicole ;)

:-* :)

John Smith wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:11pm:

Talle is gorgeous. Lots of nice places there. Just be sure you're on a hill, it's prone to flooding on the low lands

It all depends on the person.

There are just as many happy people living in humble dwellings as there are living in palatial circumstances. Paul Hogan found that out soon enough. Your happiness doesn't increase proportional to the size and cost of the house you live in.

Size doesn't count. 8-)

UnSubRocky wrote on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 7:41pm:

And I think that picture is enough to violate any community forum guidelines.

I agree.

It's sick pornography of the sort that Unforgiven would enjoy. Can't say anything remotely interesting, and so goes for a Shock! Horror! tactic.

I think it might be time he was expunged from this forum board as a dysfunctional nutter.

Australian Politics Forum
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl General Discussion >> General Board >> Today’s families prisoners of their own clutter http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1496707272 Message started by Unforgiven on Jun 6^th, 2017 at 10:01am