How to Throw Things Away: 3 Phases
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- Опубліковано 25 тра 2024
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0:00 Support for The Spirited Man
1:31 Organization and acquisition-resistance
2:28 Call to action
3:15 The demon of sentimental value
4:24 Three-phase decluttering system: home storage
5:00 Three-phase decluttering system: storage unit
6:29 Three-phase decluttering system: donation
8:15 An impulse in your conscience
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A pioneer in digital filmmaking, Van Neistat made his first internet video, The Holland Tunnel, in 2000. He went on to collaborate with New York City artist Tom Sachs, directing a series of short films shown at the Guggenheim Museum in Berlin. Van has since directed dozens more films for the Tom Sachs Studio. In 2010 HBO aired The Neistat Brothers, an 8-episode series of short videos made entirely by Van and his brother Casey Neistat. Van Neistat’s directorial debut feature, A SPACE PROGRAM, co-written by Tom Sachs, premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and opened in theaters nation-wide in spring, 2016. In 2018 Neistat Directed the short film Paradox Bullets, co-written with Tom Sachs, narrated by Werner Herzog, and starring Ed Rushca. Neistat has written and directed commercial projects for Nike, Hurley, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, J. Crew, Twitter, Sleepy Jones and Frances Valentine. His work has been exhibited in museums throughout the world. He lives in Topanga, California.
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van: "learn how to acquire fewer things"
me: "wow, storage boxes outside, that's a great way to hold more of my things!"
Walking past those every day would drive me crazy.
They will be stolen by the new Americans.
@@keneticchanneland that’s great!
I was already ready to Google them and where I might get me some.
I need these totes, did you find them?
“Don’t have a storage unit? You have my respect” got me lol
Getting rid of things with sentimental value is one thing, getting rid of things with potential future use is a whole different story.
this can apply to kids as well 🤣
Yeah I really regret tossing my Atari 1040ST when I thought it was just a useless old computer, and my now-vintage embroidered Carhartt jacket.
Just ask, “have I used this in the last year?” If not, give it the heave
I found that viewing this "things with potential future use" as "I just like being prepared for 'everything'" and am now trying to view this as something emotional too.
- I don't need to be prepared for everything
- You can always buy stuff you don't have
- With 20% of my "potential things" I am well prepared for 80% of the situations, which is enough (google the 80 20 rule)
- It's awesome to be the hero by helping someone out with that one thing you still have lying around, but it's okay to say "No, I don't have that"
- Forget about the things of the past, what's gone is gone and that's a good thing. Any potential or monetary gain you now know of, but didn't at the time of throwing it away, only causes misery.
Totally agree.
Your ability to show the perfect archival b-roll shot at the perfect moment is my favourite thing about this channel
To reiterate: Don’t throw away film negatives, slides, reels or, prints of photos! A film negative is like a raw file and it’s more archive stable than a digital backup. Just because you got that stuff digitized by someone, doesn’t mean it’s save. Keep film save.
I always say the following: "if I had 15 minutes in which I would have to leave my house, I would grab my wallet, passport, cell phone, charger and..... photo albums" The rest can go up in flames and have almost 0 effect of my life.
Thank you Van. I have lived in the same house for 36 years. I moved into my house at 19, and in all that time I have aquired a lot of stuff and it is so hard to let go of that stuff. It's full of memories. I decided I am going to take pictures of the things and write little stories to go with the pictures so I can look back and remember. Then I am selling/giving away/throwing away everything. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have been using the “take a photo” method for 20 years and it works wonders.
I’ve also found that the first few items are difficult, but once the free space and organization appear, it’s easy to keep the momentum going.
Good luck with your project, it will be very rewarding!
The best thing about dealing with sentimental value items is give it away for somebody else to use it. It's feels like liberation.
Kinda like passing on your clutter problems to the next 😅
I hate this. My wife and I are a young couple with baby on the way, we used to get weekly texts from her family members asking if we could use things from their house or even just dump things on us when visiting that we would just throw away a week later. Once you try to throw things away, it makes it easier the next time and the next. Now I get excited to throw shit away when I have stuff taking up space and will never poke around to see if other people want my used clutter.
As someone who recently decluttered their home and work shop this video really hit home.
My wife recently went away for a week which gave me some time to go through my old things, I ended up doing multiple truck loads to good will and the dump. Old sheets of drywall that I “might need some day” that had been moved back and forth for years finally gone. The weight lifted off my shoulders was huge.
I read a book during this time that said “consider a store to be your storage unit. Let them hold the burden of keeping items you need until you actually need them” I thought of that when tossing the drywall that only cost $10. It’s not worth the price of storage.
Another idea for old building materials - use them to teach someone how to eg hang, mud and tape drywall just on a little stud wall that you hack together. Make a YT video of the process. Whatever works, but two ideas for deriving “final value” out of the items.
Ofc not everyone has time to do that but the option is open to pick and choose.
This idea of using a store as a storage unit is amazing!
Facebook is also a great way to get rid of little bits of stuff at a time. Joining a “buy nothing” group is key so you don’t have to deal with tons of messages and to have some framework around who gets it. Usually a random pick of people who comment.
It is nice to have things be directly useful to the next person. Especially when you just put them by your front door and they come get them!
Goodwill is definitely easier to just take a big load of random stuff to though.
I am a son of a hoarder mom, and lucky me a hoarder father in law too (God help me!). It's quite the mental disorder. Hoarding sometimes slips into my subconscious but thankfully I despise clutter much greater than holding onto stuff I might need "someday".
Your comment really hit home because I do a lot of home renos and make my own things out of wood. But I keep so much scrap pcs of wood and cut offs.
I think a spring cleaning is in order for me to get rid of 90% of the scrap wood. The comment "consider a store to be your storage unit" is just perfect. Home Depot is only 5 minutes away and has everything I need when I need it. Thank you for your comment @Applewhizz
My mom passed away 6 years ago and I as an only child had been cleaning out her house, my childhood home, since then. Thanks for sharing how to slay the sentimental demon. I've learned that a pic of something is much smaller than storing it.
Such a great channel for inspiration!
I noticed after a devastating hurricane or fire, it really helps people get rid of junk. Though tragic, it allows people to take a big jump forward in their life free of crap.
Especially if you lose family photos and videos.. for the most part everything else can kind of be restored.
Been fighting this clutter demon my whole life! This is an excellent video to aid in the battle
It’s so rad that you do creative videos and keep it interesting. So many channels devolve into commercialism. Thanks Van.
**Skips through sponsored ad segment taking up almost 1/6th of the video's runtime**
@@JoshandErik lol
I try very hard to acquire fewer, nicer things. I knew you struggled when I saw you keep your old todo lists. The amount spent on a storage unit exceeds any rebuying costs. I like the idea that possessions flow like a river through your life and … well that’s ok.
acquisition-resistance, I love that word(s) Never, Never have a phase 2, go from 1 to 3 ALWAYS!
A no-buy period of time is a good way to reset the impulse-buy presets. I'm doing a no-buy year right now. It's amazing how much relief I've been experiencing just because the decision "to buy or not to buy" has already been made.
I was just faced with this issue after being single for over a decade and never dealing with my sentimental clutter, only to unexpectedly fall in love again 😂. It is not fair to bring my laziness and sentimental clutter into the new relationship as if it is some untouchable requirement. Thank you for this video, your honest and sound advice, and time producing this.
I've been procrastinating doing a decluttering for weeks, and i'll be moving soon. So, this video came at the right moment. Gonna do it RIGHT NOW.
I had a huge shift when I realized that the memories of the item were more valuable than the item itself in most cases. If I wanted to keep an item to remember something I would just take a photo of the item so I can go back to the memories.
Working at a day shelter for homeless and low income individuals and families, I cannot tell you how invaluable donations of clothing items are and how grateful people are when they get these items.
Another way I've found to ease over the sentimental value hump, or "emotional inventory" as Terri Gross once called it, is to take a photo of the item. Many of the things I hold onto give me a little ping in my heart or mind when I re-encounter them. I can preserve the ping yet get rid of the item by keeping a photograph.
A great read is "Goodbye, Things" by Fumio Sasaki. Love this video. Thank you for your efforts. It's making the world a better place.
once a year i go through my stuff and de-clutter, and i love doing it. it adds value to the things i keep. i still have too much stuff, and much of it is sentimentality.
Crazy this is posted as I’m moving back into my apartment after winter break
Hi Van, congrats on being a Dad again. You are too young but the elderly in Sweden call de-cluttering death cleaning. Getting rid of things so there is less stuff for the living to have to sort through after we've departed this World.
my 82 year old mother isn't a hoarder but has 2 20×20 storage spaces full of antiques that she and my father (he died I '92) bought at farm auctions in the '70s and '80s and refinished/repaired themselves she can't list everything in storage but keeps all of them because she cherishes the fact that she and the ONLY man she loved did a big life project TOGETHER I leave her be only knowing that honestly she is sitting on a goldmine of beautiful memories and furniture
Dear Van, well done, again! The goody pile is both the treasure chest and nemesis of creative tinkerers. Entropy lock syndrome is real and decluttering is a great tool to -even if only temporarily - free your space and mind and let creativity have vital breathing room.
Van delivers not the content we deserve, but the content we need
Van is never late. He arrives precisely when he means to.
My family has a whole history of decluttering.
We love to do this, and I often include decluttering and... 'garbage' sorting into my methods to live a curious life.
Every video of yours is like a well made narrated documentary, since the beginning of your channel I found it very different to most of other 'content' on YT. This is not content, it's an educational film!
I’ve watched every film multiple times. Van has made some genuine masterpieces
Please elaborate! How often? How do you decide what’s worthy of being kept? What’s the process?
Never had a storage unit. Never understood the need for one. If you have that much junk you need ANOTHER place to store stuff, you have too much stuff. Get rid of all junk until there's no storage unit left.
Good one.
This liberating process, is one that begins at your age and increases exponentially as you get older. At this point, at least 50% of my books and 70% of my albums have been disbursed. I no longer take interest in new camera gear (except for a wonderfully tiny and powerful Insta360 x3), no more saved gear packaging, and am looking to sell my moderate photo studio lighting. The clothes I needed for my job, “nice shirts and ties” will be going soon. Far too many dress shirts. It’s white t-shirts and cargo shorts about 95% of the month, even on our rare cool 50* temps like today here in Floriduh. And I buy no new clothes unless it is absolutely necessary. Style no longer plays a role in my wardrobe decisions. As a meticulous record keeper, there were folders filled with the typical annual tally of bills, receipts, … since the late 60s. About five years ago that has been whittled down to the prior three years from the current one, all the rest have been destroyed. My biggest challenge is finding a home for two cherry wood Haverty’s desks. Both are fine pieces of furniture loaded with art supplies and the last remnants of saved paperwork. I’ll be 71 in a few days, so the process is in high gear for me. And it feels good to watch it go. A kind of relief.
I’m remembering you mentioning your artistic nirvana being like the man who paints the numbers. I find how you map out the work you need to do and execution of your videos an incredibly more meaningful pursuit and an important one to those who take in your art. I wouldn’t leave a comment like this but the video is new and thought you might come across this. You’re one of my favorite living artist.
Congrats on the new baby, Van Fam!
6:35 Let's not forget the most important reason for donating: Donation also serves the function of helping others in the world. For example, displaced Gazans need all the donations they can get at this point.
Amazing video and speaks so much truth
Congrats on the new arrival!❤
this is the perfect explanation for my periodical situation. thanks van!!!
AWESOME WORK VAN. It is great to see you and another vlog.
This is just what I needed. Thank you
Love your work Van ❤
It's always a good day when Van posts
Thank you Van
Great take on declutterring ❤🎉😊😊
I love how purposefully you speak in your videos - the cadence of your voice is soothing!
YEAH!!! Good to see you
Awesome vid as usual 🎉 Looking forward to trying out Milanote!
Excellent, as always
For that add I just imagine you saying, “I appreciate this sponsor so I write Milanote on the top of a cardstock do list and then write my project plans as usual”
This video was great and so applicable to every stage of life.
Love the video and that last show was amazing! Also congratz on the little tiny human 🎉😊
I ordered giant moving bags and it’s been great to store things, clothes etc. Easy to move around too.
I needed this
LOVE THIS!
Thanks for sharing it ✌️
the editing in this was really fun thanks van
I hoard exceptionally well made videos. This is one of them. Van's the man!
For the last couple of years I've been really aware of how much time I spend dealing with my stuff. It's really fucking wild how many hours a week I spend washing, organizing, unorganizing, moving, and storing my things. I'm growing to hate it
Great video Van. Decluttering and streamlining is a form of art!
I recently did a grand purge almost as an emergency of my apartment. I had started going through and my place was a mess and then my land lord called and said insurance wanted pictures of the apartment and he'd be by in 5 days to take them.
Anyway careful consideration became "if it doesn't justify itself it goes." The rules I created were:
- Is it person-specific nostalgia? If the person is still alive and in my life, or I have an other more sentimental object, sentimentality cannot save it from the purge.
- Is this object non-trivial to replace, either with the same thing or a workable alternative? If yes, it should not be purged.
- Have I used this object at some point in the last 3 months (last season for seasonal objects)? If yes, it should not be purged.
- Does this object take up more space than it provides value? If yes, it gets purged.
- Is this object a duplicate of a duplicate? If so, it's immediately up for purge consideration.
The only things that require special consideration beyond this are things like books and art, which can be made safe from a purge by simply being a thing that makes me happy for that is their use, their purpose. And of course in all of this logic overrides rules.
I got rid of so much junk.
I've watched this three times this morning on I'm going to watch it again
I already woke up this morning knowing that I was going to organize. 🗑️
I'd say overall I'm pretty good at it but I have too much stuff for living in a small place by the beach.... I could always move inland to a bigger place but I'm choosing to live close to the 🏖️.....
So today is PURGE DAY 🧹🗑️🧽🗑️🧴🗑️🪣
When Van posts, it's always for the wellbeing of the soul.
Firstly - I just love, love, love your content, unique creative style and story telling instincts. Secondly, congratulations for the pending arrival of your new baby. Honestly, I am delighted to here this news. Health and Happiness to you all. Totally get your clutter management mindset - Even though I live in a relatively spacious apartment - I am clutter averse and regularly cleanout, give away or dump "Stuff"
Finally, did I miss something - you mention a Tacoma..... what happened to the Land Cruiser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????
Congratulations on the new arrival 🎉
Nice. Thank you.
And congratulations 🎉💙
I challenged myself to get rid of 5 items per day. It lasted a few months until I didn’t have that many items I could let go of without thinking. When it’s only 5 per day it’s pretty easy. If you get to a hard item skip it and think about it for a few days.
Good idea 💡 thanks 👍
Van, I love how you can even make an ad read interesting
congrats van!!
When you buy something - this thing buys part of you. This is helpful to judge if you overbuy - if any part of you or your time is left to really use another thing. It is also easier to feel trapped by buying something new.
One year rule you mentioned in the movie is the great one - to be honest with time I feel joy when I'm removing everything without use for a one year, but at beginning it was really hard.
That last shot, the double, is the most satisfying thing I've seen in a week.
amazing video ! totally enjoy it ! huge hug buddy !!!!!!
My big de-cluttering motivation came from a recent hobby of visiting estate sales. No matter how valuable you think your stuff might be, it will one day be sold for pennies on the dollar and what doesn't sell will be thrown in a dumpster. Sell it now or donate it now while you can enjoy the clutter-free home.
Congratulations on your brand new creatures!
Good job.
Nice video Van!
PLT - Turn all your hangers in your closet so the hooks face the towards you. After a couple months you see what you actually ware. Obviously take seasons into account, but I found this the best to keep the closet organized. Or one for one. Want a new shirt? Find a hanger facing you and ask yourself if you are ever going to fit into that band shirt from yesteryear ever again?
Good video thanks
Another great video! Loved it. Keeping my things and space organized has served me well. I believe that our inner and outer worlds are connected. The outside can influence the inside, and the inside has the power to change the outside. So, it is a positive cycle.
Yo your new bike looks sick!
Van I am huge fan of this channel and long time follower of your work, back to your HBO show. I love your work. I know you are passionate about great products, I was wondering if the two alarm clocks in your New York apartment, in this video, are staples in your collection or if you know where to find one. They are great! Thanks again for so much inspiration!
My life’s goal is to die never having had a storage unit.
Rule #1: If you are putting something in a box, that's the sign to sell, donate or throw away.
grazie per questo servizio
Another rally nice and most importantly interesting video, keep up the amazing work, I would also suggest right by the date on the boxes that shows its age to put a last used or opened date that could be useful perhaps. Hoarding is a major problem and it is more and more relevant as consumerism increases, the hardest junk to get rid of are the ones that hold some emotional value and you just keep stacking the things, from the nostalgia filled photo albums that never get opened to old board games, toys and other trinkets. The best thing is to donate and it feels better than throwing in the trash as far of course its able to be reused .
practical advice in video art for m . thank you.
Great video Van! i have 2 boxes of clothes in my wardrobe that I need to pull the plug and donate
Like Sysiphus, that job is never done... Also that last double camera pan shot is beautifull. I have been doing some experiment with it but I love the fact that they don't align and the focus shifts. Sweet
Don't forget to take the Sunk Cost Fallacy into consideration when decluttering. Many of us refuse to get rid of an item or quit a project simply because of the time and money we've put into it. But ask yourself: If you didn't have this item, how much would you pay for it now? Probably not nearly as much as you did, if you even still wanted it.
What are those green totes? Where can i get one? Thank you and excellent video.
One time I left my “tech clutter” box outside and it got rained on. My wife made me grow it all out. That was 20 years ago. I never recovered. Once a year we rent a small dumpster and start throwing out stuff. It does not take long to ask what ever happened to X item? Never mind when you think you kept it and go through new junk boxes going crazy thinking that I would NEver throw it out. So I but a new one only to have the old item magically appear some time later.
Ahhh… the Sentimental Demon is a tough one. Battling this right now so this video is timely.
Love your vids, brother!
lovely video, owning as few things as possible (within reason) is something i've always done in life. junk drawers begone
This is what the world needs right now. Thanks for creating this.
Welcome back 🤝
This was much appreciated and fantastic as always. You are making the best content on UA-cam nowadays. Period.
I'm not sure how to get this to you... I don't see "super thanks" so I'm just gonna hope... here goes:
Hey bro,
I keep coming back to this feeling (as I'm watching your UA-cam channel) that ...I'm looking into a mirror, only the reflection is... more risk-tolerant! (1) In my youth I always quit at the point of diminishing returns. Only after I had (survived) a stroke (late-2021) did I consider the possibility that the rest of that returns curve is for ME! (2) I want to say I completely understand your cleaning the bathroom in your SRO. I did a similar thing in the rehab place I was in for three months. (I dubbed mine, "brain damage boarding school") It never, ever occurred to me that anybody else would do such a crazy thing. (And apparently for very, very similar reasons!) Imagine my happy surprise to discover your video journal (if you don't mind me using that phrase.) (3) I am still processing whether there can be two of me, so I have to consider that maybe there are many more than two, and I've just been ... hanging out with the wrong people? (4) In case it helps you any: I don't think you are a narcissist. Instead, I'd say you are aware that you are on that hero's journey. I think people who become aware very often try to report back to those who might like to know what we're all doing here... Since I can see it in you, now I have a better sense of what to do with that part of me! (Including all the 'works with hands' stuff, oddly enough.) (5) Thanks for this amazing surprise, to say the very minimum least!!!
...p.s. My model for dealing with sentimental value is to think what my kids will do with my stuff when they go through it after I'm dead. If it'll be junk to them, I know it's junk. If I see that this means I ought to pass it along while I'm alive, I can more intentionally do that. Cheers!
tks
05:10 resisting the "need" to rent a storage unit can be powerful. Ask yourself "Do I really want to pay a monthly fee for this? For how long? When will I likely need this stuff again?"
Congrats on the creature!
as far as clothing goes my mom would say to me "if you haven't worn it in 6 months get rid of it" at 60 I have been living out of a 30 liter backpack and a 5×5 storage space
Banggerrrrrr ❤
I love that your film style is so recognizable, thank you for sharing with us. Would you say that working for Tom Sachs solidified your film style?