Is a collection of dead phones each full of thousands of photos really the epitome of minimalist convenience? Photo: antos777.
No one could ever accuse me of being Marie Kondo, but a couple of overseas moves and a decade or so as a dirty renter teaches you a thing or two about what to hold onto, and what to let go.
Over the years there have been some things consigned to the op shop or the dustbin never to be thought of again (that would be the collection of my primary school math textbooks) and others I’ve regretted bitterly.
Obviously a capacious DVD collection couldn’t compete with a decent hard drive, and later the convenience of streaming services and a dongle.
Really, isn’t the dream to have a sleek, minimalist collection of phone, laptop, e-book reader and TV to replace all the clutter of pens, paper, books, photo albums, cameras and haphazard DVD collections?
It can go with the minimalist wardrobes we all have, consciously curated with a handful of items that all match, all fit perfectly, and are made of high-quality, sustainable materials (preferably thrifted).
We can move out of homes in the blink of an eye with little more than a large duffle bag to hold all our worldly possessions, and set up just as instantaneously in a new one, like we’d always been there.
But I’m beginning to wonder whether all this paring down for the sake of convenience is actually, well, convenient?
I pay a monthly fee for Netflix and Disney Plus to watch the same handful of series on repeat, with the odd new watch sprinkled in.
I still miss out on watching recommendations from friends and family because they’re on Amazon or Stan or whatever the newest streaming service is.
Surely a moderate DVD collection and ABC iView could do the same job for a far lower annual cost?
Photos, too. I’ve got about 5000 on my phone and, courtesy of being an itinerant tenant, maybe a dozen tacked onto the fridge.
Would some nicely framed photos hung about the house bring me more joy – on account of how I would actually look at them?
Would creating and looking back through an old-fashioned photo album provide me with an activity more enjoyable than doomscrolling?
On the other hand, how much cursing am I going to do as I painstakingly wrap and pack each one next time we move?
It turns out the pain of holding onto things has to be felt somewhere, and digi isn’t always better.
I might find packing up our stuff a pain in the behind, but letting it float around in the cloud comes at its own cost to the planet.
The Australian Energy Council says data centres that house computer servers, storage devices, and all the stuff that makes digital services like the cloud work, are among our most energy and water-intensive assets.
I might not have to do much work to store all those photos on my smartphone, but the planet does.
I don’t have all the answers – and you can certainly pry my e-book reader from my cold, dead, hands – but I think there might be something to be said for sorting through our digital clutter.
If it’s not worth turning into physical clutter, what are we holding onto it for, anyway?
Somehow, I don’t think my great-grandchildren are going to boot up Nanna’s old Galaxy S25 to take a walk down memory lane.
