Too much stuff is a cycle, and the embarrassing part is how fast it closes. Five truckloads to the dump. An online auction. Everything gone. Moved from Calgary to Ottawa with a bed, some clothes, and a computer. Two years later in a two-bedroom apartment: too much stuff again. Now in a 139-year-old house in Merrickville with no storage because people in 1886 did not own 300,000 things.

What does it feel like to open a cupboard during a move and actually look at what is in there? Not the big stuff. The kitchen drawer. The containers without lids. The pan that still looks fine inside but has been scratched for years. We kept them because throwing things out felt wrong. We were told reusing is the responsible choice. Turns out the container you saved is the one a CDC study would recognize immediately.

The average North American home has 300,000 items. Storage is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. The cycle does not end because nobody told us what was in the cupboard.

Topics: too much stuff, decluttering minimalism, plastic containers BPA, accumulation habits, nonstick pan safety

Originally aired on2026-04-15